title: Antibody-dependent enhancement

text: One example occurred in Cuba, lasting from 1977 to 1979. The infecting serotype was dengue virus-1. This epidemic was followed by outbreaks in 1981 and 1997. In those outbreaks; dengue virus-2 was the infecting serotype. 205 cases of dengue hemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome occurred during the 1997 outbreak, all in people older than 15 years. All but three of these cases were demonstrated to have been previously infected by dengue virus-1 during the first outbreak. Furthermore, people with secondary infections with dengue virus-2 in 1997 had a 3-4 fold increased probability of developing severe disease than those with secondary infections with dengue virus-2 in 1981. This scenario can be explained by the presence of sufficient neutralizing heterotypic IgG antibodies in 1981, whose titers had decreased by 1997 to the point where they no longer provided significant cross-protective immunity.


title: Antibody-dependent enhancement

text: ADE of infection has also been reported in HIV. Like dengue virus, non-neutralizing level of antibodies have been found to enhance the viral infection through interactions of the complement system and receptors. The increase in infection has been reported to be over 350 fold which is comparable to ADE in other viruses like dengue virus. ADE in HIV can be complement-mediated or Fc receptor-mediated. Complements in the presence of HIV-1 positive sera have been found to enhance the infection of the MT-2 T-cell line. The Fc-receptor mediated enhancement was reported when HIV infection was enhanced by sera from HIV-1 positive guinea pig enhanced the infection of peripheral blood mononuclear cells without the presence of any complements. Complement component receptors CR2, CR3 and CR4 have been found to mediate this Complement-mediated enhancement of infection. The infection of HIV-1 leads to activation of complements. Fragments of these complements can assist viruses with infection by facilitating viral interactions with host cells that express complement receptors. The deposition of complement on the virus brings the gp120 protein close to CD4 molecules on the surface of the cells, thus leading to facilitated viral entry. Viruses pre-exposed to non-neutralizing complement system have also been found to enhance infections in interdigitating dendritic cells. Opsonized viruses have not only shown enhanced entry but also favorable signaling cascades for HIV replication in interdigitating dendritic cells.


title: Antibody-dependent enhancement

text: HIV-1 has also shown enhancement of infection in HT-29 cells when the viruses were pre-opsonized with complements C3 and C9 in seminal fluid. This enhanced rate of infection was almost 2 times greater than infection of HT-29 cells with the virus alone. Subramanian "et al.", reported that almost 72% of serum samples out of 39 HIV-positive individuals contained complements that were known to enhance the infection. They also suggested that the presence of neutralizing antibody or antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity-mediating antibodies in the serum contains infection-enhancing antibodies. The balance between the neutralizing antibodies and infection-enhancing antibodies changes as the disease progresses. During advanced stages of the disease, the proportion of infection-enhancing antibodies are generally higher than neutralizing antibodies. Increase in viral protein synthesis and RNA production have been reported to occur during the complement-mediated enhancement of infection. Cells that are challenged with non-neutralizing levels of complements have been found to have accelerated release of reverse transcriptase and viral progeny. The interaction of anti-HIV antibodies with non-neutralizing complement exposed viruses also aid in binding of the virus and the erythrocytes which can lead to the more efficient delivery of viruses to the immune-compromised organs.


title: Antibody-dependent enhancement

text: ADE in HIV has raised questions about the risk of infections to volunteers who have taken sub-neutralizing levels of vaccine just like any other viruses that exhibit ADE. Gilbert "et al.", in 2005 reported that there was no ADE of infection when they used the rgp120 vaccine in phase 1 and 2 trials. It has been emphasized that much research needs to be done in the field of the immune response to HIV-1, information from these studies can be used to produce a more effective vaccine.


title: Antibody-dependent enhancement

text: Interaction of a virus with antibodies must prevent the virus from attaching to the host cell entry receptors. However, instead of preventing infection of the host cell, this process can facilitate viral infection of immune cells, causing ADE. After binding the virus, the antibody interacts with Fc or complement receptors expressed on certain immune cells. These receptors promote virus-antibody internalization by the immune cells, which should be followed by the virus destruction. However, the virus might escape the antibody complex and start its replication cycle inside the immune cell avoiding the degradation.


title: Antibody-dependent enhancement

text: 1) Antibodies against a virus of one serotype binds to a virus of a different serotype. The binding is meant to neutralize the virus from attaching to the host cell, but the virus-antibody complex also binds to the Fc-region antibody receptor (FcγR) on the immune cell. The cell internalizes the virus for programmed destruction but the virus avoids it and starts its replication cycle instead.


title: Antibody-dependent enhancement

text: 2) Antibodies against a virus of one serotype binds to a virus of a different serotype, activating the classical pathway of the complement system. The complement cascade system binds C1Q complex attached to the virus surface protein via the antibodies, which in turn bind C1q receptor found on cells, bringing the virus and the cell close enough for a specific virus receptor to bind the virus, beginning infection. This mechanism has been shown for Ebola virus "in vitro" and some flaviviruses "in vivo".


title: Antibody-dependent enhancement

text: When an antibody to a virus is unable to neutralize the virus, it forms sub-neutralizing virus-antibody complexes. Upon phagocytosis by macrophages or other immune cells, the complex may release the virus due to poor binding with the antibody. This happens during acidification and eventual fusion of the phagosome with lysosomes. The escaped virus begins its replication cycle within the cell, triggering ADE.


title: Iqos

text: Iqos ( , stylized as IQOS) is a line of heated tobacco and electronic cigarette products manufactured by Philip Morris International (PMI). It was first introduced in November 2014 with the launch of the Iqos tobacco heating device in Japan and Italy, before being gradually commercialized in other countries.


title: Iqos

text: Alongside Iqos-branded electronic cigarettes, a large segment of the portfolio focuses on devices that heat tobacco without burning it. The long-term health benefits of heated tobacco compared to burnt tobacco are yet to be demonstrated, with the idea that the product could at any point be less harmful than cigarettes still being debated among the scientific community.


title: Iqos

text: The tobacco-heating devices have undergone various technological changes over the years with the release of different versions: "Iqos 2.2" (2014), "Iqos 2.4" (2016), "Iqos 3" (2018), "Iqos 3 Duo" (2019) and "Iqos Iluma" (2021). Licensing agreements with other tobacco manufacturers are also in place, such as KT&G's lil device, now commercialized by PMI outside of Korea. Since 2016, Iqos has been the flagship smoke-free product of Philip Morris International, whose communication is now entirely geared towards a "smoke-free future". As of 2021, sales of Iqos and other smoke-free products account for a little under 30% of the tobacco giant's global revenue, up from 20% in 2019.


title: Iqos

text: In 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized PMI to sell Iqos in the United States as a modified-risk tobacco product (MRTP) with reduced exposure claims, the second product ever to receive the designation, after Swedish Match's General snus. Though applications for claims relating to modified risk were denied, the decision to allow for reduced exposure claims was nevertheless criticized by the World Health Organization as misleading to consumers.


title: Iqos

text: While alternatives to cigarettes have been researched for several decades, Philip Morris took its first commercial steps in the field of heated tobacco in 1990, when the group presented its first prototype of a device for heating tobacco without burning it ("Project Beta"). The company finally put two devices on the market intended to heat a cigarette while limiting the combustion of tobacco: "Accord", a device sold in the United States from 1998 to 2006 (the device was also released in Japan under the name "Oasis"), then the "Heatbar", a device sold by the company's international subsidiary launched in 2006 in Australia and Switzerland, before being withdrawn from the market.


title: Iqos

text: One year after its 2008 spin-off from the Altria Group, Philip Morris International inaugurated "The Cube", a $200+ million R&D facility in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, dedicated to research related to "reduced risk" products and alternatives to cigarettes. Between 2011 and 2014, PMI carried out various strategic operations (purchasing patents, acquiring companies, developing partnerships) to enter the smoke-free market. In 2011, PMI acquired a smoke-free technology from inventors at Duke University including Professor Jed Rose, a leading expert in nicotine-addiction research who was instrumental in the development of the nicotine patch. In 2013, PMI announced an agreement with Altria Group to sell Altria's e-vapor technology outside the U.S., with Altria gaining exclusive rights to sell future alternative heated tobacco products developed by Philip Morris International in the U.S. Altria's "MarkTen", re-branded as "Solaris", was launched in Spain and Israel two years later. In 2014, PMI acquired Nicocigs Ltd., the largest U.K. e-cigarette company at the time, whose brands included "Nicolites" and "Vivid".


title: Iqos

text: In January 2014, Philip Morris International announced an investment of €500 million to build a factory near Bologna, Italy, dedicated to the production of heated tobacco products. In November 2014 the first version of Iqos was released, first marketed in Nagoya, Japan, and Milan, Italy, before being gradually rolled out to other countries.


title: Iqos

text: Starting in 2016, Philip Morris began heavily promoting a "smoke-free future", with commercial efforts increasingly focused on products that are alternatives to cigarettes. Iqos has since become the flagship product of Philip Morris, with the brand expanding to cover different devices. In 2016, PMI launched Iqos Mesh in the UK, and as a vaping product then the only Iqos product not based on heated tobacco. The next generation of Iqos ("Iqos 3" and "Iqos 3 Multi") was launched in Tokyo in October 2018 and then in other markets around the world.


title: Iqos

text: In January 2020 PMI and South Korea's KT&G announced a partnership for the international distribution of Lil, a hybrid e-cigarette/heated tobacco product, as part of the Iqos portfolio. The following Summer, PMI rebranded Mesh as Veev and launched it in New Zealand before gradually extending distribution to other countries. Iluma, a new system using induction heating technology, was launched in Japan in August 2021.


title: Iqos

text: In 2017, the smoke-free segment generated sales of $3.6 billion for PMI (13% of its overall sales), compared to $64 million in 2015. By the beginning of 2018, Iqos brand products accounted for 15% of the tobacco industry's market share in Japan. By 2020, Iqos accounted for 5.5% of the global tobacco market while being available in 52 countries only, this number jumping to almost 70 a year later. According to PMI financial releases, sales of smoke-free products represent nearly 30% of the company's revenue during the first quarter of 2021. Philip Morris also reported that it was spending 99% of its R&D budget to support smoke-free products.


