text: In the early spring of 1983 two teams were sent to France and Lebanon. Günyol tapped contract killer Abdullah Çatlı, who had just finished serving a prison sentence in Switzerland for drug trafficking, to lead the French contingent. Günyol says he did not reveal his identity to Çatlı, who referred to him as "Colonel", thinking Günyol used to be a soldier.


title: Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia

text: A second French unit was assembled under MİT operative Sabah Ketene. The Lebanese contingent, consisting only of MİT operatives and members of the "Special Warfare Department" (special forces), was led by MİT officer Hiram Abas.


text: The bomb that Çatlı's team had planted in Ara Toranyan's car on 22 March 1983 did not explode. A follow-up attempt also failed. Toranyan said they had planted the bomb in the wrong car. Likewise, Henri Papazyan's car bomb on 1 May 1984 did not explode. Çatlı claimed credit for killing Hagop Hagopian, however he was in a French prison (again, on narcotics charges) at the time of the attack. Papazyan is now believed to have been killed as a result of infighting. The second French team (led by Ketene) did carry out some attacks (which Çatlı also claimed credit for), such as the 1984 Alfortville monument and Salle Pleyel concert room attacks. It is unknown whether the Lebanese contingent did anything at all.


text: The militant organization is referred to as a "terrorist organization" in some instances. United States Department of State classified ASALA militant group as a terrorist organization in their 1989 report archived by National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism. ASALA militant group is described as a "Marxist-Leninist Armenian terrorist group formed in 1975."


text: The European Parliament referred to ASALA militant organization as a secular terrorist group active in Belgium during 70s and 80s.


text: CIA referred to ASALA militant members as terrorists and ASALA militant organization as a continuing International Threat in January 1984. Terrorism Analysis Branch of CIA wrote the following sentences in their report in January 1984: "ASALA poses a growing threat to a number of US policy interests.", "... several West European nations have apparently reached accommodations with ASALA, allowing the "terrorists" freedom to pursue Turkish targets in exchange for promises not to attack indigenous citizens.", "The Turks have responded angrily against what they see as European indifference to or connivance with ASALA terrorism" quoted from the unclassified CIA documents.


text: ASALA is also mentioned in CIA's Terrorism Review report. The following quote is mentioned in the "Armenian Terrorism" section of 29 September 1983 dated Terrorism Review of CIA: "Armenian terrorists pose a growing international threat."


text: ASALA's last attack, on 19 December 1991, targeted the bullet-proof limousine carrying the Turkish Ambassador to Budapest. The ambassador was not injured in the attack, which was claimed by ASALA in Paris. Since this attack, the militant organization is considered not active thus USA or UK do not include ASALA in their list of foreign terrorist organizations anymore.


text: The majority of the investigations in the Western countries where the attacks took place were inconclusive and the cases remained unresolved. Australian government told the media that they reopened their investigation into the 1980 assassination of two Turkish diplomats made by ASALA. 1 million Australian Dollar reward is offered by the Australian government for the capture of the perpetrators of the assassination on the occasion of 39th anniversary of the 1980 assassinations.


text: ASALA had ties to Palestinian liberation groups such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a Marxist militant group in which ASALA founder Hagop Hagopian was rumored to have been a member in his youth. Through his involvement with Palestinian groups, Hagopian earned the nickname "Mujahed," meaning "Warrior." Hagopian's sympathetic connection with Palestinian liberation/separatist movements bolstered ASALA's goals and helped pave the way for ASALA's eventual training with another Palestinian rebel group, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).


text: ASALA was rumored to have interacted with other leftist/Marxist militant organizations in Europe and Eurasia, including the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) in Kurdistan, the Italian Red Brigades, and the Spanish Basque liberation group ETA. In addition to having potential connections to leftist groups, ASALA also had ties to another Armenian organization, the Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide (JCAG), who, while a right-wing nationalist group that often competed with ASALA, had similar political goals regarding wanting Turkey to acknowledge its role in the Armenian Genocide and wanting the establishment of an Armenian homeland.


text: Because ASALA shared similar political goals with the right-wing militant group the Justice Commandos for the Armenian Genocide (also known as the Armenian Revolutionary Army), the groups are often compared or confused; however, ASALA sets itself apart from JCAG because of its Marxist/leftist ideology. ASALA often aligned itself with the Soviet Union, while JCAG's nationalist goals were more focused on establishing an independent Armenian state. Whereas JCAG wanted a free and independent Armenia separate from the Soviet Union, ASALA considered the Soviet Union a "friendly country;" because of this, ASALA was content with remaining a part of the USSR so long as the other parts of the Armenian homeland could be united within the entity of the Armenian S.S.R.


text: In addition to having different ideologies, ASALA and JCAG also carried out their attacks in different styles. ASALA was much more prone to using explosives in its attacks rather than firearms as JCAG favored. ASALA used explosives in 146 of 186 incidents/attacks compared to using firearms in only 33 attacks. By comparison, JCAG used explosives in 23 of its 47 attacks and used firearms in 26 of its 47 attacks.


text: With the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 the group lost much of its organization and support. Previously sympathetic Palestinian organizations, including the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), withdrew their support and passed materials to the French intelligence services in 1983, detailing ASALA operatives. One of the group's last attacks, on 19 December 1991, targeted the bullet-proof limousine carrying the Turkish Ambassador to Budapest. The ambassador was not injured in the attack, which was claimed by ASALA in Paris.


text: ASALA's founder Hagop Hagopian was assassinated on a sidewalk in an affluent neighborhood in Athens, Greece on April 28, 1988. He was shot several times while he was walking with two women at 4:30 in the morning. Veteran member Hagop Tarakchian died of cancer in 1980. Assassinations of former members of ASALA-RM continued in Armenia into the late 1990s.


text: According to Turkish National Intelligence Organization official Nuri Gündeş, ASALA was dissolved after the assassination of Hagopian. According to Turkish sources, another reason is that financial backing was withdrawn by the Armenian diaspora after the 1983 Orly Airport attack.


text: Although ASALA attacks all but stopped in the late 1980s as a result of the group's fragmentation and lack of support after the 1983 Orly attack, ASALA is said to have continued in a lesser capacity into the 1990s, even after the group suffered further disorganization after Hagopian's assassination in 1988. In addition to the ASALA-claimed 1991 attack on the Turkish ambassador in Budapest, ASALA members last attack is claimed to have been in Brussels in 1997 (although ASALA hasn't claimed responsibility) where bombers attacking under the name Gourgen Yanikian bombed the Turkish embassy in Brussels.


text: Since the 1970s the ASALA Information Branch published books, booklets, posters and other promotional materials. "Hayasdan" ('Armenia') was the official multi-lingual organ of ASALA published in 1980–1987 and 1991–1997. The first issue was published in October 1980 and contained 40 pages. The place of publication and names of contributors are not known. It was published monthly, sometimes with united volumes. The main language was Armenian. From 1983 to 1987 it had separate issues in Arabic, English, French and Turkish. The journal published editorials, official announcements of ASALA, and articles on political and military issues. "Hayasdan" was distributed free of charge in Armenian communities.


