title: Video game remake

text: Some of the earliest remakes to be recognized as such were attempts to modernize games to the standards of later games in the series. Some were even on the same platforms as the original, for example "", a 1986 remake of the original that appeared on multiple platforms, including the Apple II, the same platform the source game originated on. Other early remakes of this type include Sierra's early-1990s releases of "King's Quest", "Space Quest" and "Leisure Suit Larry". These games used the technology and interface of the most recent games in Sierra's series, and original assets in a dramatically different style. The intent was not simply to bring the game to a new platform, but to modernize older games which had in various ways become dated.


title: Video game remake

text: With the birth of the retrogaming phenomenon, remakes became a way for companies to revive nostalgic brands. "Galaga '88" and "Super Space Invaders '91" were both attempts to revitalize aging arcade franchises with modernized graphics and new gameplay elements, while preserving many signature aspects of the original games. The 16-bit generation of console games was marked by greatly enhanced graphics compared to the previous generation, but often relatively similar gameplay, which led to an increased interest in remakes of games from the previous generation. "Super Mario All-Stars" remade the entire NES "Mario" series, and was met with great commercial success. Remake compilations of the "Ninja Gaiden" and "" series followed. As RPGs increased in popularity, "Dragon Quest", "Ys" and "" were also remade. In the mid-'90s, Atari released a series of remakes with the "2000" brand, including "Tempest 2000", "Battlezone 2000", and "Defender 2000". After Atari's demise, Hasbro continued the tradition, with 3D remakes of "Pong", "Centipede", and "Asteroids".


title: Video game remake

text: By 1994 the popularity of CD-ROM led to many remakes with digitized voices and, sometimes, better graphics, although "Computer Gaming World" noted the "amateur acting" in many new and remade games on CD. Emulation also made perfect ports of older games possible, with compilations becoming a popular way for publishers to capitalize on older properties.


title: Video game remake

text: Budget pricing gave publishers the opportunity to match their game's price with the perceived lower value proposition of an older game, opening the door for newer remakes. In 2003, Sega launched the Sega Ages line for PlayStation 2, initially conceived as a series of modernized remakes of classic games, though the series later diversified to include emulated compilations. The series concluded with a release that combined the two approaches, and included a remake of "" that ran, via emulation, on hardware dating to the time of the original release, one of the few attempts at an enhanced remake to make no attempts at modernization. The advent of downloadable game services like Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network has further fueled the expanded market for remakes, as the platform allows companies to sell their games at a lower price, seen as more appropriate for the smaller size typical of retro games. Some XBLA and PSN remakes include "Bionic Commando Rearmed", "Jetpac Refuelled", "Wipeout HD" (a remake not of the original "Wipeout" but of the two PSP games), "Cyber Troopers Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram" and "Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix".


title: Video game remake

text: Some remakes may include the original game as a bonus feature. The 2009 remake of "The Secret of Monkey Island" took this a step further by allowing players to switch between the original and remade versions on the fly with a single button press. This trend was continued in the sequel, and is also a feature in "" and later in "Halo 2 Anniversary" as part of "".


title: Video game remake

text: The Nintendo 3DS' lineup has included numerous remasters and remakes, including "", "Star Fox 64 3D", "Cave Story 3D", "", "Pokémon Omega Ruby" and "Alpha Sapphire", "", and "".


title: Video game remake

text: Games abandoned by the rights-holders often spark remakes created by hobbyists and game communities. An example is "OpenRA", which is a modernized remake of the classic "Command & Conquer" real-time-strategy games. Beyond cross-platform support, it adds comfort functions and gameplay functionality inspired by successors of the original games. Another notable examples are "Pioneers", a remake and sequel in spirit to ""; "CSBWin", a remake of the Dungeon crawler classic "Dungeon Master"; and "Privateer Gemini Gold", a remake of "".


title: Video game remake

text: "Skywind" is a fan remake of "" (2002) running on Bethesda's Creation Engine, utilising the source code, assets and gameplay mechanics of "" (2011). The original game developers, Bethesda Softworks, have given project volunteers their approval. The remake team includes over 70 volunteers in artist, composer, designer, developer, and voice-actor roles. In November 2014, the team reported to have finished half of the remake's environment, over 10,000 new dialogue lines, and three hours of series-inspired soundtrack. The same open-development project is also working on "Skyblivion", a remake of "" (the game between "Morrowind" and "Skyrim") in the "Skyrim" engine, and "Morroblivion", a remake of "Morrowind" in the "Oblivion" engine (which still has a significant userbase on older PCs).


title: Video game remake

text: The term demake may refer to games created deliberately with an artstyle inspired by older games of a previous video game generation. The action platformer "Mega Man 9" is an example of such a game. Although remakes typically aim to adapt a game from a more limited platform to a more advanced one, a rising interest in older platforms has inspired some to do the opposite, remaking or adapting modern games to the technical standards of older platforms, usually going so far as to implement them on obsolete or abandoned hardware platforms, hence the term "Demake". Such games are either physical or emulated.


title: Video game remake

text: Modern demakes often change the 3D gameplay to a 2D one. Popular demakes include "", an official Game Boy Color port of "Quest 64"; "Super Smash Land", a Game Boy-style demake of "Super Smash Bros."; "D-Pad Hero", a NES-esque demake of "Guitar Hero"; "Rockman 7 FC" and "Rockman 8 FC", NES-styled demakes of "Mega Man 7" and "Mega Man 8", respectively; "Gang Garrison 2", a pixelated demake of "Team Fortress 2"; and "Halo 2600", an Atari 2600-style demake of Microsoft's "Halo" series. There is also a NES-style demake of "Touhou Project" game "Embodiment of Scarlet Devil". Some demakes are created to showcase and push the abilities of older generation systems such as the Atari 2600. An example of this is the 2012 game "Princess Rescue", which is a demake of the NES title "Super Mario Bros."


title: Video game remake

text: While most demakes are homebrew efforts from passionate fans, some are officially endorsed by the original creators such as "Pac-Man Championship Edition"'s Famicom/NES demake being printed onto Japanese physical editions of the Namcot Collection as an original bonus game.


title: Video game remake

text: For much of the 1990s in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, black market developers created unauthorized adaptations of modern games such as "Street Fighter II", "Mortal Kombat", "Final Fantasy VII" or "Tekken" for the NES, which enjoyed considerable popularity in the regions because of the availability of low-cost compatible systems.


title: Escolar

text: The escolar, "Lepidocybium flavobrunneum", a species of fish in the family Gempylidae, is found in deep (200–885 metres, or 656–2,904 ft) tropical and temperate waters around the world. It is also known as snake mackerel, ' (Hawaiian, sometimes written '), and is sometimes sold as "butterfish" or "white tuna", a matter aggravated by potential health problems related to consumption of escolar, giving rise to the mocking name "Ex-Lax fish".


title: Escolar

text: The escolar is dark brown, growing darker with age until it is quite black. It is a fast-swimming fish with a prominent lateral keel and four to six finlets after the anal and second dorsal fins. Escolar can grow to over in length. Like its relative the oilfish ("Ruvettus pretiosus"), escolar cannot metabolize the wax esters (gempylotoxin) naturally found in its diet. This gives the escolar an oil content of 14–25% in its flesh.


title: Escolar

text: The escolar's wax ester content can cause keriorrhea (Greek: flow of wax), also called gempylotoxism or gempylid fish poisoning.


title: Escolar

text: Symptoms range from stomach cramps to rapid loose bowel movements, occurring 30 minutes to 36 hours following consumption. This condition may also be referred to as steatorrhea.


title: Escolar

text: Two known ways to reduce the likelihood of escolar-induced keriorrhea are to limit portions to or less and to consume portions close to the tail, which typically have a lower wax ester content. Reports conflict on whether deep skinning, freezing or grilling will reduce the likelihood of keriorrhea.


title: Escolar

text: Escolar can be mislabeled in both restaurants and at fish markets. In 2009, tuna samples from sushi restaurants in New York City and Denver were DNA tested. Five of nine restaurants serving fish labeled "white tuna", "white tuna (albacore)" or "super white tuna" were actually serving escolar. From 2010 to 2013, a study by Oceana, an ocean preservation organization, tested over 114 samples of tuna, and found that 84% of the white tuna samples were actually escolar.


title: Escolar

text: Oceana claims that escolar has been mislabeled or otherwise confused with the following fish: Atlantic cod, oilfish (related to escolar but in a different genus), rudderfish, blue cod, black cod, king tuna, grouper, orange roughy, sea bass, gemfish, Chilean sea bass, albacore tuna, and white tuna.


title: Escolar

text: Oceana claims that this mislabeling, whether by ignorance or deceit, is more hazardous than the mislabeling of other fish due to the potential health effects of escolar.


title: Escolar

text: Italy and Japan have banned the sale of escolar due to its potential side effects. It has been banned for consumption in Japan since 1977, as the Japanese government considers it toxic. In 1999, the Swedish and Danish national food administrations informed fish trade associations and fish importing companies about the problems escolar and related fish could cause if not prepared properly and issued recommendations.


title: Escolar

text: In early 2007, after a public outcry, receiving consumer complaints about mislabeled fish and conducting an investigation, the Hong Kong government's Centre for Food Safety recommended escolar not be used for catering purposes, advised clear labeling and identification of fish species before sale, and purchase of fish from reliable sources, and recommended consumers become aware of the possible health effects of consumption of escolar, oilfish, and related species. The Hong Kong government has established a working group composed of members of the academia, trade and consumer group to prepare guidelines for assisting the trade and consumers in identifying relevant species of fish.


title: Escolar

text: In the United States, the FDA, after receiving complaints about diarrhea associated with escolar consumption, issued a bulletin recommending against import of the fish in the early 1990s. However, the FDA backed away from this recommendation and withdrew the bulletin several years later after deciding the fish was nontoxic and nonlethal. Currently, the FDA informally recommends, "Escolar should not be marketed in interstate commerce."


title: Escolar

text: In mid-2007, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, after investigating cases of diarrhea caused by mislabeled fish, decided not to ban escolar or oilfish, but instead issued a fact sheet noting the potential adverse effects of consumption and recommending consumers speak with their retailer, verify fish species and consume the fish in small portion sizes using preparation methods that reduce oil content.


title: Escolar

text: Hawaiian State Representative James Tokioka introduced HB2669, a bill aimed at banning the catch, sale or possession of escolar. HB2669 was deferred on February 1, 2010.


title: The Funk Brothers

text: The Funk Brothers were a group of Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972.


title: The Funk Brothers

text: Its members are considered among the most successful groups of studio musicians in music history. Among their hits are "My Girl", "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", "Baby Love", "I Was Made to Love Her", "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone", "The Tears of a Clown", "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", and "Heat Wave". Some combination of the members played on each of Motown's 100-plus U.S. R&B number one singles and 50-plus U.S. Pop number ones released from 1961 to 1972.