title: Iqos

text: PMI's efforts to achieve a smoke-free business transition allowed the company to begin the process of issuing sustainable bonds to finance itself in August 2021. Such moves have raised fears of greenwashing.


title: Iqos

text: On the 6th of December 2016, PMI submitted a multi-million-page application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Iqos heated tobacco product to be authorized as a modified risk tobacco product (MRTP). The following March, PMI also submitted a pre-market tobacco product application to the U.S. FDA for its Iqos 2.4 product. The scientific advisory committee (TPSAC) appointed by the U.S. FDA reviewed Philip Morris International's application in January 2018 and voted 8-1 to support the claim that Iqos "significantly reduces [...] exposure to harmful or potentially harmful chemicals." It nevertheless rejected any claim that the product could be marketed as safer than cigarettes. The FDA granted PMI's premarket tobacco application to begin selling Iqos in the U.S. on the 30th of April 2019 and the brand was formally launched in October 2019.


title: Iqos

text: On the 7th of July 2020, the FDA granted Philip Morris authorization to make "reduced exposure" marketing claims, considering that the Iqos tobacco heating system met the requirements for designation as a Modified Risk Tobacco Product, the second set of products ever authorized after Swedish Match's General Snus. The FDA explicitly stated that the product should not be considered as "safe or FDA approved." It also "determined that the evidence did not support issuing risk modification orders at this time".


title: Iqos

text: The basic heat-not-burn device consists of a charger and a pen-like holder. A disposable stick (known as a "HeatStick" or "Heets" depending on the market) containing processed tobacco soaked in glycerin is inserted into the holder, which then heats it to temperatures up to 350 °C. The user pushes a button to turn on the heater, and then inhales from the tobacco stick. Iluma, a more recent iteration, relies on induction to heat the tobacco sticks (themselves branded Terea).


title: Iqos

text: Between 2009 and 2017 more than 1,900 patents linked to Iqos have been filed by Philip Morris International. According to "Fortune", the company helped make "electronic smoking devices" the second fastest growing category of new technologies in 2020.


title: Iqos

text: Iqos sticks are manufactured in several countries, mainly in Europe. A plant is located in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, near the PMI R&D center. The major Iqos tobacco sticks factory is located in Crespellano, Italy. Philip Morris invested €1 billion into the creation of this plant, with a first investment of €500 million announced in 2014, and a second announced in 2017. In 2017, PMI invested €300 million to convert a cigarette factory into a manufacturing plant for Iqos tobacco sticks in Aspropyrgos, Greece. The same operation was carried out in Otopeni, Romania, to convert a cigarette factory into a smoke-free product unit for €490 million. Another €320 million HEETS manufacturing facility was announced in Dresden, Germany, in 2017, but the investment was later put on hold. In Asia, Philip Morris also has a plant in Yangsan, South Korea, built between 2017 and 2019 for $420 million.


title: Iqos

text: Philip Morris claims that Iqos reduces waste and carbon emissions compared to a cigarette, and presents the product as being part of its sustainability initiatives. The company is also promoting itself as a player in the circular economy by arguing that Iqos devices can be recycled by being returned to manufacturing centers.


title: Iqos

text: These claims were disputed by the Public Health Law Center at Saint Paul, Minnesota, as used HeatSticks constitute waste similar to conventional cigarette butts. Furthermore, "New products such as e-cigarettes, or heated cigarette products like Iqos, will increase the overall supply of e-waste. It is most likely impossible to create any e-cigarette without a battery, poisonous liquid, metals and plastics joined in small devices, each of which cannot be recycled or disposed of responsibly."


title: Iqos

text: The Iqos 2.2 was the first commercially launched device under the brand name. In 2021, Iqos devices were available in approximately 70 countries. Among them, the United States, Canada, Belarus, Moldova, Georgia, Israel, Sweden, South Korea and Portugal have chosen to adopt a specific approach to supervise the sale of heated tobacco/Iqos. In Canada and Israel, the packaging of Iqos devices is fully covered with a warning message. In the United States, the FDA granted Philip Morris authorization to make a "reduced exposure" marketing claim, considering that switching completely from cigarettes to Iqos reduces exposure to harmful chemicals, but refused Philip Morris the ability to make any claim that switching from cigarettes to Iqos reduces the user's risk of disease.


title: Iqos

text: While the name has often been described by early adopters to be an acronym of ""I Quit Ordinary Smoking"", Philip Morris has never used this to describe or market Iqos and has repeatedly rejected this interpretation.


title: Iqos

text: Philip Morris is regularly accused of circumventing laws prohibiting the promotion of tobacco by considering that Iqos is a technological device and not a tobacco product. Canada updated its tobacco laws to clearly include heated tobacco devices in the list of regulated tobacco products, forcing PMI to modify its packaging for Iqos. In France, it was reported that Philip Morris was promoting its devices at private parties, with salespersons sometimes offering alcoholic beverages to interested customers.


title: Iqos

text: Philip Morris has been accused of using unregulated or illegal marketing strategies: a 2018 report stated that ""Iqos boutique stores are the focus of aggressive promotion including exchanging a pack of cigarettes or lighter for an Iqos device, launch parties, 'meet and greet' lunches and after-hour events"". According to Reuters ""The marketing strategy mimics that of tobacco companies in the mid-20th century, when they started associating cigarettes with Hollywood and high society.""


title: Iqos

text: Philip Morris has also reportedly carried out several marketing campaigns directly mentioning Iqos, presenting the product as a "smoke-free" and a "reduced-risk" alternative, encouraging consumers to quit smoking or switch to Iqos. This marketing approach has come under criticism. A critical review of reports submitted by PMI to the FDA in support of its application claimed that ""Consumers may misunderstand what is meant by 'switching completely' [and] are likely to misunderstand the unsupported claims of reduced risk"". In granting the exposure order the FDA however acknowledged that adult consumers correctly understood the messages that were authorized.


title: Iqos

text: In 2019, Reuters reported that Philip Morris was using social media influencers in several countries to make them "ambassadors" for the brand and promote Iqos to a young audience. PMI responded that it would cease use of influencers. According to Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the company "is changing its behavior only when caught red-handed."


title: Iqos

text: Also in 2020, a report on Philip Morris' Iqos implementation strategy in Australia pointed out that ""Philip Morris has strongly lobbied the Australian government to legalize heated tobacco products, while simultaneously making plans to sell Iqos at young adult-friendly premises such as bars, clubs and pubs if its proposed legislative changes are made.""


title: Iqos

text: In December 2017, Reuters published documents and testimonies from former employees alleging irregularities in the clinical trials conducted by PMI for the approval of the Iqos product by the U.S. FDA. This investigative work reported that Philip Morris was lobbying to block or weaken the provisions made under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), going against the idea that the company would support a smoke-free future.


title: Iqos

text: A number of third-party toxicity studies had findings which often contradicted those of Philip Morris International. UCSF-based Professor Stanton Glantz concluded that in terms of harmfulness, ""Iqos is not detectably different from conventional cigarettes"." A 2020 systematic review of the available scientific literature found very limited available data on the effects of Iqos on a smoker's health and recommended further studies.


title: Iqos

text: In October 2018, the Belgian Cancer Foundation issued advice on Iqos, based on previous independent studies published on the subject. The Foundation claimed that ""Iqos is not a solution"" for quitting smoking." It further stated that ""if the tobacco giant is positioning itself in this innovative market, it is to compensate for the financial losses resulting from the reduced sales of cigarettes (...). The tobacco industry is therefore exploring solutions in order to continue to make profits and keep dependent consumers"."


title: Iqos

text: In July 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) published a "statement on heated tobacco products and the U.S. FDA decision regarding Iqos", which read: ""WHO reiterates that reducing exposure to harmful chemicals in Heated Tobacco Products (HTPs) does not render them harmless, nor does it translate to reduced risk to human health. Indeed, some toxins are present at higher levels in HTP aerosols than in conventional cigarette smoke, and there are some additional toxins present in HTP aerosols that are not present in conventional cigarette smoke. The health implications of exposure to these are unknown. (...) Given that health may be affected by exposure to additional toxins when using HTPs, claims that HTPs reduce exposure to harmful chemicals relative to conventional cigarettes may be misleading"."


title: Iqos

text: According to the University of Bath's TobaccoTactics website, ""There is very little evidence that Iqos is effective as a [cigarette] quit tool at the individual level or population level"." According to the Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Iqos is ""harmful to health, but probably less harmful than smoking tobacco cigarettes"".


title: Iqos

text: In September 2021, the U.S. International Trade Commission ruled that Philip Morris International and its commercial partner Altria must stop the sale and import of the Iqos device in the United States because of a patent case filed by R.J. Reynolds. The U.S. International Trade Commission found that the cigarette alternative infringed on two of Reynolds' patents. Philip Morris International announced its plans to appeal the trade agency's decision.


title: The Diplomats

text: The Diplomats (also known as Dipset) is an American hip hop collective formed in 1997 by childhood friends Cam'ron and Jim Jones in Harlem, New York. The group was originally composed of Cam'ron, Jim Jones and Freekey Zekey, all of whom grew up together in Harlem. In 1999, fellow Harlem-based rapper Juelz Santana joined the group.


title: The Diplomats

text: In 2001, following Cam'ron's signing, the group secured a recording contract with Roc-A-Fella Records. It subsequently began recording its debut album, "Diplomatic Immunity", and released it on the aforementioned labels in March 2003. Following tensions and controversy between Cam'ron and Jay-Z, the group subsequently severed ties with Roc-A-Fella and signed with indie record label Koch Records. The group released its second album "Diplomatic Immunity 2", in November 2004 on Koch. After a hiatus because of artistic differences, in 2010 the original members began recording music together again and announced a reunion album. In February 2011, it was announced that the group had signed with Interscope Records. However, in May 2013, Freekey Zekey revealed it no longer recorded for Interscope.


title: The Diplomats

text: In late 2018, they released their first official album in 14 years, "Diplomatic Ties", under Empire Distribution. In 2021, they participated in a Verzuz-related battle with The Lox.


