title: Niagara Escarpment

text: The escarpment is not a fault line but the result of unequal erosion. It is composed of an outcrop belt of the Lockport Formation of Silurian age, and is similar to the Onondaga Formation, which runs in a parallel outcrop belt just to the south, through western New York and southern Ontario. The escarpment is the most prominent of several escarpments formed in the bedrock of the Great Lakes Basin. From its easternmost point near Watertown, New York, the escarpment shapes in part the individual basins and landforms of Lake Ontario, Lake Huron, and Lake Michigan.


title: Niagara Escarpment

text: In Rochester, New York, the Genesee River flows through the city in three waterfalls over the scarp face. The escarpment thence runs westward to the Niagara River, forming a deep gorge north of Niagara Falls, which itself cascades over the scarp face. In southern Ontario, it spans the Niagara Peninsula, closely following the Lake Ontario shore through the cities of St. Catharines and Hamilton, where it takes a sharp turn north in the town of Milton toward Georgian Bay. It then follows the Georgian Bay shore northwestwards to form the spine of the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island, as well as several smaller islands in northern Lake Huron, where it turns westwards into the Upper Peninsula of northern Michigan, south of Sault Ste. Marie. It extends down the Garden Peninsula and Potawatomi Islands into Wisconsin following the Door Peninsula and then continues more inland from the western coast of Lake Michigan until ending northwest of Chicago near the Wisconsin–Illinois border.


title: Niagara Escarpment

text: Study of rock exposures and drillholes demonstrates that no displacement of the rock layers occurs at the escarpment, which is not a fault line but the result of unequal erosion. The escarpment's caprock is dolomitic limestone, also known as dolostone, which is more resistant and overlies weaker, more easily eroded shale as a weathering-resistant "cap". The escarpment formed over millions of years through a process of differential erosion of these rocks of different hardnesses. Through time the soft rocks weather away or erode by the action of streams. The gradual removal of the soft rocks undercuts the resistant caprock, leaving a cliff or escarpment. The erosional process is most readily seen at Niagara Falls, where the river has quickened the process. It can also be seen at the three waterfalls of the Genesee River at Rochester (additional resistant rock layers make more than one escarpment in some places). Also, in some places thick glacial deposits, such as the Oak Ridges Moraine, conceal the Niagara Escarpment, such as north of Georgetown, Ontario, where it actually continues under glacial till and reappears farther north.


title: Niagara Escarpment

text: The dolomite cap was laid down as sediment on the floor of a marine environment. In Michigan, behind (southwest of) the escarpment, the "cuesta" capstone slopes gently to form a wide basin, the floor of an Ordovician-Silurian-age tropical sea. (The escarpment is essentially the remnant shoreline of that sea.) There the constant deposition of minute shells and fragments of biologically-generated calcium carbonate, mixed with sediment washed in by erosion of the virtually lifeless landmasses, eventually formed a limestone layer. During the Silurian period, some magnesium substituted for some of the calcium in the carbonates, slowly forming harder dolomite layers in the same fashion. Worldwide sea levels were at their all-time maximum in the Ordovician; as the sea retreated, erosion inevitably began.


title: Niagara Escarpment

text: This dolomite basin contains Lakes Michigan, Huron, and Erie. (The geological formations under Lakes Superior and Ontario were formed from volcanic rifts. Soft basalt lines their canyon walls, bottoming at around 400 metres (1300 feet) below sea level.)


title: Niagara Escarpment

text: The Welland Canal allows ships to traverse the escarpment between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario on the Niagara Peninsula of Ontario. The escarpment was a major obstacle in the construction of the Erie Canal in New York and was traversed by a series of locks; the community which grew up at the site thus became known as Lockport, New York.


title: Niagara Escarpment

text: In southern Ontario, the Bruce Trail runs the length of the escarpment from Queenston on the Niagara River to Tobermory on the Bruce Peninsula. Highway 401, Canada's busiest, also crosses the Niagara Escarpment, beginning its long descent through rolling hills, farmland, and towns west of Milton. Rock exposed on the face of the escarpment can be seen along Highway 26 from Owen Sound eastwards towards Meaford, Ontario.


title: Niagara Escarpment

text: Hamilton, Ontario is on the escarpment in such a way that the north end of the city is below and the south part above. Commonly referred to as "The Mountain" by its residents, many roads or "mountain accesses" join the urban core below with the suburban expansion above. From 1892 to 1936, the Hamilton Incline Railway transported people up and down "The Mountain".


title: Niagara Escarpment

text: High Cliff State Park in Wisconsin shows how modern and prehistoric humans used the escarpment for not only cultural reasons, but economic gains, as well. A number of different animal and geometric effigy mounds and the remains of an early 20th-century limestone quarry and kiln are within the park.


title: Niagara Escarpment

text: The relief and exposed edge are used by several wind farms stretching from Pipe, to Brownsville in Wisconsin. Wind speeds average 18 mph (about 29 km/h) along this stretch.


title: Niagara Escarpment

text: The Niagara Escarpment is a prominent Wisconsin feature in Dodge County, southwest of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin; it is known there as "The Ledge" and is in Ledge County Park between Horicon and Mayville, Wisconsin. Some local organizations take their name from it, including The Ledgers, the sports teams at St. Mary's Springs Academy, which is perched on the side of the escarpment.


title: Niagara Escarpment

text: Niagara County, New York, near the eastern end of the escarpment, is the site of the Niagara Escarpment AVA (American Viticultural Area). Wines produced in this region include traditional grape varieties such as Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and Riesling, and fruit wines.


title: Niagara Escarpment

text: Ontario's Niagara Peninsula is the site of the largest wine-producing appellation (region) in Canada. Cool-climate varieties such as Riesling, Chardonnay, Gamay Noir, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Franc are among the more than 30 varietals produced across . Three subappellations lie along the benchlands of the Niagara Escarpment: Short Hills Bench, Twenty Mile Bench, and Beamsville Bench.


title: Niagara Escarpment

text: Northeastern Wisconsin, at the western end of the escarpment, is the site of the Wisconsin Ledge AVA. Most of the region's vineyards lie upon the escarpment's eastern-facing slope that rises gently upward from the shores of Lake Michigan to the top of the Ledge, before dropping sharply off into Green Bay, and benefit greatly from constant air movement from Lake Michigan, which stores warmth during the summer. The presence of the lake produces a vacuum of sorts during the growing season: warm air over the lake rises, sucking colder air off the land and creating offshore breezes. Cold air cannot settle over the vineyards and a constant flow of warmer air makes the growing season here longer than in other parts of the state. The escarpment's glacial soils are made up of gravel, sand, and clay over limestone bedrock. An aquifer provides mineral-rich ground water to the vines, encouraging deep root growth.


title: Niagara Escarpment

text: In February 1990, the Niagara Escarpment was a designated World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO, making it one of 12 in Canada. Development and land use on and adjacent to the escarpment is regulated by the Niagara Escarpment Commission, an agency of the Ontario government.


title: Niagara Escarpment

text: Cliffs along the scarp face have the oldest forest ecosystem in eastern North America. The oldest tree in Ontario is an eastern white cedar from 688 A.D.. The oldest known tree in Wisconsin, a 1,300 year-old eastern white cedar, was found in Brown County.


title: Anne Dias-Griffin

text: Anne Dias-Griffin (born January 1, 1970) is a French-American investor and philanthropist. She is the founder and chief executive officer of Aragon, an investment firm active in global equities, with a focus on the internet, technology, and consumer sectors, as well as alternative assets.


title: Anne Dias-Griffin

text: Anne was born and grew up in France before moving to the United States to study at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in 1992. She graduated summa cum laude and received an MBA from Harvard Business School.


title: Anne Dias-Griffin

text: Dias worked full-time in public policy research during college, on both domestic and foreign policy issues. She was a research assistant to constitutional law scholar Walter Berns, the Olin Professor of Government at Georgetown University, and helped research a book on the Electoral College. She also assisted Patrick J. Glynn, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, on his book about the history of the Cold War.


title: Anne Dias-Griffin

text: In 1991, she was the Brussels representative for the American Electronics Association, and focused on European policy issues. She also worked on European Community and foreign policy issues as an intern at the German Parliament in Bonn and Berlin during the summer of 1992.


title: Anne Dias-Griffin

text: After receiving her degree from Georgetown University, Anne worked as an analyst in the Investment Banking department of Goldman Sachs in London and New York City and at Fidelity Investments Limited in London.


title: Anne Dias-Griffin

text: After obtaining her MBA from Harvard Business School in 1997, she joined Soros Fund Management as an analyst and was promoted to portfolio manager one year later.


title: Anne Dias-Griffin

text: At Soros, she specialized in the retail and financial services industry and managed a long/short portfolio of financial services stocks. Dias was a member of the founding investment team at Viking Global Investors, focusing on global media and internet investments.


title: Anne Dias-Griffin

text: Billionaire Julian Robertson of Tiger Management provided start-up capital for Aragon Global Management.


title: Anne Dias-Griffin

text: At the end of 2011, Dias returned capital from outside investors to focus on the Kenneth and Anne Griffin Foundation, and ran Aragon as a family office. Aragon re-opened to third-party capital in June 2021.


title: Anne Dias-Griffin

text: Dias was co-president of the Kenneth and Anne Griffin Foundation, which she co-founded in 2009; it was dissolved in 2014 due to the couple's divorce. The foundation focused on early childhood education, the arts, and medical research, with particular emphasis on the health of women and children. The Griffins pledged more than $100 million to leading innovators and entrepreneurs whose initiatives are bringing measurable and sustainable change to the community. Dias organized a national conference on early childhood education every year in Chicago for teachers, academic researchers and public policy experts.


title: Anne Dias-Griffin

text: In 2006, Dias and Griffin gave $19 million to the Art Institute of Chicago, and in 2009, the Griffin's donated $10 million to establish the Griffin Early Childhood Center.


title: Anne Dias-Griffin

text: In 2010, they donated $16 million to the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago of Chicago at Northwestern University to create an Emergency Care Center, which opened in 2012.


title: Anne Dias-Griffin

text: In 2010, Dias founded the Chicago Heights Early Childhood Center (CHECC), an experimental school program for preschool-aged kids. Since then, Dias has partnered with University of Chicago and Harvard economics professors to support and refine the program. The CHECC has helped close to 900 children.


title: Anne Dias-Griffin

text: Dias is a member of Harvard Business School's board of dean's advisors, a director of the Sciences Po American Foundation, and the French-American Foundation in New York.