title: The Funk Brothers

text: There is no undisputed list of the members of the group. Some writers have claimed that virtually every musician who ever played on a Motown track was a "Funk Brother". There are 13 Funk Brothers identified in Paul Justman's 2002 documentary film "Standing in the Shadows of Motown", based on Allan Slutsky's book of the same name. These 13 members were identified by NARAS for the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and were recognized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.


title: The Funk Brothers

text: Early members included bandleader Joe Hunter and Earl Van Dyke (piano and organ); Clarence Isabell (double bass); James Jamerson (bass guitar and double bass); Benny "Papa Zita" Benjamin and Richard "Pistol" Allen (drums); Mike Terry (baritone saxophone); Paul Riser (trombone); Robert White, Eddie Willis, and Joe Messina (guitar); Jack Ashford (tambourine, percussion, vibraphone, marimba); Jack Brokensha (vibraphone, marimba); and Eddie "Bongo" Brown (percussion). Hunter left in 1964, replaced on keyboards by Johnny Griffith and as bandleader by Van Dyke. Uriel Jones joined the band as a third drummer. Late-era bassist Bob Babbitt and guitarist Dennis Coffey both joined the ensemble in 1966.


title: The Funk Brothers

text: While most of Motown's backing musicians were African American, and many originally from Detroit, the Funk Brothers included white players as well, such as Messina (who was the featured guitarist on Soupy Sales's nighttime jazz TV show in the 1950s), Brokensha (originally from Australia), Coffey, and Pittsburgh-born Babbitt.


title: The Funk Brothers

text: Unlike their Stax Records backing-band contemporaries Booker T. & the M.G.'s in Memphis, until the release of the "Standing in the Shadows of Motown" documentary, the members of the Funk Brothers were little known. Studio musicians were not credited by Motown until Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" in 1971, although Motown released a handful of singles and LPs by Earl Van Dyke. The Funk Brothers shared billing with Van Dyke on some recordings, although they were billed as "Earl Van Dyke & the Soul Brothers", since Motown CEO Berry Gordy, Jr. disliked the word "funk".


title: The Funk Brothers

text: Alternatively, the name "Funk Brothers" could have been given to the band ex post facto; the term "funky" as an adjective came to be associated with uptempo and backbeat, Southern-styled soul music in the second half of the 1960s; the term "funk" as a noun is typically associated with uptempo soul music from the 1970s onwards. In the "Standing in the Shadows of Motown" documentary, Joe Hunter stated that the name "The Funk Brothers" came from Benny Benjamin. Hunter said that Benjamin was leaving the studio (known as the "Snake Pit", due to all the cable runs out of the ceiling) after session work, paused on the stairs, turned and said to his fellow musicians, "You all are the Funk Brothers." The band was then informally named.


title: The Funk Brothers

text: The Funk Brothers often moonlighted for other labels, recording in Detroit and elsewhere, in bids to augment their Motown salaries. It became a worst-kept secret that Jackie Wilson's 1967 hit "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher" did not have a Motown influence quite by accident—the Funk Brothers migrated to do the Wilson session, in an interesting reference to Motown's early history: Berry Gordy, Jr got his first music break by getting Wilson to record some of his songs (including "Reet Petite") in the 1950s. Various Funk Brothers also appeared on such non-Motown hits as The San Remo Golden Strings "Hungry For Love", "Cool Jerk" (the Capitols), "Agent Double-O Soul" (Edwin Starr, before that singer joined Motown itself), "(I Just Wanna) Testify" by the Parliaments, "Band Of Gold" (Freda Payne), "Give Me Just a Little More Time" (The Chairmen of the Board), and blues musician John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom". After he found out about the Edwin Starr session, Gordy fined members of the Funk Brothers band for moonlighting for another label; Eddie Wingate, owner of the Ric-Tic and Golden World labels, which released Starr's "Agent Double-O Soul", subsequently attended that year's Motown staff Christmas party and personally gave each of the fined session players double the amount of the fine in cash, on the spot. Gordy eventually bought out Wingate's label and his entire artist roster.


title: The Funk Brothers

text: During the mid- to late-1960s, one-fifth of Motown records began using session musicians based in Los Angeles, usually covers and tributes of mainstream pop songs and showtunes. By 1970, Motown sessions were increasingly scheduled in Los Angeles instead of Detroit, including all of those for the Jackson 5's hit recordings. Nevertheless, Motown producers such as Norman Whitfield, Frank Wilson, Marvin Gaye, and Smokey Robinson steadfastly continued to record in Detroit.


title: The Funk Brothers

text: The Funk Brothers were dismissed in 1972, when Berry Gordy moved the entire Motown label to Los Angeles; a development some of the musicians discovered only from a notice on the studio door. A few members, including Jamerson, followed to the West Coast, but found the environment uncomfortable. For many of the L.A. recordings, members of The Wrecking Crew worked for Motown, including drummer Earl Palmer, percussionist Gary Coleman, bassist Carol Kaye, guitarist Tommy Tedesco, and keyboardist Larry Knechtel.


title: The Funk Brothers

text: In February 2004, surviving members of the Funk Brothers were presented the Grammy Legend Award at the 46th Annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center in L.A. In March 2006, some remaining Funk Brothers were invited to perform on Philadelphia writer-producer-singer Phil Hurtt's recording session at Studio A, Dearborn Heights, Detroit, where they contributed their performances to "The Soulful Tale of Two Cities" project. The double-album sleeve notes read: "Motown's legendary Funk Brothers and members of Philadelphia's world renowned MFSB take you 'back in the day' with an album filled with classic Philly and Motown hits." Bob Babbitt, Joe Hunter, Uriel Jones, and Eddie Willis performed alongside other notable Detroit session musicians, like Ray Monette, Robert Jones, Spider Webb, and Treaty Womack. The musicians played on the Philly hits, giving their unique Detroit interpretations of the songs under the leadership of Phil Hurtt, Bobby Eli, Clay McMurray and Lamont Dozier. Many other ex-Motown and Detroit artists performed vocals on the session, including the Velvelettes, Carolyn Crawford, Lamont Dozier, Bobby Taylor, Kim Weston, Freda Payne, and George Clinton.


title: The Funk Brothers

text: In 2008, Ashford and Riser played on Raphael Saadiq's album "The Way I See It", recorded in the style of the Motown Sound. That same year, the Funk Brothers' surviving members recorded "Live in Orlando", an album and video.


title: The Funk Brothers

text: In 2010, surviving members of the Funk Brothers accompanied Phil Collins on his Motown covers album, "Going Back", and appear in the live "Going Back" concert DVD.


title: The Funk Brothers

text: Bassist James Jamerson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, and drummer Benny Benjamin in 2003. In 2003, surviving members were invited to the White House to meet President George W. Bush, Secretary of State Colin Powell, and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, in an event tied to Black History Month.


title: The Funk Brothers

text: On March 21, 2013, the Funk Brothers were honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In August 2014, the Funk Brothers were inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Hall Of Fame at the induction ceremony, which was held in Canton, Ohio that year.


title: The Funk Brothers

text: As discussed above, the name "The Funk Brothers" was a loosely applied designation. The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences recognizes 13 musicians as official "Funk Brothers", but the name is often casually used as a catch-all designation to cover any musician who played on a Motown record.


title: The Funk Brothers

text: The following list covers the musicians most frequently used on Motown recordings from 1959 through 1972; it is not an exhaustive list of every musician ever used. The 13 Funk Brothers recognized as official band members by NARAS are marked with an asterisk.


title: The Funk Brothers

text: Los Angeles was an alternate recording center for Motown artists beginning in the mid-1960s, utilizing a different set of musicians. Hit tracks recorded in L.A. include the Miracles' "More Love", many of Brenda Holloway's songs, and all the early hits of the Jackson 5.


title: The Funk Brothers

text: Many of the Los Angeles players were members of the Wrecking Crew, a loose-knit group of studio musicians.


title: Deathconsciousness

text: Deathconsciousness is the debut studio album by American rock duo Have a Nice Life, released on January 24, 2008 on Enemies List Home Recordings. Recorded independently by the band members on a budget of less than $1,000, "Deathconsciousness" was released as a double album; the first disc is entitled "The Plow That Broke the Plains" and the second is entitled "The Future". The original cover art features a darkened version of the painting "The Death of Marat".


title: Deathconsciousness

text: The album received little attention from professional music publications upon its release, but spread through internet message boards and memes. In 2019, "Kerrang!" noted that it "quickly became a viral hit amongst internet communities like /mu/, Sputnikmusic, and rateyourmusic. Aided by their relative anonymity and "Deathconsciousness"’ ominous liner notes, which described a fictional medieval cult that worshipped God’s murderer, Dan and Tim quickly became the stuff of internet myth."


title: Deathconsciousness

text: Band member Dan Barrett was quoted as saying, "The lyrics were written simultaneously with the songs, though I tend to work in scraps... I'm constantly writing, then culling pieces that I think fit the music to build entire songs around. At the time I had a job where I would have to be into work at 4:30 in the morning, alone in a giant building, at a desk in front of a giant window. I wrote reams and reams during that time." Regarding how the project came to fruition, Barrett remarked that "We didn’t have a grand plan for it. A couple things ended up happening. We were recording songs and we had a bunch of stuff we didn’t know what to do with. We had a lot of material always because we would just get together and always write new stuff, and never work on the old stuff. I think it started coming together as a project, like my dad passed away and I think that sort of threw things sharply into focus."


title: Deathconsciousness

text: In an online Q&A session, Barrett commented on the notoriously lo-fi sound achieved on the album, mentioning how "a lot of "Deathconsciousness" was recorded through the pinhole mic on [his] laptop". The whole album was recorded with a budget of less than $1,000 USD. The Flenser label owner Jonathan Tuite said: "This is a record was created with tools that are available to anyone. Pretty easily, very cheaply, a lot of the sounds are probably presets, and it didn’t need a lot of tweaking. It’s kind of like a record made by an everyman, even though it’s a work of near-genius."


title: Deathconsciousness

text: The album's style has been described as dark ambient and gothic rock; its tone "apocalyptic". "Deathconsciousness" is a concept album; Jayson Heller of "Pitchfork" identified the thesis of the album as the view that "Existence is bleak, gallows humor undergirds it, and sometimes wallowing in that sick paradox is the best revenge".


title: Deathconsciousness

text: Barrett picked "The Big Gloom", his personal favorite, as the most emotional song on the album to put together, while Tim Macuga chose "Earthmover", specifically the loud ending. The iconic "bass drop" at the end of the song came from Macuga slamming his bass guitar onto the floor out of frustration and leaving the room as a result of recording difficulties.