title: The Diplomats

text: The first commercial appearance of the group was on Cam'ron's 2000 album "S.D.E.", released on Epic Records. Cam'ron eventually demanded a release from Epic, and signed with Roc-A-Fella Records, then owned by his childhood friend Damon Dash. Cam'ron released his third album, "Come Home with Me" through Roc-A-Fella. The album featured numerous guest appearances from Juelz Santana and Jim Jones. The lead singles were platinum hits "Oh Boy" and "Hey Ma", which both featured Santana. The album served as both an introduction to The Diplomats and a stepping stone for the rest of the group to be signed to Roc-A-Fella.


title: The Diplomats

text: The Diplomats followed Cam'ron's solo album shortly after with their debut album "Diplomatic Immunity" released in 2003, which featured a remix of "Hey Ma", as well as the lead single, "Dipset Anthem", produced by Heatmakerz which peaked at #64 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The double-disc album was a success and quickly became certified gold by RIAA less than two months after its release. By the time of the release of their 2004 followup, "Diplomatic Immunity 2", additional members Hell Rell, 40 Cal., and J. R. Writer had joined the group. Before long the Dipset empire was growing adding members such as: Jay Bezel, Un Kasa, the late Stack Bundles, Max B, comedian Katt Williams, and female first lady, Jha Jha. In 2006, Jim Jones created his own person skating team, called Dipskate.


title: The Diplomats

text: In mid-2007, rumors began to circulate that the Diplomats had many rifts and disagreements with each other, specifically between Cam'ron and Jim Jones. When Jones and Juelz Santana appeared on stage at a concert with 50 Cent — with whom Cam'ron was engaged in a feud at the time — it seemed as if the group had split. However, in a later interview, 40 Cal. hinted that while the dynamic of the group is likely beyond repair, there may be further collaboration.


title: The Diplomats

text: Juelz Santana also spoke on a future collaboration, but stated that at the time, Cam'ron seemed to be the only obstacle, while also stating that though his contract was sold to Def Jam, he had no hard feelings towards his former boss.


title: The Diplomats

text: In a September 2008 interview, Hell Rell stated that he no longer has a contractual obligation to Cam'ron or Jim Jones. Within the interview, Juelz also stated that he is still on speaking terms with the members of the group, and didn't feel that they were holding him back, but he did feel the "mainstream" wasn't crediting him as notably as he had hoped. In a later interview, he stated that he felt the other members of the group were not as focused as him, while also stating there was selfishness within the group. He also stated he wanted to focus more on his solo career.


title: The Diplomats

text: Following this, almost all former members of The Diplomats formed their own groups. In 2007, 40 Cal. started "Skeme Team", while Freekey Zekey formed the "730 Dips", and started a record label of the same name, "730 Dips Records", while also joining fellow Diplomats' member Jim Jones' new group, "ByrdGang".


title: The Diplomats

text: In 2008, Jim Jones cut ties with ByrdGang rapper and former Dipset affiliate Max B over a sequence of financial and ethical disputes. Jones and Max B became involved in a bitter feud, exchanging numerous diss tracks and constantly bad-mouthing each other on interviews.


title: The Diplomats

text: In 2008, Juelz Santana started the "Skull Gang" which, when his contract was sold to Def Jam, also secured a deal that included the solo members. In 2009, Cam'ron started a new group called the U.N and Dipset West. In 2008, Hell Rell started Top Gunnas and J.R started Thundabyrdz.


title: The Diplomats

text: In 2009, Cam'ron created the U.N. (Us Now), featuring himself and Vado. The group released one album, 2011's, "Gunz n' Butta"'.


title: The Diplomats

text: In April 2010, Cam'ron and Jim Jones officially announced the end of their feud. In June 2010, the Dipset reunion began with a teaser titled "Under Construction" and a street single, "Salute", produced by AraabMuzik being released. The song features Jim Jones, Cam'ron and Juelz Santana. The remix features new Diplomat artist Vado with a verse added. In October 2010, after an interview at The Source Magazine Headquarters where Freekey Zekey insinuated that a Dipset deal with Interscope Records was possible by pointing to a magazine cover with Dr. Dre's picture (in addition to the revelation that the group has actually recorded with Dre), Freekey confirmed that the group would be signing a deal with the label: "The papers are not actually signed right now, but you could basically say it's going down," said Freekey in an interview with TheQuestion.com, when asked about the possibility of a deal with Interscope.


title: The Diplomats

text: In February 2011, it was reported The Diplomats had signed a record deal with Interscope Records. They also revealed plans for a reunion album to be released under the label.


title: The Diplomats

text: In January 2013, Juelz Santana indicated that the album was still coming. He would later also promise a new Diplomats single to be released "soon". The group hosted a reunion concert in New York on March 25, 2013, to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of "Diplomatic Immunity"'s release. Waka Flocka Flame would also perform at the concert. In May 2013, Freekey Zekey revealed that the group was no longer signed to Interscope Records.


title: The Diplomats

text: On March 18, 2014, J.R. Writer began his prison sentence at Ulster Correctional Facility, in New York. On May 15, 2014, the original members of The Diplomats reunited for a brand new single produced by Just Blaze and entitled "Dipshits". On May 30, 2014, J.R. Writer released a recorded phone call from the Ulster Correctional Facility, in which he is freestyling and dissing his former label-head Cam'ron, as well as Jim Jones and Dame Dash. This was theoretically in response to Cam'ron's "Dipshits" video, which had additional vocals from Dame Dash and DJ A-Trak.


title: The Diplomats

text: On January 1, 2015, well known DJ Funkmaster Flex announced via his Instagram that he had spoken to fellow Diplomat members Cam'ron, Jim Jones & Juelz Santana about an upcoming Diplomat's mixtape which included fellow member Freekey Zeekey. He also confirmed that he would be hosting the mixtape along with DJ's/Producers DJ Khaled, Swizz Beatz & DJ Mustard. The following week, Cam'ron, Jim Jones, Juelz Santana, and Freekey Zekey released a new track called "Have My Money". The track was released on Funkmaster Flex's show, on Hot 97.


title: The Diplomats

text: On November 15, 2017, Jim Jones announced on his Instagram that a new Diplomats single was to be released that night, titled "Once Upon a Time", and featuring him and Cam'ron. On November 22, 2017, The Diplomats revealed on MTV's TRL that they would be releasing an EP along with a documentary in the near future. Later that night, the group performed a one night only reunion concert at the Manhattan Center, where they were joined by fellow New York group ASAP Mob.


title: The Diplomats

text: In March 2018, Juelz Santana surrendered himself to police after fleeing a Newark Liberty International Airport when a loaded .38-caliber handgun was found in his bag. Cam'ron said on his Instagram that he, Jim Jones and Freekey Zeekey would continue touring while Santana was incarcerated, but also claimed Santana would be "home soon".


title: The Diplomats

text: During the summer of 2018, The Diplomats went on a U.S. national tour entitled Dipset Forever. On October 8, 2018, Jim Jones confirmed Dipset would be releasing a new album titled "Diplomatic Ties" on November 22, 2018 (Thanksgiving Day) followed by a performance at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem, NY the next day.


title: The Diplomats

text: On August 2, 2021, the original lineup of the Diplomats were participant in a rap battle with The Lox (consisting of all three members Jadakiss, Styles P and Sheek Louch) via Verzuz.


The Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that repealed the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 and reinstated the prior constitutional situation, by reviving the prerogative powers of the monarch to dissolve and summon parliament. As the monarch exercises this power at the request of the prime minister, this restored the power of the prime minister to have a general election called at a time of their choosing.


title: Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022

text: It was originally drafted as the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (Repeal) Bill. Announced formally in the 2021 State Opening of Parliament, it received its first reading on 12 May 2021 and received Royal Assent on 24 March 2022. It was introduced by Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Michael Gove.


text: The Act fulfilled the Government's manifesto promise to repeal the Fixed-term Parliaments Act. In response to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom ruling that the 2019 prorogation was unlawful, the Act contains an ouster clause which seeks to ensure the non-justiciability of the revived prerogative powers. This could prevent the courts from making rulings in relation to the Sovereign's power to dissolve Parliament.


text: Shortly after becoming prime minister in July 2019, Boris Johnson held three votes in the House of Commons to try to gain its approval to call a general election, but failed to achieve the two-thirds parliamentary majority required by the Fixed-term Parliaments Act. A general election was called by passing a separate Act, the Early Parliamentary General Election Act 2019. Ahead of this 2019 general election, the Conservative Party manifesto included a commitment to repeal the FTPA, saying "We will get rid of the Fixed Term Parliaments Act – it has led to paralysis at a time the country needed decisive action", and the Labour Party manifesto also pledged to repeal the Act, saying "A Labour government will repeal the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, which has stifled democracy and propped up weak governments".


text: An earlier private member's bill titled the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (Repeal) Bill was introduced by Lord Mancroft in the House of Lords in February 2020, but did not proceed beyond first reading.


text: The Act repeals the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (section 1) and revives the powers relating to the dissolution and calling of Parliaments derived from the royal prerogative "as if the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 had never been enacted" (section 2), in effect restoring the constitutional situation prior to 2011. Section 3, an ouster clause, removes questions over the exercise of these powers, over any decision relating to them, and over their limits and extent from the jurisdiction of courts and tribunals. Finally, the Act provides for Parliament's automatic dissolution once five years have elapsed from its first meeting after an election (section 4).


text: The original draft of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (Repeal) Bill was published on 1 December 2020 for consideration by the parliamentary Joint Committee on the Fixed-term Parliaments Act. In evidence submitted to the Joint Committee from December 2020 to January 2021, legal experts highlighted a number of contentious points in the legal implications of the Bill. One of these was whether the power of dissolution created by the bill would in fact be derived from the royal prerogative, or whether it would be a statutory power. The Sydney constitutional law professor Anne Twomey argued that the bill could not revive the royal prerogative by definition, since a prerogative is a non-statutory executive power and common law is created by courts and not legislatures. Cambridge public law professor Alison Young stated that the matter was unclear. In contrast, the former Supreme Court judges Baroness Hale and Lord Sumption, as well as a former First Parliamentary Counsel, Sir Stephen Laws, said that the prerogative could be restored by Parliament.


text: Secondly, some specialists questioned the validity of the bill's ouster clause. Lord Lisvane and Malcolm Jack, both former Clerks of the House of Commons, as well as Alison Young, argued that the clause may fail in practice, with Lord Lisvane describing its wording as "a probably doomed attempt to sidestep the "Anisminic" principle". Lord Sumption argued that though a "sufficiently desperate" court could likely find a way to circumvent the ouster clause, its presence in the bill should serve to discourage such attempts.