title: Anne Dias-Griffin

text: Dias is a trustee of the Museum of Modern Art, of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, and of the Foundation for Contemporary Arts.


title: Anne Dias-Griffin

text: Dias is a former trustee of the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, where she headed the investment committee. She was also a Trustee of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, the Children's Memorial Medical Center and Foundation which is part of the Lurie Children’s Hospital at Northwestern University. Dias is a former director of Friends of Island Academy (FOIA).


title: Anne Dias-Griffin

text: Dias is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business where she teaches a course on hedge fund strategies. The class straddles theoretical teachings and practical applications of the hedge fund industry. Guest speakers have come from the world’s top investment firms, including Elliott Associates, Tiger Global, Citadel, Carnegie Corporation, Monticello, Coatue, Paulson & Co., Magnetar and Viking.


title: Anne Dias-Griffin

text: Dias is a contributor on foreign policy issues, finance and economics as well as French politics for the "Financial Times", the Huffington Post, The Chicago Tribune, and Crain’s Chicago Business.


title: Anne Dias-Griffin

text: In 2012, Dias launched Reboot Illinois, a news website and social media platform focused on Illinois politics, with over 650,000 monthly page views. During Dias’ ownership, Reboot Illinois was the recipient of multiple journalism awards. She sold her interest in the site to AFK Media Group in 2016.


title: Anne Dias-Griffin

text: Dias married hedge fund manager Kenneth Griffin in 2003. In 2015, Griffin and Dias divorced. The couple has joint custody over their three children.


title: Anne Dias-Griffin

text: Dias has been named as one of the most powerful women in finance by multiple publications, including "U.S. Banker", and "The Hedge Fund Journal". In 2006, she was featured in "Crain's Chicago Business"' "40 Under 40" list and "Institutional Investor"'s "20 Rising Stars of Hedge Funds". She won the Harvard Club of Chicago's Annual Alumni Award in 2010.


title: Languedoc

text: Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately 42,700 square kilometers (16,490 square miles).


title: Languedoc

text: The Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis fell to the Visigothic Kingdom from the 5th to the 8th centuries. Occupied briefly by the Emirate of Córdoba between 719 and 759, it was conquered and incorporated into the Kingdom of the Franks by Pippin the Short in 759 following the Siege of Narbonne. Under the Carolingians, the counts of Toulouse were appointed by the royal court. Later, this office became hereditary. Part of the territory where Occitan was spoken came to be called "langue d'oc", "Lengadòc" or Languedoc.


title: Languedoc

text: In the 13th century, the spiritual beliefs of the area were challenged by the See of Rome and the region became attached to the Kingdom of France following the Albigensian Crusade (1208–1229). This crusade aimed to put an end to what the Church considered the Cathar heresy, and enabled the Capetian dynasty to extend its influence south of the Loire. As part of this process, the former principalities of Trencavel (the Viscounty of Albi, Carcassona, Besièrs, Agde and Nîmes) were integrated into the Royal French Domain in 1224. The County of Toulouse followed them in 1271. The remaining feudal enclaves were absorbed progressively up to the beginning of the 16th century; the County of Gévaudan in 1258, the County of Melgueil (Mauguiò) in 1293, the Lordship of Montpellier in 1349 and the Viscounty of Narbonne in 1507.


title: Languedoc

text: The territory falling within the jurisdiction of the Estates of Languedoc, which convened for the first time in 1346, shrank progressively, becoming known during the Ancien Régime as the province of Languedoc.


title: Languedoc

text: The year 1359 marked a turning point in the history of the province. The three bailiwicks ("sénéchaussées") of Bèucaire, Carcassona and Tolosa had the status of "bonnes villes" (towns granted privileges and protection by the king of France in return for providing a contingent of men at arms). In that year, the three entered into a perpetual union, after which their contribution of royal officers was summoned jointly rather than separately for each of the three sénéchaussées.


title: Languedoc

text: Towards the end of 14th century, the term "country of the three seneschalties" ("pays des trois sénéchaussées"), later to become known as Languedoc, designated the two bailiwicks of Bèucaire-Nîmes and Carcassona, and the eastern part of Tolosa (Toulouse), retained under the Treaty of Brétigny. At that time, the County of Foix, which belonged to the seneschal of Carcassona until 1333 before passing to Toulouse, ceased to belong to Languedoc.


title: Languedoc

text: In 1542, the province was divided into two "généralités": Toulouse for Haut-Languedoc, and Montpellier for Bas-Languedoc. This lasted until the French Revolution in 1789. From the 17th century onward, there was only one intendance for the whole of Languedoc, with its seat in Montpellier.


title: Languedoc

text: The traditional provinces of the kingdom of France were not formally defined. A province was simply a territory of common traditions and customs, but it had no political organization. Today, when people refer to the old provinces of France, they are referring to the "gouvernements" as they existed in 1789, before the French Revolution. "Gouvernements" were military regions established by the Crown in the middle of the 16th century; their territories closely matched those of the traditional provinces. However, in some cases, small provinces were merged with a large one into a single "gouvernement", so "gouvernements" are not exactly the same as the traditional provinces.


title: Languedoc

text: Historically, the region was called the County of Toulouse, a county independent from the kings of France. The County of Toulouse was made up of what would later be called Languedoc, but it also included the province of Quercy (now the "département" of Lot and the northern half of the ' of Tarn-et-Garonne) and the province of Rouergue (now the ' of Aveyron), both to the northwest of Languedoc. At some times it included the province of Agenais (now the eastern half of the ' of Lot-et-Garonne) to the west of Languedoc, the province of Gévaudan (now ' of Lozère), the province of Velay (now the central and eastern part of the ' of Haute-Loire), the southern part of the province of Vivarais (now the southern part of the ' of Ardèche), and even all the northern half of Provence. After the French conquest the entire county was dismantled, the central part of it being now called Languedoc.


title: Languedoc

text: The "gouvernement" of Languedoc was created in the mid-16th century. In addition to Languedoc proper, it included the three small provinces of Gévaudan, Velay, and Vivarais (in its entirety), these three provinces being to the northeast of Languedoc. Some people also consider that the region around Albi was a traditional province, called Albigeois (now the ' of Tarn), although it is most often considered as being part of Languedoc proper. The provinces of Quercy and Rouergue, despite their old ties with Toulouse, were not incorporated into the "gouvernement" of Languedoc. They were attached to the "gouvernement" of Guienne and its far-away capital Bordeaux. This decision was probably intentional, to avoid reviving the independently spirited County of Toulouse. In the rest of this article, Languedoc"' refers to the territory of this "gouvernement" of Languedoc.


title: Languedoc

text: The province of Languedoc covered an area of approximately 42,700 km² (16,490 sq. miles) in the central part of southern France, roughly the region between the river Rhône (border with Provence) and the Garonne (border with Gascony), extending northwards to the Cévennes and the Massif Central (border with Auvergne).


title: Languedoc

text: As the center of the County of Toulouse and the regional "parlement", Toulouse is often considered the "capital" of Languedoc. On maps (both ancient and modern) showing the provinces (i.e., "gouvernements") of France in 1789, it is always marked as such. However, the intricate entanglement of administrations and jurisdictions permitted Montpellier to also claim that distinction. In the 18th century, the monarchy clearly favored Montpellier, a city much smaller than Toulouse, with less history, and with fewer autonomous local authorities such as Toulouse's "parlement" and capitoulate.


title: Languedoc

text: The governors of Languedoc resided in Pézenas, on the Mediterranean coast, away from Toulouse but close to Montpellier. In time they had increased their power well beyond military matters, and had become the real administrators and executive power of the province, a trend seen in the other "gouvernements" of France, but particularly acute in Languedoc, where the duke of Montmorency, governor of Languedoc, even openly rebelled against the king, then was defeated and beheaded in Toulouse in 1632 by the order of Richelieu. The kings of France became fearful of the power of the governors, so after King Louis XIV (the Sun King) they had to reside in Versailles and were forbidden to enter the territory of their "gouvernement". Thus the "gouvernements" became hollow structures, but they still carried a sense of the old provinces, and so their names and limits have remained popular until today.


title: Languedoc

text: For administrative purposes, Languedoc was divided in two "généralités", the "généralité" of Toulouse and the "généralité" of Montpellier, the combined territory of the two generalities exactly matching that of the "gouvernement" of Languedoc. At the head of a generality was an "intendant", but in the case of Languedoc there was only one "intendant" responsible for both generalities, and he was often referred to as the "intendant" of Languedoc, even though technically speaking he was in fact the "intendant" of the generality of Toulouse and "intendant" of the generality of Montpellier. The generality of Toulouse is also referred to as Upper Languedoc ("Haut-Languedoc"), while the generality of Montpellier, down to the level of the sea, is referred to as Lower Languedoc ("Bas-Languedoc"). The "intendants" of Languedoc resided in Montpellier, and they had a sub-delegate in Toulouse. Montpellier was chosen on purpose to diminish the power of Toulouse, whose "parlement" was very influential, and which symbolized the old spirit of independence of the county of Toulouse. The "intendants" replaced the governors as administrators of Languedoc, but appointed and dismissed at will by the king, they were no threat to the central state in Versailles. By 1789 they were the most important element of the local administration of the kingdom.


title: Languedoc

text: For judicial and legislative matters, Languedoc was overseen by the Parliament of Toulouse, founded in the middle of the 15th century. It was the first "parlement" created outside of Paris by the kings of France in order to be the equivalent of the "Parlement" of Paris in the far-away southern territories of the kingdom. The jurisdiction of the "Parlement" of Toulouse included the whole of the territory of the "gouvernement" of Languedoc, but it also included the province of Rouergue, most of the province of Quercy, and a part of Gascony. The "Parlement" of Toulouse was the supreme court of justice for this vast area of France, the court of last resort whose rulings could not be appealed, not even to the "Parlement" of Paris. The "Parlement" of Toulouse could also create case law through its decisions, as well as interpret the law. It was also in charge of registering new royal edicts and laws, and could decide to block them if it found them to be in contravention with the liberties and laws of Languedoc.


title: Languedoc

text: Finally, for purposes of taxation, Languedoc was ruled by the States of Languedoc, whose jurisdiction included only Languedoc proper (and Albigeois), but not Gévaudan, Velay, and Vivarais, which kept each their own provincial states until 1789. Languedoc proper was one of the very few provinces of France which had the privilege to decide over tax matters, the kings of France having suppressed the provincial states in most other provinces of the kingdom. This was a special favor from the kings to ensure that an independently spirited region far-away from Versailles would remain faithful to the central state. The States of Languedoc met in many different cities, and for some time they established themselves in Pézenas, but in the 18th century they were relocated definitively to Montpellier, where they met once a year, until 1789.


