title: Cracker (band)

text: The group left Virgin in 2003 with the independent release "Countrysides", composed of eight country and western covers and one new, original song. A collaboration with the bluegrass band Leftover Salmon, "Oh Cracker, Where Art Thou?" (2003), contained bluegrass versions of many Lowery and Hickman compositions. In 2005, Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven started an annual three-night "Campout" at Pappy and Harriet's Pioneertown Palace in Pioneertown, California, close to where Lowery and Hickman met, in which they and several other bands perform, including sets by Cracker and Camper band members performing their own music. Previous years' guests have included Roger Clyne, John Doe, Neko Case, Ike Reilly, Ryan Bingham, Vermillion Lies, Jason Molina and Magnolia Electric Co, Built To Spill, Brant Bjork and the Bros, Clem Snide, Gram Rabbit and The Bellrays.


title: Cracker (band)

text: With Camper Van Beethoven bass guitarist Victor Krummenacher replacing Wood, the band released the studio album "Greenland" on June 6, 2006, and continued to tour extensively. After the departures of Margolis and Krummenacher, the band's lineup stabilized in 2007 around Hickman, Lowery, Funaro and new bass guitarist Sal Maida, who had played with Roxy Music.


title: Cracker (band)

text: Cracker released a new studio album entitled "Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey" to positive reviews on May 5, 2009. It was the band's first chart on the "Billboard" 200 in more than a decade, after having sold more than 3,000 copies in a week. This was in part due to the Triple A chart success of the album's lead single, "Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out With Me," which was used in the television show "Californication".


title: Cracker (band)

text: In January 2011, Lowery released his first solo album, "The Palace Guards", on 429 Records. In March, Cracker announced Campout East, the east coast counterpart to their Campout festival, to be held in Crozet, Virginia. The first Campout East was held at Misty Mountain Camp Resort and was co-hosted by Sons of Bill. The second Campout East took place in Buena Vista, Virginia at Glen Maury Park on June 1–2, 2012.


title: Cracker (band)

text: Johnny Hickman released a second solo album, "Tilting", in July 2012, while Cracker's song "Low" appeared in the 2012 film "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" and again in "The Wolverine" and an episode of "Hindsight".


title: Cracker (band)

text: Drummer Frank Funaro was unable to tour due to an injury to his arm that sidelined him for all of 2014.


title: Cracker (band)

text: In July 2014, a revival of the "Kerosene Hat" era lineup toured China. Lowery and Hickman were joined on the tour by original bassist Davey Faragher and former drummer Michael Urbano. Faragher and Urbano also joined the band in recording roughly half of the double album "Berkeley to Bakersfield". The other half was recorded with an entirely new lineup that also became the current touring lineup. The album was released on December 9, 2014 with "Waited My Whole Life" released as a single.


title: Cracker (band)

text: In December 2015, Lowery (along with Camper Van Beethoven) filed a class action lawsuit against music streaming service Spotify, alleging that Spotify knowingly and unlawfully reproduced and distributed copyrighted recordings without obtaining proper music licenses.


title: Rick O'Connell

text: Richard "Rick" O’Connell is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the second incarnation of "The Mummy" franchise. He is portrayed by Brendan Fraser. Fraser reprised the role of O'Connell in "The Mummy Returns" released in 2001, and in "" from 2008.


title: Rick O'Connell

text: Fraser's portrayal of O'Connell has been well-received, and the character has been compared to the likes of Indiana Jones.


title: Rick O'Connell

text: He served as a captain in the French Foreign Legion before becoming an adventurer. Evelyn and her brother Jonathan met him in a Cairo prison, where Evelyn negotiates his release early in the movie so that he can lead them to the ancient city of Hamunaptra, as he is one of the few men to ever visit the city and return alive. After the boat they are using to traverse the river Nile is attacked and destroyed by the warriors trying to prevent the resurrection of the "creature", he leads them to Hamunaptra where they unearth the rotting corpse of Imhotep. Later that evening after fending off another attack by the warriors known as the Medjai, he watches as Evelyn accidentally awakens Imhotep. After a small scuffle with the plagues that come with unleashing Imhotep and the Mummy himself, he, along with the remaining survivors, flees back to Cairo. Unfortunately, the Mummy follows them and enslaves the population of Cairo and makes the zombie-like people chase and try to kill them. After being cornered he is forced to give up Evelyn and flee. He enlists the help of Winston, a retired airforce pilot, to charter himself, Jonathan and Ardeth back to Hamunaptra. Here he battles Imhotep but to no avail as he is invincible. Only with the timely help of Jonathan and Evelyn does he manage to kill Imhotep. Once Imhotep is defeated, Hamunaptra sinks into the sand, due to the handiwork of Beni, an ex-soldier who served in the French Foreign Legion with O'Connell before becoming Imhotep's henchman. Evelyn and Rick fall in love and kiss while riding off into the sunset with Jonathan in tow, unaware that the saddle bags on their camels are filled with looted treasure that Beni stole before Hamunaptra sank into the sand.


title: Rick O'Connell

text: In the second film, Rick and Evelyn are now married, and have an 8-year-old son named Alex and live in an elaborate Baroque estate outside London. When his son is kidnapped by sand bandits, O'Connell must race to thwart the rise of a returned and even more powerful Imhotep. Through conversations with loyal friend Ardeth Bay, it is revealed that O'Connell is a descendant of the Medjai, the race of ancients tasked with upholding the truce between the undead and the living. Ardeth Bay uses Rick's wrist tattoo as evidence of his 'fate'. O'Connell struggles with the notion of his destiny to eternally battle mummies from all corners of the earth. In the end, O'Connell accepts his fate and is guided to the Oasis Pyramid, where Imhotep is planning on to gain control of the Scorpion King's evil army. O'Connell rages his way through a three-way battle that pits him between two ghastly foes and succeeds in destroying both of them. The conclusion of the battle and the death of the Scorpion King destroys the oasis, though O'Connell and his family escape in a hot-air balloon navigated by his long-time friend, Izzy.


title: Rick O'Connell

text: In the third film, Rick has retired to a quiet life of fishing and motorcar driving in the countryside. He's bored with his wealth and status as the greatest adventurer alive. In a twist of fate however, his son, Alex (Luke Ford) ends up going to China and waking up the most terrifying mummies of the Orient. Thrilled to be a part of something exciting again, O'Connell and his wife Evelyn jump at the chance to join their 20-year-old son on a quest for Shangri-La to quell the advancement of a revived all-mummy Terracotta Army. Along the way, O'Connell fights evil Chinese nationalists with the help of the yeti.


title: Rick O'Connell

text: His past is not revealed completely in the franchise. He is shown to be of Medjay descent in the second film and has stated he grew up in an orphanage in Cairo.


title: Rick O'Connell

text: Producer James Jacks offered the role of Rick O'Connell to Tom Cruise (who was later cast in the reboot film), Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, but the actors were not interested or could not fit the role into their respective schedules. Jacks and director Stephen Sommers were impressed with the money that "George of the Jungle" was making at the box office and cast Brendan Fraser as a result. Sommers also commented that he felt Fraser fit the Errol Flynn swashbuckling character he had envisioned perfectly. The actor understood that his character "doesn't take himself too seriously, otherwise the audience can't go on that journey with him".


title: Kronosaurus

text: Kronosaurus ( ; meaning "lizard of Kronos") is a potentially dubious genus of extinct short-necked pliosaur. With an estimated length of , it was among the largest pliosaurs, and is named after the leader of the Greek Titans, Kronos. It lived in the Early Cretaceous period (Aptian to Late Albian). Fossil material has been recovered from the Toolebuc Formation (middle to late Albian) and Wallumbilla Formations (Aptian) of Queensland and New South Wales in Australia.


title: Kronosaurus

text: In 1899, Andrew Crombie of Hughenden discovered a "scrap of bone" containing six conical teeth, and gave this fragmentary fossil to the Queensland Museum. Twenty-five years later, then-director Heber Longman formally described the specimen as the holotype of a new species: "Kronosaurus queenslandicus". More "Kronosaurus" material, including a partial skull, was discovered in 1929, in the same location as Crombie's original find.


title: Kronosaurus

text: The validity of "Kronosaurus" was a longstanding issue due to the fragmentary nature of the holotype. Welles (1962) declared the taxon as a "nomen vanum" and recommended the designation of a neotype specimen that would preserve the taxon's validity. McHenry (2009) subsequently proposed that two partial skeletons (QM F18827 and QM F10113) that matched the holotype's features and were from its same geological horizon (Toolebuc Formation) could be candidate neotypes. However, no formal petition to the ICZN to designate a neotype was ever submitted. In 2021, Noè and Gómez-Pérez formally restricted "Kronosaurus" to the holotype. They subsequently erected a new taxon named "Eiectus longmani" with the Harvard skeleton (MCZ 1285) as its holotype and reassigned all specimens previously referred as "K. queenslandicus" to it. This move, which was initially interpreted as renaming the entire species to "E. longmani", faced criticism by paleontologists. Darren Naish commented that the apparent renaming was "not a good idea" that discourages stability while paleontologist Daniel Madzia dubbed the situation "Kronogate" and criticized the decision to not petition for a neotype. However, the reassignment of all "Kronosaurus" material to the new taxon is tentative. Noè & Gómez-Pérez (2021) noted the likelihood that the fossils actually represent multiple pliosaur species, meaning that the Toolebuc Formation specimens could be distinct from "E. longmani", and previous studies already suggested that the Harvard skeleton might be distinct from "K. queenslandicus".