text: The journal's mottos were "The armed struggle and right political line are the way to Armenia" and "Viva the revolutionary solidarity of oppressed people!" It had sister publications including left-wing "Hayasdan Gaydzer" (London) and "Hayasdan – Hay Baykar" (Paris) which used "Hayasdan" in their titles since 1980. Both were published by the Popular Movements which worked towards mobilising support among Armenians for a political movement focused on ASALA.


title: Suresh (actor)

text: Mysore Seshaiah Suresh Babu Naidu is an Indian actor, producer, director, and dubbing artist. He has acted predominantly in Tamil and Telugu languages.


title: Suresh (actor)

text: Suresh was born in Sri Kalhasthi. His parents were also born in Sri Kalahasthi. His grandfather was from Nellore.


title: Suresh (actor)

text: Suresh started his career as an editing assistant and a dance assistant. One of his father's friends thought that he could become a successful lead actor. Suresh approached director C. V. Sridhar with a portfolio but was turned down. A few years later, Suresh played the lead in three of Sridhar's films. He then met director duo Santhana Bharathi and P. Vasu, who cast him as the lead in "Panneer Pushpangal" (1981). Suresh was simultaneously offered the lead role in Bharathiraja's "Alaigal Oivathillai" (1981), which he turned down for the former film. Both films were large commercial successes. He became the prominent face of the Tamil Film Industry, through the 80's era. Suresh played the role of a lover in many films and produced four films and seven television serials before taking a hiatus in the 1990s. During the period he enhanced his career in Telugu cinema.


title: Suresh (actor)

text: Suresh made a comeback to Tamil cinema in 2006 with "Kizhakku Kadalkarai Salai" starring Srikanth. He played supporting roles including in "Aasal" (2010) alongside Ajith Kumar. In 2012, Suresh appeared in the Tamil-Telugu bilingual film "Kadhalil Sodhappuvadhu Yeppadi" directed by Balaji Mohan, playing the character of Akilan Venkatesan, who was going through a mid-life crisis. A reviewer for The Hindu called the entire cast "effective".


title: Suresh (actor)

text: Suresh has hosted and judged six seasons of the competitive cooking game show "Kitchen Superstar" for Vijay TV.


title: Suresh (actor)

text: As a dubbing/voice-over artist, Suresh was the Tamil voice of the actor Ajith Kumar in "Aasai" (1995) and the actor Nagarjuna in "Idhayathai Thirudathe" (1989), "Siva" (1989), "Ratchagan" (1997), "Ooty" (2012), and "Manam" (2016).


title: Suresh (actor)

text: From 2018 to 2020, he has starred opposite Khushbu Sundar in the bilingual daily serial "Lakshmi Stores".


title: Capital of Germany

text: The capital of Germany is the city state of Berlin. It is the seat of the President of Germany, whose official residence is Schloss Bellevue. The Bundesrat ("federal council") is the representation of the Federal States ("Bundesländer") of Germany and has its seat at the former Prussian Herrenhaus (House of Lords). Though most of the ministries are seated in Berlin, some of them, as well as some minor departments, are seated in Bonn, the former capital of West Germany.


title: Capital of Germany

text: Although Berlin is officially the capital of the Federal Republic of Germany, 8,000 out of the 18,000 total officials employed at the federal bureaucracy still work in Bonn, about away from Berlin.


title: Capital of Germany

text: Prior to 1871, Germany was not a unified nation-state, and had no capital city. The medieval German Holy Roman Empire used to have Aachen as its preferred seat of government during Charlemagne's reign, and until 1531 it was the place where 31 Holy Roman Emperors were crowned Kings of the Germans. The coronation later moved to Frankfurt. However, after Charlemagne, none of the subsequent Holy Roman Emperors moved to Aachen or Frankfurt, instead retaining their own original constituent kingdom or principality as base or moving into temporary Royal palaces dotted around the confederate realm known as Kaiserpfalz. The last imperial ruling house (the Habsburgs) had Vienna as its permanent seat of government.


title: Capital of Germany

text: After the Congress of Vienna created the formal German Confederation in 1815, a Federal Assembly convened at the Free City of Frankfurt, representing not the people of the individual German Lands but their sovereigns. Subsequently, Frankfurt briefly became the official German capital during the short-lived Revolutions of 1848 in the German states.


title: Capital of Germany

text: It was only during the 1871 unification of Germany that the newly unified German Reich was first assigned an official capital. Since Berlin was the capital of Prussia, the leading state of the new Reich, it became the capital of Germany as well. Berlin had been the capital of Prussia and its predecessor, Brandenburg, since 1518. Berlin remained the capital of the German Reich until 1945. However, for a period of a few months following the First World War, the national assembly met in Weimar because civil war was ravaging Berlin. After the capture of Berlin in 1945, Flensburg briefly served as capital. Germany was then occupied by the Allies as the outcome of World War II, and Berlin ceased to be the capital of a sovereign German state.


title: Capital of Germany

text: In 1949, with sovereignty regained the country split up into West Germany and East Germany. Berlin was also divided, into West Berlin and East Berlin. Originally, Frankfurt was to be the provisional capital of West Germany. However, West German authorities intended to make Berlin the capital if Germany were ever reunified. They feared that since Frankfurt was a major city in its own right, it would ultimately be accepted as a permanent capital and weaken West German support for reunification. For this reason, the capital was located in the smaller university city of Bonn as a more obviously provisional solution. Another factor was that Bonn is close to Cologne, the hometown of West Germany's first chancellor, Konrad Adenauer. East Germany claimed East Berlin as its capital, even though Berlin as a whole was still legally occupied territory, and would remain so for 45 years.


title: Capital of Germany

text: In 1990, with the reunification of Germany, Berlin was also reunified and became the capital of the enlarged Federal Republic of Germany. There was some debate, however, on whether the seat of government should move to Berlin. Many believed that Bonn should remain the seat of government – a situation analogous to that of the Netherlands, where Amsterdam is the capital but The Hague is the seat of government. In 1991, after an emotional debate, the Bundestag voted to move the seat of government to Berlin by 1999. However, six ministries remained in Bonn, each with a second office in Berlin.


title: Petronius

text: Gaius Petronius Arbiter (; ; c. AD 27 – 66; sometimes Titus Petronius Niger) was a Roman courtier during the reign of Nero. He is generally believed to be the author of the "Satyricon", a satirical novel believed to have been written during the Neronian era (54–68 AD). He is one of the most important characters in Henryk Sienkiewicz' historical novel Quo Vadis, published in 1895. Leo Genn portrays him in the 1951 film by the same name adapted from the novel.