text: The Joint Committee published its report on the bill on 24 March 2021. The majority of the Committee held that the ouster clause was acceptable given that "Parliament should be able to designate certain matters as ones which are to be resolved in the political rather than the judicial sphere", and could not be considered an overreach of executive authority since "the power in question is to enable the electorate to determine who should hold power". On the issue of the prerogative, the Committee held that the wording of the bill was sufficient to restore the substance, if not necessarily the form, of the constitutional situation prior to the Fixed-term Parliaments Act. The Committee also recommended that the draft be retitled the Dissolution and Summoning of Parliament Bill, considering that the bill would be a fundamental constitutional statute and would do more than simply repeal the Fixed-term Parliaments Act.


text: The Committee also considered whether the monarch ought to have the power to refuse a request from the prime minister to dissolve Parliament. In its statement of principles accompanying the draft bill, the government had stated that "in future Parliament will be dissolved by the Sovereign, on the advice of the Prime Minister". In the system preceding the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, however, dissolution was requested, not advised, by the prime minister, meaning that the monarch reserved the right to decline the request. The Committee called on the government to "make it clear that the power to grant or refuse a dissolution returns to the Monarch, who in exceptional cases, may refuse the request".


text: The Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Bill was introduced by Michael Gove, the minister for the Cabinet Office, to the House of Commons and received its first reading on 12 May 2021.


text: On 9 February 2022, the House of Lords voted to amend the bill to require a Commons vote before Dissolution could happen, with 200 votes to 160. The House of Commons voted to reject this amendment on 14 March by 292 votes to 217. On 22 March, the peers accepted the Commons' reason to dismiss the amendment, without a vote. The bill received royal assent on 24 March.


title: Tinariwen

text: Tinariwen (Tamasheq: , with vowels , pronounced "tinariwen" "deserts", plural of "ténéré" "desert") is a collective of Tuareg musicians from the Sahara Desert region of northern Mali. Considered a pioneer of desert blues, the group's guitar-driven style combines traditional Tuareg and African music with Western rock music. They have released eight albums since their formation and have toured internationally.


title: Tinariwen

text: The group was founded by Ibrahim Ag Alhabib, along with Alhassane Ag Touhami and brothers Inteyeden Ag Ablil and Liya Ag Ablil (aka "Diarra").


title: Tinariwen

text: The as then unnamed musical group was formed in 1979 while exiled in Tamanrasset, Algeria. Tinariwen formed as a musical collective while in military training in Libya, aiming to write songs about issues facing the Tuareg people. They returned to Mali in 1989, with some members joining as fighters in a Tuareg rebellion before dedicating themselves to music full-time in 1991 after a peace accord was reached. Tinariwen first started to gain a following outside the Sahara region in 2001 with the release of the album "The Radio Tisdas Sessions", and with performances at Festival au Désert in Mali and the Roskilde Festival in Denmark. Their popularity rose internationally with the release of the critically acclaimed album "Aman Iman" in 2007. Following the start of the Mali War in 2012, the group fled their home country and have since lived and recorded in exile due to threats against them from militant groups.


title: Tinariwen

text: The group has been nominated Grammy Awards three times, and in 2012 "Tassili" won the award for Best World Music Album. NPR calls the group "music's true rebels", AllMusic deems the group's music "a grassroots voice of rebellion", and "Slate" calls the group "rock 'n' roll rebels whose rebellion, for once, wasn't just metaphorical".


title: Tinariwen

text: Musician Ibrahim Ag Alhabib, at the age of four, witnessed the execution of his father, a Tuareg rebel, during a 1963 uprising in Mali. After seeing a western film in which a cowboy played a guitar as a child, Ag Alhabib built his own guitar out of a "plastic water can, a stick and some fishing wire", according to future bandmate Abdallah Ag Alhousseyni. Ag Alhabib first lived in Algeria in refugee camps near Bordj Badji Mokhtar and in the deserts around the southern city of Tamanrasset, where he was given a guitar from a local Arab man.


title: Tinariwen

text: Later, Ag Alhabib resided with other Tuareg exiles in Libya and Algeria. He acquired his first real acoustic guitar in 1979. During this period he formed a band with Alhassane Ag Touhami and brothers Inteyeden Ag Ablil and Liya Ag Ablil (aka "Diarra") to play at parties and weddings. While the group had no official name, people began to call them Kel Tinariwen, which in the Tamashek language translates as "The People of the Deserts" or "The Desert Boys".


title: Tinariwen

text: In 1980 Libyan ruler Muammar al-Gaddafi put out a decree inviting all young Tuareg men who were living illegally in Libya to receive full military training. Gaddafi dreamed of forming a Saharan regiment, made up of young Tuareg fighters, to further his territorial ambitions in Chad, Niger, and elsewhere. Ag Alhabib and his bandmates answered the call and received nine months of training. During such exercises, the band met additional Tuareg musicians and formed a loosely-organized collective to create songs about the issues facing the Tuareg people. They built a makeshift studio and vowed to record music for free for anyone who supplied a blank cassette tape. The resulting homemade cassettes were traded widely throughout the Sahara region.


title: Tinariwen

text: In 1989 the collective left Libya and moved to Ag Alhabib's home country of Mali, where he returned to his home village of Tessalit for the first time in 26 years. In 1990 the Tuareg people of Mali revolted against the government, with some of the musicians of the collective participating as rebel fighters. After a peace agreement known as the Tamanrasset Accords was reached in January 1991, the musicians left the rebel movement and devoted themselves to music full-time. In 1992 some of the members of Tinariwen went to Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, to record a cassette at JBZ studios. They played occasional gigs for far-flung Tuareg communities throughout the Sahara region, gaining word-of-mouth popularity among the Tuareg people.


title: Tinariwen

text: In 1993 Manny Ansar became the band's manager, after hearing them play when they were back in Mali. He started organising concerts for them in Bamako, initially just for fun with friends, but the realisation dawned that they had developed a new genre of music. This was the first time that Tuareg folk music had been adapted to be played with modern guitars, and their music was also influence by the blues of Ali Farka Touré and other artists. This made it more accessible to the rest of the world, and this exposure was appreciated by the Tuareg community. It was at this point that Tinariwen was created as a professional band. Initially they comprised around a dozen musicians, but this reduced to seven or eight, with the others creating their own groups. One of these was Terakaft.


title: Tinariwen

text: In 1998 Tinariwen came to the attention of the French world music ensemble Lo'Jo and their manager Philippe Brix. That group travelled to a music festival in Bamako and met two members of the Tinariwen collective. In 1999, some members of Tinariwen travelled to France and performed with Lo'Jo under the name Azawad.


title: Tinariwen

text: In January 2001, manager Manny Ansar organised the inaugural Festival au Désert, which took place in Tin Essako, in collaboration with Lo'Jo. Tinariwen headlined the festival, which was mounted in cooperation with the Belgian Sfinks Festival.


title: Tinariwen

text: Their debut commercial album, "The Radio Tisdas Sessions", was recorded by Justin Adams and Jean-Paul Romann at the radio station of the same name in Kidal, Mali (the only Tamashek-speaking station in the region) and released in 2001. It was Tinariwen's first recording to be released outside of northern Africa.


title: Tinariwen

text: Since 2001 Tinariwen have toured regularly in Europe, North America, Japan, and Australia. Their 2004 album "Amassakoul" ("The Traveller" in Tamashek) and the 2007 album "Aman Iman" ("Water Is Life" in Tamashek) were released worldwide and gained the notice of celebrity fans including Carlos Santana, Robert Plant, Bono and the Edge of U2, Thom Yorke of Radiohead, Chris Martin of Coldplay, Henry Rollins, Brian Eno, and members of TV On The Radio. In 2005, Tinariwen received a BBC Award for World Music, and in 2008, they received Germany's prestigious Praetorius Music Prize. The band's 2009 album "" was recorded in a mobile studio by Jean-Paul Romann in the village of Tessalit, Mali. The band appeared at Glastonbury in 2009.


title: Tinariwen

text: Also since 2001 the Tinariwen collective has added several younger Tuareg musicians who did not live through the military conflicts experienced by the older members but have contributed to the collective's multi-generational evolution. New members include bassist Eyadou Ag Leche, percussionist Said Ag Ayad, guitarist Elaga Ag Hamid, guitarist Abdallah Ag Lamida, and vocalists Wonou Walet Sidati and the Walet Oumar sisters.


title: Tinariwen

text: In 2010, Tinariwen represented Algeria in the opening ceremony of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, and completed a lengthy American tour. The band released their fifth album "Tassili" on 30 August 2011. "Tassili" included guest appearances by Nels Cline, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone of TV on the Radio. Ian Brennan produced the album with engineer, Jean Paul Romman. The album later won the Award for Best World Music Album at the 54th Grammy Awards. In July 2011, the collective set out for a new world tour that included performances at the End of the Road Festival in September and All Tomorrow's Parties in December. Tinariwen appeared on "The Colbert Report" on 29 November 2011 with Adebimpe and Malone to play "Tenere Taqqim Tossam" and "Imidiwan Ma Tenam" from "Tassili". Group members Ibrahim Ag Alhabib, Alhassane Ag Touhami, and Eyadou Ag Leche participated in a translated interview with Colbert.


title: Tinariwen

text: They appeared at the January 2012 Festival au Désert, where they were joined on stage by Bono (of U2 fame) and Bassekou Kouyate. In early 2012 there was another Tuareg rebellion in Tinariwen's home region of northern Mali, with the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) declaring independence and forming the short-lived unrecognized state Azawad. In August 2012, another party in the rebellion, the militant Islamist group Ansar Dine, denounced the presence of popular music in the territory, and Tinariwen was targeted specifically during this campaign.


title: Tinariwen

text: The band was scheduled to play at WOMADelaide, in Adelaide, South Australia, in March 2012, as part of a tour to Australia, Hong Kong, and New Zealand. However, around a week before the festival, a change to the line-up was announced owing to the conflict in Mali. Ibrahim Ag Alhabib and Elaga Al Hamid were not able to get out of the country, with Ag Alhabib sheltering in a refugee camp near the Algerian border. Instead, members of Lo'Jo joined Tinariwen on stage at WOMADelaide.