title: Languedoc

text: For Christian religious purposes, Languedoc was also divided into a certain number of ecclesiastical provinces, including the archdiocese of Toulouse, the archdiocese of Narbonne, and the archdiocese of Albi.


title: Languedoc

text: In 2016, the French regions were reduced in number, with and merging to form , containing over 80% of historic , and and merging to , with just under a fifth of the historic .


title: Languedoc

text: On the traditional territory of the province of Languedoc there live approximately 3,650,000 people (as of 1999 census), 52% of these in the Languedoc-Roussillon "région", 35% in the Midi-Pyrénées "région", 8% in the Rhône-Alpes "région", and 5% in the Auvergne "région".


title: Languedoc

text: The territory of the former province shows a stark contrast between some densely populated areas (coastal plains as well as metropolitan area of Toulouse in the interior) where density is between 150 inhabitants per km²/390 inh. per sq. mile (coastal plains) and 300 inh. per km²/780 inh. per sq. mile (plain of Toulouse), and the hilly and mountainous interior where density is extremely low, the Cévennes area in the south of Lozère having one of the lowest densities of Europe with only 7.4 inhabitants per km² (19 inh. per sq. mile).


title: Languedoc

text: The five largest metropolitan areas on the territory of the former province of Languedoc are (as of 1999 census): Toulouse (964,797), Montpellier (459,916), Nîmes (221,455), Béziers (124,967), and Alès (89,390).


title: Languedoc

text: The population of the former province of Languedoc is currently the fastest-growing in France, and also among the fastest-growing in Europe, as an increasing flow of people from northern France and the north of Europe relocating to the sunbelt of Europe, in which Languedoc is located. Growth is particularly strong in the metropolitan areas of Toulouse and Montpellier, which are the two fastest growing metropolitan areas in Europe at the moment. However, the interior of Languedoc is still losing inhabitants, which increases the difference of density that was mentioned.


title: Languedoc

text: Population of the coast of Languedoc as well as the region of Toulouse is rather young, educated, and affluent, whereas in the interior the population tends to be much older, with significantly lower incomes, and with a lower percentage of high school and especially college graduates.


title: Languedoc

text: Languedoc is a significant producer of wine. Today it produces more than a third of the grapes in France, and is a focus for outside investors. Wines from the Mediterranean coast of Languedoc are labeled as Languedoc, those from the interior have other labels such as Fronton, Gaillac, or Limoux to the west – and Côtes du Rhône towards the east.


title: Languedoc

text: Other crops include wheat (the traditional crop which made the fortune of the landlords and parliamentarians based in Toulouse, and for whose trade the famous Canal du Midi was built), maize (the new and nowadays most common crop in the region), olives (only on the Mediterranean coast of Languedoc), fruit, and rice (in some coastal areas). In the hilly and mountainous areas of the interior, sheep and goats are raised for meat and cheese. The coastal area is, naturally, a source of fish and shellfish.


title: Languedoc

text: Aerospace (Airbus, CNES, etc.), electronics (Freescale, etc.), and bio-tech industries in Toulouse; high-tech, electronics, and computer (IBM) industries in Montpellier; pharmaceutical industry (Pierre Fabre Group) in Castres.


title: Languedoc

text: There is also a significant chemical sector in Toulouse, which has been quite battered since the terrible explosion of AZF on 21 September 2001. It has been decided that chemical industries would be moved out of Toulouse, and a large campus devoted to cancer research and bio-tech R&D will be opened on the site.


title: Languedoc

text: Elsewhere in the region industries are small and in decline, in particular around the formerly mining areas of Alès and Carmaux in the interior of the region.


title: Languedoc

text: Services are the largest sector of the economy in the region. In particular, government services employ a significant part of the workforce, especially in small towns. Key administrations have been relocated to the region, such as France's National Meteorology Office (Météo-France) relocated from Paris to Toulouse in 1982.


title: Languedoc

text: The area is also a major tourist destination. There exists three types of tourism. First, a massive summer tourism industry on the coast, with huge sea resorts such as Cap d'Agde, Palavas-les-Flots, or Le Grau-du-Roi, built in the 1970s.


title: Languedoc

text: Tourism related to history and art is also strong, as the region contains the historic cities of Carcassonne, Toulouse, Montpellier, countless Roman monuments (such as the Roman arenas in Nîmes), medieval abbeys, Romanesque churches, and old castles (such as the ruined Cathar castles in the mountains of Corbières, testimony of the bloody Albigensian Crusade).


title: Languedoc

text: More recently, "green" and sports tourism is on the rise, with the gorges of the Tarn, the Ardèche Gorges, as well as the vast preserved expanses of Cévennes, Ardèche, Lauragais, and other sites.


title: Languedoc

text: Tourism on the Canal du Midi combines history (for example viewing the nine locks of Fonseranes near Béziers) with activities such as boating on the Canal, and walking or cycling on the towpaths.


title: Languedoc

text: In April 2019, The Guardian's travel section included two Languedoc locations in its list of "20 of the most beautiful villages in France". The two were Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert with "one of the finest examples of Romanesque architecture in the region" and Estaing, whose "narrow streets have hardly changed over the centuries".


title: Languedoc

text: Rugby union is the "national" sport in Languedoc, unlike most other parts of France where football is more popular. The Toulouse rugby club (Stade Toulousain) is one of the most successful in Europe; it regularly competes for the French championship and has won four European titles (1996, 2003, 2005, and 2010) in the ten years of the European championship's existence.


title: Languedoc

text: Bullfighting and other bull-related events are popular in the eastern part of Languedoc. Sea jousts ("Joutes nautiques") are held on the coast. Dating from the 11th century, this sport has local leagues and attracts large crowds.


title: Languedoc

text: Property in the Languedoc is quite varied and ranges from newly built villas with swimming pools and tennis courts, to old village houses set into the old ramparts of ancient fortified towns. Some of these village houses date back a very long time. A small house in the village of Magalas, Hérault "", has a date of the 13th century carved into its stonework. Being a large area, the type of property available in Languedoc varies a lot, from apartments in beach resorts such as Cap D'Agde to isolated bastides in the rural interior.


title: Chinese passport

text: The People's Republic of China Passport (), commonly referred to as the Chinese passport, is a passport issued to citizens of the People's Republic of China (PRC) for the purpose of international travel, and entitles its bearer to the protection of China's consular officials overseas.


title: Chinese passport

text: On 1 July 2011, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China launched a trial issuance of e-passports for individuals conducting public affairs work overseas on behalf of the Chinese government. The face, fingerprints, and other biometric features of the passport holder is digitized and stored in pre-installed contactless smart chip, along with "the passport owner's name, sex and personal photo as well as the passport's term of validity and [the] digital certificate of the chip". Ordinary biometric passports were introduced by the Ministry of Public Security on 15 May 2012. As of January 2015, all new passports issued by China are biometric e-passports, and non-biometric passports are no longer issued.


title: Chinese passport

text: In 2012, over 38 million Chinese citizens held ordinary passports, comprising only 2.86 percent of the total population at the time. In 2014, China issued 16 million passports, ranking first in the world, surpassing the United States (14 million) and India (10 million). The number of ordinary passports in circulation rose to 120 million by October 2016, which was approximately 8.7 percent of the population. As of April 2017 to date, China had issued over 100 million biometric ordinary passports.


title: Chinese passport

text: Articles 3, 4, 5 and 8 of the "Passport Law of the People's Republic of China", which went into effect in 2007, declares three types of passports issued in Mainland China:


title: Chinese passport

text: Article 9 of the "Law" states that the "issuing scope of diplomatic passports and service passports, the measures for issue of such passports, their terms of validity and the specific categories of service passports shall be prescribed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs".


title: Chinese passport

text: The ordinary passport is considered a passport "for private affairs" (), while service (including for public affairs passports) and diplomatic passports are passports "for public affairs" ().


title: Chinese passport

text: The passports for Macau and Hong Kong SARs are issued and regulated by the governments of these regions, and are therefore not covered by this law.


title: Chinese passport

text: In July 2011 the Chinese government began to issue biometric diplomatic passports, service passports and passports for public affairs. The launch date of biometric ordinary passports was May 15, 2012.


title: Chinese passport

text: A different passport for public affairs () was issued until 2006. Unlike the current version, it was classified as a variation of ordinary passport. The abuse of the use of document resulted in its subsequent cancellation. Unlike other passports, it was issued by the provincial or municipal Foreign Affairs Offices, rather than the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Ministry of Public Security. Chinese ordinary passport for public affairs was used in the ends of 1980s and 1990s. The passport information was written by hands, and these ordinary passports were usually valid for 2 or 5 years.


title: Chinese passport

text: In 1996, 77% of persons exiting China held a passport for public affairs. The rate had dropped to 39% by 2002. The reason for the high rate of usage was because the passport for public affairs offered more visa-free countries, such as Russia, than the ordinary passport. Chinese regulations require public affairs passports to be kept in the possession of the holder's work unit, and they must be surrendered by the individual within one month of returning to China.


title: Chinese passport

text: The passport previously had an across-the-board 5-year period of validity. Since 2007, ordinary passports are valid for 10 years for bearers above 16 years of age, and for 5 years for bearers below 16 years of age, and diplomatic or service passports are valid for 4 years. According to the 2006 "Passport Law of the People's Republic of China," renewal of previously issued passports ended on January 1, 2007. However, passports renewed before 2007 remained valid until expiry.


title: Chinese passport

text: The newest version of the regular Chinese passport is the biometric version, which replaced its predecessors "Form 92", "Form 97-1" and "Form 97-2", but Form "97-2" passport is still being issued for single group tourism to Russia in some Sino-Russia broder cities and valid for only 3 months or after returning to China. It was released to the general public in May 2012. The passport contains 48 pages.


title: Chinese passport

text: The Form "1982" ordinary Chinese passport is a hand-written passport and issued in 1982. Chinese, French and English are used in all pages.


title: Chinese passport

text: The Form "97-2" ordinary Chinese passport is a machine-readable passport, and issued in February 1997.


title: Chinese passport

text: In "97-2", personal data is on the inside front cover along with a coloured photo printed with inkjet printer, with a protective film covering most of the data page. Details include:


title: Chinese passport

text: In the biometric Passport, the personal data page was moved to a separate sheet of paper, and the design of personal data page has been amended significantly, adding the full name of PRC in Simplified Chinese and English on top along with an e-passport symbol printed with optically variable ink. New security features include a second ghost image of the holder and additional holographic graphs including the PRC emblem and the laser-printed world map. The details included are as follows:


title: Chinese passport

text: All information is printed in Simplified Chinese and English, except for the "Attentions" page, which is only printed in Simplified Chinese.