title: Kronosaurus

text: In 1931 the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ) sent an expedition to Australia for the dual purpose of procuring specimens – the museum being "weak in Australian animals and...desires[ing] to complete its series" – and to engage in "the study of the animals of the region when alive." The Harvard Australian Expedition (1931–1932), as it became known, was a six-man venture led by Harvard Professor William Morton Wheeler, with the others being Dr. P. Jackson Darlington Jr. (a renowned coleopterist), Dr. Glover Morrill Allen and his student Ralph Nicholson Ellis, medical officer Dr. Ira M. Dixon, and William E. Schevill (a graduate-student in his twenties and Associate Curator of Invertebrate Palaeontology). MCZ director Thomas Barbour said at the time "We shall hope for specimens' of the kangaroo, the wombat, the Tasmanian devil and Tasmanian wolf," and the mission was a success with over 300 mammal and thousands of insect specimens returning to the United States. Yet Mr. Schevill, the team's fossil enthusiast, remained in Australia after the others had departed and, in the winter of 1932, was told by the rancher R.W.H. Thomas of rocks with something "odd" poking out of them on his property near Hughenden. The rocks were limestone nodules containing the most complete skeleton of "Kronosaurus" ever discovered. After dynamiting the nodules out of the ground (and into smaller pieces weighing approximately four tons) with the aid of a British migrant trained in the use of explosives, William Schevill had the fossils shipped back to Harvard for examination and preparation. The skull—which matched the holotype jaw fragment of "K. queenslandicus"—was prepared right away, but time and budget constraints put off restoration of the nearly complete skeleton – most of the bones of which remained unexcavated within the limestone blocks – for 20 years.


title: Kronosaurus

text: This interim ended when they came to the attention of Godfrey Lowell Cabot – Boston industrialist, philanthropist, and founder of the Cabot Corporation – "who was then in his nineties" and "had been interested in sea serpents since childhood." Having formerly questioned MCZ director Alfred Romer about the existence and reports of sea serpents, it thus occurred to Dr. Romer to tell Mr. Cabot about the skeleton in the museum closet. Godfrey Cabot thus asked how much a restoration would cost and "Romer, pulling a figure out of the musty air, replied, 'Oh, about $10,000.'" Romer may not have been serious but the philanthropist clearly was because the check for said sum came shortly thereafter. Two years – and more than $10,000 – later, following the careful labor of the museum preparators, the restored and mounted skeleton was displayed at Harvard in 1959. However, Dr. Romer and MCZ preparator Arnold Lewis confirmed that same year in the institution's journal "Breviora" that "erosion had destroyed a fair fraction of this once complete and articulated skeleton...so that approximately a third of the specimen as exhibited is plaster restoration." Furthermore, the original (real) bones are also layered in plaster; a fact that, while keeping the fossils safe, makes it difficult for paleontologists to study it – an issue which factors into the controversial question of the true size of the "Kronosaurus queenslandicus".


title: Kronosaurus

text: In 2021, a revision of "K. boyacensis" also transferred most of the remains of "K. queenslandicus", including the Harvard remains, to a new genus and species, "Eiectus longmani". The revision limits the genus "Kronosaurus" to the holotype mandible, and treats it as a "nomen dubium".


title: Kronosaurus

text: Body-length estimates, largely based on the 1959 Harvard reconstruction, had previously put the total length of "Kronosaurus" at . However, more recent studies, comparing fossil specimens of "Kronosaurus" to other pliosaurs suggests that the Harvard reconstruction may have included too many vertebrae, exaggerating the previous estimate, with the true length probably only . In 2022, the specimens referred to "Eiectus longmani" were estimated at in length and in body mass.


title: Kronosaurus

text: Like other pliosaurs, "Kronosaurus" was a marine reptile. It had an elongated head, a short neck, a stiff body propelled by four flippers, and a relatively short tail. The posterior flippers were larger than the anterior. "Kronosaurus" was carnivorous, and had many long, sharp, conical teeth. A feature of the genus "Kronosaurus" is that the first three maxillary teeth are enlarged to fangs. Current estimates put "Kronosaurus" at around in length. In 2009, "K. queenslandicus" was estimated to weigh about . The skull length of "Kronosaurus" was estimated to be .


title: Kronosaurus

text: All Sauropterygians had a modified pectoral girdle that supported a powerful swimming stroke. "Kronosaurus" and other plesiosaurs/pliosaurs had a similarly adapted pelvic girdle, allowing them to push hard against the water with all four flippers. Between its two limb girdles was a massive mesh of gastralia (belly ribs) that provided additional strength and support. The strength of the limb girdles, combined with evidence of large, powerful swimming muscles, indicates that "Kronosaurus" was likely a fast, active swimmer.


title: Kronosaurus

text: "Kronosaurus queenslandicus" has four pairs of premaxillary teeth. The first three pairs of its maxillary teeth are large caniniform teeth, and in its lower jaw there are also three pairs of large caniniform teeth which are located immediately in front of the three maxillary caniniforms when the mouth is closed. Two pairs of the lower jaw caniniforms occlude between the last pair of premaxillary teeth and first pair of maxillary teeth in a diastema (gap in the tooth row). The enlargement of these two pairs of lower jaw teeth in "K. queenslandicus" may be related to the absence of a fifth pair of premaxillary teeth, which are present in a number of other pliosaurs.


title: Kronosaurus

text: "Kronosaurus" teeth exceed in length (the largest up to long with crowns). However, they lack carinae (cutting edges) and the distinct trihedral (three facets) of "Pliosaurus" and "Liopleurodon" teeth. The combination of large size, conical shape and lack of cutting edges allows for easy identification of "Kronosaurus" teeth in Cretaceous formations from Australia.


title: Kronosaurus

text: The cladogram below follows a 2011 analysis by paleontologists Hilary F. Ketchum and Roger B. J. Benson, and reduced to genera only.


title: Kronosaurus

text: Fossil stomach contents from Northern Queensland show that "Kronosaurus" preyed on turtles and plesiosaurs. Fossil remains of large octobrachians have been found in the same area as "Kronosaurus". While no direct evidence of the animal predating on these octobrachians exists they fall within the projected size range of prey "Kronosaurus" would potentially have pursued.


title: Kronosaurus

text: Large, round bite-marks have been found on the skull of an Albian-age Australian elasmosaurid ("Eromangasaurus") that could be from a "Kronosaurus" attack.


title: Kronosaurus

text: "Kronosaurus" is known from remains in Australia. The area was covered by a shallow inland sea called the Eromanga Sea which "Kronosaurus" inhabited. This environment was notably cold, experiencing near freezing temperatures and seasonal ice in certain regions.


title: Canaan Banana

text: Canaan Sodindo Banana (5 March 193610 November 2003) was a Zimbabwean Methodist minister, theologian, and politician who served as the first President of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987. He was Zimbabwe's first head of state (Ceremonial President) after the Lancaster House Agreement that led to the country’s independence. In 1987, he stepped down as President and was succeeded by Prime Minister Robert Mugabe, who became the country's executive president. In 1997, Banana was accused of being a homosexual, and after a highly publicised trial, was convicted of 11 counts of sodomy and "unnatural acts", serving six months in prison.


title: Canaan Banana

text: Banana was born in Essexvale (today Esigodini), a village in Matabeleland, Southern Rhodesia, to an Ndebele mother and a Mosotho father. He was educated at a mission school before studying at Epworth Theological College in Salisbury (today Harare). Ordained in 1962, he worked as a Methodist minister and a school administrator between 1963 and 1966. He was elected Chairman of the Bulawayo Council of Churches in 1969, holding that position until 1971. From 1971 to 1973, he worked for the All Africa Conference of Churches and was also a member of the Advisory Committee of the World Council of Churches. He became involved in anti-colonial politics, embracing black liberation theology and criticising the Rhodesian government under Ian Smith, which had declared the country independent under white-minority rule in 1965. He became Vice-President of the African National Congress, but soon was forced to flee Rhodesia. He first went to Japan, before moving to Washington, D.C., United States, where he studied at Wesley Theological Seminary.


title: Canaan Banana

text: Upon returning to Rhodesia in 1975, he was imprisoned until 1976. That year, he accompanied Mugabe to the Geneva Conference, and in 1979, he attended the Lancaster House Conference in London that resulted in Zimbabwe's independence as a majority-rule democracy. In 1980, he became the country's first President, stepping down in 1987 so that Mugabe, who reformed the presidency from a ceremonial office into an executive one, could succeed him. Banana then worked as an Organisation of African Unity diplomat and also taught at the University of Zimbabwe. He also played a major role in arranging the union of the two main Zimbabwean revolutionary groups turned political parties, the ZAPU and his own ZANU, which merged in 1988 to form ZANU–PF, which is still the country's ruling party.


title: Canaan Banana

text: In 1997, Banana was arrested in Zimbabwe on charges of sodomy, following accusations made during the murder trial of his former bodyguard, who had killed another officer who had taunted him about being "Banana's homosexual wife". The charges related to allegations that Banana had misused his power while he was president to coerce numerous men into accepting sexual advances. Though he denied the accusations, he was found guilty of eleven charges of sodomy, attempted sodomy and indecent assault in 1998. He served six months in prison, and was also defrocked. He died of cancer in 2003, with sources varying on his place of death.


title: Canaan Banana

text: Banana was a controversial figure, especially after his criminal conviction. As President, he did not always command respect (a law was passed in 1982, banning Zimbabweans from joking about his surname). Nevertheless, he was held in esteem by some for his involvement in Zimbabwe's liberation struggle and later for his role in uniting ZANU and ZAPU, which ended the "Gukurahundi" massacres. After his death, Mugabe called him a "rare gift to the nation."


title: Canaan Banana

text: Banana was born on 5 March 1936, near Essexvale (now Esigodini), Matabeleland, Southern Rhodesia. His mother was an Ndebele, and his father was an ethnic Basotho who had emigrated from Lesotho. He attended the local Mzinyati mission school, before completing his secondary education at Tegwani High School in Plumtree. He later studied at a teacher training institute before earning a diploma in theology at Epworth Theological College in Salisbury (today Harare). He was ordained a United Methodist minister in 1962. Between 1962 and 1966, he worked as a minister, visiting chaplain, and school administrator in Wankie (today Hwange) and Plumtree. In 1969, he was elected Chairman of the Bulawayo Council of Churches, an office he held until 1971. Between 1970 and 1973, he chaired the Southern Africa Content Group, part of the All Africa Conference of Churches' urban-industrial ministry. In that capacity, he worked with southern African churches as they adjusted to respond, theologically and practically, to urbanisation and industrialisation. During this time, he was also a member of the Advisory Committee of the World Council of Churches.


title: Canaan Banana

text: In the 1960s and 1970s, Banana became active in anti-colonial politics. From the pulpit, he began denouncing Rhodesia's white minority regime and preached a form of black liberation theology. He published a book entitled "The Gospel According to the Ghetto", which included a personalised version of the Lord's Prayer that began "Our Father who art in the Ghetto." He embraced a socialist Christian theology, and declared that "when I see a guerilla, I see Jesus Christ".


