title: Ukraine–United States relations

text: The United States enjoys cordially friendly and strategic relations with Ukraine and attaches great importance to the success of Ukraine's transition to a democracy with a flourishing market economy. Following a period of economic decline characterized by high inflation and a continued reliance on state controls, the Ukrainian government began taking steps in the fall of 1999 to reinvigorate economic reform that had been stalled for years due to a lack of a reform majority in the Ukrainian parliament. The Ukrainian government's stated determination to implement comprehensive economic reform is a welcome development in the eyes of the US government, and the U.S. is committed to supporting Ukraine in continuing on this path. Bilateral relations suffered a setback in September 2002 when the federal government of the U.S. announced it had authenticated a recording of President Leonid Kuchma's July 2000 decision to transfer a Kolchuga early warning system to Iraq. The Government of Ukraine denied that the transfer had occurred. Ukraine's democratic Orange Revolution has led to closer cooperation and more open dialogue between Ukraine and the United States. U.S. policy remains centered on realizing and strengthening a democratic, prosperous, a primary recipient of FSA assistance. Total U.S. assistance since independence has been more than $3 billion. U.S. assistance to Ukraine is targeted to promote political and economic reform and to address urgent humanitarian needs. The U.S. has consistently encouraged Ukraine's transition to a democratic society with a prosperous market-based economy.


title: Ukraine–United States relations

text: In November 2006, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) selected Ukraine to be eligible to apply for compact assistance. Ukraine already participates in the MCC Threshold Program, and in December 2006 signed a $45 million Threshold Program agreement. This program, which began implementation in early 2007, aims to reduce corruption in the public sector through civil society monitoring and advocacy, judicial reform, increased government monitoring and enforcement of ethical and administrative standards, streamlining and enforcing regulations, and combating corruption in higher education. Ukraine is beginning the process of developing a Compact proposal, and successful implementation of the Threshold Program will be necessary before the MCC will enter into a Compact with Ukraine.


title: Ukraine–United States relations

text: The U.S. maintains an embassy in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, and Ukraine maintains an embassy in the American capital Washington, D.C.


title: Ukraine–United States relations

text: In addition to diplomatic support in its conflict with Russia, the U.S. provided Ukraine with US$1.5 billion in military aid from 2014 to 2019. In 2021, "The Sunday Times" reported that the amount of military aid given was US$2.5 billion.


title: Ukraine–United States relations

text: In January 2022, the U.S. put 5,000–8,500 troops on high alert as tensions escalated in the Russo-Ukrainian War, expressing willingness to further help defend Ukraine before and when Russia launched its invasion a month later. The United States provided nearly $1 billion in military aid to Ukraine in 2021 and 2022, up to the first week of the invasion. Such aid included offensive weapons and sharing intelligence with the Ukrainian military. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly sent thanks to American leaders for the support.


title: Ukraine–United States relations

text: In the 2022 State of the Union Address, which was attended by Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova, U.S. President Joe Biden heavily criticized the invasion and pledged American support for Ukraine. American public opinion also heavily shifted towards supporting Ukraine following the invasion.


title: Ukraine–United States relations

text: In May 2022, the U.S. Senate confirmed Bridget Brink to serve as ambassador to coincide with the reopening of the US embassy in Kyiv after it had closed due to the invasion.


title: Ukraine–United States relations

text: During the Ukrainian independence movement, on August 1, 1991, then-U.S.-President George H. W. Bush made a speech critical of the movement which James Carafano subsequently described as "what may have been the worst speech ever by an American chief executive".


title: Ukraine–United States relations

text: On 18 February 2009 the Verkhovna Rada of Crimea sent a letter to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the President of Ukraine in which it stated that it deemed it inexpedient to open a representative office of the United States in Crimea and it urged the Ukrainian leadership to give up this idea. The letter will also be sent to the Chairman of the UN General Assembly. The letter was passed in a 77 to 9 roll-call vote with one abstention.


title: Ukraine–United States relations

text: In 2012 the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations passed Resolution 466, calling for the unconditional release of political prisoner Yulia Tymoshenko and implemented a visa ban against those responsible. The resolution condemned the administration of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych (in office: 2010–2014) and asked NATO to suspend all cooperative agreements with Ukraine. In response, First Deputy General Prosecutor of Ukraine Renat Kuzmin wrote a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama, complaining that his visa was revoked.


title: Ukraine–United States relations

text: The Euromaidan protests resulted in the election of the pro-EU president Petro Poroshenko and then the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in 2014. Poroshenko requested military aid from the United States. President Barack Obama was reluctant to arm a relatively corrupt military that was recently used against anti-democracy protestors, and saw the mistaken shoot-down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 by Russian-armed separatists as an example of the dangers of supplying arms to Ukraine. Though the U.S. had sanctioned Russia and refused to recognize the annexation, after a year Obama declined to provide the requested lethal aid (such as FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missiles and F-16 fighter jets. The Obama administration did supply $600 million of non-lethal military aid from 2014 to 2016, including vehicles, training, body armor, and night-vision goggles.


title: Ukraine–United States relations

text: In 2017, President Donald Trump approved $47 million of Javelin anti-tank missile and missile launchers; these were not allowed to be deployed but kept in storage as a strategic deterrent against Russian invasion.


title: Ukraine–United States relations

text: In 2018 the U.S. House of Representatives passed a provision blocking any training of Azov Battalion of the Ukrainian National Guard by American forces, citing its neo-Nazi background. In previous years, between 2014 and 2017, the U.S. House of Representatives passed amendments banning support of Azov, but due to pressure from the Pentagon, the amendments were quietly lifted.


title: Ukraine–United States relations

text: On April 25, 2018, 57 members of the House of Representatives, led by Ro Khanna, released a condemnation of Holocaust distortion in Ukraine. They criticized Ukraine's 2015 memory laws glorifying Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) and its leaders, such as Roman Shukhevych. The condemnation came in an open bipartisan letter to Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan.


title: Ukraine–United States relations

text: In summer 2019, Trump froze $400 million in military aid to Ukraine which had been approved by Congress, an aid package which was the subject of a phone conversation that Trump had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on July 25. On August 12, 2019, an anonymous whistleblower submitted a complaint to U.S. Inspector General Michael Atkinson that stated that Trump had allegedly attempted to pressure Zelenskyy into launching an investigation on former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, during the phone call. On September 24, 2019, the United States House of Representatives initiated an impeachment inquiry against Trump. Trump held a meeting with Zelenskyy in New York City on September 25 where both presidents stated that Zelenskyy had not been pressured during the July phone call and that nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. Trump was impeached by the House, but later acquitted in the Senate trial and continued as President until the end of his term.


title: Masdar City

text: Masdar City () is a planned city project in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. Its core is being built by Masdar, a subsidiary of Mubadala Development Company, with the majority of seed capital provided by the Government of Abu Dhabi. Designed by the British architectural firm Foster and Partners, the city relies on solar energy and other renewable energy sources.


title: Masdar City

text: Masdar City is being constructed east-south-east of the city of Abu Dhabi, a five minute drive from Abu Dhabi International Airport and 40 minutes from Dubai. The city will be connected to existing urban areas via roads and light-rail. Masdar City hosts the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). The city is designed to be a hub for cleantech companies. Its first tenant was the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, which has been operating in the city since it moved into its campus in September 2010.


title: Masdar City

text: Masdar City is one of a small number of highly planned, specialised, research and technology-intensive municipalities that incorporate a living environment, similar to KAUST, Saudi Arabia or Tsukuba Science City, Japan.


title: Masdar City

text: Partners in the project through its Clean Tech Fund are Consensus Business Group, Credit Suisse and Siemens Venture Capital. Construction of the first phase of the project was to be managed by CH2M Hill. Infrastructure construction for the city was to be handled by the Al Jaber Group and design of the central Masdar headquarters building was awarded to Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture. The city's wayfinding system was developed by Endpoint and City ID.


title: Masdar City

text: Initiated in 2006, the city was envisioned to cover and estimated to cost . The original plan was that it would take approximately eight years to build, with the first phase scheduled to be completed and habitable in 2009.


title: Masdar City

text: Construction began on Masdar City in February 2008 and the first six buildings of the city were completed and occupied in October 2010. However, due to the impact of the global financial crisis, the initial was estimated for completion in 2015; final completion was pushed back to between 2020 and 2025. By 2016, less than had been developed and final completion was estimated to be 2030. , a 2030 completion date was still projected.


title: Masdar City

text: The city is meant to be exemplary, focusing on sustainability while demonstrating greener urban living.


title: Masdar City

text: As designed, the city would be home to 45,000 to 50,000 people and 1,500 businesses, primarily commercial and manufacturing facilities specialising in environmentally friendly products. In turn, more than 60,000 workers are expected to commute to the city daily.


title: Masdar City

text: , fewer than 2,000 people are employed in Masdar, and only the 300 students of the Masdar Institute live on site.


title: Masdar City

text: Masdar City is meant to incorporate efficient water use into its design. To achieve this Masdar City will recycle water and maximize the use of said water. It will employ rainwater collection schemes, catch condensate and use acceptable waste water streams. Masdar City will attempt to incentivize behavioral changes to conserve potable water.


title: Masdar City

text: Masdar is a sustainable mixed-use development designed to be very friendly to pedestrians and cyclists.


title: Masdar City

text: Masdar City has terracotta walls decorated with arabesque patterns. From a distance, the city looks like a cube. The temperature in the streets is generally cooler than the surrounding desert. The temperature difference is due to Masdar's unique construction. A wind tower modelled on traditional Arab designs sucks air from above and pushes a cooling breeze through Masdar's streets. The site is raised above the surrounding land to create a slight cooling effect. Buildings are clustered close together to create streets and walkways shielded from the sun.


title: Masdar City

text: Masdar City was designed by Foster and Partners. Foster's design team started its work by touring ancient cities such as Cairo and Muscat to see how they kept cool. Foster found that these cities coped with hot desert temperatures through shorter, narrower streets usually no longer than . The buildings at the end of these streets create just enough wind turbulence to push air upwards, creating a flushing effect that cools the street.


title: Masdar City

text: The initial design banned automobiles, as travel will be accomplished via public mass transit and personal rapid transit (PRT) systems, with existing road and railways connecting to other locations outside the city. The absence of motor vehicles coupled with Masdar's perimeter wall, designed to keep out the hot desert winds, allows for narrow and shaded streets that help funnel cooler breezes across the city. People as well as goods and supplies will be transported using the PRT.