title: Chinese passport

text: If the passport is for single travel, a valid notice will printed in Simplified Chinese and English on this page.


title: Chinese passport

text: In the biometric version, selected nature hotspots and famous sights of mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan are printed in the inner pages, each page also contains a transparent watermark of another nature hotspots and famous sights in the same area.


title: Chinese passport

text: The last page has the notes for the passport. For e-passport, inside the backcover, a caution for the biometric chip is written in both Chinese and English:


title: Chinese passport

text: This passport contains sensitive electronics. For best performance, please do not bend, perforate or expose to extreme temperatures or excess moisture. DO NOT STAMP HERE


title: Chinese passport

text: The fee for a Chinese passport is CNY 120. When applying for a passport overseas, the fee is US$25 or €20. No extra fees are charged for expedited processing if approved.


title: Chinese passport

text: Normal processing time is 10 business days when applying from Mainland China, and 15 business days from Chinese diplomatic missions outside Mainland China (including Hong Kong and Macau). In some Regions, processing time is 7 business days such as Shanghai City if application was submitted electronically (online or by cell phone APPs such as WeChat). Expedited processing is available for 5 business days, but is only available if the applicants have genuine emergencies, such as they have deceased relatives abroad, their first day of school is near, or they have unused visas in old passports that are expiring soon.


title: Chinese passport

text: Chinese citizens who are also permanent residents of Hong Kong or Macau Special Administrative Regions of China are issued Hong Kong or Macau SAR passports by the respective immigration departments of the two SARs. In Hong Kong, Hong Kong Immigration Department takes charge of issuing passports. In Macau, Identification Services Bureau does the same role. The SAR passports and travel documents are issued solely by the government of the SARs, and the designs differ from that of the regular mainland passport, albeit all three passports bear the same country and nationality code, CHN, meaning that the bearer holds the People's Republic of China nationality, as well as the message from Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China.


title: Chinese passport

text: Some countries classify Chinese citizens with SAR passports as Hong Kong citizens or Macau citizens for visa issuing purpose, other than the ordinary Chinese citizens classifications. Holders of SAR passports enjoy visa-free entry to many more countries than holders of regular PRC passports.


title: Chinese passport

text: While the SAR passports and travel documents are endorsed by China, mainland ports of entry controlled by the Ministry of Public Security do not accept those documents for entrance into Mainland China as both the Mainland and the two SARs are within the same country. MPS requires SAR residents of Chinese nationality to use a Home Return Permit or Chinese Travel Document for SAR residents residing overseas. Also, SAR passports are not required when travelling between two SARs, but residents should bring their permanent residence IDs.


title: Chinese passport

text: Chinese citizens who are not permanent residents of Hong Kong "AND" are without household registration in Mainland China are issued Hong Kong Document of Identity for Visa Purposes, and of Macau Macao Special Administrative Region Travel Permit or Visit Permit for Resident of Macao to HKSAR.


title: Chinese passport

text: The following travel documents are also issued by mainland China to Chinese citizens who may or may not qualify for a Chinese passport for various reasons:


title: Chinese passport

text: The People's Republic of China Travel Document () is a type of travel document issued by Chinese embassies, consulates, and other foreign offices to Chinese citizens for their international travel to China and other countries. The bearer of the Travel Document is legally defined a Chinese citizen in accordance with the Nationality Law.


title: Chinese passport

text: The Travel Document is issued to Chinese nationals in situations when it is inconvenient or unnecessary to be issued a People's Republic of China passport.


title: Chinese passport

text: The Exit-Entry Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macau, also known as the Two-way Permit, is issued to Chinese citizens with hukou who only wish to visit Hong Kong and Macau.


title: Chinese passport

text: The Permit for Proceeding to Hong Kong and Macao, also known as the One-way Permit, is issued to Chinese citizens who are settling in Hong Kong or Macau and have relinquished their Chinese residency (hukou). After their initial entry to Hong Kong or Macau, they are considered as SAR residents and are permanently ineligible for an ordinary Chinese passport, and later they will be eligible for SAR passports if they acquire a permanent resident status in the respective SARs.


title: Chinese passport

text: The Travel Permit to and from Taiwan, colloquially known as Mainland Compatriot Permit or Mainland Resident Travel Permit, is issued to Chinese citizens with hukou in Mainland China by Ministry of Public Security, to those who wish to travel directly between Mainland China and Taiwan. Holders of the permit are required to obtain exit endorsements issued by MPS and Exit and Entry Permit issued by Taiwanese authorities prior to traveling. This permit as well as a valid exit endorsement (except for Group Tourist Endorsement) is still required even if only transiting through Taiwan without leaving the sterile area of the airport when departing from airports of Mainland China except for Chongqing, Nanchang, or Kunming. Exit and Entry Permit is not required, however, when not leaving the sterile area of Taoyuan Airport on transit to the third place regardless of the city of departure.


title: Chinese passport

text: Holders of Chinese biometric Passports are eligible to use the Self-Service Immigration System, or e-Channel. E-Channel are located throughout numerous international airports in Mainland China (including these top 10 busiest international gateways: Beijing Capital International Airport, Shanghai Pudong International Airport, Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport) as well as land border crossing checkpoints in Shenzhen and Zhuhai. e-Channel was first introduced for self-entry, i.e. for Chinese biometric passport holders return to China from Outside destinations. In order to use the e-Channel, they must hold biometric passports with their fingerprint data pre-recorded on the biometric chip. If their biometric passports do not contain fingerprint data, they must first register with China Immigration Inspection (CII) at land border checkpoints or international airports to be eligible.


title: Chinese passport

text: Starting from August 19, 2016, passengers are able to use the e-Gates in terminal 2 of Beijing Capital International Airport to complete exit procedures from China as well.


title: Chinese passport

text: Starting from Dec 1, 2017, Shanghai international airports including PVG and SHA both have e-Channel for exit.


title: Chinese passport

text: Visa requirements for Chinese citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of the People's Republic of China. According to the 1 January 2018 Henley visa restrictions index, holders of a Chinese passport are granted visa free or visa on arrival access to 70 countries and territories, ranking the Chinese passport 68th in the world Chinese passport is also the highest-ranked passport in Communist state. Before February 2014, Chinese immigration authorities did not generally allow mainland Chinese citizens to board outbound flights without a valid visa for the destination country, even if the destination country granted a visa on arrival to Chinese passport holders, unless the exit was approved by the Ministry of Public Security. Exceptions were possible if the traveller had a third country's visa and a connecting flight from the destination country to the third country.


title: Chinese passport

text: The Electronic Visa Update System (EVUS) is introduced in 2016 for Chinese passport holder who hold a valid 10-year B1, B2, or B1/B2 visa to travel to the United States.


title: Chinese passport

text: Issued to Chinese citizens with Hukou or Chinese citizens not qualified for SAR-issued travel documents, Chinese passports cannot normally be used when travelling directly to Hong Kong, Macau, or Taiwan from Mainland China.


title: Chinese passport

text: In order for such Chinese citizens to travel from Mainland China to Hong Kong and Macau, a Two-way Permit is required. Chinese foreign missions, however, do issue visa-like Hong Kong SAR Entry Permits for up to 14 days to Chinese citizens residing outside Mainland China upon request, so PRC passport holders can travel solely between Hong Kong and Mainland with passports. Chinese passports can be used when transiting through Hong Kong or Macau to other countries and can enter Hong Kong or Macau for 7 days without a visa.


title: Chinese passport

text: Travelling to Taiwan from Mainland China requires the Travel Permit to and from Taiwan as well as Exit and Entry Permit issued by the Taiwanese government. Although Chinese passports are accepted as valid travel documents by the National Immigration Agency (NIA) and Taiwanese diplomatic missions, the NIA does not allow Chinese citizens with hukou to travel to Taiwan when departing from Mainland China unless holding the Mainland Resident Travel Permit with valid exit endorsement.


title: Keir Hardie

text: James Keir Hardie (15 August 185626 September 1915) was a Scottish trade unionist and politician. He was a founder of the Labour Party, and served as its first parliamentary leader from 1906 to 1908.


title: Keir Hardie

text: Hardie was born in Newhouse, Lanarkshire. He started working at the age of seven, and from the age of 10 worked in the Lanarkshire coal mines. With a background in preaching, he became known as a talented public speaker and was chosen as a spokesman for his fellow miners. In 1879, Hardie was elected leader of a miners' union in Hamilton and organised a National Conference of Miners in Dunfermline. He subsequently led miners' strikes in Lanarkshire (1880) and Ayrshire (1881). He turned to journalism to make ends meet, and from 1886 was a full-time union organiser as secretary of the Ayrshire Miners' Union.


title: Keir Hardie

text: Hardie initially supported William Gladstone's Liberal Party, but later concluded that the working class needed its own party. He first stood for parliament in 1888 as an independent, and later that year helped form the Scottish Labour Party. Hardie won the English seat of West Ham South as an independent candidate in 1892, and helped to form the Independent Labour Party (ILP) the following year. He lost his seat in 1895, but was re-elected to Parliament in 1900 for Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales. In the same year he helped to form the union-based Labour Representation Committee, which was later renamed the Labour Party.


title: Keir Hardie

text: After the 1906 election, Hardie was chosen as the Labour Party's first parliamentary leader. He resigned in 1908 in favour of Arthur Henderson, and spent his remaining years campaigning for causes such as women's suffrage, self-rule for India, and opposition to World War I. He died in 1915 while attempting to organise a pacifist general strike. Hardie is seen as a key figure in the history of the Labour Party and has been the subject of multiple biographies. Kenneth O. Morgan has called him "Labour's greatest pioneer and its greatest hero".


title: Keir Hardie

text: James Keir Hardie was born on 15 August 1856 in a two-roomed cottage on the western edge of Newhouse, Lanarkshire near Holytown, a small town close to Motherwell in Scotland. His mother, Mary Keir, was a domestic servant and his stepfather, David Hardie, was a ship's carpenter. Hardie had little or no contact with his biological father, a miner from Lanarkshire named William Aitken. The growing family soon moved to the shipbuilding burgh of Govan near Glasgow (which wasn't incorporated into the city until 1912), where they made a life in a very difficult financial situation, with his stepfather attempting to maintain continuous employment in the shipyards rather than practising his trade at sea – never an easy proposition given the boom-and-bust cycle of the industry.