title: Petronius

text: A reference to Petronius by Sidonius Apollinaris places him and/or his "Satyricon" in Massalia (ancient Marseille). He might have been born and educated there. Tacitus, Plutarch and Pliny the Elder describe Petronius as the "elegantiae arbiter" (also phrased "arbiter elegantiarum"), "judge of elegance", in the court of the emperor Nero. He served as suffect consul in 62. Later, he became a member of the senatorial class who devoted himself to a life of pleasure. His relationship to Nero was apparently akin to that of a fashion advisor.


title: Petronius

text: None of the ancient sources give any further detail about his life, or mention that he was a writer. However, a medieval manuscript written around 1450 of the "Satyricon" credited a "Titus Petronius" as the author of the original work. Traditionally, this reference is linked with Petronius Arbiter, since the novel appears to have been written or at least set during his lifetime. The link, however, remains speculative and disputed.


title: Petronius

text: Petronius' development of his characters in the "Satyricon", namely Trimalchio, transcends the traditional style of writing of ancient literature. In the literature written during Petronius' lifetime, the emphasis was always on the typical considerations of plot, which had been laid down by classical rules. The character, which was hardly known in ancient literature, was secondary. Petronius goes beyond these literary limitations in his exact portrayals of detailed speech, behaviour, surroundings, and appearance of the characters.


title: Petronius

text: Another literary device Petronius employs in his novel is a collection of specific allusions. The allusions to certain people and events are evidence that the "Satyricon" was written during Nero's time. These also suggest that it was aimed at a contemporary audience which consisted in part of Nero's courtiers and even Nero himself.


title: Petronius

text: One such allusion, found in chapter 9, refers to the story of the good wife Lucretia which was well known at the time:


title: Petronius

text: The message Petronius tries to convey in his work is far from moral and does not intend to produce reform, but is written above all to entertain and should be considered artistically. Nevertheless, his writings can be a valuable tool to better comprehend the customs and ways of life of Roman society at that particular time, since the author strives to preserve the plausibility of his representation, as can be noted by the frequent use of allusions and detailed descriptions of characters and behaviours. As the title implies, the "Satyricon" is a satire, specifically a Menippean satire, in which Petronius satirizes nearly anything, using his taste as the only standard. It is speculated that Petronius' depiction of Trimalchio mirrors that of Nero. Although the author's own opinion is never alluded to, the opinions of the characters involved in the story are evident, as is how Encolpius criticizes Trimalchio.


title: Petronius

text: Petronius' high position soon made him the object of envy for those around him. Having attracted the jealousy of Tigellinus, the commander of the emperor's guard, he was accused of treason. He was arrested at Cumae in 65 AD but did not wait for a sentence. Instead, he chose to take his own life. Tacitus again records his elegant suicide in the sixteenth book of the "Annals":


title: Petronius

text: According to Pliny the Elder: "T. Petronius, a consular, when he was going to die through Nero's jealousy and envy, broke his fluorspar wine-dipper so that the emperor's table would not inherit it. It had cost 300,000 sesterces". T. Petronius and G. Petronius have been said to have been the same man.


title: Briscola

text: Briscola (; ; , ) is one of Italy's most popular games, together with Scopa and Tressette. A little-changed descendant of Brusquembille, the ancestor of Briscan and Bezique, Briscola is a Mediterranean trick-taking, Ace-Ten card game for two to six players played with a standard Italian 40-card deck. The game can also be played with a modern Anglo-French deck, without the eight, nine and ten cards (see Portuguese variations below). With three or six players, twos are removed from the deck to ensure the number of cards in the deck is a multiple of the number of players; a single two for three players and all four twos for six players. The four- and six-player versions of the game are played as a partnership game of two teams, with players seated such that every player is adjacent to two opponents.


title: Briscola

text: The traditional Italian-suited pack used for Briscola consists of forty cards, divided into four suits: coins (Italian: "Denari"), swords ("Spade"), cups ("Coppe") and batons ("Bastoni"). The values on the cards range numerically from one through seven, plus three face cards in each suit: Knave ("Fante"), Knight ("Cavallo"), and King ("Re"). The Knaves depict a man standing. The Knight is on horseback. The King wears a crown. (Played with a French deck, Queens take the place of Knights or Knaves.) To determine the face value of any numeric card, simply count the number of suit icons on the card. The ace card of coins is usually a type of bird with a circle in the middle.


title: Briscola

text: Below is a table identifying card rank and point values. Unlisted cards have no point value, and are ranked in descending ordinal value, from seven to two. Note, however, the odd ranking of the three.


title: Briscola

text: In total, a deck has 120 card points. To win a game, a player must accumulate more points than any other player. If two players (teams) have the same number of points (60) another game is played to determine the winner.


title: Briscola

text: After the deck is shuffled, each player is dealt three cards. The next card is placed face up on the playing surface, and the remaining deck is placed face down, sometimes covering half of the up-turned card. This card is the "Briscola", and represents the trump suit for the game. Before the game begins if a player has the deuce of trumps they may retire the "briscola". This move may only be done at the beginning of the game or first hand. Before the first hand is played (in four player game), team players may show each other their cards. Deal and play are anti-clockwise.


title: Briscola

text: The player to the right of the dealer leads to the first trick by playing one card face up on the playing surface. Each player subsequently plays a card in turn, until all players have played one card. The winner of that trick is determined as follows:


title: Briscola

text: Unlike other trump card games, players are not required to follow suit, that is, to play the same suit as the lead player.


title: Briscola

text: Once the winner of a trick is determined, that player collects the played cards, and places them face down in a pile. Each player maintains their own pile, though the four- and six-player versions may have one player collecting all tricks won by his partners. Then, each player draws a card from the remaining deck, starting with the player who won the trick, proceeding anti-clockwise. Note that the last card collected in the game should be the up-turned "Briscola". The player who won the trick leads to the next. During play and only before the next to the last hand is played, a player who draws the card with the seven of trump can take the "briscola". This may be done only if the player has won a hand. Before the last hand, people in the same team can look at each other's cards.


title: Briscola

text: After all cards have been played, players calculate the total point value of cards in their own piles. In partnership games, the partners combine their points. 61 card points are needed to win and 60-all is a draw. Briscola is usually played for the best of 3 or 5 games, however, Pennycook records a variant whereby 1 game point is scored for a simple win, 2 for scoring 91 or move and 3 for scoring 120, regardless of whether or not all tricks are taken. Games is then 12 points.


title: Briscola

text: In a three-hand game, if two players score over 40, they each score 1 game point. If only one player achieves this, that player scores 2 game points. A player taking 120 card points gets 3 game points. If there is a three-way tie for 12 points, play continues until one has a lead. If there is a two-way tie, the third player drops out and play continues as a two-hand game.


title: Briscola

text: Alternatively, when four play, game may be set at 121 or 151 card points; thus played over at least 2 deals.


title: Briscola

text: This is a popular add on to the game, which originated in the Italian version of "Briscola" but has been widely accepted in the Spanish version of Brisca. "La conquista" ("The conquest" in Spanish language) is also known as "mano negra" or "sota negra" ("black hand" or "black jack") in Spanish Brisca. The Black Hand is defined as when a player automatically gets in his hand the King card, 3 and 1 card of the chosen "Briscola". When those three cards are gathered by the player, they are shown to the opponent and the game is automatically won in spite of the points that the opponent has gathered throughout the game which might or not have exceeded the player's points.