title: Masdar City

text: In October 2010 it was announced the PRT would not expand beyond the pilot scheme due to the cost of creating the undercroft to segregate the system from pedestrian traffic. Subsequently, a test fleet of 10 Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric cars was deployed in 2011 as part of a one-year pilot to test point-to-point transportation for the city as a complement to the PRT and the freight rapid transit (FRT), both of which consist of automated electric-powered vehicles.


title: Masdar City

text: Under a revised design, public transport within the city will rely on methods other than the PRTs. Masdar will instead use a mix of electric vehicles and other clean-energy vehicles for mass transit inside the city. The majority of private vehicles will be restricted to parking lots along the city's perimeter. Abu Dhabi's planned but delayed light rail and metro line may eventually connect Masdar City's centre with the greater metropolitan area. connections to beyond the city continue to be by car, as a projected light rail line does not yet exist.


title: Masdar City

text: Since 2018, as part of an ongoing trial, seven NAVYA Autonom fully autonomous shuttles carry passengers between the car park and the city centre. A further route was due to open in 2019 that ran from the residential complex above the city's North Car Park to the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the Majid Al Futtaim's My City Centre Masdar Shopping Mall.


title: Masdar City

text: The Masdar Institute of Science and Technology is a graduate-level research university focused on alternative energy, environmental sustainability, and clean technology. Its campus is located in Masdar City. The Masdar Institute was Masdar City's first occupant. The design of the campus emphasises flexibility, the use of traditional architectural elements, and modern materials to provide for an optimised combination of natural lighting and cooling that minimise energy needs. By 2013, 336 students were enrolled at the institute. These students were selected from more than 2,000 applicants. 42% of enrolled students are from the UAE and 35% are female.


title: Masdar City

text: The Masdar Institute plans to eventually enroll about 800 students. Admitted students from all countries are offered a full-tuition scholarships, monthly stipends, travel expenses, laptop computers, textbooks, and accommodation in order to facilitate their studies. Masdar students and faculty are engaged in over 300 joint projects with academia, private enterprise, and government agencies. Their research tends to focus on renewable energy, smart grids and smart buildings, energy policy and planning, water consumption, environmental engineering, and electronics.


title: Masdar City

text: The Masdar Institute has been behind the engineering plans of Masdar City and is at the center of research and development activities. The institute's building, developed in co-operation with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, uses 51% less electricity and 54% less potable water than traditional buildings in the UAE, and is fitted with a metering system that constantly observes power consumption.


title: Masdar City

text: Masdar City will host the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency, commonly known as IRENA, the first intergovernmental organization in the Middle East. , construction of IRENA's headquarters was underway. Masdar was selected to host IRENA's headquarters after a high-profile campaign by the UAE. In its bid, the UAE offered rent-free offices in Masdar City, 20 IRENA scholarships to the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, and up to US$350 million in loans for renewable energy projects in developing countries.


title: Masdar City

text: A regional headquarters for Siemens has been built in Masdar City. This building is the most energy efficient in all of Abu Dhabi. In 2014, more than 800 staff will start work there. The LEED Platinum building makes use of sustainable and energy efficient materials and building techniques. It was designed to use 45 percent less energy and 50 percent less water than typical office buildings. The Siemens headquarters won an award for best office building at the Mpim Architectural Review Future Projects Awards in 2012. The Middle East Architect Awards named it both the best and most sustainable office building the same year.


title: Masdar City

text: The building is built around the idea of a "box within a box". The structure includes a highly insulated airtight inner façade that insulates from the sun and a lightweight aluminium shading system on the exterior. The plaza beneath the building is funnel-shaped. This shape works to suck prevailing winds underneath the building. Due to the Venturi effect, a breeze flows up to the roof of the building through atria in the buildings structure, cooling public spaces without energy costs. These atria also allow daylight into the centre of the building in order to reduce the need for artificial lighting, further reducing energy consumption. The building's automation systems are all from Siemens.


title: Masdar City

text: The Incubator Building includes retail and office space to house start-ups, small-and-medium-sized enterprises, and regional offices for multinationals. The Incubator Building is designed to accommodate roughly fifty companies. Some of the most notable tenants include General Electric, Mitsubishi, Schneider Electric, and the Global Green Growth Institute. The Incubator Building is also home to the first LEED CI-certified office in Abu Dhabi, Alpin Limited.


title: Masdar City

text: The Incubator Building houses the General Electric Ecomagination Center. The center offers training and exhibitions on energy and water efficiency.


title: Masdar City

text: Masdar City partnered with BP, oil giant, to created 'The Catalyst'. This start up will support new and innovative companies which are 1–3 years away from commercialization of their products. , The Catalyst added three new companies which they were supporting through multiple facets. These include training and mentorship as well as funding. The Catalyst aims to attract companies focusing on green technology and they accept applications from local and international businesses and entrepreneurs.


title: Masdar City

text: The original master plan envisioned a city functioning on its own grid with full carbon neutrality. However, the development was later hooked into the public system, and by 2016 its managers determined that the city would never reach net-zero carbon levels.


title: Masdar City

text: There are no light switches or water taps in the city; movement sensors control lighting and water to cut electricity and water consumption by 51 and 55 percent respectively. Gerard Evenden, the lead architect, says that the original plan for Masdar called for powering the entire city through on-site methods such as rooftop solar panels. He said,


title: Masdar City

text: "When we started this project, nobody had really looked at doing projects of this scale. Then you realise it's much more efficient to build your solar field on the ground in the middle of the desert. You can send a man to brush them off every day, rather than having to access everyone's buildings individually, and you can make sure that they are running at their absolute peak. It's much better than putting them on every building in the city."


title: Masdar City

text: Blowing sand has been a problem for its solar panels, so Masdar has been working with other companies to engineer surfaces with pores smaller than sand particles to stop them from sticking on the panels. Scientists at the Masdar Institute are also working on coatings that repel sand and bacteria for use on solar panels and in other applications.


title: Masdar City

text: Besides photovoltaics, concentrated solar power (CSP) plants are being explored. For example, so-called "beam down" CSP plants have been constructed to test the viability of use in the city.


title: Masdar City

text: Water management has been planned in an environmentally sound manner as well. Approximately 80 percent of the water used will be recycled and waste water will be reused "as many times as possible", with this greywater being used for crop irrigation and other purposes.


title: Masdar City

text: The exterior wood used throughout the city is palmwood, a sustainable hardwood-substitute developed by Pacific Green using plantation coconut palms that no longer bear fruit. Palmwood features include the entrance gates, screens and doors.


title: Masdar City

text: The project is supported by the global conservation charity World Wide Fund for Nature and the sustainability group Bioregional. In 2008, in response to the project's commitment to zero carbon, zero waste and other environmentally friendly goals, WWF and Bioregional endorsed Masdar City as an official One Planet Living Community.


title: Masdar City

text: The project is also supported by Greenpeace; however, they stress that there should be more focus on retrofitting existing cities to make them more sustainable rather than constructing new zero-carbon cities from scratch.


title: Masdar City

text: The US Government has supported the project. The US Department of Energy has signed a partnership agreement with the Masdar Group in a deal that will see the two organisations share expertise to support plans on zero-carbon cities.


title: Masdar City

text: The Alliance to Save Energy honoured Masdar City with a 2012 EE Visionary Award in recognition of the city's contributions to the advancement of energy efficiency.


title: Masdar City

text: Some skeptics are concerned that the city will be only symbolic for Abu Dhabi. In an interview in 2011, Geoffrey M. Heal, a professor at Columbia Business School in New York City and an expert in environmental economics, called Masdar "a gimmick, a way of attracting publicity and attention." Its use of solar energy is not a practical model for others to follow, Heal further noted, given that few places in the world enjoy as much year-round sunlight as the Persian Gulf.


title: Masdar City

text: Others have expressed concern that it may become just a luxury development for the wealthy. Nicolai Ouroussoff wrote in "The New York Times" that Masdar is the culmination of the gated community concept: "the crystallization of another global phenomenon: the growing division of the world into refined, high-end enclaves and vast formless ghettos where issues like sustainability have little immediate relevance".


title: Whitley Strieber

text: Louis Whitley Strieber (; born June 13, 1945) is an American writer best known for his horror novels "The Wolfen" and "The Hunger" and for "Communion", a non-fiction account of his alleged experiences with non-human entities. He has maintained a dual career of author of fiction and advocate of paranormal concepts through his best-selling non-fiction books, his Unknown Country web site, and his podcast, Dreamland.


title: Whitley Strieber

text: Strieber was born in San Antonio, Texas, the son of Kathleen Mary (Drought) and Karl Strieber, a lawyer. He attended Central Catholic High School in San Antonio, Texas. He was educated at the University of Texas at Austin and the London School of Film Technique, graduating from each in 1968. He then worked for several advertising firms in New York City, rising to the level of vice president before leaving in 1977 to pursue a writing career.


title: Whitley Strieber

text: Strieber began his career as a novelist with the horror novels "The Wolfen" (1978) and "The Hunger" (1981), both of which were made into feature films, followed by the less successful horror novels "Black Magic" (1982) and "The Night Church" (1983).


title: Whitley Strieber

text: Strieber then turned to speculative fiction with social conscience. Collaborating with James Kunetka, he wrote "Warday" (1984), about the dangers of limited nuclear warfare, and "Nature's End" (1986), a novel about environmental apocalypse. He independently authored "Wolf of Shadows" (1985), a young adult novel set in the aftermath of a nuclear war.


title: Whitley Strieber

text: In 1986, Strieber's fantasy novel "Catmagic" was published with co-authorship credited to Jonathan Barry, who was billed as an aerospace industry consultant and a practicing witch. In the 1987 paperback edition, Strieber states that Jonathan Barry is fictitious and that he is the sole author of "Catmagic". Strieber's personal publishing company, Walker & Collier, is named after two characters in "Catmagic".


title: Whitley Strieber

text: Later, less successful thrillers by Strieber include "Billy" (1990), "The Wild" (1991), "Unholy Fire" (1992) and "The Forbidden Zone" (1993).


title: Whitley Strieber

text: The author's short stories were collected in the 1997 limited edition volume "Evenings with Demons". More recent short stories include "The Good Neighbor", published in "", and "The Christmas Spirits" (2012), a modern retelling of Charles Dickens's "A Christmas Carol".