title: Keir Hardie

text: Hardie's first job, when aged seven, was as a message boy for the Anchor Line Steamship Company. Formal schooling henceforth became impossible, but his parents spent evenings teaching him to read and write, skills which proved essential for future self-education. A series of low-paying entry-level jobs followed for the boy, including work as an apprentice in a brass-fitting shop, work for a lithographer, employment in the shipyards heating rivets, and time spent as a message boy for a baker for which he earned four shillings and sixpence a week.


title: Keir Hardie

text: A great lockout of the Clydeside shipworkers took place in which the unionised workers were sent home for a period of six months. With their main source of income terminated, the family was forced to sell all their possessions to pay for food, with Hardie's meagre earnings the only remaining source of income for the household. One sibling took ill and died in the miserable conditions which followed, while the pregnancy of his mother limited her own ability to work. Making matters worse, young James lost his job for turning up late on two occasions. In desperation, his stepfather returned to work at sea, while his mother moved from Glasgow to Newarthill, where his maternal grandmother still lived.


title: Keir Hardie

text: At the age of ten years old, Hardie went to work in the mines as a "trapper": opening and closing a door for a ten-hour shift in order to maintain the air supply for miners in a given section. Hardie also began to attend night school in Holytown at this time.


title: Keir Hardie

text: Hardie's stepfather returned from sea and went to work on a railway line being constructed between Edinburgh and Glasgow. When this job was completed, the family moved to the village of Quarter, Lanarkshire, where Hardie went to work as a pony driver at the mines, later working his way into the pits as a hewer. He also worked for two years above ground in the quarries. By the time he was twenty, he had become a skilled practical miner.


title: Keir Hardie

text: "Keir", as he was now called, longed for a life outside the mines. To that end, encouraged by his mother, he had learned to read and write in shorthand. He also began to associate with the Evangelical Union becoming a member of the Evangelical Union Church, Park Street, Hamilton – now the United Reformed Church, Hamilton (which also incorporates St James' Congregational Church, attended by the young David Livingstone, the future famous missionary explorer) – and to participate in the Temperance movement. Hardie's avocation of preaching put him before crowds of his fellows, helping him to learn the art of public speaking. Before long, Hardie was looked to by other miners as a logical chairman for their meetings and spokesman for their grievances. Mine owners began to see him as an agitator and in fairly short order, he and two younger brothers were blacklisted from working in the local mining industry.


title: Keir Hardie

text: In May 1879, Scottish mine owners combined to force a reduction of wages, which had the effect of spurring the demand for unionisation. Huge meetings were held weekly at Hamilton as mine workers joined to vent their grievances. On 3 July 1879, Hardie was appointed Corresponding Secretary of the miners, a post which gave him opportunity to get in touch with other representatives of the mine workers throughout southern Scotland. Three weeks later, Hardie was chosen by the miners as their delegate to a National Conference of Miners to be held in Glasgow. He was appointed Miners' Agent in August 1879 and his new career as a trade union organiser and functionary was launched.


title: Keir Hardie

text: On 16 October 1879, Hardie attended a National Conference of miners at Dunfermline, at which he was selected as National Secretary, a high-sounding title which actually preceded the establishment of a coherent national organisation by several years. Hardie was active in the strike wave which swept the region in 1880, including a generalised strike of the mines of Lanarkshire that summer which lasted six weeks. The fledgling union had no money, but worked to gather foodstuffs for striking mine families, as Hardie and other union agents got local merchants to supply goods upon promise of future payment. A soup kitchen was kept running in Hardie's home during the course of the strike, manned by his new wife, the former Lillie Wilson.


title: Keir Hardie

text: While the Lanarkshire mine strike was a failure, Hardie's energy and activity shone and he accepted a call from Ayrshire to relocate there to organise the local miners. The young couple moved to the town of Cumnock, where Keir set to work organising a union of local miners, a process which occupied nearly a year.


title: Keir Hardie

text: In August 1881, Ayrshire miners put forward the demand for a 10 percent increase in wages, a proposition summarily refused by the region's mine owners. Despite the lack of funds for strike pay, a stoppage was called and a 10-week shutdown of the region's mines ensued. This strike also was formally a failure, with miners returning to work before their demands had been met, but not long after the return wages were escalated across the board by the mine owners, fearful of future labour actions. One of the other leaders of the strike was 19-year-old miner Andrew Fisher, who decades later would become leader of the Australian Labor Party and Prime Minister of Australia. He and Hardie met regularly to discuss politics when they both lived in Ayrshire, and would renew their acquaintance on a number of occasions later in life.


title: Keir Hardie

text: To make ends meet, Hardie turned to journalism, starting to write for the local newspaper, the "Cumnock News," a paper loyal to the pro-labour Liberal Party. As part of the natural order of things, Hardie joined the Liberal Association, in which he was active. He also continued his temperance work as an active member of the local Good Templar's Lodge.


title: Keir Hardie

text: In August 1886, Hardie's ongoing efforts to build a powerful union of Scottish miners were rewarded when there was formed the Ayrshire Miners Union. Hardie was named Organising Secretary of the new union, drawing a salary of £75 per year.


title: Keir Hardie

text: Hardie was a dedicated Georgist for a number of years and a member of the Scottish Land Restoration League. It was "through the single tax" on land monopoly that Hardie gradually became a Fabian socialist. He reasoned that "whatever the idea may be, State socialism is necessary as a stage in the development of the ideal." Despite his early support of the Liberal Party, Hardie became disillusioned by William Ewart Gladstone's economic policies and began to feel that the Liberals would not advocate the interests of the working class. Hardie concluded that the Liberal Party wanted the worker's votes without in return the radical reform he believed to be crucial – he stood for Parliament.


title: Keir Hardie

text: In April 1888, Hardie was an Independent Labour candidate at the Mid Lanarkshire by-election. He finished last but he was not deterred by this, and believed he would enjoy more success in the future. At a public meeting in Glasgow on 25 August 1888 the Scottish Labour Party (a different party from the 1994-created Scottish Labour Party) was founded, with Hardie becoming the party's first secretary. The party's president was Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham, the first socialist MP, and later founder of the National Party of Scotland, forerunner to the Scottish National Party.


title: Keir Hardie

text: Hardie was invited to stand in West Ham South in 1892, a working-class seat in Essex (now Greater London). The Liberals decided not to field a candidate, but at the same time not to offer Hardie any assistance. Competing against the Conservative Party candidate, Hardie won by 5,268 votes to 4,036. He was variously described as the Labour or "Liberal and Labour" candidate. Upon taking his seat on 3 August 1892, Hardie refused to wear the "parliamentary uniform" of black frock coat, black silk top hat and starched wing collar that other working-class MPs wore. Instead, Hardie wore a plain tweed suit, a red tie and a deerstalker. Although the deerstalker hat was the correct and matching apparel for his suit, he was nevertheless lambasted in the press, and was accused of wearing a flat cap, headgear associated with the common working man; "cloth cap in Parliament". In Parliament, Hardie advocated a graduated income tax, free schooling, pensions, the abolition of the House of Lords and for women's right to vote.


title: Keir Hardie

text: In 1893, Hardie and others formed the Independent Labour Party, an action that worried the Liberals, who were afraid that the ILP might, at some point in the future, win the working-class votes that they traditionally received.


title: Keir Hardie

text: Hardie hit the headlines in 1894, when after an explosion at the Albion colliery in Cilfynydd near Pontypridd which killed 251 miners, he asked that a message of condolence to the relatives of the victims be added to an address of congratulations on the birth of a royal heir (the future Edward VIII). The request was refused and Hardie made a speech attacking the monarchy, which almost predicted the nature of the future king's marriage that led to his abdication.


title: Keir Hardie

text: This speech in the House of Commons was highly controversial and contributed to the loss of his seat in 1895.


title: Keir Hardie

text: Hardie spent the next five years of his life building up the Labour movement and speaking at various public meetings; he was arrested at a woman's suffrage meeting in London, but the Home Secretary, concerned about arresting the leader of the ILP, ordered his release.


title: Keir Hardie

text: In 1900 Hardie organised a meeting of various trade unions and socialist groups; they agreed to form a Labour Representation Committee and so the Labour Party was born. Later that same year Hardie, representing Labour, was elected as the junior MP for the dual-member constituency of Merthyr Tydfil in the South Wales Valleys, which he would represent for the remainder of his life. Only one other Labour MP was elected that year (Richard Bell for Derby), but from these small beginnings the party continued to grow, forming the first-ever Labour government in 1924.


title: Keir Hardie

text: Meanwhile, the Conservative and Liberal Unionist coalition government became deeply unpopular, and Liberal leader Henry Campbell-Bannerman was worried about possible vote-splitting across the Labour and Liberal parties in the next election. A deal was struck in 1903, which became known as the Lib-Lab pact of 1903 or Gladstone-MacDonald pact. It was engineered by Ramsay MacDonald and Liberal Chief Whip Herbert Gladstone: the Liberals would not stand against Labour in thirty constituencies in the next election, in order to avoid splitting the anti-Conservative vote.


title: Keir Hardie

text: In 1905 Hardie served as an LRC election agent for William Walker who came close to victory with 48.5% of the vote in Belfast North. Despite his own support for Irish home rule, Hardie, who made repeated visits, appeared determined to treat Belfast as a "typical British city", confident that class politics could surmount sectarian division over the constitutional question.


title: Keir Hardie

text: In 1906, the LRC changed its name to the "Labour Party". That year, the newly established Liberal government of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman called a General Election — resulting in a heavy defeat for the Conservative Party (then in opposition), and the landslide affirmation of the Liberals.


title: Keir Hardie

text: The 1906 general election result was one of the biggest landslide victories in British history: the Liberals swept the Conservatives (and their Liberal Unionist allies) out of what were regarded as safe seats. Conservative leader and former Prime Minister, Arthur Balfour, lost his seat, Manchester East, on a swing of over 20 percent. What would later turn out to be even more significant was the election of 29 Labour MPs.