title: Canaan Banana

text: In 1971, the British government reached a deal with Rhodesian premier Ian Smith that provided for a transition to "majority rule" in exchange for an end to sanctions against Rhodesia. In response, Banana joined with fellow Methodist cleric Bishop Abel Muzorewa to form the United African National Council (UANC), which opposed the settlement. The proposed referendum was withdrawn and the UANC grew in prominence as a national political party. Initially, both Ndabaningi Sithole's Zimbabwe African National Union and Joshua Nkomo's Zimbabwe African People's Union loosely aligned themselves with the UANC. Because both ZANU and ZAPU participated with guerrilla forces in the Rhodesian Bush War, the UANC was the only legal black political party in Rhodesia, since it rejected violence. Banana served as the Vice-President of the UANC from 1971 to 1973.


title: Canaan Banana

text: Although Banana and the UANC were more moderate than ZANU or ZAPU, they still faced persecution from the government. When several other UANC leaders were arrested, he fled from Rhodesia with his wife and children. At first, he went to Botswana, where he briefly stayed with a minister friend, Ben Hopkinson. Next, he went to Japan, where he studied at Kansai University in Osaka. Finally, he moved to the United States, settling in Washington, D.C. from 1973 to 1975. There, he served as the UANC representative to the United States and the United Nations, and studied at Wesley Theological Seminary from 1974 to 1975, obtained a Master of Theology.


title: Canaan Banana

text: When many Council members were arrested in the late 1960s, Banana and his family fled to the United States and did not return until 1975. Banana was arrested on his return but was released a year later, kept under house arrest, and then allowed to participate in Abel Muzorewa's plans for the country. However, he abandoned that effort and joined ZANU (led by Robert Mugabe), which was dedicated to overthrowing the Smith administration. Returning to Rhodesia in December 1976, Banana was arrested once more for his support of ZANU; upon the appointment of Lord Soames as Governor of Southern Rhodesia, he was released from prison.


title: Canaan Banana

text: Under the country's new constitution, Banana became the first president in 1980. In 1982, a law was passed forbidding citizens from making jokes about his name. In 1987, his largely ceremonial post was taken over by Mugabe, who made himself executive president. Banana then became a diplomat for the Organisation of African Unity and head of the religious department at the University of Zimbabwe. He played a large role in bringing the two major groups of independence fighters, ZANU and ZAPU, together to form the Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front, a merger that took place in 1988.


title: Canaan Banana

text: In 1997, Banana was arrested in Zimbabwe on charges of sodomy, following accusations made during the murder trial of his former bodyguard, Jefta Dube. Dube, a policeman, had shot dead Patrick Mashiri, an officer who had taunted him about being "Banana's homosexual wife". The charges related to allegations from the state prosecutor that Banana had misused his power while he was president to coerce numerous men in positions of service (ranging from domestic staff to security guards, and even members of sports teams for whom he had acted as referee) into accepting sexual advances at State House. Banana was found guilty of eleven charges of sodomy, attempted sodomy and indecent assault in 1998. He denied all charges, saying that homosexuality is "deviant, abominable and wrong", and the allegations made against him were "pathological lies" intended to destroy his political career. Janet Banana later discussed her husband's alleged homosexuality and confirmed it, even though she considered the charges against him to be politically motivated.


title: Canaan Banana

text: He fled to South Africa whilst released on bail before he could be imprisoned, apparently believing Mugabe was planning his death. He returned to Zimbabwe in December 1998, after a meeting with Nelson Mandela, who convinced him to face the ruling. Banana was sentenced on 18 January 1999 to ten years in jail, nine years suspended, and was also defrocked. He actually served six months in an open prison before being released in January 2001. His wife sought political asylum in Britain in October 2000, under a pre-existing accord. His son Michael Thabo (died 17 November 2020) and Michael's wife Caroline Banana were the subject of a 2013 BBC documentary "Britain on the Fiddle" investigating welfare benefit fraud in the United Kingdom.


title: Canaan Banana

text: On 10 November 2003, Banana died of cancer in London according to a report delivered by the Zimbabwean High Commissioner. "The Guardian", a London-based newspaper, said Banana had travelled to South Africa, where he eventually died, to receive appropriate treatment for his cancer however, this assertion relies upon uncorroborated testimonial evidence. He was buried in Zimbabwe in late November 2003. President Robert Mugabe called him "a rare gift to the nation" in a radio address. Banana was buried without full honours that are traditionally reserved for former heads of state. He had also not received the full benefits of a former president, such as a state pension. The Politburo's Secretary for Information and Publicity, Nathan Shamuyarira, told state radio that "they (the politburo) could not afford Banana hero status as a matter of principle."


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: Maithripala Yapa Sirisena (; ; born 3 September 1951) is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the seventh President of Sri Lanka from 9 January 2015 to 18 November 2019. Sirisena is Sri Lanka's first president from the North Central Province of the country and does not belong to the traditional Sri Lankan political elite. He is currently a member of parliament from Polonnaruwa.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: Sirisena joined mainstream politics in 1989 as a member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka and has held several ministries since 1994. He was the general-secretary of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and was Minister of Health until November 2014 when he announced his candidacy for the 2015 presidential election as the opposition coalition's "common candidate". His victory in the election is generally viewed as a surprise, coming to office through the votes won from the alternative Sinhala-majority rural constituency and the Tamil and Muslim minority groups that have been alienated by the Rajapaksa government on post-war reconciliation and growing sectarian violence. Maithripala Sirisena pledged to implement a 100-day reform program where he promised to rebalance the executive branch within 100 days of being elected, by reinforcing Sri Lanka's judiciary and parliament, to fight corruption and to investigate allegations of war crimes from 2009, repeal the controversial eighteenth amendment, re-instate the seventeenth amendment and appoint UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister. He later was reported to have publicly disavowed this program, claiming that he did not know where it originated.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: Sirisena was sworn in as the sixth Executive President before Supreme Court judge K. Sripavan in Independence Square, Colombo at 6:20p.m. on 9January 2015. Immediately afterwards he appointed Ranil Wickremesinghe as the new Prime Minister. After being sworn in Sirisena stated that he would only serve one term. Sirisena voluntarily transferred significant presidential powers to parliament on 28April.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: In 2018, Sirisena appointed the former President Mahinda Rajapaksa (his former rival) as the Prime Minister, wrote a letter firing Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe (with whose major support he became the president in 2015) and prorogued Parliament, all in apparent contradiction to the Constitution of Sri Lanka, instigating a constitutional crisis. This marks Sirisena's second, and most successful attempt to bring Rajapaksa to power.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: Maithripala Sirisena was born as the eldest of a family of 12 with 5 brothers and 6 sisters, on 3 September 1951 in Yagoda, a village in present-day Gampaha District. His father Pallewatte Gamaralalage Albert Sirisena was a World War II veteran who was awarded five acres of paddy land in Polonnaruwa near Parakrama Samudra which resulted in the family moving from Yagoda to Polonnaruwa. His mother, Yapa Appuhamilage Dona Nandawathi, was a school teacher.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: He was educated at Thopawewa Maha Vidyalaya and Rajakeeya Madya Maha Vidyalaya Polonnaruwa where he first developed an interest in politics. While still in school, as a teenager, Sirisena became interested in communism and joined the Ceylon Communist Party (Maoist) becoming closely associated with party leader N. Shanmugathasan in party activities. In 1968, he took part in a communist party anti-government rally which was broken up by baton charging police.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: At the age of 17, he was chosen as the secretary of the SLFP Youth Organisation in Polonnaruwa by the SLFP Member of Parliament for Polonnaruwa, Leelaratna Wijesingha. In 1971, aged 19, he was jailed for 15 months for alleged involvement in the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna Insurrection. Following his release from prison, Sirisena joined All Ceylon SLFP Youth Organization led by Anura Bandaranaike and joined politics at the national level. After serving at a number of state institutions, Sirisena obtained the SLFP membership in 1978. In 1974 Sirisena started working at the Palugasdamana Multi Purpose Cooperative Society as a purchasing office and in 1976 he became a grama sevaka niladhari (village officer) but resigned in 1978. He rose up the SLFP ranks, joining its politburo in 1981, where he was chosen as the President of the All Island SLFP Youth Organisation, and also later served as Treasurer. During the 1981 Presidential poll, when Basil Rajapaksa joined the United National Party, he took over the responsibility of the Secretary of the organisation. Subsequently, he was appointed the Polonnaruwa SLFP chief organiser by the SLFP hierarchy. He became president of the All Island SLFP Youth Organisation in 1983.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: Sirisena studied for three years at the Sri Lanka School of Agriculture, Kundasale from where he earned a diploma in agriculture in 1973. In 1980 he earned a Diploma in political science at the Maxim Gorky Literature Institute in Russia.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: Sirisena contested the 1989 parliamentary election as one of the SLFP's candidates in Polonnaruwa District and was elected to the Parliament. He was re-elected at the 1994 parliamentary election, this time as a People's Alliance (PA) candidate. In 1997 he was appointed as the General Secretary of the SLFP for the first time, from which he later resigned. In August 2000 Sirisena tried to become general-secretary of the SLFP but was beaten by S. B. Dissanayake. Sirisena was instead appointed one of the Deputy Presidents of SLFP. He became general-secretary of the SLFP in October 2001 following Dissanayake's defection to the United National Party (UNP).