title: Whitley Strieber

text: Strieber contends that he was abducted from his cabin in upstate New York on the evening of December 26, 1985, by non-human beings. He wrote about this experience and related experiences in "Communion" (1987), his first non-fiction book. Although the book is perceived generally as an account of alien abduction, Strieber draws no conclusions about the identity of the alleged abductors. He refers to the beings as "the visitors", a name chosen to be as neutral as possible to entertain the possibility that they are not extraterrestrials. Neurologist Steven Novella remarks that the details of Whitley's tale of waking up seemingly paralyzed fits the description of hypnagogia, a fairly common neurological phenomenon that has been mistaken by some for an intervention by demons or aliens.


title: Whitley Strieber

text: Both the hardcover and paperback edition of "Communion" reached the number one position on "The New York Times" Best Seller list (non-fiction), with more than 2 million copies collectively sold.


title: Whitley Strieber

text: Although it was published as non-fiction, the book editor of the "Los Angeles Times" pronounced the follow-up title, "Transformation" (1988), to be fiction and removed it from the non-fiction best-seller list (it nonetheless made the top 10 on the fiction side of the chart). "It's a reprehensible thing," Strieber responded. "My book is a true story ... Placing this book on the fiction list is an ugly example of exactly the kind of blind prejudice that has hurt human progress for many generations." Criticism noting the similarity between the non-human beings in Strieber's autobiographical accounts and the non-human beings in his initial horror novels was typically acknowledged by the author as a fair observation, but not indicative of his autobiographical works being fictional: "The mysterious small beings that figure prominently in "Catmagic" seem to be an unconscious rendering of [the visitors], created before I was aware that they may be real."


title: Whitley Strieber

text: Since the 1987 publication of "Communion", Strieber wrote four additional autobiographies detailing his experiences with the visitors: "Transformation" (1988), a direct follow-up; "Breakthrough: The Next Step" (1995), a reflection on the original events and accounts of the sporadic contact he'd subsequently experienced; "The Secret School" (1996), in which he examines strange memories from his childhood; and lastly, "Solving the Communion Enigma: What Is to Come" (2011).


title: Whitley Strieber

text: In "Solving the Communion Enigma", Strieber reflects on how advances in scientific understanding since his 1987 publication may shed light on what he perceived, noting, "Among other things, since I wrote "Communion", science has determined that parallel universes may be physically real and that time travel may in some way be possible". The book is a consolidation of UFO sightings and related phenomena, including crop circles, alien abductions, mutilations and deaths in an attempt to discern any kind of meaningful overall pattern. Strieber concludes that the human species is being shepherded to a higher level of understanding and existence within an endless "multiverse" of matter, energy, space and time. He also writes more candidly about the deleterious effects his initial experiences had upon him while staying at his upstate New York cabin in the 1980s, noting, "I was regularly drinking myself to sleep when we were there. I would listen to the radio until late hours, drinking vodka..."


title: Whitley Strieber

text: Other visitor-themed books of Strieber's include "Majestic" (1989), a novel about the Roswell UFO incident; "The Communion Letters" (1997, reissued in 2003), a collection of letters from readers reporting experiences similar to Strieber's; "Confirmation" (1998), in which Strieber reviews a variety of evidence that is suggestive of alien contact, and considers what more would be required to provide 'confirmation'; "The Grays" (2006) a novel in which his impressions of alien contact are presented through a fictional thriller/espionage narrative, and; "Hybrids" (2011) a fictional narrative that imagines human/alien hybrids being born into the modern world.


title: Whitley Strieber

text: Additional visitor-themed writings include a screenplay for the 1989 film "Communion", directed by Philippe Mora and starring Christopher Walken as Strieber. The movie covers material from the books "Communion" and "Transformation". Strieber has stated that he was dissatisfied with the film, which utilized scenes of improvised dialogue and includes themes not present in his books. Strieber also wrote a screenplay for his novel "Majestic", which to date has not been filmed.


title: Whitley Strieber

text: Whitley Strieber has repeatedly expressed frustration that his experiences have been taken as "alien contact" when he does not actually know what they were. Strieber has reported anomalous childhood experiences and suggested that he may have suffered some sort of early interference by intelligence or military agencies.


title: Whitley Strieber

text: He was extensively tested for temporal lobe epilepsy and other brain abnormalities at his own request, but his brain was found to be functioning normally. The results of these tests were reported in his book "Transformation".


title: Whitley Strieber

text: In "Communion", Strieber wrote of having told friends over the years that he had witnessed the University of Texas tower shooting in Austin, Texas, on August 1, 1966, when he had in fact not been on campus that day:


title: Whitley Strieber

text: Strieber presents his claim to have witnessed the Whitman shooting in "Communion" in the context of alien abduction screen memories, expressing puzzlement at having repeated this false claim over the years. In two interviews prior to "Communion", however, Strieber described in graphic detail what he purportedly witnessed. In a 1985 interview with Douglas Winter published in "Faces of Fear", Strieber described:


title: Whitley Strieber

text: Critics including panelists on the British television discussion programme "After Dark" questioned Strieber about his statements in "Communion" about not having been at the Whitman shooting. Strieber announced that in his latest book, "Transformation", he had changed his mind and decided he had witnessed the shooting. Despite this, according to public information, no "little boy on a bicycle" was killed by Whitman that day. Further, according to Ed Conroy in his "Report on Communion", Strieber's mother stated during an interview that Strieber had been in Austin the day of the shooting, but not on campus.


title: Whitley Strieber

text: In 2001, Strieber self-published a book titled "The Key," in which he claimed that while on a book tour for his book "Confirmation", he was visited in the early morning of June 6, 1998, at his Toronto hotel room by an unknown man who presented him with a "new image of God". Strieber engaged the man in dialogue for "half an hour," though Strieber also conceded that "once our conversation was transcribed, it became obvious that more time was involved" and "he must have been with me for at least two hours". Subjects discussed included the Holocaust, sudden climate change, the afterlife, psychic ability, UFOs, and using the human soul in machines. According to Strieber, the man did not give his name, and in the book Strieber refers to him as Master of the Key. While he was writing the book, Strieber said that unlike other events he had experienced "the reality of this one isn't in question."


title: Whitley Strieber

text: In the section of "The Key" entitled "The Conversation", Strieber presented a transcription of the conversation which Strieber has claimed is "80 to 90 percent accurate", "90% accurate or more". In 2011, Tarcher/Penguin printed a new edition of "The Key", which contained significant differences from the version of the transcription contained in Strieber's original Walker & Collier edition. In response, Strieber alleged that his own 2001 self-published edition had been "censored" by "sinister forces".


title: Whitley Strieber

text: Whitley Strieber is currently the host of the spiritual and science-themed podcast "Dreamland", available on a weekly basis from his website, Unknown Country. The program was a former companion show to "Coast to Coast AM", with both shows founded by broadcaster Art Bell, before being taken on by Strieber in 1999.


title: Whitley Strieber

text: Strieber has also continued writing novels, including "The Last Vampire" (2001), and "Lilith's Dream" (2003), both being sequels to his 1981 vampire novel "The Hunger". As well, he has authored "2012: The War For Souls" (2007), a horror novel about an interdimensional invasion, and "Critical Mass" (2009), a thriller about nuclear terrorism. Strieber also co-authored the graphic novel "The Nye Incidents" (2008), along with co-authors Craig Spector and Guss Floor.


title: Whitley Strieber

text: His novel "The Omega Point" is "based on a hidden connection between 2012 and the Book of Revelation". This title, released in 2010, is Strieber's second novel dealing with the subject of 2012, the first being "2012: The War for Souls".


title: Whitley Strieber

text: An entry in the popular teen-lit genre, "Melody Burning", was published in late 2011. The story centers on a feral teenager who lives within a skyrise building unnoticed, and a new tenant, a pop-star named Melody, with whom he falls in love.


title: Whitley Strieber

text: In 2012, Strieber began an alien-themed thriller series called "Alien Hunter", the first volume of which was published in August 2013. A series based on the book was released by SyFy in April 2016 and called "Hunters".


title: Whitley Strieber

text: In March 2014, Strieber and his wife Anne published an account of her illness called Miraculous Journey. Mrs. Strieber experienced a cerebral hemorrhage in 2004 and in 2013 underwent treatment for a brain tumor.


title: Whitley Strieber

text: Strieber collaborated with religious scholar Jeffrey J. Kripal on 2016's "Super Natural: A New Vision of the Unexplained", a study of occultism, supernatural experiences, and parapsychology that explores "why the supernatural is neither fantasy nor fiction but a vital and authentic aspect of life".


title: Whitley Strieber

text: In November 1989, Strieber made an extended appearance on the British television discussion programme "After Dark" alongside, among others, astronaut Buzz Aldrin.


title: Whitley Strieber

text: The following year on February 4, 1990, Strieber made an Irish appearance on RTE’s Kenny Live to discuss his experience of alien abduction.


title: Whitley Strieber

text: Strieber, and perhaps his wife Anne, made a cameo appearance in the 2009 movie "Race to Witch Mountain".


title: Whitley Strieber

text: Television appearances during the publication of "Communion" were numerous and included "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson". He has made appearances (including a 2006 interview on the "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson") in support of his newer novels.


title: Whitley Strieber

text: He has been featured many times on the overnight radio show Coast to Coast AM, both as guest and guest-host. On April 6, 2013, he did a two-hour interview with John B. Wells.


title: Whitley Strieber

text: In the TV series "Babylon 5", there is an alien race that is similar to the Greys in "Communion". This race is named the Streibs after Whitley Strieber.


title: Whitley Strieber

text: In an episode of "The X-Files", "Jose Chung's "From Outer Space"", the cover of the book "From Outer Space" is a parody of the cover of "Communion" (the difference being that the alien on the cover is depicted smoking a cigarette).


title: Whitley Strieber

text: In the 120th book in "The Hardy Boys" series, "The Case of the Cosmic Kidnapping" (1993), the character of "Hodding Wheatley", a Connecticut-based writer who had undergone UFO experiences, is inspired by Strieber, as indicated by the surname of the character "Wheatley".


title: Whitley Strieber

text: "In Search of Truth", a 2001 concept album by Swedish progressive metal band Evergrey, was inspired by the ideas presented in "Communion".