title: Briscola

text: In four- and six-player variations a system of signaling is often allowed between members of the same team. In this variant, the first round is played without speaking, and on all subsequent rounds, players are permitted to signal their partners and attempt to signal without the other team noticing. A common system of signaling is as follows:


title: Briscola

text: There also exists a variation whereby the three, is ranked as a three (i.e. a four can beat it) but maintains its status as worth 10 points. However, as mentioned, this is a variation and not standard rules.


title: Briscola

text: In some parts of Italy (located mainly in Piedmont and Sardinia), the three as the second most valuable card is substituted by the seven, like in Portuguese Bisca (see below).


title: Briscola

text: Briscola Chiamata (English: "declared Briscola") sometimes also called Briscolone, although that is the name of a two-player variant (see above), is the five-player version of Briscola. Every player is dealt eight cards, so that no cards remain undealt. Then the bidding phase begins, the purpose of which is to decide the trump suit ("Briscola") and to form two uneven groups that will play against each other.


title: Briscola

text: In one variant, each player, starting from the dealer's right and proceeding counter-clockwise, bids on progressively lower card values, according to the peculiar sorting of cards used in the game. Thus, if the first player bids on a Three, the second player can only bid on a King or lower. If a player bids on a Six, the next player can only bid on a Five, Four or Two. Bidding continues until all but one player have passed in a round. This remaining player has then "won the bid" and therefore gets to declare the "Briscola", i.e. the trump suit. If they had bid on a Three, for example, they could choose "Three of Cups": the trump suit will be Cups, and the holder of the "Three of Cups" is determined to be the declarer's partner, though if the player holds that card themselves they will play with no partner.


title: Briscola

text: In another variant, bidding proceeds in the same fashion, but players declare how many points they will score (61 or more), if someone declare 120 points he may call two cards. A player may pass, and hence cannot bid again in that game. The bid represents the number of points that player believes they are capable of accumulating. In this variant, whoever declares the trump suit also declares a specific Briscola card (example, the "Ace of Cups" if Cups was the declared Briscola) and the holder of this card is then determined to be the declarer's partner, however, they can not openly declare this and their identity is only conclusively revealed when the named card is played.


title: Briscola

text: The two variants can be combined. Most commonly, the bid starts as in the first system but a bid of Two can be beaten by a bid of "Two with 65 points". Alternatively, any player can "force" the bid and ask subsequent players to keep the same card but increase the score. This is useful whenever a player has low-value cards such as a Two or Four in their strongest suit.


title: Briscola

text: In both systems the declarer can declare the highest Briscola card they do not already hold in the hopes of creating the strongest combined hand with their partner, but can also "bluff".


title: Briscola

text: After the bidding phase, the game proceeds in the same way. First, the remaining three players are partnered with each other, without their knowledge; each player, other than the declarer's partner, acts independently, until it is clear which players are partners. Infrequently, the declarer may declare a Briscola card they already hold (if they feel they have a very strong hand), in which case the other four players are partnered against the winning bidder.


title: Briscola

text: Because of the unique method of declaration and blind partnering in this variation of the game, it is considered to be one of the most entertaining variations of the game. Game strategy is often devised to determine which player is partnered with the declarer, whereas the declarer's partner may devise ruses and decoy strategies to fool the other players, such as not taking a trick, or playing points on a trick that will be won by an opponent.


title: Briscola

text: Briscola Chiamata also features a unique scoring scheme. Each player collects tricks as per the regular version of the game, and counts points collected similarly. Partners, which are known by the end of the game, then combine their points. Game points are assigned as follows:


title: Briscola

text: These points are accumulated after every game. The grand winner is the player with the most points at the end of the last match. If the declarer calls a Briscola he holds, then the declarer will win or lose four points, and every other player will win or lose one point.


title: Briscola

text: Usually, players determine the number of game points to accumulate in order to declare the grand winner, typically ranging from 10 to 20 points.


title: Briscola

text: The main variations were explained earlier in this article. In some variations, when calling a two the declarer can opt to have a "blind" first hand, in the sense that the caller does not announce the suit until the hand has been played. It is rather intriguing to play a hand of briscola without knowing what suit is briscola nor whom one plays with. To further complicate the blind hand, any two played has to be covered (face down). The briscola has to be announced before the cards are turned. The blind first hand can also be restricted to bids that have a score of 62 or higher.


title: Briscola

text: Another variation, this time on the "score bidding" method, is that the declarer can only choose a suit, the called rank being implicitly a two.


title: Briscola

text: There is a now popular variation of the "Briscola" game where it is now played with all cards faced up instead of down, with the purpose of not hiding any cards for the benefit of the opponent to see. The players can now see all the opponent's won cards, the current hand and the deck's next card to pick; is it a harder but interesting variation of the popular game.


title: Briscola

text: The "Briscola scoperta" (Uncovered Briscola in English) is a variation where the cards are dealt face up to each player. The deck is also upturned so that the first card to be drawn is visible. This variation usually leads to more thoughtful play; remembering which cards have already been played is also very important.


title: Briscola

text: In Slovenia, Croatia and Montenegro, the briscola game is called briškula and it is played predominantly in the coastal region. The game is played with Triestine cards in the normal Italian fashion though there is also a popular variation called "briškula Dalmatian style" or "dupla briškula" (double briškula). This variation is exactly the same as the regular Italian game except that each player plays two cards separately during the course of a trick. This variation is used when the game is played by two players, where four cards are dealt to both players and then the player to the right of the dealer leads the first hand (or trick) by playing one card face up on the playing surface. Each player subsequently plays a card in turn, until both have used two cards. The winner of that trick is determined by the normal rules of briscola. When played in couples, briškula uses regular rules, where all players are dealt three cards, and play one card per hand each.


title: Briscola

text: In Portugal, the "briscola" game is called bisca and it is played with a modern Anglo-French 52-card deck. The 8, 9 and 10 cards must be removed from this deck, though, in order to obtain the 40 cards needed to play. The Kings equal to the Italian-deck kings, the Jacks equal to the knights, and the Queens equal to the knaves (to know the reason why the Jack ranks higher than the Queen, see Latin-suited cards in Portugal). The seven (called "bisca" or "manilha"), and not the three, ranks above the face cards. Thus:


title: Briscola

text: The "Sueca" is arguably the most popular game in Portugal, being also very popular in Portuguese former colonies and enclaves such as Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Goa and Macau. Being a partnership game for four players, also played with 40 Anglo-French cards which rank the same as in Bisca, Sueca can be considered a variation of the 4-player Briscola, where all cards are dealt and players have to follow suit.