title: Tinariwen

text: In a January 2013 confrontation, most band members evaded capture, except Abdallah Ag Lamida who was abducted while trying to save his guitars. A few weeks later, Tinariwen reported that Ag Lamida had been released and was "safe and free".


title: Tinariwen

text: During Ag Lamida's captivity, several other members of Tinariwen fled from the conflict and resettled temporarily in the southwestern United States to record their sixth album, "Emmaar" produced by Patrick Vo Tan, with guests including Josh Klinghoffer, Fats Kaplin, Matt Sweeney, and Saul Williams. Recording took place at Joshua Tree National Park in California, which features a desert environment similar to that of Tinariwen's homeland. "Emmaar" was released worldwide in February 2014. Tinariwen then embarked on a tour of Europe and North America, but without group leader Ibrahim Ag Alhabib, who decided to remain in Mali to attend to family issues caused by the latest political crisis. Bassist Eyadou Ag Leche assumed the role of musical director, and a new singer/guitarist named Iyad Abderrahmane was recruited to perform Ag Alhabib's parts during the tour.


title: Tinariwen

text: In 2016, the group returned to Joshua Tree National Park and spent few days at Rancho De La Luna to record part of their seventh album, "Elwan", with additional recording in France and a two-week session in a town called M'Hamid El Ghizlane in southern Morocco, an oasis very near the Algerian border and home to its own Saharan music and cultural festival, the Festival Taragalte. The album was released in February 2017 and features guest appearances by Matt Sweeney, Kurt Vile, Mark Lanegan, and Alain Johannes. Tinariwen then embarked on an American tour with Dengue Fever as support. The group also toured Europe and Asia in 2017, and toured Australia, New Zealand, and North America in 2018. They played at WOMADelaide in March 2018.


title: Tinariwen

text: Upon returning from the international tour in support of Elwan in 2018, Tinariwen were unable to return to their home area in northern Mali due to ongoing sectarian violence and threats from Islamist militants. The group instead decamped in Morocco and embarked on a multi-month journey through Western Sahara and Mauritania, collaborating with local musicians at several stops along the way and writing songs while camped out in the desert.


title: Tinariwen

text: Their eighth full-length album, "Amadjar", was recorded outdoors with mobile equipment near Nouakchott and was released on 6 September 2019. "Amadjar" features guest appearances by Noura Mint Seymali, Micah Nelson, Cass McCombs, Stephen O'Malley, Warren Ellis, and Rodolphe Burger. In 2022, Tinariwen began a project to reissue several of their earlier albums in new formats.


title: Tinariwen

text: The Tinariwen sound is primarily guitar-driven, in the style known as "assouf" among the Tuareg people. The Tinariwen guitar style has its roots in West African music and other traditional styles practiced by the Tuareg and Berber peoples, and has often been categorized as "desert blues". Tinariwen was also influenced by traditional Malian musicians, most notably Ali Farka Touré, and regional pop singers like Rabah Driassa. While the Tinariwen style is possibly a distant relative of blues music, via West African music, members of Tinariwen claim to have never heard actual American blues music until they began to travel internationally in the early 2000s. Tinariwen was also influenced by American and British rock bands whose bootlegged albums had made it to the Sahara region, such as Dire Straits, Santana, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, and Jimi Hendrix.


title: Tinariwen

text: Tinariwen has been named as a formative influence on a growing Tuareg rock scene, made up of younger musicians who were not rebels like the members of Tinariwen but have experienced their region's recent struggles with poverty and terrorism. The band Imarhan is led by Sadam Iyad Moussa Ben Abderamane, who has collaborated with Tinariwen and is the nephew of longtime Tinariwen bassist Eyadu ag Leche. Kel Assouf and Tamikrest have also gained notice as younger Tuareg rock bands that cite Tinariwen as a fundamental influence.


title: Tinariwen

text: The band Terakaft was formed by various musicians who had played with Tinariwen, and included guitarist and band leader Sanou Ag Ahmed, Tinariwen guitarist Liya Ag Ablil (Diarra), djembe player Souleymane Kane, calabash player Alpha Ousmane (Hama) Sankare, and electric bass guitar player Andrew Anwin Sudhibhaslip. They performed as part of the "Caravane culturelle de la paix" travelling festival, along with the Ali Farka Touré Band, at the Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in 2017.


title: Tinariwen

text: Tinariwen is a collective of singers, songwriters, and musicians who come together in different combinations to play concerts and to record. This is because of the nomadic lifestyle of the Tuareg people and the difficulties of transportation and communication in the Sahara region. The group has never brought exactly the same line-up on its international tours, though several members tour regularly.


title: Tinariwen

text: One of the group's founder members, Inteyeden Ag Ablil (brother of guitarist Liya Ag Ablil) died of a virus in the desert in 1994, and singer Wonou Walet Oumar died of a kidney infection in 2005. Mohamed Ag Itlale (aka "Japonais") died on 14 February 2021 from a heart attack.


title: Simon Stålenhag

text: Simon Stålenhag (born 20 January 1984) is a Swedish artist, musician, and designer specialising in retro-futuristic digital images focused on nostalgic Swedish countryside alternate history environments. The settings of his artwork have formed the basis for the 2020 Amazon television drama series "Tales from the Loop".


title: Simon Stålenhag

text: Stålenhag grew up in a rural environment near Stockholm, and began illustrating local landscapes at a young age. He was inspired by different artists, including Lars Jonsson. Stålenhag experimented with science fiction artwork after discovering concept artists such as Ralph McQuarrie and Syd Mead; initially, this body of work was done as a side project, without any planning behind it. Thematically, his work often combines his childhood with themes from sci-fi movies, resulting in a stereotypical Swedish landscape with a neofuturistic bent. According to Stålenhag, this focus originates from his perceived lack of connection with adulthood, with the science fiction elements being added in part to draw audience attention and partly to influence the work's mood. These ideas result in a body of work that can feature giant robots and megastructures alongside regular Swedish items like Volvo and Saab cars.


title: Simon Stålenhag

text: As his work has evolved, Stålenhag has created a backstory for it, focused around a governmental underground facility. In parallel with the real-life decline of the Swedish welfare state, large machines slowly fail, and the eventual result of this remains a mystery. In a 2013 interview with "The Verge", Stålenhag said, "The only difference in the world of my art and our world is that ... ever since the early 20th century, attitudes and budgets were much more in favour of science and technology."


title: Simon Stålenhag

text: Outside of his usual canon, Stålenhag also drew 28 pictures of dinosaurs for the Swedish Museum of Natural History's prehistoric exhibits after he rediscovered his childhood interest in the creatures, and contacted the museum to see if he could do anything. In 2016, he followed this with pictures of hypothetical results of a rising ocean under climate change for Stockholm University's Resilience Centre. He also did some promotional artwork for the sci-fi video game "No Man's Sky".


title: Simon Stålenhag

text: Stålenhag uses a Wacom tablet and computer for his work, which is designed to resemble oil painting. Initially, he attempted to use various physical media to mimic a more traditional style, including gouache. Even after switching to digital methods, he has stated that he puts "a lot of effort into making the digital brushes behave naturally and preserve a certain amount of 'handwriting' in the brush strokes." The majority of his work is based on pre-existing photographs that he takes; these are then used as a starting point for a number of rough sketches before the final work is completed.


title: Simon Stålenhag

text: Most of Stålenhag's artwork was initially available online, before later being released for sale as prints. Since then, it has been turned into two narrative art books: "Tales from the Loop" (Swedish "Ur Varselklotet") in 2014 and "Things from the Flood" (Swedish "Flodskörden") in 2016. Both focus on the construction of a supermassive particle accelerator called the Loop.


title: Simon Stålenhag

text: More recently, Stålenhag has covered the western United States in a third artbook, "The Electric State", which was also crowdfunded via Kickstarter. It is centered around a girl and her robotic companion traversing the fictional state of Pacifica. Simon & Schuster published the UK edition in September 2018, and Skybound Books published a North American edition the following month. "The Electric State" (the Simon & Schuster edition) was one out of six finalists for the Arthur C. Clarke Award in 2019. Also in 2019, the Skybound edition was shortlisted for the Art Book category of the Locus Award.


title: Simon Stålenhag

text: Stålenhag's fourth art book, "The Labyrinth", was announced in late 2020. As with his previous books, a crowdfunding campaign was run on Kickstarter to fund its printing and distribution.


title: Simon Stålenhag

text: In 2016, a Kickstarter campaign was launched to fund a tabletop role-playing game called "Tales from the Loop", based on the book of the same name; Set in the 1980s and in either the United States or Sweden, players roleplay as a group of teenagers dealing with the impact of the Loop; this focus on nostalgia and young protagonists meant multiple media outlets compared it to the TV series "Stranger Things". Different classes of characters are equivalent to stereotypical childhood roles, for example, "Jock", "Bookworm", or "Computer Geek".


title: Simon Stålenhag

text: An English-language television series, "Tales from the Loop", produced by Amazon Studios in conjunction with Fox 21 Television Studios, Indio Film, and 6th & Idaho Moving for Amazon Prime, was released in its entirety on 3 April 2020, and adapts elements from Stålenhag's narrative art books. The initial season comprises eight episodes of 50–57 minutes each. All screenplays were written by Nathaniel Halpern, while each episode had a unique director from a diverse pool, including Mark Romanek, Andrew Stanton, and Jodie Foster.


title: Simon Stålenhag

text: The movie rights for "The Electric State" were sold to the Russo brothers in 2017, and the plans were most recently confirmed in 2019. Slated to direct and produce are "It: Chapter One" and "Chapter Two" creators Andy Muschietti and Barbara Muschietti, respectively.


title: Simon Stålenhag

text: As part of the crowdfunding campaign for "The Electric State", Stålenhag produced and released an electronic music album with the same title as a backer goal. In 2018, he released his second album, "Music for DOS", containing ambient music authored using old keyboards and the Impulse Tracker software package.


title: Simon Stålenhag

text: Additionally, Stålenhag has been involved in a variety of advertisements, films, and video games. This includes his work on the platform game "Ripple Dot Zero" in collaboration with Tommy Salomonsson.