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: Sirisena was appointed Deputy Minister of Irrigation in the new PA government led by Chandrika Kumaratunga in 1994. In 1997 President Kumaratunga promoted him to the Cabinet, appointing him Minister of Mahaweli Development. While in this office he initiated many concessionary grants to improve the standard of the farming community. He was also responsible for influencing the government's decision to give farmers a bag of fertiliser for Rs. 350 in order to combat the food crisis at the time. He also saved the Paddy Marketing Board from privatisation converting it into a government institution when he became the Agriculture Minister, in 2005. The Paddy Marketing Board continues to regulate the prices of paddy to this day. He also began important irrigation projects such as Moragahakanda, Kalu and Walawe rivers. He was re-elected to Parliament at the 2000 parliamentary election and retained his ministerial portfolio.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: He was re-elected at the 2001 parliamentary election but the PA lost the election and so Sirisena lost his ministerial position.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: In January 2004 the SLFP joined forces with the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna to form a political alliance called the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA). Sirisena was re-elected at the 2004 parliamentary election as a UPFA candidate. President Kumaratunga appointed him Minister of River Basin Development and Rajarata Development in the new UPFA government in April 2004. He was also appointed Leader of the House. Sirisena's ministerial portfolio was renamed as Minister of Irrigation, Mahaweli and Rajarata Development in July 2005. He resigned as Leader of the House in August 2005.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: After the 2005 presidential election newly elected President Mahinda Rajapaksa appointed Sirisena Minister of Agriculture, Environment, Irrigation and Mahaweli Development in November 2005. On 27 March 2006 Sirisena's personal secretary M. L. Dharmasiri was shot dead by unknown gunmen in Aranangawila. Following a cabinet reshuffle in January 2007 he was appointed Minister of Agricultural Development and Agrarian Services Development by President Rajapaksa.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: In order to combat the 2007–08 world food price crisis, Sirisena initiated a plan under the scheme 'Api Wavamu – Rata Nagamu' to improve local food production on national scale. Festivals of tilling were conducted in each divisional secretariat every year leading to the re cultivation of more than 1 million abandoned paddy fields under the programme. The project was considered a great success being acknowledged as his green revolution.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: While the serving as the Minister of Agriculture Sirisena also served as the acting Defence Minister for several occasions during the Sri Lankan civil war. He was acting defence minister during the last two weeks of the civil war when some of the worst alleged war crimes were committed.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: Sirisena has claimed that LTTE may have tried to assassinate him on at least five occasions. Sirisena narrowly escaped death on 9 October 2008 when a convoy he was part of was attacked by a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's suicide bomber at Piriwena Junction in Boralesgamuwa, Colombo. One person was killed and seven injured.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: Sirisena was re-elected at the 2010 parliamentary election and was appointed Minister of Health in April 2010. During his time Sirisena sought to combat cigarette and alcohol consumption within the country. He introduced a National Medicinal Drug Policy based on that of the Sri Lanka National Pharmaceuticals Policy of Seneka Bibile and brought the Cigarette and Alcohol act to parliament against cigarette packaging that include pictorial warnings. The act recommended 80% of packaging include the pictorial warnings, however this was reduced to 60% due to pressure form many multinational companies and from some areas of the government itself. In May 2014 Sirisena was elected as one of the Vice Presidents of the World Health Assembly.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: Following days of speculation in the media, Sirisena announced on 21 November 2014 that he would challenge incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the 2015 presidential election as the common opposition candidate. Sirisena claimed that everything in Sri Lanka was controlled by one family and that the country was heading towards a dictatorship with rampant corruption, nepotism and a breakdown of the rule of law. He has pledged to abolish the executive presidency within 100 days of being elected, repeal the controversial eighteenth amendment, re-instate the seventeenth amendment and appoint UNP leader Ranil Wickremasinghe as Prime Minister. Following the announcement Sirisena, along with several other ministers who supported him, were stripped of their ministerial positions and expelled from the SLFP. His ministerial security and vehicles were also withdrawn.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: Sirisena released his manifesto, titled "A Compassionate Maithri Governance — A Stable Country", on 19 December 2014 at a rally at Viharamahadevi Park. The main pledge in the manifesto was the replacement of the executive presidency with a Westminster style cabinet but the manifesto acknowledged that Sirisena would need the support of the parliament to amend the constitution. The manifesto also made a commitment to replace the open list proportional representation system with a mixture of first-past-the-post and PR for electing MPs. Parliamentary elections will be held in April 2015 after the constitution has been amended. Independent commissions would be established to oversee the judiciary, police, elections department, Auditor-General's Department and Attorney-General's Department. The Commission on Bribery and Corruption would be strengthened and political diplomatic appointments annulled. Populist measures in the manifesto included a commitment to write-off 50% of farmers' loans, reduce fuel prices by removing taxes and a salary increase of Rs. 10,000 for public servants. Public spending on health would increase from 1.8% of GDP to 3% of GDP whilst that on education would increase from 1.7% of GDP to 6% of GDP. The manifesto also stated that the casino licences granted to Kerry Packer's Crown Resort and John Keells Holdings's Water Front will be cancelled. Political victims during Rajapaksa's rule, including Sarath Fonseka and Shirani Bandaranayake, would be re-appointed. In a separate document Sirisena pledged that, whilst resisting any international investigation, he would establish an independent domestic inquiry into the alleged war crimes during the final stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: Sirisena was declared the winner after receiving 52.42% of all votes cast compared to Rajapaksa's 47.58%. Sirisena was the winner in 12 electoral districts whilst Rajapaksa was victorious in the remaining 10. On the contrary Rajapakse won in 90 electorates while Sirisena managed to win only in 70 electorates. The result was generally seen as a shock. When Rajapaksa called the election in November 2014 he had looked certain to win.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: According to Mangala Samaraweera and Rajitha Senaratne, senior figures in the Sirisena campaign, Rajapaksa attempted to stage a coup in order to stay in power when it became clear he was going to lose the election. They alleged that Rajapaksa and his brother Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, the Defence Secretary, summoned Commander of the Army Daya Ratnayake, Inspector General of Police N. K. Illangakoon and Attorney General Yuwanjana Wanasundera to Temple Trees at around 1:00a.m. on 9January 2015. Rajapaksa allegedly pressured the three officials to deploy troops, annul the election results and declare a state of emergency but they refused. According to the "Colombo Telegraph" Rajapaksa also wanted to dissolve parliament. It was only then Rajapaksa decided to concede defeat and summoned Ranil Wickremesinghe to assure him of a smooth transition of power.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: A spokesman for Rajapaksa has denied the allegations as baseless. The army and police have also denied the allegations. The new government is to investigate the alleged coup attempt.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: Sirisena was sworn in as Sri Lanka's sixth executive president before Supreme Court judge K. Sripavan in Independence Square, Colombo at 6:20p.m. on 9January 2015. It is custom for the president to be sworn in before the chief justice but Sirisena had refused to be sworn in before Chief Justice Peiris who had been appointed by Rajapaksa after the controversial impeachment of the previous chief justice. Immediately afterwards, Wickremesinghe was sworn in as Sri Lanka's new prime minister before Sirisena. After being sworn in Sirisena stated that he would only serve one term.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: With an interim cabinet formed on 12 January, Sirisena called the Parliamentary elections, taking the defence portfolio for himself, and appointing Ranil Wickremesinghe as minister of reconciliation, policy development and economic affairs, to go with his Prime Ministership.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: In his election manifesto Sirisena had promised a 100-day reform program planning to dissolve the parliament and holding new elections on 23 April 2015. Some reforms, such as the curtailing of presidential powers and re-introducing the two term limit, were introduced by the passing of the nineteenth amendment. In addition, Sirisena enacted a Right to Information bill. Other changes, notably electoral reforms, were not carried out. With electoral reforms stalled and the 100-day reform program falling behind schedule, the UNP started calling for parliamentary elections. Sirisena dissolved parliament on 26 June 2015 and called for early elections. However, when faced with criticism concerning the reforms, Sirisena publicly disavowed the 100-day reform program.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: In his election manifesto Sirisena had promised a 100-day reform program planning to dissolve the parliament and holding new elections on 23 April 2015. However, Srisena and his government faced opposition from a large contingent of legislators loyal to Mahinda Rajapaksa, and, although some reforms, such as the curtailing of presidential powers and re-introducing the two term limit, were introduced by the passing of the nineteenth amendment, others, notably electoral reforms, were not carried out. With electoral reforms stalled and the 100-day reform program falling behind schedule, the UNP started calling for parliamentary elections. Sirisena dissolved parliament on 26 June 2015.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: The date of the election was set for 17 August 2015, with the new parliament is expected to convene on 1 September 2015. Nominations took place between 6 July 2015 and 13 July 2015. The UPFA/SLFP Mps who remained loyal to former President Rajapaksa called for Rajapaksa to be made the UPFA's prime ministerial candidate for the election. This alarmed those members of the UPFA/SLPF who had supported Sirisena during the presidential election. They urged Sirisena to prevent Rajapaksa's return to politics but Sirisena remained silent on the matter. After the parliamentary election was called it was announced that Rajapaksa would contest but not as the prime ministerial candidate which would be decided after the election. Feeling "betrayed" by Sirisena, his supporters in the UPFA/SLFP allied themselves with the UNP to form the United National Front for Good Governance. On 8 July 2015, several factions accused Sirisena of having betrayed the mandate that was given to him by the people in the 2015 presidential election over nominating his predecessor Rajapaksa, who faces various allegations of human rights violations, to contest in this election. Despite his assurances to the media that he would not grant nominations to pro-Rajapaksa parliamentarians who were involved in various criminal activities, some were nominated. On 14 July 2015, at a special press conference, Sirisena announced he would remain impartial during the elections after granting the nomination to Rajapaksa, hinted that Rajapaksa could be defeated in the parliamentary election similar to the presidential election.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: The United National Front for Good Governance became the largest group in Parliament after securing 45.66% of votes and 106 seats whilst the UPFA won 42.38% of votes and 95 seats. Rajapaksa quickly conceded defeat in his attempt to become Prime Minister. The result left the UNFGG seven seats short of a majority in Parliament. However, on 20 August 2015 the central committee of the SLFP agreed to form a national government with the UNP for two years. Wickremesinghe was sworn in as Prime Minister on 21 August 2015. Immediately afterwards a memorandum of understanding to work together in Parliament was signed by acting SLFP general secretary Duminda Dissanayake and UNP general secretary Kabir Hashim.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: The elections saw minor violence and violations of election laws but was generally incident free, peaceful, free and fair. Sirisena was praised for "shepherding an inclusive process" during the elections by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The European External Action Service spokesperson also stated that the election was "genuine, well administered and peaceful."