title: Briscola

text: The "Sueca Italiana" (which means "Italian Sueca", evidencing the origin of the game) or just "Italiana" is the Portuguese variation of the Briscola Chiamata, also played with an Anglo-French deck. The bidding and card playing phases are identical to the Italian version — Bisca card ranks and values always apply, though — but the scoring system is a bit different.


title: Ashley Monroe

text: Monroe has released two solo singles, "Satisfied" and "I Don't Want To" (which featured Brooks & Dunn singer Ronnie Dunn), that reached the U.S. "Billboard" Hot Country Songs chart at #43 and #37, respectively. Both singles were from her debut album, "Satisfied", that was intended for a 2007 release but was pushed back. Monroe left Columbia Records' roster in late 2007 and "Satisfied" was finally released on May 19, 2009, under Sony Music. In June 2011, Monroe, Miranda Lambert and Angaleena Presley formed a band called Pistol Annies.


title: Ashley Monroe

text: Monroe's second studio album, "Like a Rose", was released on March 5, 2013, followed by her third album, "The Blade", released on July 24, 2015. Her fourth studio album, "Sparrow", was released on April 20, 2018.


title: Ashley Monroe

text: Ashley Lauren Monroe was born on September 10, 1986, in Knoxville, Tennessee. to Larry and Kellye Monroe (née Dalton). She has one older brother, Chad. She is not related to Bill Monroe.


title: Ashley Monroe

text: At age 11, she won a talent contest in Pigeon Forge where she sang "I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart", and found steady work at a local theater. Her parents played songs by the Eagles and Lynyrd Skynyrd. After her father died from cancer when she was 13, Monroe started to write songs to help her deal with the loss, several of which appear on her fourth album, "Sparrow". A few years later, she began to perform in small clubs in Nashville.


title: Ashley Monroe

text: After a year in Nashville, she gained a publishing deal as a songwriter, which then led to her signing to a record contract with Sony Records under John Grady, where she began to record her debut album, "Satisfied". In 2006, the title track to the album was released as the first single to country radio. It failed to make the top 40 on the Hot Country Songs chart, however, a second single was released shortly after. "I Don't Want To" was released as the second single, which featured Ronnie Dunn of Brooks & Dunn. It initially did well on the charts, charting at No. 37.


title: Ashley Monroe

text: Still after two singles, the album hadn't been released. The label then decided not to release the album until Monroe charted a top 20 single. But, no follow-up singles were ever released. iTunes briefly had the album available in July 2006 but it was removed from the online store by mid-August.


title: Ashley Monroe

text: In late 2007, Monroe and Columbia Records parted ways, and "Satisfied" went without being released. In addition to her own material, she co-wrote Katrina Elam's 2007 single "Flat on the Floor" (which was also recorded by Carrie Underwood on her 2007 album "Carnival Ride"), as well as Jason Aldean's 2009 single, "The Truth", and Miranda Lambert's 2011 single, "Heart Like Mine."


title: Ashley Monroe

text: In April 2009, it was announced on Monroe's MySpace page that "Satisfied" would be released to digital retailers (iTunes, Rhapsody, etc.) on May 19, 2009. The single "I Don't Want To" was not included.


title: Ashley Monroe

text: In early 2012 Amazon.com and Spotify began streaming and selling an MP3 track called "Promised Land" that was originally recorded for, but left off of, the "Satisfied" album and now is listed as a Bonus Track.


title: Ashley Monroe

text: In late 2009 Monroe posted on her MySpace page that she was independently releasing a new self-titled EP. It would only be sold at the live shows. While she was touring with the Ten out of Tenn artists she realized she had nothing to sell to the fans who loved her sets and she wanted to give them something. This EP contains the tracks "Has Anybody Ever Told You", "Angeline", "Drink for Two", "And You" along with Trent Dabbs collaboration "Everything I Wanted".


title: Ashley Monroe

text: Ashley Monroe received a record deal with Warner Bros. Nashville and released her second studio album, "Like a Rose" on March 5, 2013. The album, produced by Vince Gill, was met with widespread critical acclaim. It features nine tracks co-written by the singer, one of which is a collaboration with Blake Shelton. "Like a Rose" (the title track) was released to radio as the album's first single on March 4, 2013.


title: Ashley Monroe

text: "Like A Rose" debuted at #86 at the European Top-100 Country Music Chart in late April 2013, as well as the duet with Blake Shelton "You Ain't Dolly (And You Ain't Porter)", which debuted at #73 and was the most played country music song in Europe according to the European CMA.


title: Ashley Monroe

text: On July 24, 2015, Monroe released her third full-length studio album, "The Blade", to critical acclaim. The album, which included collaborations with Miranda Lambert, Vince Gill and Alison Krauss, earned her a Grammy Award nomination for Best Country Album.


title: Ashley Monroe

text: On February 26, 2016, Monroe released a live album containing songs from her previous records and a cover of the Gram Parsons song "Hickory Wind". It was recorded at the Blue Room at Third Man Records live before an audience of 200 people on May 12, 2015. The recording was mixed live and recorded straight to acetate without the possibility for correcting any mistakes in post-production.


title: Ashley Monroe

text: After taking a break to give birth to her son, Monroe announced her new album, "Sparrow" which was produced by Dave Cobb and would be released on Warner Bros. Nashville on April 20, 2018. Alongside the announcement, "Hands On You", a track co-written with Jon Randall, was released. Sonically, Monroe references old fashioned country pop such as Glen Campbell, Shelby Lynne, Waylon Jennings and Elvis Presley as examples of the use of strings in country music, something she has included for the first time, and also mentions Elton John and Rick Hall albums as particular influences.


title: Ashley Monroe

text: As a member of the Pistol Annies, Monroe appeared on Blake Shelton's number one hit "Boys 'Round Here".


title: Ashley Monroe

text: Monroe was featured on Shelton's hit "Lonely Tonight", the second single from his album "Bringing Back the Sunshine", and performed the song with him at the 2015 CMA Awards. The song reached number 1 on the US County Airplay Chart and number 2 on the Hot Country Songs Chart, and earned both artists ACM and CMA nominations as well as a Grammy Award nomination for Best Country Duo/Group Performance.


title: Ashley Monroe

text: In early 2008, Monroe began collaborating with singer-songwriter Trent Dabbs and creating several demo tracks that appeared on their individual MySpace pages, before releasing an EP under both of their names. It was simply entitled "Ashley Monroe and Trent Dabbs".


title: Ashley Monroe

text: Other tracks have included "I'm Coming Over", "Laying Low [or I'm Staying Low]", "Now That I Know", "When the Day Is Done", "Everything I Wanted" and "Gone".


title: Ashley Monroe

text: The official EP track listing however contains only five of these songs: "I'm Coming Over", "Laying Low", "See Right Through" (the only track that never appeared on MySpace), "Now That I Know" and "Gone".


title: Ashley Monroe

text: Monroe can also be heard on backing vocals (as well as having writing credits) on Dabbs's song "Your Side Now".


title: Ashley Monroe

text: Monroe contributed backing vocals on Will Hoge's song "Goodnight/Goodbye" off his 2009 album "The Wreckage". The song was released as a soft single in late 2009.