title: Deathconsciousness

text: The original master recordings of the album were lost during a hard drive crash, leaving the band with only 192 bit rate MP3 files.


title: Deathconsciousness

text: A 70-page booklet written by Dan Barrett accompanied the album. It details the life, death, and teachings of Antiochus, the leader of a fictional religious sect created by Barrett. The album was reissued in 2009 by Enemies List, re-pressing the album on vinyl and CD, with new cover art. The reissue included a 70-page booklet with various paintings and lyrics. Another reissue of "Deathconsciousness" was released September 17, 2014 by Enemies List and The Flenser.


title: Deathconsciousness

text: The album received little to no attention from music publications upon its release, although Nick Greer of Sputnikmusic gave it four-and-a-half stars out of five and the album placed at No. 94 on the website's Top 100 Albums of the Decade list.


title: Deathconsciousness

text: Though the band members expected it to linger in obscurity, the album has, in the years following its release, gained a substantial cult following, especially in online music communities such as 4chan's /mu/, the website's imageboard for musical discussion, where it is considered an "essential" album. The album is also acclaimed on the Reddit community r/Indieheads. Mike LeSuer of "Flood" described the album as a "meme-worthy cultural moment". As of 2019, the album had been re-issued seven times. Also in 2019, the band performed the album in its entirety at the Dutch metal festival Roadburn.


title: Deathconsciousness

text: Barrett said, "We saw an Italian magazine put it on the best albums of the year list next to Portishead and Meshuggah and thought, ‘Oh god, they think we’re a real band!’"


title: Deathconsciousness

text: The opening track "A Quick One Before the Eternal Worm Devours Connecticut" was sampled by producer John Mello for a song by rapper Lil Peep on a track titled "Shiver". Macuga remarked, “I recorded that guitar part in my bathtub and now it’s on the front page of "Us Weekly" for a rapper’s eulogy.”


title: Sumo Digital

text: Sumo Digital Ltd. is a British video game developer based in Sheffield, England and the principal subsidiary of Sumo Group. The company was founded in 2003 by four former members of the management team of Infogrames Studios and, as of 2018, employs more than 700 people.


title: Sumo Digital

text: Parent company Sumo Group was formed in December 2017 and went public. The developer's model has been described as work for hire.


title: Sumo Digital

text: Sumo Digital was founded in 2003 by Carl Cavers, Paul Porter, Darren Mills and James North-Hearn, four members of the former management team of Infogrames Studios, after that company had been closed down. In 2007, Sumo Digital opened a subsidiary studio in India, called Sumo India. In August 2007, Foundation 9 Entertainment announced that it was acquiring Sumo Digital, wherein North-Hearn became the manager of Foundation 9's European operations. North-Hearn subsequently became chief executive officer for Foundation 9 in March 2008. In November 2014, Sumo Digital's officers completed a management buyout from Foundation 9; in this transaction, Sumo Digital's management was backed by NorthEdge Capital and Foundation 9 was advised by GP Bullhound.


title: Sumo Digital

text: In January 2016, Sumo Digital opened a third development studio, Sumo Nottingham, in Nottingham, England. In January 2018, Sumo Digital acquired CPP Newcastle, the Gateshead-based studio of CCP Games. In August, the company acquired developer The Chinese Room. In February 2019, Sumo Digital acquired work-for-hire video game studio Red Kite Games. A few days later, the studio opened another new studio in Leamington Spa, England, to focus on mobile game development. In October 2019, Sumo North West was opened in Warrington, England; led by Evolution Studios co-founder Scott Kirkland. Lab42 and its 29 employees based in Leamington Spa were added to Sumo Digital's studios when Sumo Group acquired it May 2020. Sumo Digital announced a partnership with the blockchain-company Dapper Labs in October 2020.


title: Simon Jones (actor)

text: Simon Jones (born 27 July 1950) is an English actor. He portrayed Arthur Dent, protagonist of Douglas Adams' "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" on radio in 1978 and again on television in 1981. Jones also appeared in the film "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" (2005) in a cameo role. He also played the role of Donald Shellhammer in "Miracle on 34th Street" (1994), appeared in "Brideshead Revisited" as Lord Brideshead, and as King George V in the film "Downton Abbey".


title: Simon Jones (actor)

text: Jones appeared in various television series, including "Brideshead Revisited" (in which he played the Earl of Brideshead, or 'Bridey', heir to the Marquess of Marchmain), and the second series of "Blackadder" (playing Sir Walter Raleigh). His films have included "Club Paradise", "Privates on Parade", "Miracle on 34th Street" and "The Devil's Own".


title: Simon Jones (actor)

text: Jones studied at King's College, Taunton, before going up to Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he was a member of the Footlights and met Douglas Adams. This led to Jones being cast in "Out of the Trees" and later "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". The latter project, a radio broadcast from 1978, would be the first of Jones's several portrayals of Arthur Dent; Adams claimed to Jones that he wrote the part of Dent with him in mind. In "Monty Python's The Meaning of Life", Jones had a minor role as one of the guests at the dinner party which is interrupted by the Grim Reaper. He has also appeared in some of the solo film projects of the members of Monty Python: "Privates on Parade" (with John Cleese) "American Friends" (with Michael Palin), and "Brazil" and "12 Monkeys" (both directed by Terry Gilliam).


title: Simon Jones (actor)

text: Jones has appeared in many Broadway plays, including "The Real Thing" (1985, as Max), "Benefactors" (1985, as Colin), "Getting Married" (1991, as Reginald Bridgenorth), "Private Lives" (1992, as Elyot Chase), "The Real Inspector Hound" (as Moon) and "The Fifteen Minute Hamlet" (as Hamlet - which played together in 1992), "The School for Scandal" (1995, as Joseph Surface), "Ring Round the Moon" (1999, as Romainville) and "Waiting in the Wings" (1999, as Perry Lascoe). In 2009, Jones appeared in "Blithe Spirit", as Dr. Bradman, supported by Angela Lansbury and Rupert Everett; and in 2018 he portrayed John Rich, in "Farinelli and the King" starring Mark Rylance, from January through March. Off-Broadway he has a long list of credits, and was nominated for the 1990 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play for his role in "Privates on Parade".


title: Simon Jones (actor)

text: In regional theatre at the Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis, Jones starred as Christopher Gore in the American premier of Brian Friel's "The Home Place" in late 2007; he returned there in late 2008 to portray C. S. Lewis in "Shadowlands". In 2015 he played the Man in Chair in "Drowsy Chaperone" at Cape Playhouse in Massachusetts, and immediately afterwards went to Sag Harbor to play Major Bouvier and Norman Vincent Peale in "Grey Gardens" with Rachel York and Betty Buckley, again directed by Michael Wilson; this same production went to Los Angeles in 2016 at the Ahmanson Theatre.


title: Simon Jones (actor)

text: Jones is also a voice actor and audiobook presenter, with more than 70 titles to his credit. Among them are:


title: Simon Jones (actor)

text: In 2003, Jones reprised his role as Arthur Dent in a new radio series of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". In the same year he was involved in the filming of the film version of the first novel, making a brief cameo appearance in the role of the holographic Magrathean answering machine/automated defence system.


title: Simon Jones (actor)

text: In 2009, Jones was heard as master detective Sexton Blake on BBC Radio 2 in the six-part series, "The Adventures of Sexton Blake!".


title: Simon Jones (actor)

text: In addition to his work as an actor, Jones is also a co-artistic director at New York Off-Broadway company the Actors' Company Theatre (TACT), where he played the role of Jack in the play "Home" by David Storey.


title: Simon Jones (actor)

text: In 2010, Jones joined in the Irish Repertory Theatre's production of "A Child's Christmas in Wales", a concert version of the Dylan Thomas work. This ran from 8 December 2009 to 2 January 2010.


title: Simon Jones (actor)

text: In 2011, Jones played Piero Soderini in "Divine Rivalry" — a new play by Michael Kramer, directed by Michael Wilson, and produced by the Shubert Organisation – at the Hartford Stage Theatre in Hartford, Connecticut. Jones had played this part in several previous readings of the play. Later in the year, he was in a new musical version of "Death Takes a Holiday", from the book by Tom Meehan and Peter Stone, with music by Maury Yeston; it. It ran in New York City, at the Roundabout's Laura Pels Theatre, from 7 July to 4 September. A CD was released shortly afterwards.


title: Simon Jones (actor)

text: From there, Jones returned to London, where he attended the opening night of "No Naughty Bits", at the Hampstead Theatre on 13 September. The play, by Steve Thompson, was the story of Jones's wife, Nancy Lewis, and the Monty Python team's lawsuit against ABC-TV in America.


title: Simon Jones (actor)

text: In 2012 Jones played David Bliss, husband of Harriet Harris, in "Hay Fever" at the Guthrie Theatre, directed by Jones' friend Chris Luscombe. Jones then appeared (in the role of Sir Francis Beekman), with Megan Hilty starring in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" at ENCORES! concert series at City Center in New York City, which also resulted in CD. Later in the year, he went to the UK, where he starred in a national stage tour of "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy – Live!"


title: Simon Jones (actor)

text: In the summer of 2013, Jones went to East Hampton, New York, where Tony Walton directed him in a production of "Tonight at 8:30", featuring three of Noël Coward's short plays. Blythe Danner was the co-star, and they performed "Hands Across the Sea", "Family Album" and "Red Peppers". This was followed by another UK stage tour of "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy – Live!


title: Simon Jones (actor)

text: The tour of "Blithe Spirit", starring Angela Lansbury, then went to London's West End in early 2014. This was accompanied by an appearance at a special cabaret (organised by co-star Janie Dee) at the Cafe de Paris, where he sang "Mad Dogs and Englishmen". That June, he portrayed Emperor Joseph II in "Amadeus", starring Rupert Everett. This was followed by BBC Radio appearances in Neil Gaiman and Terry Prachett's "Good Omens", directed by Dirk Maggs, and "Doctor Who" with Tom Baker. The year ended with "Blithe Spirit" once again – still with Lansbury – on a North American tour.


title: Simon Jones (actor)

text: In 2018, Jones was once again playing Arthur Dent when he recorded the final radio series, "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy – the Hexagonal Phase" directed by Dirk Maggs for BBC Radio 4.


title: Simon Jones (actor)

text: In August 2018, it was announced that Jones would be among the new cast to join the original actors in the "Downton Abbey" film, which started principal photography at about the same time.


title: Simon Jones (actor)

text: From 18 November 2021 to 9 January 2022, Jones starred as Henry in the Broadway premiere of "Trouble in Mind" by Alice Childress.