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: On 20 August 2015 the central committee of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the main constituent of the UPFA, agreed to form a national government with the UNP for two years. Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as Prime Minister on 21 August 2015. Immediately afterwards a memorandum of understanding to work together in Parliament was signed by acting SLFP general secretary Duminda Dissanayake and UNP general secretary Kabir Hashim.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: Three UNFGG cabinet ministers were sworn in on 24 August 2015. A further 39 cabinet ministers, 28 from the UNFGG and 11 from the UPFA, were sworn in on 4 September 2015. Three more cabinet ministers, one from the UNFGG and two from the UPFA, were sworn in on 9 September 2015. 19 state ministers (11 UNFGG, 8 UPFA) and 21 deputy ministers (11 UNFGG, 10 UPFA) were also sworn in on 9 September 2015. Two more deputy ministers, both from the UPFA, were sworn in on 10 September 2015.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: On the evening of 26 October 2018, Sirisena, in a sudden move, sacked Ranil Wickremesinghe and appointed Mahinda Rajapaksa as Prime Minister after the United People's Freedom Alliance withdrew from the unity government. Immediately following the move, media institutions in the country were suppressed in what is now being termed a hostile takeover. Wickremesinghe refused to accept the dismissal, stating that it is illegal and unconstitutional. Sirisena promptly prorogued Parliament and appointed a new Cabinet of Ministers, in effect creating a parallel government to what was operational in the country at the time, a series of events referred to by the BBC as "somewhere in between House of Cards, Game of Thrones and Shakespeare's darkest Roman plays". This resulted in a constitutional crisis, with analysts referring to Sirisena's actions as a coup.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: The crisis created significant fears as to the state of democratic institutions in the country, with former Ministers refusing to step down from their posts. Karu Jayasuriya, the Speaker for the Parliament, refused to acknowledge the legality of this move, stating that the ousted Wickramasinghe is the lawful Prime Minister and urging the President to convene Parliament to resolve the issue. However, since then the Speaker's office also issued statements expressing that they will not prevent Rajapaksa from occupying the Prime Minister's seat in Parliament. A reported ten thousand people mobilised in a protest in Colombo, demanding that Sirisena reconvene Parliament.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: On 13 December 2018, the full bench (seven judge bench) of the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that President Sirisena's decision to dissolve parliament on 9 November, before the completion of four and half years, was unconstitutional and illegal.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: Following the Supreme court ruling, Rajapaksa backed down and Wickremesinghe was re-appointed Prime Minister.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: In morning of 21 April 2019, Easter Sunday series of coordinated terrorist suicide bombings took place targeting three Christian churches and three luxury hotels in the commercial capital Colombo killing 253 and wounding over 500 people. President Sirisena who was in Singapore on a personal visit at the time ordered a Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the bombings to identify the perpetrators. On his return to the island on 22 April, he declared a state of emergency from midnight of 22 April by issuing an extraordinary gazette notification. The government announced a national day of mourning the following day.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: The President and the government were heavily criticised for not heeding warnings from Indian intelligence services, but President Sirisena denied knowledge of warnings before his departure overseas 15 April. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe later apologised for failing to stop the attacks issuing a statement on Twitter stating "We take collective responsibility and apologise to our fellow citizens for our failure to protect victims of these tragic events. We pledge to rebuild our churches, revive our economy, and take all measures to prevent terrorism, with the support of the international community."


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: On 23 April, President Sirisena announced his plans to change the heads of the defence forces, on 25 April Hemasiri Fernando, Secretary to the Ministry of Defence tendered his resignation to the President, after it was announced that President Sirisena has requested the Defence Secretary and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) resign. With no response to his request to resign, President Sirisena sent the IGP Pujith Jayasundara on compulsory leave and appointed an acting Inspector General of Police .


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka stated in parliament on 8 May that President Sirisena had been informed 15 times at the National Security Council about warnings of a terrorist attack, yet no instructions were given. The President has intern turned down calls by the Prime Minister and the UNP parliamentary group to appoint Fonseka as the Minister of Law and Order following the bombing. He has refused to appoint Fonseka to a Ministerial post since the 2018 constitutional crisis citing that Fonseka's name had come up in the police investigations in an alleged presidential assassination attempt.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: Sirisena was highly critical of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) probe into the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks and incidents in its aftermath appointed by the Speaker of the Parliament of the PSC for summering intelligence and police officers. He had ordered no public officer to appear for summons issued by the PSC. Following Chief of National Intelligence Sisira Mendis' statement at the PSC to the effect that President Sirisena knew about the warnings of an impending attack, Sirisena sacked Mendis within hours.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: Sirisena stepped down as president on 18 November 2019 following the 2019 presidential election, having opted not to contest a second term and remain neutral during the election. Following the election he was appointed as Chairmen of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. Sirisena contested 2020 Sri Lankan parliamentary elections from the Polonnaruwa district and was elected to parliament having gained the highest number of preferential votes in the district.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: In February 2021, the Presidential Commission of Inquiry appointed by Sirisena during his term as President to investigate the 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, had stated it is final report had recommended the Attorney General to initiate criminal proceedings against Sirisena and his intelligence chiefs for failing to act on intelligence received to prevent the attacks on 21 April 2019. This report was rejected by the Executive Council of Sri Lanka Freedom Party which re-elected Sirisena as its Chairmen.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: Despite pledges made during the presidential campaign, Sirisena has himself been accused of nepotism since becoming president. A few days after Sirisena took power in January 2015, his brother Kumarasinghe Sirisena was appointed chairman of the state-owned Sri Lanka Telecom. The appointment came despite objections from Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and several other cabinet ministers. Sirisena's son-in-law Thilina Suranjith Wewelpanawa (Chathurika's husband) was appointed public relations officer at the Ministry of Defence in February Sirisena is Minister of Defence. In September 2015 Sirisena's son Daham accompanied his father as he visited New York City for the Seventieth session of the United Nations General Assembly.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: Despite having no official role, Daham Sirisena sat with the Sri Lankan delegation in the United Nations General Assembly and accompanied his father as he met world leaders such as Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and President of the Swiss Confederation Simonetta Sommaruga. Sirisena's daughter Chathurika, who also has no official role, has been the guest of honour/chief guest at several Ministry of Defence events. At another event where Chathurika was chief guest, she was accompanied by members of the Presidential Security Division. In September 2015 Chathurika was accompanied by government officials and police officers as she went on a private "fact finding mission" to Mahawelithenna near Welikanda.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: In 2018 his Chief of Staff I.H.K. Mahanama was arrested by officials of the commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) while accepting a bribe of Rs. 20 million from an Indian businessman as a part of a Rs. 100 Million bribe for helping the acquisition of the Kantale Sugar Factory. Mahanama, the Chief of Staff of the President, in his previous role as Secretary to the Ministry of Lands had secured Cabinet approval to auction scrap material of the factory, assets which were claimed by M G Sugars Lanka (Pvt) Ltd under the agreement. The company then filed arbitration proceedings in a Singapore tribunal to stop the Government of Sri Lanka from selling the machinery and scrap. The investors sent letters to PM's office which recommended them to complain to the CIABOC which launched investigations. However, despite the investigations Mahanama was appointed by Sirisena as his Chief of Staff. Centre for Human Rights (CHR) question how Sirisena appointed Mahanama as his Chief of Staff while he was under corruption investigations.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: In 2015, Maithripala Sirisena criticised and called for the organisers of an Enrique Iglesias concert in Colombo to be whipped, after the behaviour of some female fans. Sirisena stated "I don't advocate that these uncivilised women who removed their brassieres should be beaten with toxic stingray tails, but those who organised such an event should be."


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: Media freedom increased under Sirisena compared to previous governments. However, in June 2018 the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission closed down transmission towers operated by TNL TV after a negative commentary about a president's speech. The TRC claimed that the reason was not paying the licence fee but was criticised by both government allies and opposition MPs. Joint Opposition MR Dinesh Gunawardana presented irregularities of the action in the parliament citing that the TRC violated the Telecommunication Act by closing down the tower as licence could be cancelled and a station could be sealed only after giving due notice which was not carried out by the TRC. The claim of not paying the fees was also called to doubt as the station had made the payments up to 2017 and issues pertaining to licence fees were being negotiated by the TNL.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: In September 2018, Sirisena remarked upon the quality of cashew nuts served to him in a Sri Lankan Airlines flight: ""When I returned from Nepal, they served some cashew nuts on the plane [that], let alone humans, even dogs can't eat, who approves these things?"". It was unclear as to what exactly was offensive about the said nuts, but the outburst which was much remarked upon, led to comments that Sirisena had "come unhinged". The airline promptly stopped serving cashew nuts.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: In October 2018, while addressing the cabinet, Sirisena alleged that the Indian Research and Analysis Wing was plotting his assassination. This comment was made after Sri Lankan CID arrested an Indian national late in September for allegedly planning the assassinations of both Sirisena and former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa. After Sirisena's comments, local media reported that the Indian High Commissioner met with Sirisena and the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a telephone conversation with Sirisena.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: In November 2018, in the midst of the Constitutional Crisis set off by the President's actions on 26 October 2018, President Sirisena took the stage with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa at a rally organised by the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna. In his speech, he heavily criticised Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe, and referred to Wickramasinghe and his close allies as 'butterflies' and claimed they had resorted to a 'butterfly lifestyle', placing it above all other duties to the state and to the people. This was widely recognised as a homophobic remark by Sri Lankan LGBT activists and other civil society actors.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: A strongly worded statement was written and signed by numerous members of the Sri Lankan LGBT+ community within hours of Sirisena's remark being made, and was widely shared online. In it they said: "By trivialising homophobia in this fashion, President Sirisena should be held responsible for any homophobic incidents that Sri Lankan citizens may experience in the coming days".


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: A citizen's protest – which had been happening consistently in the heart of Colombo city every evening since the President's declaration that he had appointed Rajapaksa as the country's Prime Minister – paid special attention to Sirisena's 'Butterfly' remark the next day, making a butterfly out of lit lamps.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: Sri Lanka's Finance and Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera also responded on Twitter, stating: "I would rather be a butterfly than a leech Mr. President!!!"