title: Whitley Strieber

text: The post-punk dance music group The Mekano Set cite Whitley Strieber's non-fiction work as an influence on their work. They wrote a tribute to Strieber for their 2013 album The Three Thieves (a reference to characters from Strieber's novel The Grays) entitled What is it Whit?


title: Whitley Strieber

text: The closing track of U.N.K.L.E. debut album "Psyence Fiction" (1998) features vocals from Whitley Strieber, taken from a weekend edition of Art Bell’s Coast to Coast AM nightly radio talk show.


title: Whitley Strieber

text: Whitley Strieber is currently a practicing Catholic. He is also associated with the Gurdjieff Foundation. He left regular work in the Foundation shortly before the experiences reported in "Communion" but remains involved in the mystical teachings of G. I. Gurdjieff and P. D. Ouspensky and makes frequent references to them in his non-fiction writings.


title: Whitley Strieber

text: Strieber was married to Anne Strieber until her death in 2015. According to his website, he lives in California as of April 2019.


title: Sibi Sathyaraj

text: Sibi Sathyaraj (also credited as Sibiraj) is an Indian actor working in the Tamil film industry. He is the son of actor Sathyaraj.


title: Sibi Sathyaraj

text: Sibi did his schooling in Sherwood Hall Senior Secondary School and Don Bosco Matriculation Higher Secondary School. where he completed a degree in commerce.


title: Sibi Sathyaraj

text: In early 2003, Sibi was set to make his acting debut through "Swami", the Tamil remake of the Malayalam film "Nandanam" (2003), directed by Renjith. However, despite beginning pre-production work, the film was later dropped.


title: Sibi Sathyaraj

text: Sibi then started his acting career with the 2003 film "Student Number 1", which was a box office failure. In his next four films, "Jore" (2004), "Mannin Maindhan" (2005), "Vetrivel Sakthivel" (2005) and "Kovai Brothers" (2006), he acted with his father, Sathyaraj, who also produced Sibi's following project, "Lee" (2007), directed by Prabhu Solomon, where he played the role of a football player. In his early years, several films he was announced to be part of, such as "Perumal Swamy", "Pattasu" and "Mamu" were shelved midway.


title: Sibi Sathyaraj

text: Subsequently, Sibi took a break from acting and his next release "Naanayam" (2010) released three years after "Lee". The film directed by Shakti Soundar Rajan saw Sibi playing his first negative role. Although his performance was well received, the film did not fare well. Following "Naanayam" he went on another sabbatical, during which he pursued an acting workshop at the New York Film Academy (NYFA) in Los Angeles for three months, before returning in 2014 with "Naaigal Jaakirathai", again directed by Shakti Soundar Rajan. The film, which Sibi reportedly accepted after having listening to more than 200 scripts, featured him alongside a Belgian Shepherd dog as the protagonist. His next titles were "Pokkiri Raja" (2016), "Jackson Durai" (2016), "Kattappava Kanom" (2017) and "Sathya" (2017).


title: Sibi Sathyaraj

text: In 2020, Sibiraj playing a cop in the action crime thriller "Walter", directed by U. Anbarasan. Then, "Kabadadaari" (2021) a neo-noir thriller directed by Pradeep Krishnamoorthy, remake of the Kannada film "Kavaludaari".


title: Sibi Sathyaraj

text: On 14 September 2008, Sibi married Revathi, an engineer who works for an IT company in Chennai. The two had been in a relationship for thirteen years before getting married.


title: I Spit on Your Grave: Deja Vu

text: I Spit on Your Grave: Deja Vu is a 2019 American rape and revenge horror-thriller film written and directed by Meir Zarchi. It stars Camille Keaton and Jamie Bernadette, and is a direct sequel to the 1978 film "I Spit on Your Grave".


title: I Spit on Your Grave: Deja Vu

text: 40 years after the events of the previous film, Jennifer Hills wrote a best-selling memoir based on her rape and has become a successful rape counselor. Her daughter, Christy Hills, is a successful supermodel, having been one since the age of 10. The families of Jennifer's rapists and subsequent victims have begun their plan for revenge. The gang consists of Johnny's wife, Becky Stillman, Johnny's mother, Millie Stillman, Johnny's father, Henry Stillman, Matthew's grandmother, Beady Eyes Duncan, Matthew's father, Herman Duncan, Andy's cousin, Scotty Chirensky, and Stanley's brother, Kevin Woods.


title: I Spit on Your Grave: Deja Vu

text: Christy meets Jennifer at a restaurant, where she expresses her desire to leave modeling and pursue something more challenging. When the two leave, Kevin and Scotty pull over their truck and ask Jennifer to sign a copy of her memoir. They kidnap the two women and take them to the country. Becky meets up with them and expresses her anger that they brought Christy instead of just Jennifer. Kevin and Becky take Jennifer to the site where she hanged Matthew, while Scotty drives Christy to an unknown location. Jennifer is forced to dig a hole while listening to classical music (due to Johnny being killed with classical music playing in the background) but manages to escape by using the shovel as a weapon and stealing a gun.


title: I Spit on Your Grave: Deja Vu

text: Meanwhile, Christy convinces Scotty to pull over on the premise of her needing to use the restroom, Scotty telling her to go into the woods. Scotty becomes suspicious that she takes too long and goes to find her. Christy knocks him out with a short tree branch, steals the truck, and drives back to the house to find her mother. Jennifer is greeted by a strange woman on a bicycle and is then picked up by an odd, old couple.


title: I Spit on Your Grave: Deja Vu

text: Jennifer is dropped off at a church, which she finds to be locked. Becky finds her and, after forcing her to beg for her life, decapitates Jennifer. Christy arrives moments later, finds her mother dead and tries to find help. Unsuccessful at finding help, she goes back to her mother's corpse, only to see a truck driving away with Jennifer's body. Becky comes back and chases Christy into the woods, where she is attacked by Herman and Kevin, who tear her clothes off. Kevin knocks her out and rapes her. As she walks away, Becky and Scotty arrive, and Becky begins to rape her, but Herman manages to stop the rape, allowing Christy to run away. The gang gives chase after yelling at Herman.


title: I Spit on Your Grave: Deja Vu

text: The gang go to the graves of their relatives and celebrate their victory before dumping Jennifer's body into a grave. Christy wakes up the next morning and steals clothes from a house. She finds Herman's house where she steals food and kills him by surprise with a sickle before shooting him. Becky orders Kevin and Scotty to find Christy. The two go looking for Christy and find Herman's car pulled over by the side of the road. When Kevin goes out to investigate, Christy ambushes him with a gun and orders him to strip (much like her mother did with Johnny). She then seduces him and gives him a handjob before stabbing him in the testicles with a broken beer bottle. Scotty comes after hearing Kevin's screams and is shot by Christy. Scotty pleads for his life (much like his cousin) and is anally raped by Christy using the gun before she shoots him through his rectum.


title: I Spit on Your Grave: Deja Vu

text: Unable to reach the rest of the gang, Becky goes out to find them. She finds Herman's, Scotty's, and Kevin's bodies and realizes Christy is likely to be alive. She ambushes Christy and almost kills her, but is stopped by the old couple Jennifer encountered. Christy kills Becky by hitting her over the head with a glass beer bottle.


title: I Spit on Your Grave: Deja Vu

text: The old couple shows Christy where Jennifer's body is, saying, "It's right next to your father's grave." When they arrive at the cemetery, it is revealed that Johnny was Christy's father and that Christy knew all along. She speaks to her mother and says she loves her and although Jennifer did not tell her who her father was, she knew the entire time. Christy is pushed into the grave by the old couple and the old woman Jennifer encountered previously. It is revealed that the old couple are Johnny's parents and the old woman is Matthew's grandmother. They throw dirt on and continuously hit Christy until she passes out.


title: I Spit on Your Grave: Deja Vu

text: While the couple recites prayers, Christy manages to climb out of the hole. She hits and impales the old woman with a shovel and beats, slices, and stabs Johnny's mother to death with it and a shotgun. She threatens Johnny's father and makes him put Jennifer's body into his truck. She decides not to kill him, but instead, he shoots himself, committing suicide.


title: I Spit on Your Grave: Deja Vu

text: Christy goes to the church to pray for forgiveness for what she has done. The film ends with Becky and Johnny's children, Melissa and Johnny Jr., coming to the gas station and wondering where their mother is, only to see Christy in their grandparents' car passing by.


title: I Spit on Your Grave: Deja Vu

text: Meir Zarchi had written the script prior to the 2010 remake, but halted from production due to the subsequent sequels. Camille Keaton reprised her role from the previous film, as well as Terry Zarchi and Tammy Scher as older versions of Johnny's children.


title: I Spit on Your Grave: Deja Vu

text: Filming began on September 21, 2015 in Santa Clarita, California and wrapped on November 2, 2015. The film was in post-production for a little over three years before being released.


title: I Spit on Your Grave: Deja Vu

text: The first trailer was released in March which was followed by a second trailer in April. The film did not have a theatrical release, instead it was released DVD/Blu-ray premiere on April 23, 2019, and on VOD in over 60 countries on April 28, 2019.


title: I Spit on Your Grave: Deja Vu

text: On the day of the release, the Blu-ray edition entered the top 100 films on Amazon.com as well as no. 1 in the horror category.


title: I Spit on Your Grave: Deja Vu

text: "I Spit on Your Grave: Deja Vu" was met with negative reviews from critics. The film was criticized for its plot, pacing, acting and running time, though Keaton's and Bernadette's performances were praised.


title: Fox Theater, Westwood Village

text: The Fox Theatre, Westwood Village, also known as the Fox Village Theatre, is a historic, landmark cinema in Westwood, Los Angeles, California. Westwood Village, in the heart of Westwood, is only a couple of minutes from UCLA. It is currently operated by Regency Theaters under the name Regency Village Theatre. The theater has been one of the leading film premiere theaters in the history of cinema.


title: Fox Theater, Westwood Village

text: Designed by architect Percy Parke Lewis, the Fox was originally built in 1930 and first opened on August 14, 1931, with a Spanish Mission style to it. The theatre was part of a widespread cinema construction program undertaken by Fox West Coast Theatres. The Fox Theatre quickly became the most recognizable symbol of the new Westwood Village, a Mediterranean-style village development adjoining the University of California Los Angeles planned by Harold and Edwin Janss of the Janss Investment Company.