title: Keir Hardie

text: In January 1907 at the Labour Party's first annual conference, held in Belfast, Hardie helped raise the issue of whether sovereignty lay with the annual conference, as in the inherited tradition of trade union democracy, or with the PLP. In the closing session he shocked the delegates by threatening to resign from the PLP over an amendment to a resolution on equal suffrage for women that would have bound him as an MP to oppose any compromise legislation that would extend votes to women on the basis of the existing property franchise. This, he saw, as potentially delaying the extension of "citizenship" to women on which he spoke passionately:I thought the days of my pioneering were over but of late I have felt, with increasing intensity, the injustice inflicted on women by our present laws. The Party is largely my own child and I cannot part from it lightly, or without pain; but at the same time I cannot sever myself from the principles I hold. If it is necessary for me to separate myself from what has been my life's work, I do so in order to remove the stigma resting upon our wives, mothers and sisters of being accounted unfit for citizenship.


title: Keir Hardie

text: The PLP defused the crisis by allowing Hardie to vote as he wished on the subject. The precedent became the basis of a "conscience clause" in its standing orders, and would be invoked by party leader Michael Foot in 1981 to argue that the will of the conference should not always bind the PLP.


title: Keir Hardie

text: Hardie, never good at dealing with internal dissension, did resign his chairmanship of the party the following year, 1908. He was replaced by Arthur Henderson.


title: Keir Hardie

text: Hardie in his evidence to the 1899 House of Commons Select Committee on emigration and immigration, argued that the Scots resented immigrants greatly and that they would want a total immigration ban. When it was pointed out to him that more people left Scotland than entered it, he replied, "It would be much better for Scotland if those 1,500 were compelled to remain there and let the foreigners be kept out... Dr Johnson said God made Scotland for Scotchmen, and I would keep it so." According to Hardie, the Lithuanian migrant workers in the mining industry had "filthy habits", they lived off "garlic and oil", and they were carriers of "the Black Death".


title: Keir Hardie

text: In 1908, when visiting South Africa, he said the Socialist movement stood for equal rights for every race but that "we do not say all races are equal; no one dreams of doing that". On return to the UK he stated his belief that black people should be given the opportunity to vote and to take a full part in society.


title: Keir Hardie

text: After resigning the leadership of the party in 1908, Hardie devoted himself to campaigning for votes for women and developing a closer relationship with Sylvia Pankhurst. His secretary Margaret Symons Travers was the first woman to speak in the Houses of Parliament when she tricked her way in on 13 October 1908.


title: Keir Hardie

text: He also campaigned for self-rule for India and an end to segregation in South Africa. During a visit to the United States in 1909, his criticism of sectarianism among American radicals caused intensified debate regarding the American Socialist Party possibly joining with the unions in a labour party.


title: Keir Hardie

text: A pacifist, Hardie was appalled by the First World War and along with socialists in other countries he tried to organise an international general strike to stop the war. His stance was not popular, even within the Labour Party, but he continued to address anti-war demonstrations across the country and to support conscientious objectors. After the outbreak of war, on 4 August 1914, Hardie's spirited anti-war speeches often received opposition in the form of loud heckling. Hardie was among many Scottish socialists, the likes of John MacLean and Willie Gallacher, who opposed the War and believed that working-class men fighting other working-class men only served the interests of capitalism.


title: Keir Hardie

text: Despite this, once the war had started Hardie seems to have resigned himself to the inevitability of pursuing it rather than stopping it immediately. In a full-page article in the "Merthyr Pioneer" on 28 November 1914, he wrote:


title: Keir Hardie

text: In the same article he also opposed accusations that he was unpatriotic by claiming that his meetings encouraged young men to enlist while those of his Liberal opponents did the opposite:


title: Keir Hardie

text: After a series of strokes, Hardie died in a hospital in Glasgow of pneumonia at noon on 26 September 1915, aged 59. His friend and fellow pacifist Thomas Evan Nicholas (Niclas y Glais) delivered the sermon at Hardie's memorial service at Aberdare, in his constituency.


title: Keir Hardie

text: He was cremated in Maryhill, Glasgow. A memorial stone in his honour is at Cumnock Cemetery Cumnock, Ayrshire, Scotland.


title: Keir Hardie

text: On 2 December 2006, a memorial bust of Hardie was unveiled by Cynon Valley MP Ann Clwyd outside council offices in Aberdare (in his former constituency). The ceremony marked a centenary since the party's birth.


title: Keir Hardie

text: Hardie is still held in high esteem in his old home town of Holytown, where his childhood home is preserved for people to view, while the local sports centre was named in his own honour as "The Keir Hardie Sports Centre". Keir Hardie Memorial Primary School opened in 1956, named for him. There are now 40 streets throughout Britain named after Hardie. Alan Morrison has, in turn, used the title "Keir Hardie Street" for his 2010 narrative long poem in which a fictitious, turn-of-the-century, working-class poet discovers a socialist utopia off the dreamt-up Sea-Green Line of the London Underground.


title: Keir Hardie

text: One of the buildings at Swansea University is also named after him, while a main distributor road in Sunderland is named the Keir Hardie Way.


title: Keir Hardie

text: The Ellen Wilkinson Estate in Wardley, East Gateshead (once in the Urban District of Felling, subsumed by Gateshead Metropolitan Borough in 1974) has Keir Hardie Avenue as its main street. Every other street is named after a pre-1960 Labour MP. The England footballer, Chris Waddle, lived in Number 1 Keir Hardie Avenue, Gateshead, between 1971 and 1983.


title: Keir Hardie

text: The Keir Hardie Estate in Canning Town (Newham, East London) is named after him as a legacy to his tenure as MP for West Ham South, Newham. Keir Hardie Avenue in the town of Cleator Moor, Cumbria, has been named after him since 1934 Furthermore, an estate in the London Borough of Brent was also named after Hardie. Keir Hardie Crescent in Kilwinning in Scotland is named after him, as is a block of apartments in Little Thurrock. There is also a Keir Hardie Street in Greenock and a Keir Hardie Street in Methil, Fife, a predominantly Labour stronghold.


title: Keir Hardie

text: Ty Keir Hardie, in his constituency town of Merthyr Tydfil, housed offices for Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council and adjoins the Civic Centre on Castle Street. In Merthyr Tydfil, there is also a Keir Hardie Estate with streets named after prominent early Independent Labour leaders such as Wallhead and Glasier.


title: Keir Hardie

text: In recognition of his work as a lay preacher, the Keir Hardie Methodist Church in London bears his name.


title: Keir Hardie

text: Labour founder Hardie has been voted the party's "greatest hero" in a straw poll of delegates at the 2008 Labour conference in Manchester. Labour peer Lord Morgan, Ed Balls, David Blunkett and Fiona Mactaggart argued the case for four Labour figures at a "Guardian" fringe meeting at the Labour conference 2008 in Manchester, 23 September 2008.


title: Keir Hardie

text: Hardie's younger half-brothers David Hardie, George Hardie and sister-in-law Agnes Hardie all became Labour Party Members of Parliament after his death. His daughter Nan Hardie and her husband Emrys Hughes both became Provost of Cumnock; Hughes also became Labour Member of Parliament for South Ayrshire in 1946.


title: Keir Hardie

text: Keir Starmer, the current Leader of the Labour Party and serving MP in the House of Commons for Holborn and St Pancras, was named after Hardie; he said he was "very fond of the name".


title: Keir Hardie

text: On 15 August 2010 (the 154th anniversary of Hardie's birth) the Keir Hardie Society was founded at Summerlee, Museum of Scottish Industrial Life. The society aims to "keep alive the ideas and promote the life and work of Keir Hardie". Among the co-founders was Cathy Jamieson, who at the time was the MSP for the constituency of Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, which covers the area where Hardie lived most of his life. Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard was the main founder of the society, along with Hugh Gaffney MP.


title: Keir Hardie

text: In August 2016, Jim Kenworth's play "A Splotch of Red: Keir Hardie in West Ham" was premiered at various venues in Newham, including Neighbours Hall in Canning Town at which Hardie spoke. The play deals with Hardie's battle to win the constituency of West Ham South. It was directed by James Martin Charlton; Samuel Caseley played Keir Hardie.


title: Bappa Rawal

text: Bappa Rawal (c. 8th century) was a king of the Mewar kingdom in Rajasthan, India. The bardic chronicles describe him as a member of the Guhila Rajput Clan, and some of them consider him to be the founder of the Guhila dynasty. He is credited with repelling the Arab invasion of India. Different historians have identified him with various rulers of the Guhila dynasty, including Kalabhoja, Shiladitya, and Khumana.


title: Bappa Rawal

text: According to the 15th century text "Ekalinga Mahatmya" (also called "Ekalinga Purana"), Bappa was the ninth descendant of the Guhila dynasty's founder Guhadatta. The text credits him with establishing the Mewar Kingdom in 728 CE, and with building the Eklingji temple.


title: Bappa Rawal

text: The "Ekalinga Mahatmya" and other bardic chronicles state that Bappa's father Nagaditya and all other male members of his family were killed in a battle with the Bhils of Idar. He remained in disguise, accompanied by his two loyal Bhil attendants. He was brought up by a Brahmin lady of Nagda, who employed him as a caretaker of cows. One day, he met the sage Harit Rashi. The sage agreed to initiate him into a Shaivite order, and to grant him immortality and supernatural powers. With this power, he defeated his father's killers, and established the Mewar Kingdom.


title: Bappa Rawal

text: According to legends the rishi also encouraged Bappa to build renowned Eklingji Temple at Nagda, which has been family deity of rulers of Mewar ever since.


title: Bappa Rawal

text: Indologist David Gordon White notes that there is a similar legend involving the sage Gorakhnath and the Gorkha king Prithvi Narayan Shah. The 11th century writer Al-Biruni has also recorded a similar legend involving the alchemist Vyadi and the king Vikramaditya.


title: Bappa Rawal

text: The exact period of Bappa Rawal is not certain. According to the "Ekalinga Mahatmya", Bappa Rawal established the Mewar Kingdom in 728 CE, and abdicated the throne in 753 CE. D. R. Bhandarkar and G. H. Ojha believed this to be an authentic date.


title: Bappa Rawal

text: The word "Bappa" means "father", and Rawal is a royal title. Therefore, scholars such as C. V. Vaidya, D. R. Bhandarkar, G. H. Ojha, and Kaviraj Shyamaldas believe that "Bappa Rawal" is not a proper noun.


title: Bappa Rawal

text: Bappa Rawal is mentioned in some inscriptions that provide genealogical lists of the Guhila dynasty, but other inscriptions containing such lists do not mention him. For example, he is mentioned in the 959 CE Unawas inscription and the 971 CE Ekling inscription. However, the 977 CE Atpur inscription and the 1083 CE Kadmal inscription do not mention him. Therefore, the historians have assumed that "Bappa Rawal" is an epithet for one of the Guhila rulers, and different scholars have tried to identify him with different Guhila kings.