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: In May 2019 it was reported that Sirisena was attempting to delay the 2019 Sri Lankan Presidential Election to 20 June 2020 and was seeking advisory opinion from the Supreme Court (SC) in terms of Article 129 of the constitution. Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Chairman Prof. G.L. Peiris said yesterday his party would make every possible attempt to thwart the move by the President to postpone the presidential election. Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya placed the election date between 9 November and 9 December and claimed that the elections cannot be delayed and the state of emergency in the aftermath of the 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings cannot be used as an excuse as elections have been held in a state of emergency in the past and claimed that any attempt to delay elections will be a crime and violation of the rights of close to 15 million voters.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: In August 2019, President Maithripala Sirisena appointed Major General Shavendra Silva as the new Commander of the Sri Lankan Army, despite the latter being accused of practicing human rights abuses during the country's civil war.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: In November 2019, President Sirisena issued a presidential pardon to Shramantha Jude Anthony Jayamaha who was serving a life sentence after being convicted of murdering a young woman at the Royal Park apartment complex in Rajagiriya on 30 June 2005 in a high-profile case. The President's Media Division claim the pardon was issued citing the convict's age (he was 19 when the murder took place), his good behavior, and advocacy from several religious groups led by member of parliament, Athuraliye Rathana Thero. Later these claims have been refuted by Raymond Wickramasinghe, Roman Catholic Bishop of Galle. Earlier that year President Sirisena had issued a presidential pardon for Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero, General Secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena, who had been convicted of being in contempt of court.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: Sirisena commented in October 2015, after a series of high-profile incidents of rape, killing and sexual abuse, that he supports a dialogue on the introduction of the death penalty should it be approved by Parliament.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: In 2018, the government introduced changes to the taxation system, including changes to the Pay-as-you-earn tax (PAYE). In May, Sirisena is reported to have stated in a cabinet meeting the Government Ministers and MPs are not subjected to PAYE as MPs have honorific before their names as such receive honorariums and not salaries from the State.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: With the country becoming ever closer to China, during the previous administration, while departing from the traditional ally of India, Sirisena says he will treat key Asian countries, India, China, Pakistan and Japan equally. Sri Lanka has moved closer to China, especially in terms of naval agreements. India and Sri Lanka in February 2015 signed a nuclear energy deal to improve relationships. Recently elected Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Sirisena in New Delhi and stated that: "India is Sri Lanka's closest neighbor and friend. Our destinies are interlinked." Sirisena has outlined the general foreign policy goals of his government as being cooperation with all nations, with an emphasis on Asia.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: Although legally entitled to use the style His Excellency as the President of Sri Lanka, he requested the media and the people of Sri Lanka, avoid using the style and also to avoid using the word First Lady for his wife, and requested only to use "President's wife".


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: Sirisena is married to Jayanthi Pushpa Kumari, they have two daughters, Chathurika, Dharani, and a son, Daham.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: Sirisena's youngest brother, Priyantha Sirisena, died on 28 March 2015 after an axe attack two days earlier in his hometown of Polonnaruwa, north-east of the capital Colombo. Priyantha was immediately transferred to hospital in a critical condition, where he died from severe head injuries; Sirisena was in China on a state visit at the time.


title: Maithripala Sirisena

text: Sirisena's daughter Chathurika Sirisena launched her first booked title "Janadhipathi Thaththa" in 2017. This is the first biography written by a daughter of a President of Sri Lanka. The book, which was praised for its command of Sinhala, was later revealed to have been ghostwritten by an employee of Media Gang, a marketing agency owned by Chathurika Sirisena. Meanwhile, Sirisena's son, Daham, has been cited in multiple assaults and been named in leading a mob attack on a nightclub. Charges against him have been since withdrawn.


title: A Million Dreams

text: "A Million Dreams" is a song performed by Ziv Zaifman, Hugh Jackman and Michelle Williams for the film "The Greatest Showman" (2017). It is the second track from soundtrack of the film, "", released in the same year. A reimagined version was performed by American singer P!nk.


title: A Million Dreams

text: "A Million Dreams (Reprise)" is the reprise of the song "A Million Dreams" from "". The song like the original is sung by Hugh Jackman but is this time joined by his character's daughters played by Austyn Johnson and Cameron Seely.


title: A Million Dreams

text: On October 24, 2018, American singer Pink released her cover of the song for the 2018 album "". The song was the second single from the album and was released along with a cover of the reprise sung by P!nk's daughter Willow Sage Hart.


title: Henry (given name)

text: Henry is a masculine given name derived from Old French "Henri" / "Henry", itself derived from the Old Frankish name "Heimeric", from Common Germanic "*Haimarīks" (from "*haima-" "home" and "*rīk-" "ruler"). In Old High German, the name was conflated with the name "Haginrich" (from "hagin" "enclosure" and "rich" "ruler") to form Heinrich.


title: Henry (given name)

text: The Old High German name is recorded from the 8th century, in the variants "Haimirich, Haimerich, Heimerich, Hemirih". Harry, its English short form, was considered the "spoken form" of Henry in medieval England. Most English kings named "Henry" were called "Harry". The name became so popular in England that the phrase "Tom, Dick, and Harry" began to be used to refer to men in general. The common English feminine forms of the name are Harriet and Henrietta.


title: Henry (given name)

text: It has been a consistently popular name in English-speaking countries for centuries. It was among the top 100 most popular names used for men born in the United States, England and Wales, and in Australia in 2007. It was the 46th most common name for boys and men in the United States in the 1990 census. Harry, its short form, was the fifth most popular name for boys in England and Wales in 2007 and among the top 50 names in Ireland, Scotland and Northern Ireland in recent years. Harry was ranked as the 578th most popular name in the United States in 2007.


title: Henry (given name)

text: In the High Middle Ages, the name was Latinized as "Henricus". It was a royal name in Germany, France and England throughout the high medieval period (Henry I of Germany, Henry I of England, Henry I of France) and widely used as a given name; as a consequence, many regional variants developed in the languages of Western and Central Europe:


title: Henry (given name)

text: Within German, Low German, Frisian and Dutch, numerous diminutives and abbreviated forms exist, including Low German, Dutch and Frisian "Heike", "Heiko"; Dutch "Hein", "Heintje"; German "Heiner", "Heinz".


title: Henry (given name)

text: The original diphthong was lost in Dutch "Hendrik" (hypocoristics "Henk", "Hennie", "Rik"), Scandinavian "Henrik" (whence "Henning").


title: Henry (given name)

text: Eastern European languages have developed native forms during the medieval period under the influence of German and the Scandinavian languages, hence Polish "Henryk", Czech "Jindřich", "Hynek".


title: Henry (given name)

text: Hungarian, Slovene, Croatian "Henrik", Finnish "Henrikki" (hypocoristic "Heikki"), and Lithuanian "Henrikas" or "Herkus".


title: Henry (given name)

text: The Old French form "Henri" / Middle French "Henry" became productive in the British Isles, in Middle English adopted as "Harry, Herry". "Herry" was adopted into Welsh as "Perry", into Irish as "Annraoi, Anraí, Einrí" and into Scottish Gaelic as "Eanraig, Eanruig".


title: Henry (given name)

text: In Southern Europe variants without the initial H- include Italian "Arrigo", "Enrico", Catalan / Occitan "Enric" and Spanish "Enrique" (whence Basque "Endika") and Italian "Enzo".


title: Henry (given name)

text: A separate variant, which may originate with the Old High German name "Haimirich", but possibly conflated with


title: Henry (given name)

text: the names "Ermenrich" (first element "ermen" "whole") or "Amalric" (first element "amal" "vigour, bravery") is Emmerich. Emmerich is the origin of a separate suit of variant names used across Western and Central Europe, although these never rose to the ubiquity of the variants of "Henry"; they include English "Emery, Amery, Emory", French "Émeric" / "Aymeric", Hungarian "Imre, Imrus", Slovak "Imrich", Italian "Amerigo" and Iberian (Portuguese, Spanish, Galician) "Américo", etc. Hendick


title: Henry (given name)

text: Low German "Henrik", "Hendrik" gave rise to "Henrike, Hendrike, Hendrikje, Hendrina, Henrika" and others, Low German "Heiko" to "Heike", Italian "Enrico" gave rise to "Enrica", Spanish "Enrique" to "Enriqueta, Enriquetta, Enriquette". French "Henri" gave rise to "Henriette, Henrietta", further modified to "Enrieta, Enrietta", English "Harry" to "Harriet, Harriett, Harrietta, Harriette", hypocorisms "Hattie, Hatty, Hettie, Etta, Ettie"; various other hypocorisms include "Hena, Henna, Henah, Heni, Henia, Henny, Henya, Henka," Dutch "Jet, Jett, Jetta, Jette, Ina". In Polish "Henryka, Henia, Heniusia, Henka, Henryczka, Henrysia, Rysia" are attested. The hypocorisms "Rika, Rike" etc. may be from this or other names with the second element "-ric". Spanish and Portuguese "América" from the "Emmerich" variant "Amérigo" .


title: Henry (given name)

text: Harrison (surname), Henson (surname), Harris (surname), Heaney (Irish surname), Fitzhenry (Irish Hiberno-Norman surname), Heinz (German surname), Enríquez (Spanish surname), Henriques (Portuguese surname), Heney, Henney,


title: Four Marks of the Church

text: The Four Marks of the Church, also known as the Attributes of the Church, describes four distinctive adjectives of traditional Christian ecclesiology as expressed in the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed completed at the First Council of Constantinople in AD 381: "[We believe] in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church."


title: Four Marks of the Church

text: This ecumenical creed is today recited in the liturgies of the Catholic Church (both Latin and Eastern Rites), the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, the Assyrian Church of the East, the Moravian Church, the Lutheran Churches, the Methodist Churches, the Presbyterian Churches, the Anglican Communion, and by members of the Reformed Churches, although they interpret it in very different ways, and some Protestants alter the word "Catholic" in the creed, replacing it with the word "Christian".


title: Four Marks of the Church

text: While many doctrines, based on both tradition and different interpretations of the Bible, distinguish one denomination from another (largely explaining why there are many different ones), the Four Marks represent a summary of what many clergy and theologians have historically considered to be the most important affirmations of Christianity.