title: Ashley Monroe

text: Monroe can also be heard on Cory Morrow's 2007 album "Ten Years" on the track "More Than Perfect". Andrea Glass's 2008 release "Stood Under Stars" features her on two tracks: "The Price" and "North Wind". Monroe is also featured on the title track of Wade Bowen's "If We Ever Make It Home" album. Most recently, on a track she co-wrote with Miranda Lambert ("Me and Your Cigarettes" found on Revolution, Miranda Lambert) she is backing vocalist.


title: Ashley Monroe

text: She is also featured in the video for All I Have (Acoustic) starring Mat Kearney and an unreleased version of Fire & Rain (Acoustic) by Mat as well. She also does background vocals on the 2011 release of Josh Kelley's "Georgia Clay" album for the track "A Real Good Try". There was a 2011 video posted on YouTube of Monroe and Michelle Branch singing backing vocals for Chris Isaaks version of "Ring Of Fire" for his upcoming release "Beyond The Sun". Additionally she co-wrote two tracks and provides backing vocals for Vince Gill on "Who Wouldn't Fall In Love With You" and "If I Die".


title: Ashley Monroe

text: She is a featured vocalist on Hunter Hayes' newer version of his song "What You Gonna Do" on his 2013 album Encore and on Feels Like Home, a 2013 album by Sheryl Crow along with Vince Gill on the track "Give It To Me". It was also announced that Monroe would be performing a duet named "Lonely Tonight" with Blake Shelton on his 2014 album Bringing Back the Sunshine.


title: Ashley Monroe

text: Ashley sang back up vocals on The Steel Woods 2021 album titled All Of Your Stones. The track is called I Need You.


title: Ashley Monroe

text: In late 2008, Monroe collaborated with The Raconteurs and Ricky Skaggs on The Raconteurs single "Old Enough", which was released in bluegrass form, and as a music video.


title: Ashley Monroe

text: Monroe contributes backing vocals as a member of Jack White's Third Man House Band, which performed with Wanda Jackson on her album "The Party Ain't Over", which was released on January 25, 2011. She is featured on the songs "Rum & Coca-Cola", "Dust on the Bible" and "Teach Me Tonight" alongside Karen Elson, dubbing themselves "The Cherry Sisters" in the liner notes. She is also given credits on the "Live At Third Man Records" album by Wanda Jackson having been on tour with her as part of the "Cherry Sisters". She won honors for her performances.


title: Ashley Monroe

text: Longtime friends, Monroe, Miranda Lambert and newcomer Angaleena Presley debuted their trio Pistol Annies, with their song "Hell on Heels", on April 22, 2011, on CBS' airing of ACM Girls Night Out. The trio surprised the audience in place of Lambert singing with now ex-husband Blake Shelton. The women, who all met through working in the industry, have dubbed nicknames for themselves via their band name. Lambert serves as "Lonestar Annie", Monroe as "Hippie Annie", and Presley as "Holler Annie", as she is from the hills of Kentucky. Per Lambert, whether or not the Annies would release an album would "be up to the fans". The single "Hell on Heels" was released for purchase via the Pistol Annies' website on June 12, 2011. The Pistol Annies' album "Hell on Heels" was released on August 23, 2011. The trio will also be featured on The Chieftain's upcoming release Voice of Ages on the track "Come All Ye Fair and Tender Ladies".


title: Ashley Monroe

text: The Pistol Annies' track "Run Daddy Run" was included on the 2012 soundtrack . They have been featured as backing vocalists on Blake Shelton's track "Blue Christmas" and on Jewel's 2013 Greatest Hits on a new version of "You Were Meant For Me". The trio also appear in the video for Blake Shelton's "Boys Round Here" video.


title: Ashley Monroe

text: The Pistol Annies' second album, "Annie Up", was released on May 7, 2013, and Lambert announced that a third record would be released in 2018.


title: Ashley Monroe

text: On September 27, 2018, Pistol Annies announced their third album "Interstate Gospel" would be released November 2, 2018. They planned to host three album-debut shows in Nashville, New York, and Los Angeles. They released three songs off the album for hungry fans: Got My Name Changed Back, Interstate Gospel, and Best Days of My Life.


title: Ashley Monroe

text: Monroe is featured on "Bruises", a duet with Train's singer Pat Monahan; the song was released as a single on November 9, 2012. She and Monahan starred in the music video, and she toured with Train on the Mermaids of Alcatraz Tour in summer 2013, where she sang "Bruises" and one or two of her songs from her album. She also performed with Train on "The Today Show" on July 26.


title: Ashley Monroe

text: On Butch Walker's 2016 album "Stay Gold", Monroe co-wrote and provided her vocals for the track "Descending".


title: Ashley Monroe

text: Monroe was featured in the award-winning 2017 documentary film "The American Epic Sessions", directed by Bernard MacMahon. In the film she recorded two songs on the first electrical sound recording system from the 1920s - “Jubilee”, a 19th-century Appalachian folk song accompanied by The Americans, and “Like a Rose”, solo on acoustic guitar. Both performances were featured on the film's soundtrack, "".


title: Ashley Monroe

text: On September 14, 2012, following a show on the Pistol Annies tour, Monroe accepted a marriage proposal by boyfriend John Danks, a starting pitcher for the Chicago White Sox. She tweeted "I said yes . . . I'm engaged to my John Danks! Best night of my life!" Pistol Annies bandmate Miranda Lambert helped her with the wedding plans. They were married on October 24, 2013, at Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tennessee; Blake Shelton officiated the ceremony, and Lambert was the matron of honor.


title: Ashley Monroe

text: On December 25, 2016, Monroe took to Twitter displaying an ultrasound picture to announce that she is expecting her first child. On March 19, 2017, Monroe revealed that her baby would be a boy with multiple photos on Instagram. She gave birth to her son, Dalton William Danks.


title: Ashley Monroe

text: On July 13, 2021, Monroe announced that she was diagnosed with Waldenström's macroglobulinemia, a rare form of blood cancer.


title: Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer

text: The Pinzgauer is a family of high-mobility all-terrain 4WD (4×4) and 6WD (6×6) military utility vehicles. The vehicle was originally developed in the late 1960s and manufactured by Steyr-Daimler-Puch of Graz, Austria, and was named after the Pinzgauer, an Austrian breed of cattle. They were most recently manufactured at Guildford in Surrey, England by BAE Systems Land & Armaments. It was popular amongst military buyers, and continued in production there throughout the rest of the century.


title: Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer

text: In 2000 the rights were sold to Automotive Technik Ltd (ATL) in the UK. ATL was acquired by Stewart & Stevenson Services, Inc. in 2005. In May 2006, Stewart & Stevenson became a subsidiary of the aerospace and defence group Armor Holdings, Inc. In 2007 Armor Holdings was acquired by BAE Systems plc, who discontinued UK production of the Pinzgauer, which was proving to be vulnerable to mines and improvised explosive devices in Afghanistan. Production ceased around 2009. Development work (done in the UK) on a planned Pinzgauer II was evaluated by a BAE subsidiary in Benoni, Gauteng, South Africa but no vehicle was ever made.