title: Bappa Rawal

text: According to the Atpur and Kadmal inscriptions, the Guhila ruler Mahendra was succeeded by Kalabhoja. Several historians, such as G. H. Ojha, have identified Bappa Rawal as Kalabhoja, because the 977 CE Atpur inscription mentions Khumana as a son of Kalabhoja, and the 1404 CE Uparaganva (Dungarpur) inscription of Maharawal Pata names Khumana as the son of Bappa Rawal. R. V. Somani endorses this identification, but cautions that the evidence is not conclusive: Bappa Rawal may have been a different ruler who belonged to another branch of the Guhilas.


title: Bappa Rawal

text: The Atpur inscription names Śila as the successor of Nāga, and predecessor of Aparājita. The 1460 CE Kumbhalgarh inscription names Bappa as the successor of Nāga, and predecessor of Aparājita. This suggests that Bappa Rawal was another name for Shiladitya (Śila), the great-grandfather of Kalabhoja. Based on this evidence, Dasharatha Sharma and D. C. Sircar have identified Bappa Rawal with Shiladitya. However, R. V. Somani disputes this identification, arguing that this inscription contains several errors, including naming Bappa Rawal as the father of Guhadatta (who was the dynasty's founder according to some other inscriptions).


title: Bappa Rawal

text: Some other historians, such as D. R. Bhandarkar, identified Bappa Rawal with Kalabhoja's son Khumana, based on the calculation of average reign of the Guhila rulers.


title: Bappa Rawal

text: According to some legends, Bappa Rawal captured famous Chitrakuta (Chittor Fort) from the mlechchhas. Scholars such as R. C. Majumdar and R. V. Somani theorize that the Arab invaders defeated the former rulers of Chittor, and Bappa Rawal gained control of Chittor after repulsing the Arab invaders. According to Majumdar, the Moris (Mauryas) were ruling at Chittor when the Arabs (mlechchhas) invaded north-western India around 725 CE. The Arabs defeated the Moris, and in turn, were defeated by a confederacy that included Bappa Rawal. Majumdar believes that his heroics against the Arabs raised Bappa Rawal's status to such an extent that he wrongly came to be regarded as the founder of the dynasty. R. V. Somani theorized that Bappa was a part of the anti-Arab confederacy formed by the Pratihara ruler Nagabhata I. Somani also speculates that Bappa Rawal might have fought on the Pratihara side in their defence against the Rashtrakuta invasions.


title: Bappa Rawal

text: Shyam Manohar Mishra of Lucknow University theorized that Bappa Rawal was originally a vassal of the Mori ruler Manuraja (Maan Maurya). He probably led the Mori campaign against the Arabs, which made him more famous than his overlord. Later, he either deposed Manuraja (Maan Maurya), or became the king after Manuraja died childless.


title: Bappa Rawal

text: Some other historians doubt the historicity of Bappa's conquest of Chittor, arguing that the Guhilas did not control Chittor before the reign of Kalabhoja's descendant Allata.


title: Bappa Rawal

text: Multiple gold coins, bearing the Nagari legend "Shri Voppa" or "Shri Vopparaja" have been attributed to Bappa Rawal. However, the identification of Voppa or Vopparaja with Bappa Rawal is disputed. These coins have been alternatively attributed to the king Vappuka of Surasena dynasty, who is mentioned in a 955 CE (1012 VS) inscription from Bayana.


title: Bappa Rawal

text: One gold coin bears the legend "Shri Voppa", and features Shavite icons: a trishula (trident), a linga, and a bull. Below these is the image of a man in prostrate position. The man has features with large pierced ears, and the holes are exaggerated. According to Indoligst David Gordon White, this may be a representation of Bappa's initiation into a Shaivite sect, as ear piercing has been associated with the Nath Siddhas (a Shaivite sect), who were custodians of the Eklingji shrine before the 16th century. White, however, believes that Bappa is more likely to have been initiated into the Pashupata sect. Pashupata names commonly ended in Rashi (IAST: Rāśi), and thus, Harit Rashi was likely a Pashupata sage. Moreover, "Rawal" (from Sanskrit "rāja-kula", "royal lineage") was the name of a clan among the Pashupatas in the 8th century: in the 13th century, this clan was absorbed into the Nath sect.


title: Bappa Rawal

text: One gold coin features a haloed Rama holding bow and arrow, with a bull to his left, and an elephant to his right. The other side of the coin features an enthroned ruler with attendants on his sides, with the legend "Shri Voppa" below.


title: Bappa Rawal

text: Another gold coin features the legend "Shri Vopparaja", with the images of a bull, a trident, a linga, and an attendant. The other side features a cow with a suckling calf.


title: Khaled Khaled

text: Khaled Khaled is the twelfth studio album by American record producer DJ Khaled. It was released through We the Best Music and Epic Records on April 30, 2021. The album features guest appearances from Lil Wayne, Jeremih, Lil Baby, Lil Durk, Cardi B, H.E.R., Migos, Post Malone, Megan Thee Stallion, DaBaby, Justin Bieber, 21 Savage, Bryson Tiller, Roddy Ricch, Drake, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, Big Sean, Rick Ross, Puff Daddy, Nas, Jay-Z, James Fauntleroy, Justin Timberlake, Meek Mill, Buju Banton, Capleton, and Bounty Killer.


title: Khaled Khaled

text: The title of the album is named after Khaled's real name, Khaled Khaled. It was executive produced by himself, his respective first and second children and sons, Asahd and Aalam Tuck Khaled, with Allah also being credited as an executive producer due to the Khaled family's religious beliefs and spirituality in Islam. "Khaled Khaled" is the first album by Khaled to be released since the birth of Aalam, his second child, on January 20, 2020. Khaled also played songs from the album to American rapper Kanye West, who came to his house days before it was released. On April 29, 2021, in an interview with Chelsea Briggs of "Billboard", Khaled said that he hopes that the album will help his fans "to be inspired, motivated, but I want them to be great" and "don't hold back your greatness, don't let nobody stop the vision, but move with love", and stated that the latter takeaway is the most important part.


title: Khaled Khaled

text: On July 15, 2020, Khaled announced the title of the album alongside the titles and respective song artworks for its dual lead singles, "Popstar" and "Greece", both of which feature Canadian rapper Drake, which were released two days later. Khaled had originally planned to release it sometime in the third or fourth quarter of 2020, but did not for unknown reasons. He teased most of the collaborations on the album before since he announced it. On April 27, 2021, he shared the album artwork and announced its release date. The following day, he revealed its track listing, while also teasing the ninth track from the album, "Sorry Not Sorry", which features American rappers Nas and Jay-Z and American singer-songwriter James Fauntleroy. American singer Beyoncé appears as part of the Hive. He revealed an updated track listing that added the track "Big Paper", which features American rapper Cardi B, which was not on the previous track listing.


title: Khaled Khaled

text: DJ Khaled released the dual lead singles of the album, "Popstar" and "Greece", both of which feature Canadian rapper and singer Drake, on July 17, 2020. The second single, "Let It Go", which features Canadian singer Justin Bieber and Atlanta-based rapper 21 Savage, was released on May 10, 2021. The third single, "Every Chance I Get", which features American rappers Lil Baby and Lil Durk, was sent to US rhythmic contemporary radio one day later, May 11, 2021. The fourth single, "I Did It", which features American rapper and singer Post Malone and American rappers Megan Thee Stallion, Lil Baby, and DaBaby, was sent to UK rhythmic contemporary radio on May 21, 2021 and US contemporary hit radio on June 1, 2021. The fifth single, "Body in Motion", which features American singer Bryson Tiller and American rappers Lil Baby and Roddy Ricch, was sent to rhythmic contemporary radio on September 14, 2021.


title: Khaled Khaled

text: "Khaled Khaled" was met with mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 58 based on eight reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".


title: Khaled Khaled

text: A few days before the album's release, Chris Deville of "Stereogum" opined that the "extravagant list of guest stars" on it "feels especially indulgent" and "it's not just that "Khaled Khaled" seems predestined to be an event album nearly every track seems like it could be a breakout hit based on the lineup of performers alone". In a lukewarm three-star review, NME's Luke Morgan Britton wrote: "This is a slightly hollow, glitzy blockbuster of an album, and we could well be reaching Brand Khaled fatigue very soon. But for now, and after endless hits and three Platinum albums, you can forgive him for refusing to change the blueprint." Of the album's lengthy guest list, Britton said: "If you swapped numbers with Khaled at an after-party and aren't on this album, you should feel offended."


title: Khaled Khaled

text: "Khaled Khaled" debuted at number one on the US "Billboard" 200 chart, earning 93,000 album-equivalent units (including 14,000 copies in pure album sales) in its first week. This became DJ Khaled's third US number one album on the chart. The album also accumulated a total of 106.87 million on-demand streams of the album’s songs. On February 23, 2022, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over 1,000,000 units in the United States.


title: EQT Partners

text: EQT AB Group is a global investment organization founded in 1994. Its funds invest in private equity, infrastructure, real estate, growth equity, and venture capital in Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific.


title: EQT Partners

text: , EQT's assets under management are €90 billion / US$100 billion. It is ranked the third largest private equity firm worldwide based on funds raised.


title: EQT Partners

text: The company was founded in 1994 by SEB, AEA Investors, and Investor AB. It established venture capital business, EQT Ventures in 2016 and went public in 2019 by IPO.


title: EQT Partners

text: In 2021, EQT acquired Life Sciences Partners, a European venture capital firm with approximately €2.2 billion of assets under management followed in 2022, by Baring Private Equity Asia managing funds of S$20.0 billion.


title: Thai tea

text: Thai tea (, , ) is usually known as a Thai drink made from Ceylon tea, milk and sugar, and served hot or cold. It is popular in Southeast Asia and is served in many restaurants that serve Thai food. When served cold it is known as Thai iced tea (, , ; ) Although Thai tea is normally referred to Thai iced tea, there are also other kinds of tea can be referred as Thai tea. For instance, the Thai traditional herbal teas which is formulated based on Thai traditional medicine can also be called as Thai tea. Thai Oolong tea can also be referred as Thai tea which is oolong tea steamed with ginger (Zingiber officinale), lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus), and celery.


title: Thai tea

text: The drink is made from strongly brewed Ceylon tea, or a locally grown landrace (traditional or semi-wild) version of Assam known as "bai miang" ().