title: Brian J. White

text: Brian Joseph White (born April 21, 1975) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in films such as "The Family Stone" (2005), "The Game Plan" (2007), "12 Rounds" (2009), "I Can Do Bad All by Myself" (2009), "Good Deeds" (2012), and "The Cabin in the Woods" (2012). On television, White had prominent roles in "Men of a Certain Age" (2009–11), "Beauty and the Beast" (2012-13), and "Ambitions" (2019).


title: Brian J. White

text: White was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Estela Bowser, a financial advisor, and Jo Jo White, a Hall of Fame basketball player for the Boston Celtics, sports executive, and restaurateur. He is the oldest of six children. White graduated from Newton South High School and Dartmouth College, where he was a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity.


title: Brian J. White

text: White began acting in a number of television series such as "Moesha", "The Parkers", "Spyder Games", "Second Time Around", and "The Shield". He then moved into film roles, appearing in "The Family Stone", "Brick", "Stomp the Yard", "The Game Plan", and "". He had a recurring role as Lieutenant Carl Davis on "Moonlight". In 2009, White appeared in the films "Fighting" and "12 Rounds". He starred in "I Can Do Bad All by Myself", and followed this with a regular role in the series "Men of a Certain Age."


title: Brian J. White

text: In 2011, White starred in "The Heart Specialist" and "Politics of Love". He then began touring with the David E. Talbert stage play "What My Husband Doesn't Know". The tour ran from May 8 to December 18. White became the co-host of the UNCF national "Empower Me" tour and starred in the music video for Monica's song "Until it's Gone". In 2012, he appeared in "Good Deeds" and "The Cabin in the Woods". In 2015, he appeared in the television series "Scandal" as the love interest of Olivia Pope. In 2014, he starred in the music video from Global singer Agnez Mo titled "Coke Bottle" and "As Long As I Get Paid". He had a recurring role as Captain Dallas Patterson in season 4 of NBC's "Chicago Fire".


title: Brian J. White

text: In 2018, White began starring in the two Urban Movie Channel drama series, "Bronx SIU" and "Monogamy". In 2019 and 2020, he received Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Digital Daytime Drama Series for "Bronx SIU". In 2019, he starred opposite Robin Givens in the Oprah Winfrey Network prime time soap opera, "Ambitions".


title: Brian J. White

text: White and Paula Da Silva married in 2010. They have a daughter named Layla Simone White, who was born in 2014.


title: Viper engine

text: The Viper engine is a high-performance naturally-aspirated pushrod 2 valves-per-cylinder 90° V10 engine commissioned by Chrysler and built by Lamborghini for use in the Dodge Viper. Despite its large displacement, it is based on a small-block V8.


title: Viper engine

text: The Viper V10 is based on the Chrysler LA engine family and appeared with the Dodge Viper in 1992. It was conceived and prototyped as a Magnum 5.9 with two extra cylinders and a longer stroke of .


title: Viper engine

text: The first-generation Viper V10 engine had a displacement of and produced at 4600 rpm and of torque at 3600 rpm.


title: Viper engine

text: The second-generation engine, also displacing 8.0 L, produced @ 5200 rpm and of torque @ 3700 rpm. 1999 was the last year for forged pistons until the 5th gen engine was released in 2012. There was a happening around this time that may have influenced this.


title: Viper engine

text: The third-generation engine, introduced on the 2003 Viper, had a displacement of with a bore x stroke of , rated at @ 5600 rpm and @ 4200 rpm of torque after SAE certification in 2006.


title: Viper engine

text: For the 2008 Dodge Viper, the engine's output was increased to @ 6100 rpm and @ 5000 rpm of torque via a slight displacement increase to and the use of variable valve timing, among the first utilized in a pushrod engine. The bore was now , the same as Chrysler's 6.1 L Hemi engine.


title: Viper engine

text: The 2013 SRT Viper kept roughly the same displacement but further boosted power to @ 6150 rpm and @ 4950 rpm of torque. Since 2015, power was raised up to at 6200 rpm.


title: Viper engine

text: In addition, the Viper V10 was installed in the Dodge Ram SRT-10, earning the truck the Guinness World Record for fastest production truck (later bettered by the Australian Holden HSV Maloo, which uses the LS2, Corvette engine). The Dodge Tomahawk concept vehicle also uses this engine. Bitter Cars of Germany produced the Bitter GT1 based on the Lotus Elise GT1 using this engine.


title: Viper engine

text: The V10 was also sold to British luxury car manufacturer Bristol Cars: the Bristol Fighter was powered by a modified version of the engine which produced , increasing to at high speed due to the ram air effect. Bristol Cars further produced a Fighter S, in which the engine was tuned to give ( at high speed). Bristol had also planned to produce a Fighter T, further modifying the engine with a turbocharger to produce at 5600 rpm, however Bristol have since stated that no Fighter T models were produced.


title: Counterterrorism

text: Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or eliminate terrorism. Counterterrorism strategies are a government's motivation to use the instruments of national power to defeat terrorists, the organizations they maintain, and the networks they contain.


title: Counterterrorism

text: If definitions of terrorism are part of a broader insurgency, counterterrorism may employ counterinsurgency measures. The United States Armed Forces uses the term foreign internal defense for programs that support other countries' attempts to suppress insurgency, lawlessness, or subversion, or to reduce the conditions under which threats to national security may develop.


title: Counterterrorism

text: The first counter-terrorism body formed was the Special Irish Branch of the Metropolitan Police, later renamed the Special Branch after it expanded its scope beyond its original focus on Fenian terrorism. Law enforcement agencies established similar units in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. The first tactical counterterrorist unit was GSG 9 of the German Federal Police, formed in response to the 1972 Munich massacre.


title: Counterterrorism

text: Counter-terrorism forces expanded with the perceived growing threat of terrorism in the late 20th century. After the September 11 attacks, Western governments made counter-terrorism efforts a priority, including more foreign cooperation, shifting tactics involving red teams, and preventive measures. Although sensational attacks in the developed world receive a great deal of media attention, most terrorism occurs in less developed countries. Government responses to terrorism, in some cases, can lead to substantial unintended consequences, such as in the above-mentioned Munich massacre.


title: Counterterrorism

text: Most counter-terrorism strategies involve an increase in standard police and domestic intelligence. The central activities are traditional: interception of communications and the tracing of persons. New technology has, however, expanded the range of military and law enforcement operations.


title: Counterterrorism

text: Domestic intelligence is often directed at specific groups, defined based on origin or religion, which is a source of political controversy. Mass surveillance of an entire population raises objections on civil liberties grounds. Domestic terrorists, especially lone wolves, are often harder to detect because of their citizenship or legal status and ability to stay under the radar.


title: Counterterrorism

text: To select the effective action when terrorism appears to be more of an isolated event, the appropriate government organizations need to understand the source, motivation, methods of preparation, and tactics of terrorist groups. Good intelligence is at the heart of such preparation, as well as a political and social understanding of any grievances that might be solved. Ideally, one gets information from inside the group, a very difficult challenge for human intelligence operations because operational terrorist cells are often small, with all members known to one another, perhaps even related.


title: Counterterrorism

text: Counterintelligence is a great challenge with the security of cell-based systems, since the ideal, but the nearly impossible, goal is to obtain a clandestine source within the cell. Financial tracking can play a role, as a communications intercept. However, both of these approaches need to be balanced against legitimate expectations of privacy.


title: Counterterrorism

text: Since 1978 the UK's terrorism laws have been regularly reviewed by a security-cleared Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, whose often influential reports are submitted to Parliament and published in full.


title: Counterterrorism

text: One of the primary difficulties of implementing effective counter-terrorist measures is the waning of civil liberties and individual privacy that such measures often entail, both for citizens of, and for those detained by states attempting to combat terror. At times, measures designed to tighten security have been seen as abuses of power or even violations of human rights.


title: Counterterrorism

text: Examples of these problems can include prolonged, incommunicado detention without judicial review or long periods of 'preventive detention'; risk of subjecting to torture during the transfer, return and extradition of people between or within countries; and the adoption of security measures that restrain the rights or freedoms of citizens and breach principles of non-discrimination. Examples include:


title: Counterterrorism

text: Many argue that such violations of rights could exacerbate rather than counter the terrorist threat. Human rights activists argue for the crucial role of human rights protection as an intrinsic part to fight against terrorism. This suggests, as proponents of human security have long argued, that respecting human rights may indeed help us to incur security. Amnesty International included a section on confronting terrorism in the recommendations in the Madrid Agenda arising from the Madrid Summit on Democracy and Terrorism (Madrid March 8–11, 2005):


title: Counterterrorism

text: While international efforts to combat terrorism have focused on the need to enhance cooperation between states, proponents of human rights (as well as human security) have suggested that more effort needs to be given to the effective inclusion of human rights protection as a crucial element in that cooperation. They argue that international human rights obligations do not stop at borders, and a failure to respect human rights in one state may undermine its effectiveness in the global effort to cooperate to combat terrorism.


title: Counterterrorism

text: Some countries see preemptive attacks as a legitimate strategy. This includes capturing, killing, or disabling suspected terrorists before they can mount an attack. Israel, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Russia have taken this approach, while Western European states generally do not.


title: Counterterrorism

text: Another major method of preemptive neutralization is the interrogation of known or suspected terrorists to obtain information about specific plots, targets, the identity of other terrorists, whether or not the interrogation subjects himself is guilty of terrorist involvement. Sometimes more extreme methods are used to increase suggestibility, such as sleep deprivation or drugs. Such methods may lead captives to offer false information in an attempt to stop the treatment, or due to the confusion caused by it. These methods are not tolerated by European powers. In 1978 the European Court of Human Rights ruled in the Ireland v. United Kingdom case that such methods amounted to a practice of inhuman and degrading treatment, and that such practices were in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights Article 3 (art. 3).


title: Counterterrorism

text: The human security paradigm outlines a non-military approach that aims to address the enduring underlying inequalities which fuel terrorist activity. Causal factors need to be delineated and measures implemented which allow equal access to resources and sustainability for all people. Such activities empower citizens, providing "freedom from fear" and "freedom from want".


title: Counterterrorism

text: This can take many forms, including the provision of clean drinking water, education, vaccination programs, provision of food and shelter and protection from violence, military or otherwise. Successful human security campaigns have been characterized by the participation of a diverse group of actors, including governments, NGOs, and citizens.