title: Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer

text: The original prototype was developed around 1969 and production began in 1971, as successor of the Steyr-Daimler-Puch Haflinger 700 AP 4×4 light military multi purpose offroad vehicle. The Pinzgauer first generation model (710, 712) was produced until 2000 by Steyr-Daimler-Puch in the city of Graz, Austria.


title: Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer

text: It was, and is in use in many armies around the world like Austria, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Albania, and Bolivia. When Austro-Canadian millionaire Frank Stronach took over the shareholder majority of Steyr-Daimler-Puch offroad vehicles, the rights to build Steyr's Pinzgauers were moved to Automotive Technik Ltd; and subsequently to a branch of BAE Systems. As of 2009, production of Pinzgauers seems to have stalled. The Graz plant has been building the Mercedes-Benz G Wagon / Puch G SUVs / offroad cars.


title: Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer

text: The Pinzgauer is one of the most capable all-terrain vehicles ever made. While not as fast on-road () as an American Humvee, it can carry more troops, and move faster over rough trails. Even the smaller 710M can carry 10 people or two NATO pallets. Both the 4×4 and 6×6 models can tow on road; and or , respectively, off-road. It has a range of over on one tank of fuel, or nearly with the optional 125 litre tank. The first generation Pinzgauer is available in both four-wheel drive (4×4) (model 710) and six-wheel drive (6×6) (model 712) versions.


title: Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer

text: The Pinzgauer was designed to be reliable and easy to fix; it is shipped with an air-cooled petrol engine with dual-Zenith 36 mm NDIX carburetors. The engine in the Pinzgauer was specifically designed for the vehicle; it has more than one oil pump so that the engine will not get starved of oil no matter how the vehicle is oriented.


title: Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer

text: The Pinzgauer has a chassis design which contributes to its high mobility. It has a central tube chassis with a transaxle which distributes the weight more evenly, and keeps the centre of gravity as low as possible. The differentials are all sealed units and require minimal additional lubrication. The Pinzgauer also has portal axles like the Unimog to provide extra clearance over obstacles. The 710 4×4 was the more popular variant, but the Pinzgauer was designed to have a very capable 6×6 configuration from the start. The rear suspension on the back of the 6×6 712 is designed to provide maximum traction in the most demanding circumstances along with increasing its towing, load carrying, and off-road abilities.


title: Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer

text: During production from 1971 until 1985, 18,349 first-generation 710s and 712s were produced and sold to both civilian and military customers.


title: Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer

text: In 1980, Steyr-Daimler-Puch started development on a second generation Pinzgauer. After six years of research and development, the initial second generation Pinzgauer II rolled off the assembly line in 1986. In 2000, Magna, who bought Steyr-Daimler-Puch, sold its rights to the Pinzgauer to Automotive Technik in the UK who took over production of the Pinzgauer. The Pinzgauer is now owned and produced by BAE Systems Land Systems in Guildford, Surrey, however production has ceased.


title: Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer

text: The four-wheel drive (4×4) model is now called a 716, and the six-wheel drive (6×6) model is now called a 718. The same letter body type designations apply. The new 716 has the same payload rating as the old 712, and the new 718 also has a similarly higher payload capacity.


title: Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer

text: The second generation motor vehicle went through several minor revisions through its life, unlike the first generation which used the same design throughout production. The first second-generation Pinzgauers were designated P80 (1980). It went through a minor revision in 1990 (P90), and 1993 (P93), when an intercooler version of the VW engine (D24TIC) was substituted. A more significant engine change was carried out in 2002 when a new Volkswagen Group Turbocharged Direct Injection (TDI) engine was introduced to meet the new Euro3 emissions requirements.


title: Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer

text: The Pinzgauer is increasingly replacing the Land Rover Defender in the military utility vehicle role, despite its high cost of upwards of US$100,000 per unit. Pinzgauer (or Pinz as it is known to most British soldiers) is more common as a utility vehicle in Royal Artillery units due to its employment as a light gun tractor. A new armoured version called the "Vector" entered service in the British Army in early 2007, as part of an effort to provide safer patrol vehicles for troops in Afghanistan.


title: Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer

text: The 6×6 Vector PPV (Protected Patrol Vehicle) would, according to the manufacturer, "Build on the existing proven design, with enhancements that will include a combination of physical protection, as well as the use of sophisticated electronic counter measures to maximise survivability while on patrol". However, the Vector PPV was found to have unreliable suspension and wheel hubs as well as poor protection against improvised explosive devices. It quickly lost the confidence of field commanders and was withdrawn from service.


title: Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer

text: The Pinzgauer is the basis for the Tactical Ground Station (TGS) element of the Raytheon Systems Limited Airborne Standoff Radar (ASTOR). The TGS comprises two workstation vehicles, a mission support vehicle, and a standard utility vehicle.


title: Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer

text: Many Pinzgauers were sold to military forces (initially Austrian and Swiss) to be used as non-tactical utility vehicles. Typical military roles are as general-purpose utility truck, command vehicles, troop carrier, ambulance, and tow vehicle. Roles very similar to other civilian sourced vehicles like Land Rover in the UK, the Blazer CUCV in the US, and the Mercedes G in many European countries.


title: Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer

text: The New Zealand Army has purchased 321 Pinzgauer vehicles in 8 variants to fulfill the Light Operational Vehicle (LOV) role.


title: Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer

text: The Malaysian Army purchased 168 2 Ton 4×4 716 Gun Tractors and 164 2 Ton 6×6 718 Mortar Transporters to replace older Volvo C303 and C304 in their inventories. It is affectionately called "Piglet" due to its design.


title: Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer

text: The US Army purchased 20 Turbo Diesel 718M during the early 1990s, imported for the Army’s Delta Force as a deep reconnaissance platform. They were used in the 1991 Gulf War as well as the 2003 Iraq war, and eventually phased out at 2010-2011.


title: Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer

text: The Pinzgauer was marketed to the civilian marketplace worldwide for use as campers, farm trucks, ambulances, fire-trucks, and rescue vehicles. Likewise, many ended up being used as tourist vans due to their large passenger capacity and stable, reliable platform.


title: Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer

text: Pinzgauers have been used as tourist transports in Africa, Australia, South America, Hawaii, and other exotic locales. Some are still in use today. Pinzgauers were marketed to- and used extensively by energy companies for oil exploration purposes. A few Pinzgauers were used for off-road racing, including the famous Paris to Dakar Rally and the International Rainforest Challenge in Malaysia.


title: Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer

text: The Pinzgauer is a highly accomplished off-road vehicle. Its capabilities, in some operational scenarios, are better than that of the Humvee and the Land Rover Defender.