title: Thai tea

text: The tea is sweetened with sugar and condensed milk and served chilled. Evaporated milk, coconut milk or whole milk is poured over the tea and ice before serving to add taste and creamy appearance. In Thai restaurants, it is served in a tall glass, but when sold from street and market stalls in Thailand it may be poured over the crushed ice in a plastic bag or tall plastic cups. It may also be made into a frappé at some vendors.


title: Thai tea

text: In Thailand, Thai hot tea is often drunk in the morning, frequently with "pathongko" (, long strips of fried dough):


title: Calamba, Laguna

text: Calamba, officially the City of Calamba (), is a 1st class component city in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 539,671 people making it the most populous city in Laguna province.


title: Calamba, Laguna

text: It is the regional center of the Calabarzon region. It is situated south of Manila and west of Santa Cruz. The city is known as the "Spring Resort Capital of the Philippines" because of its numerous hot spring resorts, which are mostly located in Barangays Pansol, Bucal, Bagong Kalsada, and Lingga.


title: Calamba, Laguna

text: According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 539,671 people, making it the most populous local government unit in Laguna. It is the fifth-densest city in the province with more than 2,600 people per square kilometer after San Pedro, Biñan, Cabuyao, and Santa Rosa. Based on the overall rankings of the 2014 Cities and Municipalities Index, the city ranked 18th in the overall competitiveness (cities ranking) and first among cities in the Calabarzon region. The city is known to be the Calabarzon's richest city, followed by Cabuyao City, because of its numerous factories.


title: Calamba, Laguna

text: The name of the city is derived from Tagalog "kalamba", meaning a wide-mouthed earthen water jar (also called "balanga" or "banga"). The origin of the name is reflected in the Calamba Jar landmark in city plaza, as well as the city's seal which depicts a water jar superimposed with a profile of José Rizal.


title: Calamba, Laguna

text: The oldest part of Calamba is believed to be Barangay Sucol where its first settlers remained. With the arrival of Spaniards, the whole area was converted into a hacienda, then a part of Tabuco (present-day Cabuyao). In 1639 Calamba was the site of a rebellion of Chinese farmers, who had been forcibly resettled there by Governor Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera. This rebellion spread north of the Pasig River and eventually culminated in the deaths of over 20,000 Chinese in the whole region surrounding Manila. Calamba became an independent "pueblo" on August 28, 1742, and formed into the town of Calamba in 1770. In 1813, Calamba was placed in the hands of ""encargados"" by the Dominican Brothers, who divided it into portions and sold the haciendas to the natives during the American regime.


title: Calamba, Laguna

text: During the Japanese occupation in World War II, the city was the location of a massacre committed by the Imperial Japanese Army, in which at least 2,000 civilians were killed. The St. John the Baptist Church, established in 1859, was burned by the Japanese during World War II. It was reconstructed by Fr. Eliseo Dimaculangan. It was the christening site of José Rizal. The original baptismal font has been preserved and refurbished.


title: Calamba, Laguna

text: After a process of more than seven years, Calamba became the second component city of the Laguna by virtue of Republic Act No. 9024, ""An Act Converting the Municipality of Calamba, Province of Laguna into a Component City to be known as the City of Calamba"." R.A. 9024 was signed into law by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on March 5, 2001, at the Malacañan Palace. The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) then set the plebiscite for Calamba's cityhood on April 21, 2001, where 15,056 residents participated. 3,413 or 22.67% voted ""No"" while the remaining 77.33% voted ""Yes"" to Calamba's conversion into a component city.


title: Calamba, Laguna

text: As early as 1994, the town's Sangguniang Bayan approved Resolution No. 60, Series of 1994 requesting the Senate of the Philippines through its president and the House of Representatives through its speaker to co-sponsor a bill for Calamba's conversion into a city. It was only after two years that another resolution, Resolution No. 115 was passed requesting then Congressman Joaquin M. Chipeco Jr, to co-sponsor a bill for Calamba's cityhood and requesting the Sangguniang Panlalawigan for their comments and recommendations regarding the matter. Another two years passed before House Bill No. 986 and Senate bill Nos. 1630 and 1791 were filed in the House of Representatives by Congressman Chipeco and Senate of the Philippines by Senators Franklin M. Drilon and Sergio Osmeña III, respectively.


title: Calamba, Laguna

text: It was only in the year 2000 that the motion for Calamba's cityhood was fast tracked. Then Mayor Severino J. Lajara requested favorable endorsement of House Bill No. 986 from the Sangguniang Panlalawigan on January 3, 2000. The Sangguniang Bayan also endorsed House Bill No. 986 and Senate Bill Nos. 1630 and 1791 and also requested favorable endorsement from the Sangguniang Panlalawigan in the same month. A month passed and Mayor Lajara sent a follow-up letter to then Vice Governor Teresita "Ningning" Lazaro on updates regarding the matter.


title: Calamba, Laguna

text: On March 8, the House Committee on Local Government approved House Bill No. 986 on 2nd reading at a hearing held at Hotel Rembrandt, Quezon City. The same House Committee conducted a public hearing on House Bill No. 986 at the Calamba Elementary School (Central II) gymnasium on March 23, approving the House Bill in principle. House Bill 986 was deliberated in April by the House of Representatives in plenary session and approved as House Bill No. 10661, which was then filed with the Senate of the Philippines in June.


title: Calamba, Laguna

text: The year 2001 came and brought about approval on 2nd reading of Senate Bill Nos. 1630 and 1791 and House Bill No. 10661 in a hearing held on February 5 at the Ambrocio Padilla Hall, Senate of the Philippines. Three days later, February 8, Senate Bill Nos. 1630 and 1791 and House Bill No. 10661 was deliberated in Plenary Session and was approved as Republic Act No. 9024.


title: Calamba, Laguna

text: The city was declared the regional center of the Calabarzon region by then President Gloria Arroyo by virtue of Executive Order No. 246, dated October 28, 2003.


title: Calamba, Laguna

text: Calamba lies on the northern slopes of Mount Makiling, a dormant volcano. The southern terminus of the South Luzon Expressway is in Calamba and this geographic position makes the city a gateway to the southern provinces of Luzon. The highway at the end of the South Luzon Expressway leads east to the other towns of Laguna and south towards the provinces of Batangas and Quezon.


title: Calamba, Laguna

text: The city is bordered by Cabuyao to the north and to the west, Los Baños to the east, by the province of Batangas and Cavite to the south, specifically the cities of Tanauan, Santo Tomas and municipality of Talisay in Batangas. and the City of Tagaytay in Cavite. Laguna de Bay, the country's largest lake, forms the city's northeast border. The provincial capital, Santa Cruz, is located by road to the east.


title: Calamba, Laguna

text: Calamba covers a total land area of , making it is the second-largest city in Laguna province in terms of land area after San Pablo.


title: Calamba, Laguna

text: Calamba has a tropical monsoon climate (type "Am"), with a short dry season and a longer rainy season. The dry season lasts only from January to April, and the rest of the year is characterized by high levels of rainfall.


title: Calamba, Laguna

text: The population of Calamba City is fast-growing with an intercensal growth rate of 5% from 1995 to 2000, repeated and more in subsequent decades (except for 2007 to 2010 census).


title: Calamba, Laguna

text: According to the 2020 census, Calamba has a population of 539,671 inhabitants, making it the most populated city in Laguna province, followed by Santa Rosa, Biñan City, San Pedro City, Cabuyao City, and San Pablo. Calamba City is the 24th most populated city in the Philippines.


title: Calamba, Laguna

text: Calamba is predominantly Roman Catholic (84.22%), followed by Members Church of God International (MCGI or ADD)(4.5%), Protestants (3.43%), Iglesia Ni Cristo (3.14%), and Islam (0.26%).


title: Calamba, Laguna

text: Calamba City is known today as the "Richest City in Calabarzon", (according to the 2014 Commission on Audit Annual Audit Report), as it registered a total income of ₱2,501,048,126.00. Calamba is also considered one of the "Next Wave Cities" for outsourcing firms.


title: Calamba, Laguna

text: The major income sources comes from manufacturing and economic plants, tourism, agriculture and services. There are many manufacturing and economic plants located in upland barangays like Canlubang, Real, La Mesa, Milagrosa, Makiling, Punta, Barandal, Batino and Prinza.


title: Calamba, Laguna

text: As of December 31, 2013, there are 83 banking offices operating in the city that offers banking services to businesses and residents according to Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation. Calamba is the top city in Calabarzon with total deposits amounting to 29,632,884 in thousand pesos from 374,122 accounts.


title: Calamba, Laguna

text: The city is a haven for industries. Considered the heart of Calabarzon due to the number of companies housed in its area, Calamba City is one of the premiere industrial hubs outside of Metro Manila. Some of the industrial parks located in the city are:


title: Calamba, Laguna

text: Calamba City is also considered one of the "Next Wave Cities" for outsourcing firms and call centers, among them are Accenture and SPi Technologies.


title: Calamba, Laguna

text: Aside from the Crossing area in Barangay Uno, Barangays Real and Parian are also bustling with business structures, including SM City Calamba, and Liana's Discount Center Calamba.


title: Calamba, Laguna

text: Notable shopping centers and travel agencies in Calamba also include Southern Sky Travel & Tours (Calamba Headquarters), Walter Mart Makiling, Puregold Halang, Puregold Calamba Crossing, Checkpoint Mall, and iMall Canlubang among others.


title: Calamba, Laguna

text: Food processing plants in Calamba like Zenith Foods Corp. (central commissary of Jollibee Foods Corporation), where its sauces and food products (i.e. burger, pies, fries, etc.) are first made before distributing to Jollibee outlets is currently the most advanced food processing plant in the Philippines and one of the best in Asia. Other food and beverage processing plants in Calamba are Rebisco, RC Cola, Monde-M.Y. San Corporation and Zest-O Corporation.


title: Calamba, Laguna

text: Some of the semiconductor companies are also located in Calamba. To name a few, they are Samsung Electronics Philippines, Continental Temic Electronics Philippines, Toshiba Storage Device Philippines Inc., ST Microelectronics (formerly Philips Electronics), Fuji Electric Philippines, NEC Tokin Electronics, NEC Toppan Circuit Solutions and Austriamicrosystems Phils.


title: Calamba, Laguna

text: Automobile manufacturer that have plants located in Calamba City are Asian Transmission Corporation and Suzuki Philippines Inc.


title: Calamba, Laguna

text: Avon, the leading global beauty company has a manufacturing plant (Avon Products Manufacturing) located at Calamba Premiere International Park.


title: Calamba, Laguna

text: The only expressway currently operational in Calamba is the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), which passes through the city with four exits. SLEX is part of AH26 up to Calamba Exit.