title: Simon Jones (actor)

text: Jones and his son Tim were hit by a car on 8 October 2010; though they suffered only bruises, he had to withdraw from the Actors' Company Theatre's production of Václav Havel's "Memorandum".


title: Maximalism

text: In the arts, maximalism, a reaction against minimalism, is an aesthetic of excess. The philosophy can be summarized as "more is more", contrasting with the minimalist motto "less is more".


title: Maximalism

text: The term "maximalism" is sometimes associated with postmodern novels, such as those by David Foster Wallace and Thomas Pynchon, where digression, reference, and elaboration of detail occupy a great fraction of the text. It can refer to anything seen as excessive, overtly complex and "showy", providing redundant overkill in features and attachments, grossness in quantity and quality, or the tendency to add and accumulate to excess.


title: Maximalism

text: Novelist John Barth defines literary maximalism through the medieval Roman Catholic Church's opposition between "two...roads to grace:"


title: Maximalism

text: the "via negativa" of the monk's cell and the hermit's cave, and the "via affirmativa" of immersion in human affairs, of being in the world whether or not one is of it. Critics have aptly borrowed those terms to characterize the difference between Mr. Beckett, for example, and his erstwhile master James Joyce, himself a maximalist except in his early works.


title: Maximalism

text: Takayoshi Ishiwari elaborates on Barth's definition by including a postmodern approach to the notion of authenticity. Thus:


title: Maximalism

text: Under this label come such writers as, among others, Thomas Pynchon and Barth himself, whose bulky books are in marked contrast with Barthelme's relatively thin novels and collections of short stories. These maximalists are called by such an epithet because they, situated in the age of epistemological uncertainty and therefore knowing that they can never know what is authentic and inauthentic, attempt to include in their fiction everything belonging to that age, to take these authentic and inauthentic things as they are with all their uncertainty and inauthenticity included; their work intends to contain the maximum of the age, in other words, to be the age itself, and because of this their novels are often encyclopedic. As Tom LeClair argues in "The Art of Excess", the authors of these ʺmasterworksʺ even ʺgather, represent, and reform the time's excesses into fictions that exceed the time's literary conventions and thereby master the time, the methods of fiction, and the readerʺ.


title: Maximalism

text: In music, Richard Taruskin uses the term "maximalism" to describe the modernism of the period from 1890 to 1914, especially in German-speaking regions, defining it as "a radical intensification of means toward accepted or traditional ends". This view has been challenged, however, on the grounds that Taruskin uses the term merely as an "empty signifier" that is filled with "a range of musical features—big orchestration, motivic and harmonic complexity, and so on—that he takes to be typical of modernism". Taruskin, in any case, did not originate this sense of the term, which had been used by the mid-1960s with reference to Russian composers of the same period, of whom Sergei Prokofiev was "the last". Contemporary maximalist music is defined by composer David A. Jaffe as that which "embraces heterogeneity and allows for complex systems of juxtapositions and collisions, in which all outside influences are viewed as potential raw material". Examples include the music of Edgard Varèse, Charles Ives, and Frank Zappa. In a different sense, Milton Babbitt has been described as a "professed maximalist", his goal being, "to make music as much as it can be rather than as little as one can get away with". Richard Toop, on the other hand, considers that musical maximalism "is to be understood at least partly as 'antiminimalism'". Kanye West's "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" (2010) has also been described as a maximalist work. Charlemagne Palestine describes his drone-based music as maximalist.


title: Maximalism

text: Maximalism as a term in the plastic arts is used by art historian Robert Pincus-Witten to describe a group of artists, including future Oscar-nominated filmmaker Julian Schnabel and David Salle, associated with the turbulent beginnings of Neo-expressionism in the late 1970s. These artist were in part "stimulated out of sheer despair with so long a diet of Reductivist Minimalism". This maximalism was prefigured in the mid-1960s by certain psychoanalytically oriented paintings by Gary Stephan.


title: Maximalism

text: Charlotte Rivers describes how "maximalism celebrates richness and excess in graphic design", characterized by decoration, sensuality, luxury and fantasy, citing examples from the work of illustrator Kam Tang and artist Julie Verhoeven.


title: Maximalism

text: Art historian Gao Minglu connects maximalism in Chinese visual art to the literary definition by describing the emphasis on "the spiritual experience of the artist in the process of creation as a self-contemplation outside and beyond the artwork itself...These artists pay more attention to the process of creation and the uncertainty of meaning and instability in a work. Meaning is not reflected directly in a work because they believe that what is in the artist's mind at the moment of creation may not necessarily appear in his work." Examples include the work of artists Ding Yi and Li Huasheng.


title: Maximalism

text: In 1995 the ""antipreneurial" one-man artist group" "" presented "LESS function IS MORE fun" as a post-neoist special waste sale of interpassive design-defuncts in a so-called "Spätverkauf" installation by Laura Kikauka at the Volksbühne Berlin, which she claimed as one of her projects of "Maximalism".


title: Stéphane Bancel

text: Stéphane Bancel (born July 20, 1972) is a French billionaire businessman. He is the chief executive officer (CEO) of the American pharmaceutical and biotechnology company Moderna, known for its COVID-19 vaccine. Before joining Moderna, Bancel was the CEO of French diagnostics company BioMérieux. Bancel is a partner at Flagship Pioneering, and has served on the boards of Indigo Agriculture, Boston's Museum of Science, and Qiagen. As of December 2022, his net worth was estimated at US$6 billion, owning about 8% of Moderna.


title: Stéphane Bancel

text: Bancel was born in Marseille, France. His father and mother were an engineer and doctor, respectively. He enjoyed computers, math, and science during his childhood.


title: Stéphane Bancel

text: Bancel studied engineering at CentraleSupélec (former École Centrale Paris) and biological engineering at the University of Minnesota, earning master's degrees at both institutions. He went on to earn an MBA from Harvard Business School.


title: Stéphane Bancel

text: Bancel was a sales director at Eli Lilly and Company, eventually becoming head of operations for Belgium. In 2007, he became CEO of French diagnostics company BioMérieux, and was credited with improving the company's margins.


title: Stéphane Bancel

text: In 2011, Bancel joined Moderna as the CEO. Stat reported that Bancel led a highly secretive culture with little outside review of its science or research.


title: Stéphane Bancel

text: Bancel has two children. In April 2020, with the Moderna share price rising on news of imminent phase 2 human trials for its potential COVID-19 vaccine, Bancel's stake of about 9% became worth over $1 billion. He lives in Boston, Massachusetts.


title: West Midlands Trains

text: West Midlands Trains (WMT) is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates passenger trains on the West Midlands franchise between London and the English Midlands under two trade names: West Midlands Railway (WMR) (within the West Midlands region) and London Northwestern Railway (LNR) (outside the region).


title: West Midlands Trains

text: West Midlands Trains was created as a consortium of three companies, Abellio, JR East, and Mitsui & Co., which joined to bid for the West Midlands franchise; they were amongst the three bids to be shortlisted in April 2016, and were awarded the franchise during August 2017. In addition to the DfT, it is also accountable to the West Midlands Rail Executive for services that operate wholly within the West Midlands region. On 10 December 2017, West Midlands Trains took over operations from the prior operator, London Midland. As per the original terms of the franchise, West Midlands Trains is expected to continue to operate it until March 2026.


title: West Midlands Trains

text: During October 2017, West Midlands Trains revealed details for its planned procurement of new rolling stock; 26 CAF "Civity" diesel multiple units (80 carriages) and 81 electric multiple units based on Bombardier Transportation's "Aventra" platform (333 carriages), have been ordered and will replace various classes inherited from prior operators. It also became the launch customer for the Class 230 diesel electric multiple unit that are upcycled London Underground D78 Stock, these entered service in April 2019. During 2020, service levels were deliberately reduced by West Midlands Trains as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. West Midlands Trains was amongst those train operators that were impacted by the 2022 United Kingdom railway strikes, being only capable of operating a minimal timetable on days of the strikes due to the number of staff involved.


title: West Midlands Trains

text: In April 2016, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced the shortlist of bidders for the West Midlands franchise, comprising the incumbent operator Govia, MTR Corporation, and West Midlands Trains: a consortium of Abellio (70%), JR East (15%) and Mitsui (15%). During July 2016, MTR Corporation abruptly opted to withdraw itself from the bidding process.


title: West Midlands Trains

text: In August 2016, a formal invitation to tender for the franchise was issued to the two remaining bidders. During August 2017, the West Midlands Trains consortium was awarded the franchise; it took over operations from the prior operator, London Midland, on 10 December 2017. The franchise is scheduled to run until March 2026.


title: West Midlands Trains

text: Unlike the previous London Midland franchise, which was solely accountable to the DfT, West Midlands is also accountable for services that operate wholly within the West Midlands region to the West Midlands Rail Executive, a group of 16 local authorities. However, the DfT must still approve any changes that the West Midlands Rail Executive may wish to make until the franchise is re-let.


title: West Midlands Trains

text: By mid-2020, West Midlands Trains had considerably curtailed its services in response to the significant decline of passenger travel amid the COVID-19 pandemic. From 15 June 2020, both passengers and staff on public transport in England, including West Midlands Trains services, were required to wear face coverings while travelling, and that anyone failing to do so would be liable to be refused travel or fined.


title: West Midlands Trains

text: In May 2021, the company was criticised after it sent an email to 2,500 employees apparently thanking them for their work during the COVID-19 pandemic and offering a financial bonus; however, employees who clicked on the link within the email were informed that there was, in fact, no bonus and that the email had been a "phishing simulation test”.


title: West Midlands Trains

text: West Midlands Trains was one of several train operators impacted by the 2022 United Kingdom railway strike, which was the first national rail strike in the UK for three decades. Its workers were amongst those who participated in industrial action due to a dispute over pay and working conditions. West Midlands Trains was only capable of operating a very minimalist timetable on any of the planned dates for the strikes due to the number of staff involved.


title: West Midlands Trains

text: WMT services are split into two businesses which operate under two distinct sub-brands. Train services running on the West Coast Main Line, including those running to/from London Euston, and , operate under the "London Northwestern Railway" brand. This name was chosen in tribute to the former London & North Western Railway (LNWR), the company that operated services on the route between 1846 and 1922. Branding of trains and associated publicity use a green colour scheme with a logo composed of the letters L, N and W.