title: Fox Theater, Westwood Village

text: It was remodeled in the late 1940s to the early 1950s. It became famous for the many Hollywood movie premieres held there and remains one of the main venues for movie premieres in Los Angeles.


title: Fox Theater, Westwood Village

text: National General Theatres, the former Fox Theatres-West Coast, sold the theater to Ted Mann, then owner of the Chinese Theatre, and it became part of the Mann Theatres chain.


title: Fox Theater, Westwood Village

text: In 1988, the Fox Theatre was designated by the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission as an Historic Cultural Monument (HCM #362).


title: Fox Theater, Westwood Village

text: When Mann Theatres went out of business, Regency Theatres purchased both the Village Theatre and a multiplex cinema at "The Plant" in Van Nuys, California in 2010.


title: Fox Theater, Westwood Village

text: With ongoing efforts to revitalize Westwood Village, the Fox Theatre continues to be a major drawcard and asset for the area.


title: Fox Theater, Westwood Village

text: The most striking feature of the Fox Theater is the iconic 170-foot white Spanish Revival/Moderne tower which looms over the Broxton and Weyburn Avenues intersection. Atop the tower is a blue and white metal Art Deco “Fox” sign, which was renovated in the late 1980s.


title: Fox Theater, Westwood Village

text: Carved winged lions sit halfway up the tower at the base of projecting columns. A blue and white sign with the legend "Fox Westwood Village" is positioned at the bottom of the tower just above the entrance. By night, the elegant white tower literally becomes a beacon with its signs and the shaft of the tower illuminated.


title: Fox Theater, Westwood Village

text: The rectangular cinema building immediately behind the tower features long rows of Churrigueresque stucco decorations. Perched atop the corners of the building stand carved griffins.


title: Fox Theater, Westwood Village

text: The seating capacity of the cinema is about 1,400. The interior of the theater was remodeled during the late 1940s and early 1950s. The lobby and exits were upgraded and California Gold Rush artwork was added in the lobby. Golden flourishes were added near the stage areas.


title: Fox Theater, Westwood Village

text: In the late 1970s new 70mm projection equipment was installed and a larger screen added. The Fox Westwood Village has a reputation for top quality sound and projection. The most recent re-modeling was about 1998-1999 with the theater getting new seating and carpet. In 2014, Regency added the immersive Dolby Atmos sound system to the theater in time for the movie "Transcendence". It remains one of the few remaining THX certified theatres in Los Angeles.


title: Fox Theater, Westwood Village

text: A number of movie premieres have been held at the cinema, including: "Robots", "The Fast and the Furious", "A Star Is Born", "", "", "Spider-Man", "Spider-Man 2", James Bond films, "JFK", "", "Batman", each "Harry Potter" film, "Independence Day", "", "The Emoji Movie, The Lego Movie", "Shrek", "", "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" franchise, "Overlord", "Venom", "Murder Mystery", "Hairspray" and hundreds of others. Typically the streets get shut down and are used for red carpet arrivals.


title: Fox Theater, Westwood Village

text: The 1999 music video for "Praise You" by Fatboy Slim was filmed on the sidewalk adjacent to the Fox Theater.


title: Doha Metro

text: The Doha Metro is a rapid transit system in Doha, Qatar's capital city, which became operational on 8 May 2019. It has three lines with an approximate overall length of 76 km and 37 stations. It is an integral component of the larger Qatar Rail network, which will include a long-distance rail for passengers and freight, linking Qatar to the GCC, and the Lusail LRT. Capable of reaching 100 km/h, the Doha Metro is one of the fastest driverless trains in the world.


title: Doha Metro

text: Doha Metro is operated and maintained for a duration of 20 years by RKH Qitarat, a joint venture formed by Hamad Group (51%) and French transit operators Keolis and RATP Dev (49%), on behalf of system owner Qatar Rail.


title: Doha Metro

text: In 2009, Qatari Diar and Deutsche Bahn signed a joint venture to develop a concept for a railway network in Qatar. In 2011, Qatar Rail became the sole owner of the project while Deutsche Bahn with its global wing DB International (since 2016 DB Engineering & Consulting) took over as main consultant and source for required railway experts. In 2013, the construction of the Doha Metro officially began with a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of Msheireb station. Throughout early 2013, Qatar Rail released the D&B tenders and received submissions from various international firms to construct sections of Phase 1a, corresponding to the Red and Green Lines. In mid-May Salini Impregilo was awarded to manage the construction of the Red Line North segment, running from Msheireb to Al Khor North. In June, it was revealed that QDVC and Porr were successful in their bids to lead the building of the Red Line South segment and Green Line, respectively. In May 2014 a consortium of Larsen & Toubro, Aktor, Yapi Merkezi, STFA Group and Al Jaber Engineering was awarded to design and construct the Doha Metro Gold Line. A total of 21 tunnel-boring machines from the German company Herrenknecht were planned for the tunnel construction of the Metro Phase 1.


title: Doha Metro

text: The Doha Metro consists of three lines opening in phases from 2019 to 2020, with an eventual completion date of 2026. The Red, Green and Gold Lines radiate out from a central interchange at Msheireb in Downtown Doha.


title: Doha Metro

text: Doha Metro Phase 1 was implemented by multiple joint ventures involving local and international contractors. Qatar Rail has previously specified that consortiums looking to build different parts of the network should partner with a Qatari firm, which has led to companies such as Qatar Building Company, Galfar Al-Misnad Engineering, Al Darwish and HBK Contracting all picking up work alongside international bidders.


title: Doha Metro

text: Red Line North (Underground): The Red Line North starts from Msheireb station in the South to Al Khor in the North. Seven underground stations are proposed along this route up to Doha Golf Club, from where it will be over the ground to reach Al Khor. A Joint Venture (JV) led by Salini Impregilo, South Korea's SK Engineering & Construction, and Galfar Al Misnad was chosen as the D&B contractor.


title: Doha Metro

text: Red Line North (Elevated & at-grade): A Joint Venture (JV) consortium comprising Korea's Lotte Engineering & Construction, Rizzani de Eccher of Italy and Redco of Qatar has been chosen as the D&B contractor.


title: Doha Metro

text: Red Line South (Underground): The Red Line South extends from Msheireb in the North to Mesaieed in the South. It is planned to have six underground stations. The D&B JV contractors are Qatari Diar Vinci Construction (QDVC), GS Engineering & Construction, and Al Darwish Engineering.


title: Doha Metro

text: Red Line South (Elevated & at-grade): The Joint Venture led by Spain's FCC and comprising Turkey's Yuksel, Netherlands’ Archirodon and Qatar's Petroserv has been selected as the D&B contractor for the line. The scope of work involves full design and construction of the Red Line section along Al Wakra Highway.


title: Doha Metro

text: Green Line: The Green Line, which also has both underground and Elevated and at-grade sections, extends from Msheireb in the East to Al Riffa in Doha West. The project's D&B contract of the Green line underground project has been given to a JV led by PORR Bau (UG-Lead partner), QD-Saudi Bin Laden Group (Elevated-Lead Partner) and Hamad Bin Khalid Contracting.


title: Doha Metro

text: Gold Line: The Gold Line connects nine underground stations and D&B contractor is ALYSJ JV led by Greece's Ellaktor and comprising Larsen and Toubro (India), Yapı Merkezi (Turkey), STFA Group (Turkey) and Al Jaber Engineering (Qatar).


title: Doha Metro

text: Doha Metro will have about 100 stations when the project is completed. This will include a major interchanges station built at Msheireb, hub for the Metro network and the interchange for Red, Green and Gold Lines. Qatar Rail chose to integrate Qatari culture into the Metro by naming stations after historical towns and cities, each with its own story and background.


title: Doha Metro

text: A North-South Line connecting the towns of Lusail, West Bay, Msheireb, Hamad International Airport and Al Wakra.


title: Doha Metro

text: The Green Line follows Al Rayyan Road connecting Education City with the Heart of Doha. Furthermore, it links to Umm Salal and the Industrial Area South.


title: Doha Metro

text: The Gold Line runs in an East-West direction and connects Airport City North via central Msheireb with Al Waab Street, Al Rayyan South and Salwa Road.


title: Doha Metro

text: Most stations will offer free feeder buses to places near the stations. Standard tickets cost 2 QAR each for one way, whilst 'gold club' tickets cost 10 QAR each.


title: Doha Metro

text: This will be updated when Qatar Rail has announced the stations for the next phase. This phase contains Blue Line. This would probably be announced in the end of 2020. This project is estimated to finish in 2025/6.


title: Doha Metro

text: The Doha Metro stations' design was selected in October 2013 by the Emir of Qatar. The design is called "Vaulted Spaces"; it is derived from historic Islamic architecture, using old Islamic architectural elements in a modern way. UNStudio, the company responsible for the metro stations' design, highlighted the region's vernacular architecture; the design acts as a bridge between the country's past and future. One of the key elements of the design is the exterior shape of the station; this uses bright, modern materials to simulate the interior of an oyster. The levels of the station will be open to each other giving passengers at feeling of comfort, and concealing the lighting and ventilation in the shapes of the arches. The "Vaulted Spaces" design was selected out of a total of six proposals and master plans for the Doha Metro stations.


title: Doha Metro

text: The specific trains used were designed by the Kinki Sharyo Industrial Design Office in collaboration with the German Design firm Tricon Design, to reflect the culture of Qatar. The Emir is known to have personally selected the exterior design of the train, inspired by the shape of an Arabian horse.


title: Doha Metro

text: In May 2016, Consolidated Contractors (CCC) took over the contract for the Msheireb and Education City stations, from a joint venture of Samsung C&T Corporation (S. Korea), Obrascon Huarte Lein (Spain), and Qatar Building Company.


title: Doha Metro

text: The 75 three-car driverless trainsets for the metro system are supplied jointly by Japanese companies Mitsubishi Corporation and Kinki Sharyo. The first four sets were delivered in August 2017.


title: Doha Metro

text: Thales of France will supply the train control signalling, telecommunication, a security system, an operations control center and an automatic fare collection system.


title: Doha Metro

text: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will supply the track and power supply. The company will also supply the platform screen doors and tunnel ventilation and will be responsible with overall project management and system integration.


title: Doha Metro

text: The Metro network will cover the Greater Doha area and will include connections to town centers and main commercial and residential areas throughout the city. In central Doha, the Metro will be underground, whilst on the outskirts it will mainly be at ground level or elevated. For the underground works, Qatar Railways Company (Qatar Rail) imported Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs). 21 TBMs were used to cut tunnels 20 meters beneath the city for the lines.