title: Counterterrorism

text: Foreign internal defense programs provide outside expert assistance to a threatened government. FID can involve both non-military and military aspects of counter-terrorism.


title: Counterterrorism

text: A 2017 study found that "governance and civil society aid is effective in dampening domestic terrorism, but this effect is only present if the recipient country is not experiencing a civil conflict."


title: Counterterrorism

text: Terrorism has often been used to justify military intervention in countries like Pakistan, where terrorists are said to be based. That was the primary stated justification for the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. It was also a stated justification for the second Russian invasion of Chechnya.


title: Counterterrorism

text: Military intervention has not always been successful in stopping or preventing future terrorism, such as during the Malayan Emergency, the Mau Mau uprising, and most of the campaigns against the IRA during the Irish Civil War, the S-Plan, the Border Campaign (IRA) and the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Although military action can temporarily disrupt a terrorist group's operations temporarily, it sometimes does not end the threat completely.


title: Counterterrorism

text: Repression by the military in itself usually leads to short term victories, but tend to be unsuccessful in the long run (e.g., the French doctrine used in colonial Indochina and Algeria), particularly if it is not accompanied by other measures. However, new methods such as those taken in Iraq have yet to be seen as beneficial or ineffectual.


title: Counterterrorism

text: Whatever the target of terrorists, there are multiple ways of hardening the targets to prevent the terrorists from hitting their mark, or reducing the damage of attacks. One method is to place hostile vehicle mitigation to enforce protective standoff distance outside tall or politically sensitive buildings to prevent car bombings. Another way to reduce the impact of attacks is to design buildings for rapid evacuation.


title: Counterterrorism

text: Aircraft cockpits are kept locked during flights and have reinforced doors, which only the pilots in the cabin are capable of opening. UK railway stations removed their garbage bins in response to the Provisional IRA threat, as convenient locations for depositing bombs. Scottish stations removed theirs after the 7 July 2005 London Bombings as a precautionary measure. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority purchased bomb-resistant barriers after the September 11 attacks.


title: Counterterrorism

text: As Israel is suffering from constant shelling of its cities, towns, and settlements by artillery rockets from the Gaza Strip (mainly by Hamas, but also by other Palestinian factions) and Lebanon (mainly by Hezbollah), Israel developed several defensive measures against artillery, rockets, and missiles. These include building a bomb shelter in every building and school, but also deploying active protection systems such as the Arrow ABM, Iron Dome and David's Sling, which intercept the incoming threat in the air. Iron Dome has successfully intercepted hundreds of Qassam rockets and Grad rockets fired by Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.


title: Counterterrorism

text: A more sophisticated target-hardening approach must consider industrial and other critical industrial infrastructure that could be attacked. Terrorists do not need import chemical weapons if they can cause a major industrial accident such as the Bhopal disaster or the Halifax Explosion. Industrial chemicals in manufacturing, shipping, and storage thus require greater protection, and some efforts are in progress. To put this risk into perspective, the first major lethal chemical attack of World War I used 160 tons of chlorine; industrial shipments of chlorine, widely used in water purification and the chemical industry, travel in 90- or 55-ton tank cars.


title: Counterterrorism

text: To give one more example, the Northeast blackout of 2003 demonstrated the vulnerability of the North American electrical grid to natural disasters coupled with inadequate, possibly insecure, SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) networks. Part of the vulnerability is due to deregulation, leading to much more interconnection in a grid designed for only occasional power-selling between utilities. A small number of terrorists, attacking critical power facilities when one or more engineers have infiltrated the power control centers, could wreak havoc.


title: Counterterrorism

text: Equipping likely targets with containers of pig lard has been used to discourage attacks by suicide bombers. The technique was apparently used on a limited scale by British authorities in the 1940s. The approach stems from the idea that Muslims perpetrating the attack would not want to be "soiled" by the lard in the moment before dying. The idea has been suggested more recently as a deterrent to suicide bombings in Israel. However, the actual effectiveness of this tactic is likely limited. A sympathetic Islamic scholar could issue a fatwa proclaiming that a suicide bomber would not be polluted by the swine products.


title: Counterterrorism

text: For a threatened or completed terrorist attack, an incident command system (ICS) may be invoked to control the various services that may need to be involved in the response. ICS has varied levels of escalation, such as might be required for multiple incidents in a given area (e.g. 2005 London bombings or the 2004 Madrid train bombings), or all the way to a national response plan invocation if national-level resources are needed. For example, a national response might be required for a nuclear, biological, radiological, or significant chemical attack.


title: Counterterrorism

text: Fire departments, perhaps supplemented by public works agencies, utility providers, and heavy construction contractors, are most apt to deal with the physical consequences of an attack.


title: Counterterrorism

text: Again under an incident command model, local police can isolate the incident area, reducing confusion, and specialized police units can conduct tactical operations against terrorists, often using specialized counterterrorist tactical units. Bringing in such units will typically involve civil or military authority beyond the local level.


title: Counterterrorism

text: Emergency medical services are capable of triaging, treating, and transporting the more severely affected victims to hospitals, which typically have mass casualty and triage plans in place for terrorist attacks.


title: Counterterrorism

text: Public health agencies, from local to the national level, may be designated to deal with identification, and sometimes mitigation, of possible biological attacks, and sometimes chemical or radiologic contamination.


title: Counterterrorism

text: Many countries have dedicated counterterrorist units trained to handle terrorist threats. Besides various security agencies, there are police tactical units whose role is to directly engage terrorists and prevent terrorist attacks.


title: Counterterrorism

text: Such units perform both in preventive actions, hostage rescue, and responding to ongoing attacks. Countries of all sizes can have highly trained counterterrorist teams. Tactics, techniques, and procedures for manhunting are under constant development.


title: Counterterrorism

text: These units are specially trained in military tactics and are equipped for close-quarters combat, with emphasis on stealth and performing the mission with minimal casualties. The units include assault teams, snipers, EOD experts, dog handlers, and intelligence officers. Most of these measures deal with terrorist attacks that affect an area or threaten to do so, or are lengthy situations such as shootouts and hostage takings that allow the counterterrorist units to assemble and respond; it is harder to deal with shorter incidents such as assassinations or reprisal attacks, due to the short warning time and the quick exfiltration of the assassins.


title: Counterterrorism

text: The majority of counterterrorism operations at the tactical level are conducted by state, federal, and national law enforcement or intelligence agencies. In some countries, the military may be called in as a last resort. For countries whose military is legally permitted to conduct domestic law enforcement operations, this is not an issue, and such counterterrorism operations are conducted by their military.


title: Counterterrorism

text: Some counter-terrorist actions of the 20th and 21st centuries are listed below. See list of hostage crises for a more extended list, including hostage-takings that did not end violently.


title: Counterterrorism

text: The scope for anti-terrorism systems is very large in physical terms and in other dimensions, such as type and degree of terrorist threats, political and diplomatic ramifications, and legal concerns. Ideal counterterrorist systems use technology to enable persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, and potential actions. Designing such a system-of-systems comprises a major technological project.


title: Counterterrorism

text: A particular design problem for counterterrorist systems is the uncertainty of the future: the threat of terrorism may increase, decrease or remain the same, the type of terrorism and location are difficult to predict, and there are technological uncertainties. A potential solution is to incorporate engineering flexibility into system design, allowing for flexibility when new information arrives. Flexibility can be incorporated in the design of a counterterrorism system in the form of options that can be exercised in the future when new information is available.


title: Counterterrorism

text: While some countries with longstanding terrorism problems have law enforcement agencies primarily designed to prevent and respond to terror attacks, in other nations, counterterrorism is a relatively more recent objective of law enforcement agencies.


title: Counterterrorism

text: Though some civil libertarians and criminal justice scholars have criticized efforts of law enforcement agencies to combat terrorism as futile and expensive or as threats to civil liberties, other scholars have analyzed the most important dimensions of the policing of terrorism as an important dimension of counter-terrorism, especially in the post-9/11 era, and have discussed how police view terrorism as a matter of crime control. Such analyses highlight the civilian police role in counterterrorism next to the military model of a war on terror.


title: Counterterrorism

text: Pursuant to passage of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies began to systemically reorganize. Two primary federal agencies, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), house most of the federal agencies that are prepared to combat domestic and international terrorist attacks. These include the Border Patrol, the Secret Service, the Coast Guard and the FBI.


title: Counterterrorism

text: Following suit from federal changes pursuant to 9/11, however, most state and local law enforcement agencies began to include a commitment to "fighting terrorism" in their mission statements. Local agencies began to establish more patterned lines of communication with federal agencies. Some scholars have doubted the ability of local police to help in the war on terror and suggest their limited manpower is still best utilized by engaging community and targeting street crimes.


title: Counterterrorism

text: While counter-terror measures (most notably heightened airport security, immigrant profiling and border patrol) have been adapted during the last decade, to enhance counter-terror in law enforcement, there have been remarkable limitations to assessing the actual utility/effectiveness of law enforcement practices that are ostensibly preventative. Thus, while sweeping changes in counter-terrorism rhetoric redefined most American post 9/11 law enforcement agencies in theory, it is hard to assess how well such hyperbole has translated into practice.


title: Counterterrorism

text: In intelligence-led policing (ILP) efforts, the most quantitatively amenable starting point for measuring the effectiveness of any policing strategy (i.e.: Neighborhood Watch, Gun Abatement, Foot Patrols, etc.) is usually to assess total financial costs against clearance rates or arrest rates. Since terrorism is such a rare event phenomena, measuring arrests or clearance rates would be a non-generalizable and ineffective way to test enforcement policy effectiveness. Another methodological problem in assessing counter-terrorism efforts in law enforcement hinges on finding operational measures for key concepts in the study of homeland security. Both terrorism and homeland security are relatively new concepts for criminologists, and academicians have yet to agree on the matter of how to properly define these ideas in a way that is accessible.


title: Counterterrorism

text: Within military operational approaches, counter-terrorism falls into the category of irregular warfare. Given the nature of operational counter-terrorism tasks national military organizations do not generally have dedicated units whose sole responsibility is the prosecution of these tasks. Instead the counter-terrorism function is an element of the role, allowing flexibility in their employment, with operations being undertaken in the domestic or international context.