title: West Midlands Trains

text: Services running in Birmingham and the West Midlands region – previously operated by London Midland under the "London Midland City" brand – are operated by WMT under the "West Midlands Railway" brand. WMT have chosen to operate these services as a distinct business unit in order to facilitate a possible future devolution of these services from the national DfT to the West Midlands Combined Authority. These services bear an orange and purple colour scheme and are branded with a hexagonal "WM" monogram adopted as part of a shared branding initiative under Transport for West Midlands, in which several transport modes in the West Midlands County use similar branding to emphasise integrated transport. Each mode bears a variant of the "WM" logo: West Midlands Buses use a red logo, West Midlands Metro trams use a blue logo, cycling initiatives are branded with a green logo, West Midlands Railway bears an orange logo, and the West Midlands Rail Executive uses a turquoise logo.


title: West Midlands Trains

text: WMT's services along the West Coast Main Line rail corridor are operated under the London Northwestern Railway brand. These services include:


title: West Midlands Trains

text: As of December 2022, the typical off-peak Monday - Saturday London Northwestern Railway service pattern, with frequencies in trains per hour (tph), includes:


title: West Midlands Trains

text: In the West Midlands region, WMT's train services are operated under the West Midlands Railway brand. These services include:


title: West Midlands Trains

text: Services on the short Stourbridge Town branch line are run by the open access operator Pre Metro Operations, who operate services on behalf of WMT under the West Midlands Railway brand name.


title: West Midlands Trains

text: As of December 2022, the typical off-peak Monday - Saturday West Midlands Railway service pattern, with frequencies in trains per hour (tph), includes:


title: West Midlands Trains

text: WMT inherited a fleet of Class 139, 150, 153, 170, 172, 319, 323 and 350 units from London Midland, but as the newer units enter service, some will be returned to the leasing companies that own them.


title: West Midlands Trains

text: The concept of using the lightweight railcar dates from 2006 when a year-long pilot scheme began on the Stourbridge Town branch line on Sundays, using a Parry People Movers PPM50 unit constructed in 2002 and numbered as 999900 under TOPS. The success of this trial led to the provision of regular services using the technology in the franchise plans for the new West Midlands Franchise. Following the award of the franchise to London Midland, it placed an order for two PPM60 units with Parry People Movers, through Porterbrook. The service itself was operated for London Midland by Pre Metro Operations.


title: West Midlands Trains

text: These two units are 139 001 and 139 002, composed of vehicle numbers 39001 and 39002 in the British carriage and wagon numbering and classification system. The vehicles are mechanically similar to 999 900, but are approximately one metre longer. They were intended to start operating on the Stourbridge Town branch in 2008. In January 2009 it was confirmed that 139001 was still undergoing testing at Chasewater Railway and 139002 was still not completed.


title: West Midlands Trains

text: Despite the difficulties in the commissioning of the two Class 139 units, London Midland consistently outlined its faith that they would be ready to enter service. In March 2009, it was announced that the first unit had received its passenger certification from Network Rail, allowing it to carry passengers. London Midland stated that they would begin a phased entry into service, starting with weekend operation in April, leading up to a full service by the timetable change in May 2009. Until then, London Midland temporarily returned a Class 153 to operating the branch service. 139 002 officially entered service on 29 March 2009 as part of the type's phased entry. This unit had previously worked in full service, including all-day on Monday 11 May 2009 and previously had worked all morning services during February and March 2009. In May 2009, the first unit, 139 001 was finally delivered to Stourbridge, with 999 900 removed at the same time. Test unit 999 900 had been on the branch line between 2005 and 2009. At the point of introduction, they displaced a single Class 153 DMU that was previously allocated to the branch line. By December 2009, the 200,000th passenger had been carried by the railcars.


title: West Midlands Trains

text: West Midlands Trains operate a total of 35 two-car and three-car Class 172 units, 27 of which had been ordered by predecessor London Midland, who originally planned for them to enter service by the end of 2010 on services to and from Birmingham Snow Hill, replacing Class 150s. The original 27 sets have revised front ends with end gangways which make the trains look like the Electrostar family of units.


title: West Midlands Trains

text: From 1 September 2011, the Class 172s started operating on the Snow Hill Lines with some weekend work from Birmingham – Hereford. When first used in service, the units suffered a fault with engine vibration in the passenger cabin, which has since been rectified.


title: West Midlands Trains

text: The units were originally meant to replace all of the Class 150s, however three were retained until 2019 and moved on to Northern after the Class 172/0 and Class 230 units entered service. Between late 2018 and early 2019 West Midlands Railway inherited the London Overground 172/0s to replace the remaining Class 150s and Class 153s operating on the Coventry to Leamington line, the Coventry to Nuneaton line and Birmingham to Hereford. All had entered service by May 2019.


title: West Midlands Trains

text: During November and December 2020, the centre vehicles of the Class 170/6 units were removed and transferred to CrossCountry to extend some of their two-carriage Class 170 units. The Class 170/6 units which remained at West Midlands Trains have been renumbered to reflect them becoming Class 170/5 units, before being moved to East Midlands Railway after the Class 196 units are introduced.


title: West Midlands Trains

text: In May 2021, Chiltern Railways' fleet of four Class 172/1s transferred to West Midlands Trains. This transfer means that all of the Class 172 units are operated by West Midlands Trains. The initial sublease contract was until December 2021, the end of Chiltern Railways' franchise agreement, but the units have remained with West Midlands Trains, with Chiltern stating that the 172/1s would not be returning to them.


title: West Midlands Trains

text: WMT is in the process of replacing its fleet of 23 Class 170/5 and 170/6 "Turbostar" and eight Class 153 units, which operate on West Midlands Railway services, with 26 new Class 196 "Civity" units.


title: West Midlands Trains

text: The Class 153 units left West Midlands Trains at the end of 2020, and the Class 170 units will move to East Midlands Railway, with the exception of the centre cars of the 170/6s which moved to CrossCountry to lengthen its 170/5s.


title: West Midlands Trains

text: West Midlands Trains are also the first operator of the Class 230, a new class of diesel electric multiple unit that are upcycled London Underground D78 Stock.


title: West Midlands Trains

text: During October 2017, the company announced its plans to procure three two-car D-Train units for use on the Marston Vale line. During April 2019, four months later than intended, the first Class 230 entered regular service.


title: West Midlands Trains

text: Seventeen of the Class 323 units will be transferred to Northern Trains to work with the existing 323 units already in service with them.


title: West Midlands Trains

text: In October 2017, details were announced of planned new rolling stock for West Midlands Trains. Specifically, West Midlands Trains placed orders for 26 new CAF "Civity" diesel multiple units (80 carriages) as well as 81 electric multiple units based on Bombardier Transportation's "Aventra" platform (333 carriages), when combined, this totals 107 new trains that will be operated by the company.


title: West Midlands Trains

text: Eighty-one Class 730 "Aventras" sets are to be purchased. They will be built at Derby Litchurch Lane Works. 36 three car trains and 45 five car trains will be built.


title: Lumbini Province

text: Lumbini Province () is a province in western Nepal. It borders Gandaki Province and Karnali Province to the north, Sudurpashchim Province to the west, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar of India to the south. Lumbini is the third largest and the third most populous province among the Nepali provinces.


title: Lumbini Province

text: Lumbini's capital, Deukhuri, is near the geographic centre of the province; it is a small town which is currently being developed to meet the prerequisite of provincial capital. The major cities in this province are Butwal and Siddharthanagar in Rupandehi District, Nepalgunj in Banke District, Tansen in Palpa District, and Ghorahi and Tulsipur in Dang District. The province is home to the World Heritage Site of Lumbini, where according to the Buddhist tradition, the founder of Buddhism, Gautama Buddha was born.


title: Lumbini Province

text: Lumbini Province is named after the holy pilgrimage site of Lumbini in the Rupandehi District, birthplace of Gautama Buddha – the founder of Buddhism. The Provincial Assembly adopted Lumbini Province as the permanent name by replacing its initial name Province No. 5 on 6 October 2020 and Deukhuri was declared the state capital of the province.


title: Lumbini Province

text: The Churiya range linked with the Dang valley of Lumbini province has been archaeologically considered very ancient with the existence of Sivapithecus"," a link between man "a"nd ape. The pre-historic studies of the valley have been carried out extensively since the last century; by Tribhuvan University since 1966, American Museum of Natural History and the Department of Mines of then His Majesty's Government of Nepal from 1976, as well as the paleolithic study of Dang valley by University of Erlangen-Nuremberg of Germany in 1984, among others. These researches have pointed out that Dang valley was a lake approximately 2.5 to 1 million years ago. In addition, Hand axes and other artefacts dated to early Paleolithic (1.8 million to 100,000 years ago) have been found in alluvial deposits along the Babai River in Dang Valley, which have been classified as Acheulean or second-generation tools that succeed the oldest Olduwan. Also along the Babai River, there have been discoveries of archeological sites dated to Upper Paleolithic/Late Pleistocene (about 50,000 to 10,000 years ago).


title: Lumbini Province

text: As per the Buddhist tradition, Queen Maya Devi of Kapilavastu was traveling to her father's Koliya kingdom in Devdaha to give birth to her child as was the Shakya tradition. However, on the way she stopped near the garden of Lumbini to rest and went into labour thus giving birth to the future Buddha under a sal tree. Gautama Buddha was born in 623 BC in Lumbini, testified by the inscription on the pillar erected by the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka in 249 BC which marks the spot as the birthplace of "Buddha Shakyamuni". The inscription mentions, as translated by Paranavitana:


title: Lumbini Province

text: ""When King Devanampriya Priyadarsin had been anointed twenty years, he came himself and worshipped (this spot) because the Buddha Shakyamuni was born here. (He) both caused to be made a stone bearing a horse and caused a stone pillar to be set up, (in order to show) that the Blessed One was born here. (He) made the village of Lummini free of taxes, and paying (only) an eighth share (of the produce)""


title: Lumbini Province

text: According to the Buddhist texts, Gautama Buddha was born as a prince in a royal Shakya clan reigning over the kingdom of Kapilavastu. This ancient city has been widely identified as Tilaurakot of present Kapilvastu district where ruins of the ancient fortified city have been found. Gautama was a prince of Kapilavastu until the age of 29, after which he left the palace behind and wandered throughout the Ganges plain as an ascetic – learning yoga and related concepts from various teachers. Gautama became the Buddha or the Enlightened One after several years of his wandering, one day under the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya. After enlightenment, he began his teachings and travelled extensively throughout the Ganges plain. The original teachings of Buddha later culminated into Buddhism, spreading through much of Asia then and the world at present.


title: Lumbini Province

text: After the death of Gautama Buddha, eight princes out of sixteen mahājanapadās received Buddha's relics, one of them a Koliyan king of Rāmagrāma (present Parasi district) who built a stupa enshrining the relic. Buddhist texts point out the princes constructed a stupa at or near their capital city and enshrined Buddha's relics. The site has the only undisturbed original stupa containing the relic of Gautama Buddha in the world, and was added to the World Heritage Tentative List by UNESCO on 23 May 1996.