title: Doha Metro

text: Each of the TBMs for the Doha Metro measures 7.05m in diameter and 120m in length. To ensure successful transportation, the machines are dismantled into sections, including the cutter head.


title: Doha Metro

text: Each TBM traveled a distance of between 7–9 km and took approx. 2 years to complete their respective tunnels. The TBM average speed will be between 12m/day to 21m/day, depending on ground conditions. Daily excavation quantity will be over 600m³, with an estimated predicted total excavation quantity of over 5,000,000m³.


title: Doha Metro

text: Qatar Rail has been recognised by Guinness World Records for having "The Largest Number of Tunnel Boring Machines Operating Simultaneously in a Single Project", a milestone for large-scale transport projects in Qatar and across the region.


title: Doha Metro

text: With this recognition, the company has broken the previous world record, which was 19 simultaneously operational TBMs.


title: Doha Metro

text: In 2017, Qatar Rail received the ITA Award from the International Tunneling and Underground Space Association for the Major Project of the year 2017. The Doha Metro project was nominated under the category of "Projects exceeding 500 Million Euros" and won the award after being shortlisted with other three megaprojects from Canada, Iran and India.


title: Doha Metro

text: Computers, network infrastructure and other related equipment were provided by IBM, Lenovo, Hewlett-Packard, Siemens and Cisco Systems.


title: Doha Metro

text: Safety and security measures are applied throughout the drilling phase of the underground Doha Metro works. The planned procedures involve elements that can guarantee a safe working environment, far from the risks of injuries, including managing emergency cases and treating them swiftly. The safety & security program of Qatar's Railway focuses on the emergency planning and response on the railway network while taking into consideration the unique nature of mass transit systems when planning for and implementing the program. The transport policies, security models addressing the legal and regulatory issues, as well as the relationships between the involved institutions are also part of the safety and security plan that Qatar Rail Company is leading in Doha.


title: Doha Metro

text: In September 2014, Qatar Rail, the owner and manager of Qatar's rail network and the party responsible for the design, construction, commissioning, operation and maintenance of the entire rail network and system, has held a strategic workshop on the safety, security, and resilience of the country's railway network in consultation with UK and Qatari experts. The company proposed its safety and security programme, along with its recommendations and a full roadmap towards the future operation stage of the railway.


title: Doha Metro

text: In June 2014, it was announced that the Doha Metro Green Line Project achieved 6 million work hours without a lost time injury (LTI).


title: Doha Metro

text: The Metro System will be operated as a system with automatic train operation as Grade of Operation, level 4 (GoA 4). GoA 4 is unattended train operation (UTO) where starting and stopping, operation of doors and handling of emergencies are fully automated without any on-train staff.


title: Doha Metro

text: The network has two classes of travel, standard and goldclub. Standard tickets cost 2 Qatari riyals per journey, while goldclub tickets cost 10 riyals per journey. There are three types of train car used on the metro network: standard, goldclub, and family cars, which allow families and single women but not men. During the 2022 FIFA World Cup, all cars were designated as standard to increase capacity on the network.


title: USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7)

text: USS "Iwo Jima" (LHD-7) is a of the United States Navy. The ship was named for the Battle of Iwo Jima of World War II. The ship was commissioned in 2001 and is in service.


title: USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7)

text: Fabrication work for "Iwo Jima" began at Ingalls shipyard on 3 September 1996, and the ship's keel was laid on 12 December 1997. At the keel laying ceremony, United States Army Captain Jacklyn H. Lucas, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Iwo Jima, placed his Medal of Honor citation in the hull of the ship, where it remains today. She was launched on 4 February 2000. USS "Iwo Jima" was christened by her sponsor, Mrs. Zandra Krulak, wife of General Charles C. Krulak, the former Commandant of the Marine Corps, in Pascagoula, Mississippi on 25 March 2000. The commissioning crew moved aboard in April 2001, and made the ship's maiden voyage on 23 June 2001, accompanied by more than 2,000 World War II veterans – many of them survivors of the Battle of Iwo Jima. She was commissioned a week later in Pensacola, Florida, on 30 June 2001.


title: USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7)

text: Shortly thereafter, the ship and crew began an accelerated Inter Deployment Training Cycle, which tested virtually every system on board in realistic combat conditions. "Iwo Jima" was also the first ship on the waterfront open to the public after the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. In 2002, "Iwo Jima" participated in Fleet Week in New York City.


title: USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7)

text: "Iwo Jima" and the Marines of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (26 MEU) along with two other amphibious assault ships formed the "Iwo Jima" Amphibious Ready Group. "Iwo Jima" left port on 4 March 2003 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and deployed Marines in April 2003 from the Mediterranean Sea into Northern Iraq for the Iraq War. In July 2003, "Iwo Jima" deployed to the coast of Liberia as part of JTF Liberia in response to the Second Liberian Civil War. During this operation, the Southern European Task Force (SETAF) as the command element of JTF Liberia and "Iwo Jima" with the 26 MEU landed Marines in Liberia to perform humanitarian assessments. "At its height, JTF Liberia consisted of over 5,000 service members from the SETAF headquarters, the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, the three-ship "Iwo Jima" Amphibious Ready Group, 3rd Air Force's 398th Air Expeditionary Group, U.S. Army Europe's 21st Theater Support Command, and Army Special Forces."


title: USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7)

text: In 2004, "Iwo Jima" participated in Fleet Week. "Iwo Jima" served as the 2nd Fleet flagship in 2005, based out of Norfolk, Virginia.


title: USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7)

text: On 31 August 2005, "Iwo Jima" was sortied to the Gulf of Mexico to provide disaster relief and to conduct support operations in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. "Iwo Jima" sailed up the Mississippi River to the city of New Orleans to directly support relief operations and act as the central command center for all federal, state and local disaster recovery operations.


title: USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7)

text: During this critical period, "Iwo Jima" also served as the region's only fully functional air field for helicopter operations, conducting over one thousand flight deck operations; provided hot meals, showers, drinking water, and berthing to thousands of National Guardsmen and relief workers; provided medical services, including first aid and surgical services, for disaster victims; and conducted clean-up operations in the city and suburbs of New Orleans.


title: USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7)

text: "Iwo Jima" served as flagship for the Commander-in-Chief, George W. Bush, during Hurricane Katrina Joint Task Force, and is only the second Navy ship to have been presented the flag of the President of the United States.


title: USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7)

text: On 6 June 2006, "Iwo Jima" left her homeport of Norfolk, Virginia, and began a regularly scheduled six-month deployment to the U.S. European Command and U.S. Central Command area of responsibilities, as flagship for the "Iwo Jima" Expeditionary Strike Group, encompassing 6,000 sailors and Marines. The ship was also a part of the evacuation effort of American citizens from the conflict in Lebanon.


title: USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7)

text: News reports on 15 July 2006 stated that "Iwo Jima", flagship of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, would be used to evacuate U. S. citizens from Lebanon after the Israeli Defense Force made the Beirut International Airport unusable through bombing its runways and fuel storage areas.


title: USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7)

text: On 3 November 2010, "Iwo Jima" was deployed to Haiti in anticipation of providing humanitarian assistance due to an impending Tropical Storm Tomas.


title: USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7)

text: On 27 March 2012, "Iwo Jima" was deployed as part of the "Iwo Jima" Amphibious Ready Group with Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit supporting maritime security operations and security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet areas of responsibility.


title: USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7)

text: On 11 April 2012, an MV-22 from VMM-261 crashed near Agadir, Morocco, during a joint training exercise after taking off from USS "Iwo Jima". Two US Marine crew chiefs were killed and the two pilots were seriously injured.


title: USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7)

text: Early in May 2012, "Iwo Jima" was operating in the Gulf of Aqaba and in the south of the Red Sea. In November 2012, "Iwo Jima" was dispatched to the eastern Mediterranean, during escalating warfare between Israel and Hamas, in case the evacuation of U.S. citizens from Israel was required, delaying the scheduled return of "Iwo Jima" to Norfolk.


title: USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7)

text: In January 2015, "Iwo Jima", and were positioned off the coast of Yemen on standby to evacuate the staff of the US embassy should the need arise due to the collapse of the Yemeni government.


title: USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7)

text: In October and November 2018, "Iwo Jima" participated in NATO's Exercise Trident Juncture 2018 in Norway.


title: USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7)

text: In December 2021, "Iwo Jima" shifted homeports from Naval Station Mayport to Naval Station Norfolk as a part of the Navy's plan consolidate the East Coast-based amphibious ships to the Norfolk area.


title: USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7)

text: The ship's motto, "Uncommon Valor", is based on Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz's words when he spoke of Sailors and Marines who fought at Iwo Jima: "Among the Americans who served on Iwo Jima, uncommon valor was a common virtue."


title: Reptile (film)

text: Reptile is an upcoming American crime thriller film co-written and directed by Grant Singer in his feature-film directorial debut.


title: Reptile (film)

text: A New England detective works to solve the murder of a real estate agent, and as a result of the case experiences a reflection upon himself.


title: Reptile (film)

text: On August 26, 2021, Netflix was set to produce the crime thriller script "Reptile" with music video director Grant Singer set to make his directorial feature film debut and Molly Smith, Trent Luckinbill, Seth Spector, Thad Luckinbill, Benicio Del Toro, and Rachel Smith will produce the film. On October 14, 2021, Singer and Brewer were credited as co-writers.


title: Reptile (film)

text: Along with the announcement on August 26, 2021, Del Toro and Justin Timberlake were cast in the film. On September 30, 2021, Alicia Silverstone, Michael Pitt, Ato Essandoh, Frances Fisher, Eric Bogosian, Domenick Lombardozzi, Karl Glusman, Matilda Lutz, Owen Teague, and Catherine Dyer were cast in the film. On October 14, 2021, Mike Pniewski, Thad Luckinbill, Sky Ferreira, James Devoti, and Michael Beasley were cast in the film.


title: Demography of Scotland

text: The demography of Scotland includes all aspects of population, past and present, in the area that is now Scotland. Scotland has a population of 5,463,300, as of 2019. The population growth rate in 2011 was estimated as 0.6% per annum according to the 2011 GROS Annual Review.