title: Counterterrorism

text: In some cases the legal framework within which they operate prohibits military units conducting operations in the domestic arena; United States Department of Defense policy, based on the Posse Comitatus Act, forbids domestic counter-terrorism operations by the U.S. military. Units allocated some operational counter-terrorism tasks are frequently special forces or similar assets.


title: Counterterrorism

text: In cases where military organisations do operate in the domestic context some form of formal handover from the law enforcement community is regularly required, to ensure adherence to the legislative framework and limitations. such as the Iranian Embassy siege, the British police formally turned responsibility over to the Special Air Service when the situation went beyond police capabilities.


title: Qiyu Zhou

text: Qiyu Zhou (; born January 6, 2000), also known as Nemo Zhou and her online alias akaNemsko, is a Chinese-born Canadian chess player who holds the titles of Woman Grandmaster (WGM) and FIDE Master (FM), and is a Twitch live streamer. She has been an under-14 girls' World Youth Champion, a Canadian women's national champion, and a Finnish women's national champion. Zhou has a peak FIDE rating of 2367 and a career-best ranking of No. 100 in the world among women. She is the first Canadian woman to earn the Woman Grandmaster or FIDE Master titles, and has represented Canada at the Women's Chess Olympiad since 2014.


title: Qiyu Zhou

text: Zhou began playing chess in France at age three before growing up primarily in Finland and Canada. She gained national fame in Finland by becoming the youngest-ever Finnish national chess champion, winning the under-10 open division at just five years old. While playing for Finland, she also finished runner-up in the under-8 girls' division of the World Youth Chess Championships in 2008 at age eight and won the women's division of the Finnish Chess Championship in 2010 at age 10. Zhou switched federations to Canada in 2011. She became a Canadian girls' national chess champion at the under-12 and under-14 levels in 2012 and 2013 respectively, before winning the women's national championship in 2016. Her biggest triumph as a junior was winning the under-14 girls' division of the World Youth Chess Championships in 2014. Zhou qualified for the Woman Grandmaster title in 2016 with norms at three consecutive tournaments, two of which were in Kecskemét, Hungary, where she had also gained 300 rating points from two tournaments a year earlier. Her best victory in a game by rating was against Toms Kantāns, an International Master (IM) rated 2496 at the time they played.


title: Qiyu Zhou

text: Zhou started a Twitch channel, called "akaNemsko", in 2020, streaming chess in collaboration with other Chess.com streamers and also streaming other games as a variety streamer. She is signed with Counter Logic Gaming, and was the first chess player to sign with an esports organization.


title: Qiyu Zhou

text: Qiyu Zhou was born on January 6, 2000, to Changrong Yu and Jiehan Zhou in Jingzhou, China. Her mother has a doctorate in English linguistics and her father has a doctorate in computer engineering. Zhou began playing chess at three years old while living in Antibes in France, where her father was working at the French Institute for Research in Computer Science and Automation. She first became interested in the game after seeing a chess set while walking down the street. She subsequently joined a chess club, where her proficiency at chess was recognized from her ability to defeat 10-year-old boys despite having just a month of experience of playing the game.


title: Qiyu Zhou

text: Zhou moved to Finland at the age of four when her father began working at the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and the University of Oulu. In Oulu, she joined the Shakki-77 chess club and was coached by Jouni Tolonen. Within a year, she became the youngest Finnish national chess champion in history by winning the under-10 open section of the Finnish Youth Chess Championships at five years old. This achievement was widely celebrated in the media in Finland and led to her story being published in a national textbook for elementary school students. In addition to repeating as under-10 open champion for four years from 2007 through 2010, Zhou won the Finnish Women's National Chess Championship in 2010 at the age of 10.


title: Qiyu Zhou

text: As the Finnish under-10 national champion, Zhou qualified to play in the World Youth Chess Championship on several occasions. She competed in the under-10 girls' division in 2005, scoring at age five. After switching to the new under-8 girls' division for her next two World Youth Championships, Zhou won a silver medal at the 2008 event, which was held in Vũng Tàu, Vietnam. With Kalle Kiik as her team's coach at the competition, she scored 8½/11, second behind only Zhansaya Abdumalik who finished with 10/11. At Zhou's first World Youth Championship, she also had the opportunity to meet leading women's chess player Hou Yifan, who she has long considered to be her biggest chess role model. When Zhou was around 11 years old, she and her family relocated to Ottawa, prompting her to switch federations from Finland to Canada in 2011.


title: Qiyu Zhou

text: Zhou earned her first FIDE rating after the 2010 World Youth Championship, starting at 1710 in January 2011 at the age of ten. Once in Canada, she had more opportunity to compete in tournaments with adults. With good performances at both the 2011 Montreal Open and the 2011 World Youth Championship that each resulted in her gaining 50 rating points, she finished the year at a rating of 1782. Zhou continued to rise in rating over the next several years, first crossing 1900 in July 2013 a month after a good performance at the Gatineau Open. She also became a Canadian youth national champion in back-to-back years, winning the girls' under-12 division in 2012 and the girls' under-14 division in 2013.


title: Qiyu Zhou

text: Zhou had a large rating jump of nearly 200 points in 2014. While rated 2029 in July, she scored 3½/4 at the Eastern Ontario Open against four opponents also between 2000 and 2100, earning a rating increase of 64 points. Towards the end of 2014, Zhou produced her best result of the year by winning the gold medal in the girls' under-14 division at the World Youth Championships in Durban, South Africa. She scored 8½/11 to finish in equal first with Oliwia Kiołbasa, the only other undefeated player in the division. They were also tied on the first tiebreak criterion, having drawn against each other in the tenth round. As such, Zhou clinched the gold medal on the second tiebreak criterion, which was a Buchholz score. Her highest rating during the year was 2157.


title: Qiyu Zhou

text: Zhou had multiple large rating jumps and drops in 2015. Following a rating drop of 90 points to close out 2014, Zhou immediately regained all of those rating points the following month at the Chess in Kecskemét New Year IM event in Hungary, where she scored 6/12 against opponents with an average rating of 2302. After losing 99 points at the Reykjavik Open, she regained 75 points at two events in Canada in May. In late May, Zhou won the girls' under-18 division at the North American Youth Chess Championships in Toluca, Mexico to earn the Woman International Master (WIM) title. After another large rating drop at the under-20 North American Female Championships, Zhou returned to Kecskemét for two more tournaments in August. She gained 300 points between both tournaments, including 174 at the latter. As a result, she rose to a rating of 2328, crossing both 2200 and 2300 for the first time.


title: Qiyu Zhou

text: During 2016, Zhou was awarded the FIDE Master (FM) title and also qualified for the Woman Grandmaster (WGM), the latter of which was not approved until the following year. She was the first Canadian woman to earn either of those titles. At the Stockholm Chess Challenge in March, she won her last-round game against Toms Kantāns, who was then an International Master (IM) rated 2496 and is the highest-rated player she has defeated. Later in the year, Zhou earned all three norms for the WGM title in three successive tournaments beginning in July. The first and third events were both in Kecskemét where she had also done well the previous year. She scored 7½/10 in the Chess in Kecskemét July IM tournament and then 7/10 in the Chess in Kecskemét July GM tournament. In-between, she travelled to Novi Sad in Serbia and had her best performance among these three events, scoring 7/9 at the IM Riblje Ostrvo 3 tournament, a ½ point more than what was needed for the norm. With these three results, Zhou climbed to a career-best rating of 2367. She also became one of the top 100 women in the world by ranking and one of the top 10 girls for the first and only time in her career, ranking at exactly No. 100 among women and at exactly No. 10 among girls. Zhou's last big result of the year was winning the Canadian Women's Championship by a point, a victory that qualified her to compete at the Women's World Chess Championship the following year.


title: Qiyu Zhou

text: From 2017 onwards, Zhou began competing at fewer chess tournaments in part to focus on her studies at university. She entered the 2017 Women's World Chess Championship knockout event as the 54th seed among 64 competitors. She faced 11th seed Natalia Pogonina in the first round, and was eliminated in the two-game match 1½ to ½ after drawing the first game with black but losing the second game with white. At the end of the year, Zhou was unable to defend her Canadian women's national championship, losing by a ½ point to Maili-Jade Ouellet. After more than a year hiatus from competitive chess during the COVID-19 pandemic, Zhou returned to chess in May 2021 for the online Canadian World Cup qualifier tournament and won with a score of 7½/8 in a double round-robin format. As the 82nd seed out of 103 players at the World Cup, she was eliminated in the first round by 47th seed Vaishali Rameshbabu, losing both games of their match.


title: Qiyu Zhou

text: Zhou has represented Canada at international team competitions since 2014. She made her debut at the Women's Chess Olympiad in Tromsø in Norway, where she played on the fourth board behind Yuanling Yuan, Natalia Khoudgarian, and Alexandra Botez. She scored 6½/9 as Canada finished 41st out of 136 teams with a team score of 13 points (–4=1). Later in the year, Zhou also took part in the under-16 Chess Olympiad in Győr, Hungary. Playing on the reserve board, Zhou did not fare well, scoring 2½/6 and losing 52 rating points. Her team overall fared better, finishing in fifth place. At the 2016 Women's Chess Olympiad in Baku in Azerbaijan, Canada produced an identical score to rank 39th out of 139 teams. Zhou played on the top board ahead of Yuan, Botez, and Lali Agbabishvili, but had a poor performance, scoring 4½/10 and losing 60 rating points. Zhou's best Women's Chess Olympiad performance came in 2018 in Batumi, Georgia. Canada again produced an identical score to rank 38th out of 150 teams. Zhou played on the second board behind Agnieszka Matras-Clement and ahead of Ouellet and Svitlana Demchenko, scoring 7/10 and gaining 20 rating points.


title: Qiyu Zhou

text: Zhou has been a member of the University of Toronto chess team. She represented the team at the Ivy League Challenge that her university hosted in 2018 and 2019 at the Hart House Chess Club. Each tournament consisted of six teams, two from the University of Toronto and one each from four different universities in the United States. Zhou played on Team B in 2018 and Team A in 2019. She fared well at both tournaments, gaining rating points on both occasions. Her team won the event in 2019 by winning all five of their matches, placing them one spot ahead of Princeton, who had won the previous year.