title: Lumbini Province

text: During the medieval period after the 11th century, Khasa Kingdom dominated much of western Nepal and western Tibet which was initially oriented towards Buddhism and Shamanism, and at their peak encompassed Guge and Purang of Tibet and western Nepal up to Kaskikot. King Ripumalla, one of the initial Khasa rulers, left an inscription on the Ashoka pillar with six-syllable mantra of Buddhism and his wish """Om mani padme hum: May Prince Ripu Malla be long victorious""," dated around 1312 CE.


title: Lumbini Province

text: After the late 13th century, Khasa kingdom disintegrated into numerous principalities each with its own ruler. In the 18th century, King Prithvi Narayan Shah, born from the marriage of king Nara Bhupal Shah of the Gorkha Kingdom and Queen Kaushalyavati Devi, the princess of the Palpa kingdom; set out on a conquest to unify the region into modern Nepal.


title: Lumbini Province

text: The"' Anglo-Nepalese War' "(1814–1816), was fought between the Gorkhali army of the Kingdom of Nepal and the British forces of the East India Company. Nepal had won the battle against the British in this region. Jitgadhi, Nuwakot Gadhi, and Kathe Gadhi acted as strong defensive and offensive bases during the war.


title: Lumbini Province

text: With the help of an ousted Palpali king, Major General Wood planned to march on Siuraj, Jitgadi Fort and Nuwakot with a view to bypass the Butwal defenses, flushing out minor opposition on the axis, and assault Palpa from a less guarded flank. Nepalese Colonel Ujir Singh Thapa had deployed his 1200 troops in many defensive positions including Jit Gadhi, Nuwakot Gadhi, and Kathe Gadhi. The troops under Colonel Ujir were very disciplined and he himself was a dedicated and able commander. He was famous for exploiting advantages in men, material, natural resources and was well versed in mountain tactics.


title: Lumbini Province

text: The British advance took place on 22nd Poush1871 BS (January 1814 AD) to Jit Gadh. While they were advancing to this fortress, crossing the Tinau River, the Nepalese troops opened fire from the fortress. Another of the attackers' columns was advancing to capture Tansen Bazar. Here too, Nepalese spoiling attacks forced the General to fall back to Gorakhpur. About 70 Nepalese lost their lives in Nuwakot Pakhe Gadhi. Meanwhile, more than 300 of the enemy perished.


title: Lumbini Province

text: During 1942 the region was divided into several districts such as Butwal, Deukhuri, Banke, Nuwakot, Salyan, Palpa, etc.


title: Lumbini Province

text: Lumbini, with an area of 22,288 square kilometers (8,605.44 sq. mi) covers about 15.1% of the country's total area. Lumbini Province is almost the size of US state of New Jersey. The province extends 150 km (93 mi) north to south and about 300 km (186 mi) east to west at its maximum width. It shares 413.14 km (256 mi) of border with India (states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh).


title: Lumbini Province

text: The Province is geographically bordered with Gandaki Province to the east and north, by Karnali province to the north and west, by Sudurpaschim Province to the west and by India to the south. There are three ecological regions of Mountains, Hills and Terai; each occupying 3.1%, 69.3% and 27.6% of the province respectively.


title: Lumbini Province

text: Lumbini has a humid subtropical climate and experiences four seasons. The winter in January and February is followed by summer between March and May and the monsoon season between June and September. In winter, it's sunny and mild, pleasantly warm during the day but cool at night, sometimes even cold. The average temperature in January is around 15 °C (59 °F). But the northern parts of the province get colder and can experience snowfall. By March, the temperature rises considerably and it begins to be hot, while from April to June it's scorching hot, and highs can reach or exceed 40 °C (104 °F) in southern plains.


title: Lumbini Province

text: In June, the summer monsoon arrives, characterized by heavy rains, in the form of downpours and thunderstorms. The monsoon arrives first in the east, in early June, while in the west it comes in the middle of the month or so. The temperature decreases, with the maximum dropping to around 32 °C (90 °F) in July and August, but the humidity increases, making the heat muggy. The rains are heavy, especially in July and August, when they exceed 300 millimeters (12 inches) per month, but in certain areas at the foot of the mountains, they can exceed 600 mm (23.5 in) per month. The monsoon starts to withdraw by early October in the west, and about a week later in the east. The weather returns to be sunny, and even though October is still a hot month, the humidity decreases, and the night temperature becomes a bit cooler.


title: Lumbini Province

text: Dang and Deukhuri valleys, 10 km apart, are located in the Dang Deukhuri District. The Dang Valley lies between the Mahabharat Range in the north and the Churia Range in the south. It forms a nearly 1,000 km (390 sq mi) plain within a local drainage basin of less than 3,000 km (1,200 sq mi). It is drained by the Babai River, and is one of the largest Inner Terai valleys. Deukhuri Valley is southeast of the Dang Valley and extends about 60 km (37 mi) in WNW-ESE direction with a maximum width of 20 km (12 mi), and is surrounded by Sivalik Hills on all sides. It forms a nearly 600 km (230 sq mi) plain within a drainage basin of 6,100 km (2,400 sq mi). The valley is drained by the West Rapti River.


title: Lumbini Province

text: The elevations of Dang and Deukhuri valleys are 700 meters and 300 meters from sea level respectively. Late Cenozoic sedimentary sequences are well exposed along the southern part of Dang and all sides of Deukhuri valley, and mostly consist of deformed rocks resulting from the persistence of shortening between Indian Plate and Eurasian Plate. The two valleys have been considered a vital location of Paleolithic archeology in South Asia due to the abundant presence of ancient Paleolithic tool sites.


title: Lumbini Province

text: Other small valleys of the province are located in districts like Arghakhanchi (Rapti), Palpa (Rampur), Gulmi (Simaltari), Pyuthan (Darban and Bajipur).


title: Lumbini Province

text: Being the only mountain district of Lumbini province, most of the prominent peaks of the province lie in Eastern Rukum District along the Dhaulagiri range. The tallest mountain of Lumbini Province in Eastern Rukum, Putha Himchuli also known as Mount Dhaulagiri VII, has an altitude of 7,246 meters and is one of the popular trekking peak of the Dhaulagiri region. The mountain was first ascended jointly by British explorer J.O.M Roberts and Nepalese climber Ang Nyima Sherpa in 1954. Mount Sisne I remained an unclimbed summit until 2013, and the first successful ascent was made by a mountaineering team led by Man Bahadur Khatri.


title: Lumbini Province

text: The province is very ethnically diverse. The largest group is the Tharu with 15.14% of the population. The second largest is Magar with 15.01%. Other Janajati communities include Newar 1.35% Other Janjati 2.72%. The Khas and Arya communities are Khas/ Chhetri (13.60%), Hill Brahmin (12.37%), Kami (6%), Damai (1.88%), Sarki (1.48%), Thakuri (1.33%) and Sanyasi (1.15%). The Terai communities are Musalman (6.93%), Yadav (4.03%), Chamar (2.04%), Kewat (1.04%), Kahar (1.02%) and Paswan (1.01%).


title: Lumbini Province

text: Nepali is the most spoken language of the province, but is also a home to Tharu community and 'Tharu language' with 600,000 speakers. The province also has many speakers of Bhojpuri, Awadhi, Urdu and Magar languages.


title: Lumbini Province

text: The Language Commission of Nepal has recommended Tharu and Awadhi as official language in the province. The commission has also recommended Bhojpuri, Urdu, Magar and Maithili to be additional official languages, for specific regions and purposes in the province.


title: Lumbini Province

text: There is a total of 109 local administrative units in the province which include four sub-metropolitan cities, 32 urban municipalities, and 73 rural municipalities.


title: Lumbini Province

text: Districts in Nepal are the second level of administrative divisions after provinces. Lumbini Province is divided into 12 districts, which are listed below. A district is administrated by the head of the District Coordination Committee and the District Administration Officer. The districts are further divided into municipalities or rural municipalities.


title: Lumbini Province

text: After the state's reconstruction of administrative divisions, Nawalparasi District and Rukum District were divided into Parasi District and Nawalpur District, and Eastern Rukum District and Western Rukum District respectively.


title: Lumbini Province

text: Cities and villages are governed by municipalities in Nepal. A district may have one or more municipalities. Lumbini has two types of municipalities.


title: Lumbini Province

text: The government of Nepal has set out a minimum criteria to meet city and towns. These criteria include a certain population, infrastructure and revenues.


title: Lumbini Province

text: The Governor acts as the head of the province, while the Chief Minister is the head of the provincial government. The Chief Judge of the Tulsipur High Court is the head of the judiciary. The Speaker of the Assembly is Purna Bahadur Gharti. Umakanta Jha is the first Governor of Lumbini Province. Current Governor Dharma Nath Yadav was appointed on 4 November 2019 by the President of Nepal.


title: Lumbini Province

text: Lumbini provincial assembly is the unicameral legislative assembly consisting of 87 members. Candidates for each constituency are chosen by the political parties or stand as independents. Each constituency elects one member under the first past the post (FPTP) system of election. The current constitution specifies that sixty percent of the members should be elected from the first past the post system and forty percent through the party-list proportional representation (PR) system. Women should account for one-third of total members elected from each party. If one-third percentage are not elected, the party that fails to ensure so shall have to elect one-third of the total number as women through the party-list proportional representation.


title: Lumbini Province

text: As of 2021, Lumbini Province is the 2nd fastest growing province in Nepal after Bagmati Province and is third out of the seven provinces in terms of its contribution to the GDP (14% as of 2021). The two major custom points of Nepal, Nepalganj and Siddharthanagar (Bhairahawa) are situated in the south of the province, and are major transit zones of trade and transport through India. The rapidly expanding cities in Lumbini province, Butwal and Siddharthanagar in Rupandehi District, Ghorahi and Tulsipur in Dang District, and Nepalgunj and Kohalpur in Banke District are major industrial centers.


title: Lumbini Province

text: Ranking 2nd in the number of banks and financial institutions in Nepal after Bagmati Province; several projects have been launched in the province to boost economic growth. Construction of the Gautam Buddha International Airport, upgrade of the Nepalgunj Airport into an international airport as per the 20-years master plan, establishment of industrial units in Special economic zone, and the opening of new hotels are expected to spur further economic growth in the province. The national pride projects which have been initiated in the province include:


title: Lumbini Province

text: The province has both temperate and tropical climates and is diverse in terms of agriculture crop production potentialities. The province is best suited for agriculture production with five core terai districts, one inner terai, and 6 other hill districts. The land is very fertile and a good source of irrigation prevails. Sikta Irrigation Project and Babai Diversion and Irrigation project have benefited the agricultural production. The major crops are paddy, mustard, wheat, maize, sugarcane, vegetables, potato, lentils and cotton. Lumbini is self-sufficient in milk, cereal crops and pulses.