title: Demography of Scotland

text: Covering an area of , Scotland has a population density of . Around 70% of the country's population (3.5 million) live in the Central Belt —a region stretching in a northeast–southwest orientation between the major cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, and including the major settlements of Paisley, Stirling, Falkirk, Perth and Dundee, in the Central Lowlands (80%). Other concentrations of population include the northeast coast of Scotland, principally the regions around the cities of Aberdeen and Inverness, and the west coast around the town of Ayr. The Scottish Highlands and the island group of Eilean Siar have the lowest population densities at . Glasgow has the highest population density at .


title: Demography of Scotland

text: Until April 2011, responsibility for estimating the population of Scotland, as well as recording births, deaths and marriages, was overseen by the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS), headed by the Registrar-General for Scotland. From 1 April 2011 onwards, the GROS merged with the National Archives of Scotland to become the National Records of Scotland. The new organisation is still required under the terms of the Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Scotland) Act 1965, to present a Registrar-General's annual report of demographic trends to Scottish Ministers. (Prior to devolution it was to the Secretary of State for Scotland). In conjunction with the rest of the United Kingdom, the National Records for Scotland is also responsible for conducting a decadal census of population. The most recent one took place in March 2011, with the next due to take place in 2022.


title: Demography of Scotland

text: In the United Kingdom, a census was taken every ten years from 1801 onwards; with the exception of 1941 due to the Second World War. Population data for years prior to that is provided from directories and gazetteers


title: Demography of Scotland

text: a. There was no census in 1941 however there was a National Registrar of the Civilian Population in 1939


title: Demography of Scotland

text: A question on national identity was asked in the 2011 census: "what do you feel is your national identity?". Respondents could identify themselves as having more than one national identity.


title: Demography of Scotland

text: The council areas with at least 90% of the population stating some 'Scottish' national identity were North Lanarkshire, Inverclyde, East Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire. The lowest proportions of people stating some 'Scottish' national identity were in Edinburgh (70%) and Aberdeen (75%).


title: Demography of Scotland

text: The council areas with the highest proportions of people stating 'British' as their only national identity were Argyll and Bute and Shetland, each with 12%.


title: Demography of Scotland

text: Below is a table of national identity sorted by council area based on the results of the 2011 census:


title: Demography of Scotland

text: English language is by far the most commonly spoken language in Scotland. Two regional languages of Scotland, Scottish Gaelic and Modern Scots, are protected under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. Abilities in these languages for those aged three and above were recorded in the UK census 2011 as follows.


title: Demography of Scotland

text: Over 170 languages are spoken in Scotland. The 4 most commonly spoken non-English languages at home (by people aged 3 and over) are: Scots (55,817), Polish (54,186), Chinese (27,381), and Urdu (23,394).


title: Demography of Scotland

text: At times during the last interglacial period (130,000–70,000 BC) Europe had a climate warmer than today's, and early humans may have made their way to what is now Scotland, though archaeologists have found no traces of this. Glaciers then scoured their way across most of Britain, and only after the ice retreated did Scotland again become habitable, around 9600 BC. Mesolithic hunter-gatherer encampments formed the first known settlements, and archaeologists have dated a site near Biggar to around 8500 BC. Numerous other sites found around Scotland build up a picture of highly mobile boat-using people making tools from bone, stone and antlers, probably with a very low density of population. Neolithic farming brought permanent settlements, such as the stone house at Knap of Howar on Papa Westray dating from 3500 BC, and greater concentrations of population. Extensive analyses of Black Loch in Fife indicate that arable land spread at the expense of forest from about 2000 BC until the period of the first century AD Roman advance into lowland Scotland, suggesting an expanding settled population. Thereafter, there was re-growth of birch, oak and hazel for a period of five centuries, suggesting that the Roman invasions had a negative impact on the native population.


title: Demography of Scotland

text: There are almost no written sources from which to re-construct the demography of early medieval Scotland. Estimates have been made of a population of 10,000 inhabitants in Dál Riata and 80–100,000 for Pictland, which was probably the largest region. This does not include figures for parts of Northumbria now in Scotland. It is likely that the 5th and 6th centuries saw higher mortality rates due to the appearance of bubonic plague, which may have reduced net population. The examination of burial sites for this period like that at Hallowhill, St Andrews indicate a life expectancy of only 26–29. The known conditions have been taken to suggest it was a high fertility, high mortality society, similar to many developing countries in the modern world, with a relatively young demographic profile, and perhaps early childbearing, and large numbers of children for women. This would have meant that there were a relatively small proportion of available workers to the number of mouths to feed. This would have made it difficult to produce a surplus that would allow demographic growth and more complex societies to develop. From the formation of the kingdom of Alba in the tenth century, to before the Black Death reached the country in 1349, estimates based on the amount of farmable land, suggest that population may have grown from half a million to a million. Although there is no reliable documentation on the impact of the plague, there are many anecdotal references to abandoned land in the following decades. If the pattern followed that in England, then the population may have fallen to as low as half a million by the end of the 15th century. Compared with the situation after the redistribution of population in the later clearances and the industrial revolution, these numbers would have been relatively evenly spread over the kingdom, with roughly half living north of the Tay. Perhaps ten per cent of the population lived in one of many burghs that grew up in the later medieval period, mainly in the east and south. It has been suggested that they would have had a mean population of about 2,000, but many would be much smaller than 1,000 and the largest, Edinburgh, probably had a population of over 10,000 by the end of the era.


title: Demography of Scotland

text: Calculations based on Hearth Tax returns for 1691 indicate a population of 1,234,575, but this figure may have been seriously affected by the famines of the 1690s. The first reliable information is a census conducted by the Reverend Alexander Webster in 1755, which shows the inhabitants of Scotland as 1,265,380. By the time of the first decadal census in 1801, the population was 1,608,420. Scotland grew steadily in the 19th century, to 2,889,000 in 1851 and 4,472,000 in 1901. Even with the growth of industry there were insufficient good jobs, as a result, during the period 1841–1931, about 2 million Scots emigrated to North America and Australia, and another 750,000 Scots relocated to England.


title: Demography of Scotland

text: With a population of 4.8 million in 1911, Scotland sent 690,000 men to First World War, of whom 74,000 died in combat or from disease, and 150,000 were seriously wounded. Thus, although Scots were only 10 percent of the British population, they made up 15 per cent of the national armed forces and eventually accounted for 20 per cent of the dead. While emigration began to tail off in England and Wales after the First World War, it continued apace in Scotland, with 400,000 Scots, ten per cent of the population, estimated to have left the country between 1921 and 1931. When the Great Depression hit in the 1930s there were no easily available jobs in the US and Canada and emigration fell to less than 50,000 a year, bringing to an end the period of mass migrations that had opened in the mid-18th century. This contributed to the growth of the population, which reached a peak of 5,240,800 in 1974. Thereafter it began to fall slowly, moving down to 5,062,940 in 2000. There was also a decrease in some urban populations as a result of policies of slum clearance, overspill and relocation to new towns, with the population of Glasgow falling from over a million in 1951 to 629,000 in 2001. Rural areas also saw a loss of population, particularly the Highlands and Hebrides.


title: Demography of Scotland

text: Scotland's population grew most years between the first census in 1855 up to around 5.2 million in 1974. However, from 1974 to 2000 there was a natural decrease in population, with both an excess of deaths over births and of emigration over immigration - particularly to the rest of the United Kingdom. Since 2000 the population has increased most years and is projected to peak in 2028 at 5.48 million and thereafter decline to 5.39 million in 2045.


title: Demography of Scotland

text: Both the Scottish Government and leading academics in Scotland had expressed some concern over the historic falling annual number of births in Scotland. There were 49,863 live births registered in 2019, the lowest count since records began in 1855. In 2004, for example, there were 4,012 more deaths than births, although for the subsequent five years this process had been reversed with 4,342 more births than deaths in 2008. The long-term reversal in the declining birth rate of the 1990s was confirmed in 2009 when the Registrar General for Scotland reported that with 60,000 births recorded in 2008, this was the highest recorded fertility rate since 1995.


title: Demography of Scotland

text: The population of children under age 5 grew by 6% (293,000) over the ten-year period between 2001 and 2011. However, the number of children aged 5–14 fell by 11% (69,000). The population of people over 65 also grew by 11% (85,000) and they now represent 17% of the total population and for the first time there are more people over 65 than under 15 years of age. Significantly, in 2011 there were 230,000 people over 80 years of age.


title: Demography of Scotland

text: Politicians and academics also noted that in the first years of the 21st century the previous trend of a net migration away from Scotland had reversed with significant immigration to Scotland from the rest of the United Kingdom. Between 2001 and 2011 Scotland's population grew by 5% (233,000), the fastest rate of growth for at least 100 years. Similarly, since 2004 there had also been a growing influx of arrivals from the new EU accession states such as Poland, Czech Republic, Lithuania and Latvia, contributing to the recent growth of the population. Consequently, since 2002 the birth rate gradually increased with 53,957 births recorded in 2004, and in 2008 the number of live births was 60,041.


title: Demography of Scotland

text: The Scottish Government has responded to these demographic trends by setting up the Fresh Talent - Working in Scotland Scheme open to foreign (non-EU) graduates from Scotland's universities allowing them a two-year residency period after graduation.


title: Demography of Scotland

text: In its 2011 review the GROS predicted that Scotland's population would rise by 10% to 5.76 million by 2035 and to 6.2m by 2085. Until 2028 both net inward migration and the birth rate exceeding the death rate would contribute to this growth, however beyond this date population increase would be due only to a positive net migration as the aging population would result in more deaths than births. This later trend would be dramatic with the number of children under 16 projected to rise by only 3% while the number of people over 65 is projected to increase by 63% (from 0.88m to 1.43m).


title: Demography of Scotland

text: In its 2022 annual population review the National Records of Scotland projected that the Scottish population would continue to rise until 2028 - peaking at 5.48 million - and would then fall by 1.8% by 2045 to 5.39 million.


title: Demography of Scotland

text: The general Fertility Rate (GFR) is based on the rate of births per 1000 females of child-bearing age (i.e. 15–44 years of age).


title: Demography of Scotland

text: For comparison, during the latter part of the 20th century it was at its highest during the 'baby boom' of the 1960s. The GFR reached a peak of 99.5 births per 1000 women in 1962. In 2001 the GFR had fallen to its lowest post World War II level of 50 births per 1000 women.