title: Four Marks of the Church

text: The ideas behind the Four Marks have been in the Christian Church since early Christianity. Allusions to them can be found in the writings of 2nd-century early Church Father and bishop Ignatius of Antioch. They were not established in doctrine until the First Council of Constantinople in 381 as an antidote to certain heresies that had crept into the Church in its early history. There the Council elaborated on the Nicene Creed, established by the First Council of Nicaea 56 years before by adding to the end a section that included the affirmation: "[We believe] in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church." The phrase has remained in versions of the Nicene Creed to this day.


title: Four Marks of the Church

text: In some languages, for example, German, the Latin ""catholica"" was substituted by "Christian" before the Reformation by some, although this was an anomaly and continues in use by some Protestant churches today. Hence, "holy "catholic"" becomes "holy "Christian"."


title: Four Marks of the Church

text: Roman Catholics believe the description "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church" to be applicable only to the Roman Catholic Church. They hold that "Christ established here on earth only one Church" and they believe in "the full identity of the Church of Christ with the Catholic Church". While "there are numerous elements of sanctification and of truth which are found outside her structure", these, "as gifts properly belonging to the Church of Christ, impel towards Catholic Unity". The eastern Churches not in full communion with the Catholic Church thereby "lack something in their condition as particular Churches". The communities born out of the 16th-century Protestant Reformation "do not enjoy apostolic succession in the sacrament of Orders, and are, therefore, deprived of a constituent element of the Church."


title: Four Marks of the Church

text: The Eastern Orthodox Church, in disagreement with the Roman Catholic Church, regards itself as the historical and organic continuation of the original Church founded by Christ and his apostles. The Oriental Orthodox Church disagrees with both and claims to be the historical and organic continuation of the original Church founded by Christ and his apostles, the "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic" Church of the ancient Christian creeds and the only Church that has always kept the true Christology and faith declared by the first three councils, the First Council of Nicaea, the First Council of Constantinople, and the Council of Ephesus affirmed by the Church Fathers and the sacred tradition.


title: Four Marks of the Church

text: The Augsburg Confession found within the Book of Concord, a compendium of belief of the Lutheran Churches, teaches that "the faith as confessed by Luther and his followers is nothing new, but the true catholic faith, and that their churches represent the true catholic or universal church." When the Lutherans presented the Augsburg Confession to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor in 1530, they believe to have "showed that each article of faith and practice was true first of all to Holy Scripture, and then also to the teaching of the church fathers and the councils." As such, the Lutheran Churches traditionally hold that theirs represents the true visible Church.


title: Four Marks of the Church

text: This mark derives from the Pauline epistles, which state that the Church is "one". In , Paul the Apostle spoke of himself as having persecuted "the church of God", not just the local church in Jerusalem but the same church that he addresses at the beginning of that letter as "the church of God that is in Corinth" (). In the same letter, he tells Christians: "You are the body of Christ and individually members of it" (), and declares that, "just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ" ().


title: Four Marks of the Church

text: In , Paul writes: "There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." This list of factors making Christians one body, one church, is doubtless not meant to be exhaustive, says Francis A. Sullivan, but it affirms the oneness of the body, the Church, through what Christians have in common—what they have communion in.


title: Four Marks of the Church

text: Elsewhere, Paul says: "There is , for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (). This statement was about Christians as individuals, but it applied to them also as groups, as local church, whether composed mainly of Jewish or Gentile Christians.


title: Four Marks of the Church

text: The word "holy" in this sense means set apart for a special purpose by and for God. The Church is holy because it has been set apart to do God's work, and because God is present in it. Christians understand the holiness of the Church to derive from Christ's holiness.


title: Four Marks of the Church

text: The word "catholic" is derived from the Ancient Greek adjective (romanized: "katholikos"), meaning "general", "universal". It is associated with the Greek adverb ("katholou"), meaning "according to the whole", "entirely", or "in general", a combination of the preposition meaning "according to" and the adjective meaning "whole".


title: Four Marks of the Church

text: Applied to the Church, the adjective "catholic" means that in the Church the wholeness of the Christian faith, full and complete, all-embracing, and with nothing lacking, is proclaimed to all people without excluding any part of the faith or any class or group of people. The adjective can be applied not only to the Church as spread throughout the world but also to each local manifestation of the Church, in each of which nothing essential is lacking for it to be the genuine body of Christ.


title: Four Marks of the Church

text: For his subjects, Roman Emperor Theodosius I restricted the term "catholic Christians" to believers in "the one deity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, in equal majesty and in a holy Trinity", and applied the name "heretics" to others (Edict of Thessalonica of 27 February 380).


title: Four Marks of the Church

text: This describes the Church's foundation and beliefs as rooted and continuing in the living tradition of the apostles of Jesus. The Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Churches, and the Assyrian Church of the East each claim to have preserved the original teaching of the apostles. They also have apostolic succession in that their bishops derive their authority through a direct line of laying on of hands from the apostles, a claim that they accept can be made by the other churches in this group. The Anglican Communion, as well as many Lutheran Churches such as the Church of Sweden, likewise teach the doctrine of apostolic succession. Other Christian denominations, on the other hand, usually hold that what preserves apostolic continuity is the written word: as Bruce Milne put it, "A church is apostolic as it recognizes in practice the supreme authority of the apostolic scriptures."


title: Kate Bolduan

text: Katherine Jean Bolduan (;) is an American broadcast journalist and news anchor for CNN based in New York City. She is currently the host of "At This Hour with Kate Bolduan", and previously anchored "State of America with Kate Bolduan" and "New Day". She also served as a congressional correspondent based in Washington, D.C., as well as a general assignment correspondent for the network.


title: Kate Bolduan

text: A native of Goshen, Indiana, she is the third of four daughters born to Dr. Jeffrey Bolduan, and to Nadine Bolduan, a nurse. Her mother is of Belgian heritage.


title: Kate Bolduan

text: Kate Bolduan was educated at Goshen High School, a public high school in her home city, followed by George Washington University, from which she graduated Phi Beta Kappa and "summa cum laude" in 2005, with a bachelor's degree in journalism and a minor in political science. During her time at the university, she walked on to the women's volleyball team and acted with the student theatre organization. During her studies, she spent time in Madrid, Spain where she learned to speak Spanish.


title: Kate Bolduan

text: From 2005 to 2007, Bolduan worked as a general assignment reporter for WTVD-TV in Durham, North Carolina. She then became a production assistant for NBC News and MSNBC in Washington D.C.


title: Kate Bolduan

text: Bolduan began her tenure in 2007 at CNN as a national correspondent for CNN Newsource. She provided breaking news coverage and feature reports for a large number of CNN Newsource affiliates. During her time there, she most notably covered the 2008 United States presidential election and traveled throughout the United States covering other news making headlines including the Minneapolis Bridge collapse, the O. J. Simpson armed robbery case, and the retiring NASA Space Shuttle fleet.


title: Kate Bolduan

text: Bolduan was previously co-anchor of "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer" before moving to New York. Alongside Wolf Blitzer, she provided current events, breaking news, political headlines, and reports within lively discussions during the two-hour program.


title: Kate Bolduan

text: "New Day" is a weekday morning television show on CNN. It premiered on June 17, 2013, and airs from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. ET, originating from CNN's Time Warner Center studios in New York City. "New Day" replaced "Starting Point," formerly anchored by Soledad O'Brien, which had aired since January 2, 2012.


title: Kate Bolduan

text: Bolduan joined CNN's new morning show, "@This Hour," which premiered on January 26, 2015, alongside John Berman. "At This Hour" covered various news stories of the day with co-hosts Kate Bolduan and John Berman. "At This Hour" aired weekdays from 11 a.m. to noon ET, and was broadcast live from CNN's New York Studios in Manhattan. On February 6, 2017, Berman moved to 9 a.m. to co-host CNN Newsroom and Bolduan took over as the sole host of the show as it changed name to "At This Hour".


title: Kate Bolduan

text: The show was eventually removed from the CNN lineup but returned in April 2021. The focus of the show is on daily events with correspondents sending their on-site live reports into the studio. "At This Hour" also presents moderated live interviews and discussions with guests in the studio or via teleconference.


title: Kate Bolduan

text: Bolduan was named anchor of "State of America with Kate Bolduan", a CNN International program which covered the 2016 U.S. Presidential campaign for a global audience. Following the election, the program was renamed and pivoted to focusing on U.S. news and affairs. The show aired Fridays at 23:00 CET from CNN's New York studios in Manhattan.


title: Kate Bolduan

text: During the first ten minutes of the show Bolduan discussed the daily news. Following a commercial break a panel, typically consisting of four journalists and analysts from various backgrounds, discussed current affairs.


title: Kate Bolduan

text: In 2014, Bolduan made a television feature documentary titled "Kate Bolduan's Roots". Some of Bolduan's ancestors arrived in America in 1912. They came from a small town called Chênée in Belgium. Leon Emile Rousselle (Bolduan's great-great-grandfather) arrived in the United States aboard the "SS Kroonland." Two months later, his pregnant wife Louise Labhaye Rousselle and his two-year-old daughter travelled to the U.S. aboard the "SS Lapland" (which returned some survivors – mainly crew members – of the Titanic catastrophe to England). The Rousselles came from a long line of glass manufacturers. In 2014, Bolduan travelled to Liège in Belgium to find out about her family history.


title: Kate Bolduan

text: "Champions for Change" is an annual series at CNN where anchors and staff choose a topic and go out of their regular format. It follows the Champions of Change initiative of the Obama White House.


title: Kate Bolduan

text: Bolduan grew up in a subdivision near an apple orchard. In 2017, she went to farms in Virginia to film a feature for the CNN series "Champions for Change". It was called "The story behind Farm Aid" in relation to Farm Aid. She interviewed small and environmentally friendly farmers on their perspective of their situation in America.


title: Kate Bolduan

text: In 2018, Bolduan produced another television feature for the "Champions for Change" series. She spent time with the "Every Mother Counts" organisation which helps pregnant women by giving them information and other support. The organisation is international, working in Asia, Africa, North- and South America.


title: Kate Bolduan

text: In a 2019 television feature, Bolduan visited the non-profit Organisation "KOB" (Kids Off the Block) in Chicago, founded by Diane Latiker. Bolduan spoke with her for the first time ten years ago. "KOB" exists since 15 years and supports children and teenager by offering them a place and education in informatics. "KOB" is located in Roseland, one of Chicago's most underfunded districts.