title: Lumbini Province

text: By 2021, there were 16,549 registered companies in the province. Lumbini province ranks 2nd in the country after Bagmati Province in the share of small, cottage and micro-level industries numbering 81,164 that create an estimated 493,686 employment. In addition, tourism industry is a massively growing industry in Lumbini province, welcoming the largest numbers of tourists in Nepal from about 113 countries worldwide.


title: Lumbini Province

text: Two of the prime industrial estates of Nepal in Lumbini Province - Nepalgunj industrial estate (district), the oldest industrial estate of the province, was established in 1973 AD and Butwal industrial estate was established in 1975 AD. Combined, the two industrial estates have about a hundred industries in the zone and are a significant source of revenue of the country. Post-promulgation of the Constitution of Nepal in 2015, further industrial estates were declared in the province by the Council of Ministers of the Government of Nepal: Motipur industrial estate in Rupandehi and Naubasta industrial estate in Banke districts. Similarly, Dang industrial estate has been declared in Dang district.


title: Lumbini Province

text: Lumbini, considered one of the holiest place in Buddhism associated with the Buddha's birth, is a World Heritage Site and the most visited place in Nepal with 1.5 million tourist arriving annually. Lumbini has a number of older temples, including the Mayadevi Temple, and various new temples, funded by Buddhist organizations from various countries, have been completed or are still under construction. The ancient ruins of complex structures have been conserved in the area including the Shakya tank – the remains within the Mayadevi Temple with brick structures and cross-wall system that have been dated from 3rd century BC, Ashoka pillar, excavated remains of Buddhist monasteries of 3rd century BC to the 5th century AD and the remains of Buddhist stupas (memorial shrines) dated between 3rd century BC to the 15th century AD. In addition to the ruins of ancient monasteries, there is a sacred Bodhi tree, an ancient bathing pond, the Ashokan pillar and the Mayadevi Temple, a site traditionally considered to be the birthplace of the Buddha.


title: Lumbini Province

text: Lumbini complex is divided into three areas: Sacred garden, Monastic zone, Cultural center and new Lumbini village. The sacred garden is the epicenter of the complex which is centered around the birthplace of Buddha and consists of the Mayadevi Temple, the Asoka Pillar, the Marker Stone, the Nativity Sculpture, Sacred Pond (Puskarini), and many structural ruins including Buddhist Viharas & Stupas. The monastic zone is divided into east and west each reflecting two different schools of Buddhism. As a centre of pilgrimage, many countries have established their monasteries in the complex reflecting their own cultural design and spirituality. In the large monastic zone only monasteries can be built; no shops, hotels or restaurants are allowed. The zone is divided into an eastern and western monastic zone, the eastern having the Theravadin monasteries, the western having the Mahayana and Vajrayana monasteries. The Cultural Center consists of museums, Lumbini International Research Institute (LIRI), administration complex etc. and the New Lumbini Village has the World Peace Pagoda and the Lumbini Crane Sanctuary. World Peace Pagoda lies at the northern end of the Lumbini complex and was designed by Japanese buddhists to represent universal peace.


title: Lumbini Province

text: Widely attributed as the hometown of Gautama Buddha, the Kapilvastu District of present-day Nepal has more than 130 archaeological sites, primarily concentrated in Tilaurakot, Kudan, Gotihawa, Niglihawa, Araurakot, Sagarhawa and Sisaniya. The region is also considered the hometown of two previous Buddhas before Gautama: Kakusandha Buddha who was born in Gotihawa and Koṇāgamana Buddha who was born in Niglihawa. Among three Ashoka pillars in Nepal, two are situated in Gotihawa and Niglihawa erected during King Ashoka's visit to ancient Kapilvastu. Tilaurakot, considered the cardinal point of the ancient Shakyan city of Kapilavastu where Gautama Buddha spent 29 years of his lifetime, was added to the World Heritage Tentative List by UNESCO on 1996.


title: Lumbini Province

text: After the death of Gautama Buddha, the relics of Buddha was divided among eight princes out of sixteen mahājanapadās. One among them, a Koliyan king of Rāmagrāma (present Parasi district) also received the relic who built a stupa enshrining it. Known as the only undisturbed original relic of Buddha in the world the site of stupa was added to the World Heritage Tentative List by UNESCO on 23 May 1996.


title: Lumbini Province

text: The Dhaulagiri circuit in Eastern Rukum encompasses the Dhaulagiri mountain range of the northern Lumbini Province. The Dhaulagiri mountain range extends from the northwest to the northeast of Eastern Rukum district and then continues eastward to its tallest peak at Dhaulagiri I. Putha Hiunchuli (Dhaulagiri VII), one of the most popular 7,000-metre mountains, was first climbed by British explorer J. O. M. Roberts and Sherpa Ang Nyima in 1954. The West Dhaulagiri circuit is a tourist trekking circuit close to the Dhaulagiri mountain range and Magar-majority villages, with a distinct preserved Kham Magar culture of the northern Lumbini province.


title: Lumbini Province

text: The circuit's eastern portion is situated along the Dhorpatan reserve of Eastern Rukum, which was designated to preserve high-altitude ecosystems in western Nepal in 1983. The reserve harbours alpine, sub-alpine and high temperate vegetation and 137 species of birds. Endangered animals in the reserve include the musk deer, wolf, red panda, cheer pheasant and danphe.


title: Lumbini Province

text: Bardiya National Park is the largest national park in the lowland Terai which was established in 1976 spread over 968 square kilometres to protect the representative ecosystem, habitats of tigers and their prey species. As a popular tourist destination, the national park is a beautiful, unspoiled wilderness of sal forest, grassland, and alluvial washes cut by the many fingers of the Karnali River. In 1997, a buffer zone of 327 square kilometres surrounding the park was declared, consisting of forests and private lands. The buffer zone is jointly managed by the local communities and the park and community development and resource management is carried out jointly.


title: Lumbini Province

text: Elephant ride and wilderness site-seeing of Gangetic dolphins, tigers, rhinos and elephants are popular touristic activities in the park. The Babai valley which is rich in biodiversity was added to the park in 1984. The zone has wooded grassland and riverine forest and its water is home to Gharial crocodile. More than 30 different mammals, 513 species of birds and several species of snakes, lizard and fishes have been recorded in the park area.


title: Lumbini Province

text: Banke National Park, adjacent to the Bardiya National Park with the coherent protected area of 1,518 km (586 sq mi) represents the Tiger Conservation Unit (TCU). The national park was established in 2010 and is a protected area of tiger and four-horned antelopes. The park extends over an area of 550 square kilometers in Banke district of the province. Banke National Park is connected with Bardiya National Park in the west and wildlife sanctuary and forests of India in the south. The protected zone is an important component of Terai Arc Landscape(TAL) that provides habitat for tigers. The park has eight ecosystem types such as Sal forest, deciduous Riverine forest, savannahs and grasslands, mixed hardwood forest, flood plain community, Bhabar and foothills of Chure range and is home to 124 plants, 34 mammals, more than 300 birds, 24 reptiles, 7 amphibians and 58 fish species. As per the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1973, 3 species of mammals (tiger, striped hyaena, four-horned antelope), 4 species of birds (giant hornbill, black stork, Bengal florican, and lesser florican) and 2 species of reptiles (gharial crocodile and python) are protected in the park.


title: Lumbini Province

text: Rani Mahal which was constructed in 1893 by General Khadga Shumsher to commemorate his late wife Tej Kumari Devi. He gave it the name Rani Mahal, which fittingly translates to 'Queen's Palace'. The palace is at the banks of the Kali Gandaki River, between Syangja and Palpa, eighteen kilometres from Tansen.


title: Lumbini Province

text: A temple dedicated to Shiva is situated at the base of chure range, south of Babai river about 9 kilometers from the center of Ghorahi in Dang district. As per the belief, the temple marks the ancient site of Mahābhārata where the five Pandavas brother prayed to Shiva during their journey to the Himalayas. The temple complex consists of the world's largest Trishula. The temple has become an important site for Hindu devotees as well as for prominent personalities such as the President of Nepal, police chiefs, chief justices and ministers.


title: Lumbini Province

text: By 2014, Palpa District was one of the first 4 "fully literate" districts of Nepal, achieving a literacy rate of over 95%. By 2018, further districts of Lumbini province namely, Arghakhanchi, Gulmi, Pyuthan, Dang, Parasi, Rupandehi, Rolpa, Bardiya and Eastern Rukum District were classified as fully literate districts of Nepal.


title: Lumbini Province

text: According to the 2011 census, the literacy rate in Lumbini Province is 66%. Different levels of education(acquired by population) can be classified as:


title: Lumbini Province

text: According to the National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS) 2016, the Province's Neonatal Mortality (per 1000 live births) stands at 30 and Infant mortality rate (per 1000 live births) stands at 42, both of which are higher than the national average of 21 and 32 respectively.


title: Lumbini Province

text: The province has 670 public health facilities, including four hub hospitals, 18 hospitals, two regional medical stores, 31 primary health care centers, 570 health posts, 27 urban health centers, 15 community health units and 9 other health facilities.


title: Lumbini Province

text: In Lumbini province, 49.2% of the population have radio access and followed by 30.4% have access to TV, and only 1.3% have access to the internet. Similarly, 4.4% of the population have access to landline telephone, while 65.8% have access to mobile phone. There are three major cell phone providers in Lumbini Province. They are Nepal Doorsanchar Company Limited (NTC), Ncell Axiata Limited (NCELL) and Smart Cell. The coverage of Smart Cell providers is only in 5 districts.


title: Lumbini Province

text: There are 66 newspaper channels in Lumbini Province with national, provincial, and local outreach. As per the classification, some of the top-ranking newspapers are Gorachya Dainik, Dainik Nepalgunj, and Mechikali Sandesh Dainik. There are a total of 63 radio stations in the province, such as Radio Lumbini, Radio Tulsipur, Bheri F.M., etc.


title: Lumbini Province

text: 91% of the population has access to electricity in the province. Of the 12 districts in Lumbini Province, Parasi, Kapilvastu and Bardiya have been electrified by more than 99 percent. Gulmi, Arghakhanchi and Rupandehi have more than 95 percent electrification and Rukum East has the lowest electrification of 11.25 percent. Lumbini generates 21.2 MW of electricity from hydropower. Total number of electricity consumers in the province is 457992, consuming 370.8 Million MWh of energy annually. According to NEA, Distribution and Consumer Service Directorate 93% of consumers are domestic users; loss of electricity in the province is 12.17% for the year 2076/77 (2020 AD). Out of the total loss in distribution provincial office, Gularia contributes the highest loss percentage of 25.02%.