title: Demography of Scotland

text: By way of historical comparison, the highest ever recorded was 53,522 in 1940. In the 1970s there were on average between 40 and 45,000 marriages per annum. The lowest annual figure in recent years was 27,524 in 2009 and lowest on record was 19,655 in 1858.


title: Demography of Scotland

text: Of specific interest were the number of so-called 'tourist marriages', where neither partner was resident in Scotland. In 2011 there were 6,829 such marriages, of which 48% took place at Gretna, the most popular of all wedding venues.


title: Demography of Scotland

text: The Civil Partnership Act 2004 came into force in December 2005. In 2006 the number of civil partnership registrations was 1,047. A one-off figure given the number of long-standing relationships which already existed which could be registered. Since then the number of ceremonies each year fell from 688 in 2007 to 465 registrations in 2010. 2011 saw the first increase since 2006 with 554 registrations.


title: Entertainment (2014 film)

text: Entertainment is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film written and directed by screenwriter duo Sajid-Farhad and produced by Ramesh S. Taurani under Tips Industries Limited banner. Based on an original story by K. Subash, the film stars Junior - The wonder dog as the titular protagonist and Akshay Kumar, along with Tamannaah, Mithun Chakraborty, Johnny Lever, Prakash Raj and Sonu Sood. The film was released on 8 August 2014. Receiving mixed reviews from critics, it became a commercial failure.


title: Entertainment (2014 film)

text: The film starts with Akhil Lokhande (Akshay Kumar) getting paid for doing an ad, where he gets into a fight, as he wasn't paid the full amount of money that they had promised. This continues with a few other assignments, where Akhil constantly gets underpaid, resulting in a fight, ends the fight when he gets a phone call, and says he has to go somewhere. He then arrives on a shoot where Sakshi (Tamannaah) is shooting for her television series. After her shoot lets out, they go for a walk around the park, observing other couples. At the end of their walk, Akhil proposes Sakshi. Akhil and Saakshi go to her father's (Mithun Chakraborty) house, where they are told that until Akhil becomes rich, he can't marry Sakshi.


title: Entertainment (2014 film)

text: Akhil goes to his film-obsessed friend, Jugnu's (Krushna Abhishek) shop. He tells him that he is going to visit his father at the hospital because he has chest pain. However, his father Mr. Lokhande (Darshan Jariwala), is actually acting and is dancing around with the nurse, only staying in the hospital because it has service like a 5-star hotel. Akhil arrives just in time to hear and see this, and goes to beat up Mr. Lokhande when he reveals that Akhil is adopted and his real father wasn't ready for a child so his mother left, but was killed in a train crash. Luckily Akhil survived, and when the railway officers were giving one lakh rupees for the families who are even one member dies, he adopted Akhil to claim the compensation. Akhil, in a fit of rage, beats him up. He goes back to his house, and opens the chest that he never had before, which contains love letters from his real father, to his mother, and a locket with his father and mother's pictures. He discovers that his father is Pannalal Johri (Dalip Tahil) who is a billionaire in Bangkok. Right as he finds this, on the television comes news that Pannalal Johri is dead and his 30 billion's($480,000,000 in 2014) will go to anyone who can prove that they are related to Pannalal Johri.


title: Entertainment (2014 film)

text: After arriving at his father's house at Bangkok, Pannalal Johri's lawyer (Johny Lever) tells Akhil that a dog named 'Entertainment' is the owner of Johri's property, and is actually Johri's pet dog. He relays this to Jugnu, and they try to kill Entertainment, by having Akhil become Entertainment's caretaker, but fail. Saakshi and her father surprise Akhil at the mansion, and discover that Entertainment is the heir, causing the father to declare that Saakshi will never marry Akhil. At this time 2 brothers, Karan Johri (Prakash Raj) and Arjun Johri (Sonu Sood), the 2nd cousins of Johri, escape jail. Karan and Arjun want to kill Akhil, because they figure that the dog will die in a couple of years anyway, and thus while Akhil is attempting to kill Entertainment, they do the same to Akhil by drowning him under a thinly iced lake. Karan and Arjun hit the ground at the same time as Akhil causing him to nearly fall in, but Entertainment saves the former, and falls into the lake instead. After a lot of efforts, Akhil fails to save Entertainment but he comes out of the water and survives. Akhil realizes his mistake and learns that Entertainment is a good hearted dog so he becomes his friend and leaves the mansion. Karan and Arjun, citing their legal connections very well, inappropriately acquire the property from Entertainment.


title: Entertainment (2014 film)

text: Akhil learns this news and returns. He vows that he'll get the property back for Entertainment. Akhil's strategy is to divide the two brothers and conquer. He manages to get a job as a servant at the mansion, now owned by Karan and Arjun. Akhil attempts to split the two brothers, first by introducing Saakshi who pretends to love the two brothers separately. However, the scheme fails. Akhil again attempts trying to split the two brothers, this time by introducing a false impression of a ghost of Entertainment the dog. The two brothers quarrel and accuse each other of illegally disguising as Entertainment and having tricked the other. Akhil's friends tape this conversation in a CD slyly, however, the CD drops accidentally and Karan and Arjun realize that all this was planned by Akhil.


title: Entertainment (2014 film)

text: Entertainment runs with the CD. Karan, Arjun and their gang chase the dog, Akhil, and his friends. Akhil manages to beat them all. Later, Karan shoots Akhil, but Entertainment takes the bullet by jumping in front of Akhil. Akhil gets angry and beats up Karan and Arjun black and blue.


title: Entertainment (2014 film)

text: Entertainment is taken to the hospital but is unable to come back to life. Akhil, in a fit of anger, punches him but at this process, he had saved him. Karan and Arjun come to apologize to Entertainment, who forgives them. Sakshi's father gets Akhil and Sakshi married while Entertainment also marries a female dog in the same ceremony. This film ends when it shows that Akhil Johri and Saakshi Johri live a life with Entertainment and his wife (the female dog) with both of them having Kids and finally at the end it shows the social message "Love your pets and they will entertain you all your life."


title: Entertainment (2014 film)

text: While working on "Phata Poster Nikhla Hero" in June 2013 producer Ramesh Taurani confirmed that the film's cast will include Kumar, Bhatia, Chakraborty, Sood, Prakash Raj, Lever and Abhishek.


title: Entertainment (2014 film)

text: In February 2013, Taurani confirmed that the film will feature Kumar in the lead role. Bhatia's involvement with the project was confirmed the following month. In April, Taurani confirmed that Sonu Sood and Prakash Raj will be playing the antagonists and that Johnny Lever was also part of the project. Sood had earlier acted alongside Kumar in the comedy drama "Singh Is Kinng". The film was tentatively titled "Entertainment". In an interview, Sajid-Farhad said that Kumar had motivated them to start their directing career. They said that they had prepared the script for their directorial venture a long time ago. Shooting started on 3 June 2013 in Mumbai where the mahurat shot was filmed. Television actor Hiten Tejwani also did a special appearance as a TV presenter. An audition was conducted in Bangkok for the role of the dog–Entertainment. A Golden Retriever named Wonder Dog was chosen from a total of 50 dogs to play the role. In June 2013, the producers, directors and Kumar discussed about shooting locations. Kumar expressed his wish to shoot the film in Bangkok, where he had worked as a waiter and trained in martial arts. The finalised locations included Baanpradhana Bungalow in Ongkuruk, Asiatique Mall, Ancient City, Bangkok University and Ongkuruk Railway Station.


title: Entertainment (2014 film)

text: The film was scheduled to premiere on 28 March 2014. On 1 July, shooting started in Bangkok for a three months long schedule where 80% of the film was shot, remaining 10% of the film was shot in Mumbai with one song in Goa during late 2013. The shooting was wrapped up in April 2014. A few songs and an item number were shot in Mumbai. The Censor Board of Film Certification in India had objected to Abdullah, the name of Johnny Lever's character in the film. The board's objection was based on the fact that the name of the character is sacred and it was mispronounced by several other characters throughout the film and this would have hurt the religious sentiments of people. The board had asked Sajid Farhad to change the character's name. They complied with the board's instructions and changed the name to Habibullah. The changes were made just a week before the release of the film. The board had also objected to using the word HIV during a joke in the film and subsequently, it was muted. Another of the board's objection was the use of trident by Kumar's character in the film. The shot was removed.


title: Entertainment (2014 film)

text: All the costumes used in the filming were donated to the youth organization in Defense of Animals. It auctioned the clothes and the money collected in this way was used for the benefit of stray animals. Kumar also bought one clothing item. The lead actress Tammanah Bhatia stated that she would donate all the costumes used by her in her future film projects to such initiatives. Earlier titled "It's Entertainment", the teaser trailer of the movie unveiled on 14 May whilst the theatrical trailer was released on 19 May. Politician and animal rights activist Maneka Gandhi was the chief guest at the trailer launch ceremony. The producers initially wanted the film to be titled "Entertainment" but Amole Gupte had already registered for his upcoming film but in July 2014 Gupte donated it to the Sajid-Farhad as a friendly gesture. Kumar decided that the credit for the dog Junior should appear before his. Some fraudsters released a poster of the film and invited people to attend the music launch at Birla Matoshree. Producer Taurani warned people about the fraud posters. The film's satellite right were sold to Zee TV; though the producers did not disclose the amount, media speculated that the deal was worth .


title: Entertainment (2014 film)

text: The soundtrack is composed by Sachin–Jigar, with their new A&R platform White Noise Productions, including only the duo at that point, composing the background score. This marked the first time the duo worked with Kumar. The song "Teri Mahima Aprampar" was taken from the Telugu film "D for Dopidi". Kumar also sang one of the tracks of the film. The YouTube link of the making of the song was uploaded on Twitter.


title: Entertainment (2014 film)

text: The party single "Johnny Johnny" was released first. Based on a nursery rhyme, the song featured Kumar lip-synching to a female voice. The directors said about the song "...in a small subtle way, we are showing our support for women empowerment". Sunitra Pacheco of "The Indian Express" said that it had "all the ingredients to become a new party anthem". In a review for Rediff.com Joginder Tuteja said that the film's music "is entertaining, providing good fun at a frantic pace." He called "Veerey Di Wedding" "an infectious number" and praised Mika's voice. About the song "Johnny Johnny", he said, "it has addictive beats that get you hooked at the first listening" and praised the lyrics and singers. He added that the song "will be played for many months, till the next New Year party at least."