title: Kate Bolduan

text: Since April 2019, Kate Bolduan, John Avlon as well as Harry Enten produce the audio-only podcast "The Forecast Fest". It is about the presidential election of 2020 in the US and other political topics. The last episode was produced March 19, 2020. During the COVID-19 crisis in 2020, she spoke with her colleague Sanjay Gupta on how to talk with (her own) children about the consequences and the measurements to curb the spreading speed. She also wrote an article on that topic.


title: Kate Bolduan

text: Bolduan advocates for children, namely at the Free Arts NYC society. She also intercedes for protection of mothers and newborn and their medical well-being.


title: Kate Bolduan

text: She is a presenter for the "Fashion Tech Forum". Founded by Karen Harvey FTF supports innovators in this field since 2014.


title: Kate Bolduan

text: In 2016, she moderated a discussion at the 2016 United Nations Global Compact Private Sector Forum. The Forum tries to encourage businesses all around the world to follow rules of fair trade and production.


title: Kate Bolduan

text: In October 2018, Bolduan moderated a two days lasting conversation at the "Marie Claire Power Trip Conference" guesting Theresia Gouw and Sukhinder Singh Cassidy in San Francisco. The purpose of the conference was to "create more and better opportunities for women in tech and venture capital, two predominately male-run industries."


title: Kate Bolduan

text: On the occasion of the 10th annual summit, in April 2019 at the live journalism event Women in the World, she had a conversation with the designer Diane von Fürstenberg. Topic was the importance of basic decisions and character for modern women.


title: Kate Bolduan

text: On August 13, 2019, she moderated a conversation round in the Woodrow Wilson Center called "Decoding the Disinformation Problem" the guests and Bolduan herself discussed actual problems of mass media like TV and Internet with fake news and intentional misinformation campaigns by individuals and organisations up to states for mainly political purpose.


title: Kate Bolduan

text: In September 2019, Bolduan spoke with Michael Bloomberg, Mary Nichols (chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board (CARB)), Will Marshall (the CEO of Planet Labs, a private firm, which provides services in satellite imaging for environmental protection reasons with small satellites for example to detect CO2 emitters from orbit) and the president of Finland Sauli Niinistö at the 2019 "Bloomberg Global Business Forum".


title: Kate Bolduan

text: In May 2010, Bolduan married Michael Gershenson. They moved from the Washington D.C. area to New York in early 2013 after Bolduan accepted the anchor position at CNN's morning lineup. The couple's first daughter was born in September 2014. Their second daughter was born in December 2017. The couple belong to the Park Avenue Synagogue in Manhattan, New York City.


title: Sushmita Sen filmography

text: Sushmita Sen is an Indian actress known for her work in Hindi cinema and two Tamil films. She made her debut in 1996 with Mahesh Bhatt's thriller "Dastak". She then starred in the Tamil-language romantic action film "Ratchagan" (1997). In 1999, Sen won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of a model in David Dhawan's critically and commercially successful comedy-drama "Biwi No.1". Her next release was the musical drama "Sirf Tum" the same year. The film earned her critical appreciation and was financially successful. She also attained commercial recognition for her performance of the song "Dilbar". She had two releases in 2001: fantasy comedy film "Kyo Kii... Main Jhuth Nahin Bolta" and romantic drama "Bas Itna Sa Khwaab Hai". Both films failed to create an impact at the box office.


title: Sushmita Sen filmography

text: In 2002, Sen appeared in Meghna Gulzar's "Filhaal...", a film on the theme of surrogacy. In 2003, she played the role of a policewoman in the thriller "". It proved to be a critical success earning Sen appreciation for her performance. In the same year, she starred in the ensemble heist film "Aankhen" which was the fifth highest-grossing Hindi film of that year. Her biggest hit of 2004 was Farah Khan's "Main Hoon Na", in which she played the role of a chemistry teacher. The same year she appeared in the horror film "Vaastu Shastra". She gained further recognition by featuring in the 2005 romantic comedy "Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya?" Inspired by a French play, "Fleur de cactus", it emerged as one of the highest-grossing Hindi films of the year. In the same year Sen acted in the drama "Main Aisa Hi Hoon", a remake of the Hollywood film "I Am Sam".


title: Sushmita Sen filmography

text: Sen then appeared in the Bengali–English film "It Was Raining That Night", which would have been her debut role in both of these languages, but it did not get a theatrical release. Kalpana Lajmi's "Chingaari" (2006) and Tanuja Chandra's "Zindaggi Rocks" (2006) in which she played a lead role, performed badly at the box office. Sen continued to star in a series of films that did not do well commercially, including action drama "Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag" (2007), romantic drama "Karma Aur Holi" (2009), romantic comedy "Dulha Mil Gaya" (2010) and action comedy "No Problem" (2010). After taking a career break for five years, Sen appeared in her first Bengali film "Nirbaak", directed by Srijit Mukherji in 2015. In 2020, she made her television debut by playing the title role in Ram Madhvani's "Aarya". Her role as a housewife forced into the narcotics trade was well received by the critics.


title: Stock (firearms)

text: A gunstock or often simply stock, the back portion of which is also known as a shoulder stock, a buttstock or simply a butt, is a part of a long gun that provides structural support, to which the barrel, action, and firing mechanism are attached. The stock also provides a means for the shooter to firmly brace the gun and easily aim with stability by being held against the user's shoulder when shooting the gun, and helps to counter muzzle rise by transmitting recoil straight into the shooter's body.


title: Stock (firearms)

text: The term stock in reference to firearms dates to 1571 is derived from the Germanic word "Stock", meaning tree trunk, referring to the wooden nature of the gunstock.


title: Stock (firearms)

text: Early hand cannons used a simple stick fitted into a socket in the breech end to provide a handle. The modern gunstock shape began to evolve with the introduction of the arquebus, a matchlock with a longer barrel and an actual lock mechanism, unlike the hand-applied match of the hand cannon. Firing a hand cannon requires careful application of the match while simultaneously aiming; the use of a matchlock handles the application of the slow match, freeing up a hand for support. With both hands available to aim, the arquebus could be braced with the shoulder, giving rise to the basic gunstock shape that has survived for over 500 years. This greatly improved the accuracy of the arquebus, to a level that would not be surpassed until the advent of rifled barrels.


title: Stock (firearms)

text: Ironically, the stocks of muskets introduced during the European colonization of the Americas were repurposed as hand-to-hand war clubs by Native Americans and First Nations when fragile accessories were damaged or scarce ammunition exhausted. Techniques for gunstock hand weapons are being revived by martial arts such as Okichitaw.


title: Stock (firearms)

text: A gunstock is broadly divided into two parts (see above), with the boundary roughly at where the trigger is. The rear portion is the butt (1), and front portion is the fore-end (2). The fore-end (or "forestock", "forearm") affixes and supports the receiver, and relays the recoil impulse from the barrel via a "recoil lug". The butt (or "buttstock") is braced against the shooter's shoulder for stability and also interacts with the trigger hand, and is further divided into the comb (3), heel (4), toe (5), and grip (6). The stock pictured above has a thumbhole (7) style grip, which allows a more ergonomic vertical hold for the user's hand.


title: Stock (firearms)

text: In some modern firearm designs, the lower receiver and handguard replace the fore-end stock, leaving only the butt portion as the recognizable "stock", even though they serve the same function as the traditional fore-end.


title: Stock (firearms)

text: The most basic categorization of stock types is into one-piece and two-piece stocks. In a one-piece stock, the butt and fore-end are a continuous monolithic piece, such as that commonly found on conventional bolt-action rifles. Two-piece stocks use separate pieces for the butt and fore-end, such as that commonly found on break-action and lever-action firearms. Traditionally, two-piece stocks were easier to make, since finding a quality wood blank suitable for a long one-piece stock is harder than finding short blanks for a two-piece stock.


title: Stock (firearms)

text: In one-piece rifle stocks, the butt also varies in styles between the "European" type, which has a drop at the heel to favor quick shooting using iron sights; and "American" type, which the heel remains horizontal from the grip to favor more precision-oriented shooting using telescopic sights. There are also in-between designs (such as the Weatherby Mark V) with a "halfway" heel drop where the front half of the buttstock stays leveled.


title: Stock (firearms)

text: Collapsible or folding stocks are often seen on military carbines, SMG/PDWs, their civilian-derived versions and some machine pistols. A collapsible (or telescoping) stock makes the weapon shorter and more compact for storage, carrying and concealment, and can be deployed just before shooting for better control. A butt hook, which is an attachment to the butt of the gun that is put under the shooter's arm to prevent the rifle from pivoting forward from the weight of the barrel is sometimes used in competitive rifle shooting. These stocks are also used on combat shotguns like the Franchi SPAS-12 to allow the stock to collapse when not in use.


title: Stock (firearms)

text: The grip is at the front portion of the butt that connects with the fore-end, and is held by the shooter's trigger hand during firing. The back surface of butt front near the grip is called the tang. Many grips have roughened textures or even finger grooves engraved into the sides to increase the firmness of the shooter's hold. Some grips have a "thumb rest" (or groove) carved near the tang to give a more ergonomic hold for the trigger finger.


title: Stock (firearms)

text: The grip varies widely in styles. A "straight grip" stock (A) proceeds smoothly from toe to the trigger, giving a nearly horizontal holding angle for the trigger hand, while a full "pistol grip" stock (E) contains a separate stand-out grip piece, providing a nearly vertical angle for the trigger hand for maximal ergonomics, and is commonly found on modern military rifles such as the ubiquitous AK-47 and M16/M4 families of assault rifles. In between the two extremes, the "semi-grip" stock (B) is perhaps the most common sporting rifle stock, with a steeper angle cut into the stock to provide a more diagonal angle for the trigger hand. Modern target-style stocks have generally moved towards a fuller, more vertical grip, though built into the stock rather than made as a separate piece. "Anschütz grip" stocks (C), for example, use a nearly vertical grip, and many "thumbhole grip" stocks (D) are similar to pistol grips in shape.


title: Stock (firearms)

text: The comb is another area of wide variation. Since the comb must support the shooter's cheek at a height that steadily aligns the aiming eye with the weapon's sights, higher sights such as telescopic sights require higher combs.