title: Lumbini Province

text: Butwal Solar PV Project, Nepal's first private grid-connected solar power plant, was connected to national transmission line in October 2020. Ridi Hydropower Company has constructed the power plant in Tilottama of Rupendehi District. With over 32,000 solar panels of 330 watts each, the plant can generate 8.5 MW of electricity.


title: Lumbini Province

text: Transportation routes in Lumbini evolved since H01. Lumbini has two major routes, H01 and H10 both intersecting in Butwal. 8,931 km of road is constructed in the Province. Out of which 5,293 km is blacktopped.


title: Lumbini Province

text: All 12 districts of the province are connected via blacktopped roads. Major highways of the province are as follows:


title: Lumbini Province

text: Bhairahawa and Nepalgunj have always been major trade routes with India. Lumbini has no railways but East West railway, Kathmandu-Lumbini railway and several other routes connecting Indian cities are planned.


title: Lumbini Province

text: Gautam Buddha International Airport, Nepalgunj Airport and Dang Airport are major airstrips in the province. Nepalgunj Airport, Nepal's second most busiest airport after Tribhuwan International Airport, is being upgraded to an international airport as per the 20 year master plan. Being mostly flat land air travel isn't preferable but Nepalgunj Airport serves as hub for most of the airports in Karnali Province and Sudurpaschim Province and is a transit point for tourists heading to Lake Manasarovar and Mount Kailash in Tibet. New airports are under construction in Resunga (Gulmi District) and Sandhikharka (Arghakhanchi District).


title: Flag of Bolivia

text: The flag of Bolivia is the national flag of the Plurinational State of Bolivia. It was originally adopted in 1851. The state and war flag is a horizontal tricolor of red, yellow and green with the Bolivian coat of arms in the center. According to one source, the red stands for Bolivia's brave soldiers, while the green symbolizes fertility and yellow the nation's mineral deposits.


title: Flag of Bolivia

text: Since 2009 the Wiphala also holds the status of "dual flag" in the country. According to the revised Constitution of Bolivia of 2009, the Wiphala is considered a national symbol of Bolivia (along with the flag, national anthem, coat of arms, the cockade; kantuta flower and patujú flower).


title: Flag of Bolivia

text: Despite its landlocked status, Bolivia has a naval ensign used by navy vessels on rivers and lakes. It consists of a blue field with the state flag in the canton bordered by nine small yellow five-pointed stars, with a larger yellow five-pointed star in the fly. The nine small stars represent the nine departments of Bolivia, and the larger star the nation's right to access the sea (access that it lost in 1884 in the War of the Pacific).


title: Flag of Bolivia

text: The national flag of Bolivia is described as a tricolor rectangle, with the colors red, yellow and green, in a ratio of 1:1:1, meaning three horizontal bands, with the red on the superior part occupying a third of the flag's width, yellow in the middle band using the same width, and green in the inferior part, using the last third.


title: Flag of Bolivia

text: The dimensions of the flag had not been defined since its adoption in 1851. Supreme Decree No. 27630 of 2004 finally established that the size of the national flag be of 7.5 squares width by 11 squares long, a square can be any size, but always using the ratio 15:22.


title: Flag of Bolivia

text: The first description of Bolivia's national flag, together with the significance of these, were first established by the Supreme Decree of 1888 during the government of President Gregorio Pacheco, which specifies that:


title: Flag of Bolivia

text: The colours of the tricolor can also be found in the Bolivian Wiphala. The Wiphala has been included into the national colours of the Bolivian Air Force such as on the executive Dassault Falcon 900EX. The Wiphala is also officially flown on governmental buildings such as the Palacio Quemado and parliament alongside the tricolor since the introduction of the revised 2009 constitution.


title: Flag of Bolivia

text: The current Bolivian flag has been officially adopted 31 October 1851 during the presidency of Manuel Isidoro Belzu.<br>


title: Flag of Bolivia

text: According to Supreme Decree No. 27630 of 19 July 2004, during the presidency of Carlos Mesa, it was established that the civil flag used in civic, public and patriotic celebrations will be used without the National Shield, instead the flag used by the state in official acts it will include in its central part the shield<br>


title: Flag of Bolivia

text: During the presidency of Evo Morales, through Supreme Decree No. 241 of 5 August 2009, some symbolic modifications were made to the flag. It was also established that for both the civil flag and the flag used by the State in official acts they should be raised on the right side and the wiphala on the left side.


title: David Nalbandian

text: David Pablo Nalbandian (; born 1 January 1982) is an Argentine retired professional tennis player who played on the ATP Tour from 2000 until his retirement in 2013. He reached the highest ranking in singles of world No. 3 in March 2006. Nalbandian was runner-up in the singles event at the 2002 Wimbledon Championships. During his career, he won 11 singles titles, including the Tennis Masters Cup in 2005 and two Masters 1000 tournaments. Nalbandian is the only male Argentine player in history who ever reached the semifinals or better at all four Grand Slam tournaments and reached the men's singles final at Wimbledon.


title: David Nalbandian

text: He was a member of the Argentinian Davis Cup team who reached the finals of the World Group in 2006, 2008 and 2011. Nalbandian played right-handed with a two-handed backhand, which was known for being a devastating shot. Since his retirement, Nalbandian has taken up the sport of rally racing and has competed in Rally Argentina.


title: David Nalbandian

text: Of Armenian and Italian descent, David Nalbandian was born in the small city of Unquillo in Córdoba Province, Argentina. He became a professional tennis player at the age of 18.


title: David Nalbandian

text: As a junior, Nalbandian reached as high as No. 3 in the world in December 1998 (and No. 5 in doubles in 2000), soon after winning the US Open boys' singles final over fellow junior Roger Federer.


title: David Nalbandian

text: He turned professional in 2000. In 2001, he finished in the ATP top 50 for the first time. He finished 2002 as the No. 1 Argentine and South American for the first time in his career, winning two ATP titles and reaching the Wimbledon final, where he beat David Sánchez, Paul-Henri Mathieu, George Bastl, Wayne Arthurs, Nicolás Lapentti and Xavier Malisse before losing to Lleyton Hewitt.


title: David Nalbandian

text: Nalbandian did not reach another major final in 2003. At Wimbledon he lost to Tim Henman, following a stomach injury during his previous match against Karol Kucera. In 2004, Nalbandian achieved his best result at the French Open reaching the semifinals, losing to eventual champion Gastón Gaudio. Although he did not win any titles in 2004, he did finish runner-up at both the Rome Masters and the Madrid Masters,by Carlos Moyá and Marat Safin respectively. He broke into the top 5 for the first time in his career in August and finished 2004 ranked as the World No. 9 player.


title: David Nalbandian

text: In 2005, Nalbandian advanced to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open. He also won the Tennis Masters Cup, becoming only the second Argentine tennis player in history (after Guillermo Vilas in 1974) to win the year-end tournament. Having replaced Andy Roddick, he won two of his three group matches (to Federer, Ivan Ljubičić, and Guillermo Coria). In the semifinals, he defeated Russian Nikolay Davydenko, and in the final, he beat World No. 1 Roger Federer in a fifth-set tiebreak after coming from two sets down, with Federer succumbing to a right ankle injury after laboring out the first two sets in tiebreaks. Nalbandian became the first player to win the cup without previously attaining a Grand Slam or Masters Series title.


title: David Nalbandian

text: In January 2006, Nalbandian beat Fabrice Santoro of France, 7–5, 6–0, 6–0, in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, becoming, at the time, only the second active player (along with Roger Federer) to have reached the semifinals of each Grand Slam tournament. He lost in the semifinals to Marcos Baghdatis in a hard-fought five-set match, despite holding a two-set-to-love advantage and four games to two in the final set. In May, he won the Estoril Open Tournament in Portugal for the second time, being one of only three men to achieve this accomplishment (Carlos Costa, 1992 and 1994; and Thomas Muster, 1995 and 1996). One month later, Nalbandian reached his second French Open semifinal. It was the only time in his career that he reached two Grand Slam semifinals in one calendar year. He played Federer and started strongly, winning the first set 6–3 and going 3–0 up in the second set. At 5–2 down in the third set, Nalbandian decided to retire from the match due to stomach injury. At Wimbledon, Nalbandian was beaten in the third round, where he lost to Fernando Verdasco in straight sets. At the US Open, Nalbandian was beaten in the second round by Marat Safin.


title: David Nalbandian

text: Nalbandian then competed in the Davis Cup semifinal tie against Australia. David easily won against Mark Philippoussis, 6–4, 6–3, 6–3, to give Argentina a 1–0 lead. Argentina went on to win 5–0 to reach the Davis Cup final. Later in the year, Nalbandian reached semifinals at the Masters Series Madrid and the Masters Cup, where he lost to Roger Federer and James Blake, respectively. Despite winning both of his singles rubbers in the Davis Cup final against Safin and Nikolay Davydenko, Nalbandian could not stop the Russian Davis Cup team. Argentina went on to lose 3–2.


title: David Nalbandian

text: 2007 saw Nalbandian drop out of the world's top 20 for the first time since 2003, after losing in the fourth round of the 2007 French Open to Nikolay Davydenko. Nalbandian suffered various abdominal injuries, a back injury, and a leg injury during the year.


title: David Nalbandian

text: He fell to no. 26 in the world until his season changed after winning the 2007 Madrid Masters. He won the tournament by defeating second seed Rafael Nadal, third seed Novak Djokovic, and top seed Federer in consecutive rounds, becoming the third player after Boris Becker and Djoković to defeat the world's top three players in a single tournament. He defeated Nadal, 6–1, 6–2, in the quarterfinals. His good form carried him to his second top-3 win of the tournament, defeating Djoković in the semifinals. He stunned Federer in the final, 1–6, 6–3, 6–3, and reached the doubles semifinals with Guillermo Cañas in the tournament, before losing to top-seeded brothers Bob and Mike Bryan in the semifinals. After the tournament, his singles ranking moved up from no. 25 on the tour to No. 18.


title: David Nalbandian

text: He played at the 2007 Paris Masters and again defeated Federer, in the third round 6–4, 7–6. He beat David Ferrer in the quarterfinals in a closely fought match, 7–6, 6–7, 6–2. After beating Richard Gasquet, 6–2, 6–4 in the semifinals, Nalbandian won his second straight ATP Masters Series title over Rafael Nadal, 6–4, 6–0, thus, becoming the first player to win the Madrid and Paris Masters back to back since former world no. 1, Marat Safin in 2004. This win allowed him to move back into the world's top 10 at No. 9. After the Paris Masters, Nalbandian became the first player to defeat No. 1 and No. 2 players in consecutive tournaments and win them.