title: Central United States

text: The Central United States is sometimes conceived as between the Eastern and Western as part of a three-region model, roughly coincident with the U.S. Census' definition of the Midwestern United States plus the western and central portions of the U.S. Census' definition of the Southern United States. The Central States are typically considered to consist of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Mississippi and Alabama.


title: Central United States

text: Chicago is the area's largest city and metropolitan area; other large cities with large metropolitan areas would be Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Austin, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri, Topeka, Wichita, Omaha, Nebraska and Lincoln, Minneapolis and St. Paul, Madison and Milwaukee, St. Louis, Louisville, Lexington, Detroit, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Toledo, Dayton, Rockford, Peoria, Indianapolis, Evansville, Fort Wayne and South Bend.


title: Central United States

text: Four of nine Census Bureau Divisions have names containing "Central", though they are not grouped as a region. They include 20 states and 39.45% of the U.S. population as of July 1, 2007.


title: Central United States

text: Almost all of the area is in the Gulf of Mexico drainage basin and most of that is in the Mississippi Basin. Small waterways near the Great Lakes drain into the Great Lakes, and eventually the St. Lawrence River. The Red River Valley is centered on the North Dakota-Minnesota border and drains to Hudson Bay. Floods have been a problem for the region during the 20th and early 21st century.


title: Central United States

text: The Central Time Zone includes portions of the Florida Panhandle, upper portions of Michigan, parts of Indiana, western Kentucky, western Tennessee, all of Texas except El Paso, and extends to the westernmost fringes of Great Plains states.


title: Central United States

text: The geographic midpoint of the contiguous 48 states of the United States falls within the boundaries of the Central United States and is located about two miles northwest of Lebanon, Kansas. The spot is located at 39 degrees 50 minutes latitude and 98 degrees 35 minutes longitude.


title: Hudson Line (Metro-North)

text: Metro-North Railroad's Hudson Line is a commuter rail line running north from New York City along the east shore of the Hudson River. Metro-North service ends at Poughkeepsie, with Amtrak's Empire Corridor trains continuing north to and beyond Albany. The line was originally the Hudson River Railroad (and the Spuyten Duyvil and Port Morris Railroad south of Spuyten Duyvil), and eventually became the Hudson Division of the New York Central Railroad. It runs along what was the far southern leg of the Central's famed "Water Level Route" to Chicago.


title: Hudson Line (Metro-North)

text: Croton–Harmon station divides the line into two distinct segments. South of there, the line is electrified with third rail, serving suburban stations located relatively close together. Most of the electrified zone has four tracks, usually two express and local tracks in each direction. For a few miles in the Bronx there are only two or three tracks. Local service is usually provided by electric trains, while diesel trains run express. North of Croton–Harmon, the line is not electrified and is mostly double-tracked (with a few triple track areas); the stations are also spaced further apart. Service between Croton–Harmon and Poughkeepsie is provided by diesel trains; these generally run express and skip most of the lower stations. From just north of Spuyten Duyvil to the end of the line, the Hudson Line forms the southern portion of Amtrak's Empire Corridor, the former main line of the Central. The planned Penn Station Access project would send some Hudson Line trains to Penn Station along the Empire Connection, with two new intermediate stops along the west side of Manhattan.


title: Hudson Line (Metro-North)

text: The Hudson Line is colored green on Metro-North timetables and system maps, and stations on the line have green trim. The New York Central used green color-coding for the Hudson Division as early as 1965.


title: Hudson Line (Metro-North)

text: The Hudson River Railroad was chartered on May 12, 1846 to extend the Troy and Greenbush Railroad, which connected Troy and Albany, south to New York City along the east bank of the Hudson River. Service began on the first of the line from Chambers Street and Hudson Street in Lower Manhattan to Peekskill on September 29, 1849. Service was extended to New Hamburg on December 6 and to Poughkeepsie on December 31. A separate section opened between East Albany and Hudson on June 16, 1851. This section was extended to Oakhill on July 7 and to Tivoli on August 4. The full line opened on October 8, 1851 with the completion of the final segment between Tivoli and Poughkeepsie, linking the two pieces of the line together. Prior to completion, on June 1, the Hudson River leased the Troy and Greenbush.


title: Hudson Line (Metro-North)

text: Cornelius Vanderbilt purchased the Hudson River Railroad in 1864, soon after he bought the parallel New York and Harlem Railroad, which is today's Harlem Line. He merged these and other short line railroads to form the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad, which was renamed the New York Central Railroad in 1914.


title: Hudson Line (Metro-North)

text: One of the properties owned by the New York and Harlem was the Spuyten Duyvil and Port Morris Railroad. This railroad was built in 1842, and bought in 1853 by the New York and Harlem as part of a proposal by NY&H Vice President Gouverneur Morris Jr. to integrate it into a new industrial section of the waterfront. After this railroad became property of the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad, by 1871, the line was extended through the West Bronx, along the Harlem River to connect with the Hudson River Railroad. The segment north of Mott Haven Junction became part of the Hudson Division, while the portion to the south remained part of the Harlem Division. With the opening of the line, most passenger trains were rerouted into the new Grand Central Depot via that line along the northeast bank of the Harlem River and the New York and Harlem Rail Road, also part of the New York Central system.


title: Hudson Line (Metro-North)

text: This line was rebuilt and realigned in 1905–1906 when the Harlem River Ship Canal was built. The line was realigned along the north side of the canal in Marble Hill, Manhattan. Part of the original segment around Marble Hill became a freight spur leading to the Kingsbridge Freight Station, but the track around the northern and western sides of Marble Hill was later removed and no trace of it exists. Today, the realigned line serves as the segment of the Metro-North Railroad Hudson Line between Mott Haven Junction and the West Side Line. The former Kingsbridge Freight Spur and station has been occupied by the grounds of the John F. Kennedy High School since the 1970s. The New York and Putnam Railroad spur remained until 1999.


title: Hudson Line (Metro-North)

text: As part of the construction of Grand Central Terminal in the early 1900s, all of New York Central's lines that ran into the terminal were electrified. Third rail was installed on the Hudson and Harlem Divisions, while the New Haven Division received overhead wires on the segments that were not shared with the Harlem and Hudson Division. The first electric train departed for the temporary Grand Central Station, from the Harlem Division's Highbridge station in the Bronx, on September 30, 1906. Electrification would eventually extend to Croton–Harmon station.


title: Hudson Line (Metro-North)

text: The former main line south of Spuyten Duyvil remained for freight to the docks along Manhattan's west side and minimal passenger service to the West Side Station on Chambers Street (used until 1916). Passenger service on this line, which became known as the 30th Street Branch continued until late 1929 or early 1930.


title: Hudson Line (Metro-North)

text: The New York Central operated many intercity and commuter trains over this line for many years. It was a key route in connecting Grand Central Terminal in New York to LaSalle Street Station in Chicago. Commuter service along the line was offered as far north as Albany Union Station, with 121 trains serving Albany per day during the NYC's peak years. The line last offered one train a day weekday service to intermediate local stations between Poughkeepsie and Albany (aside from Rhinecliff and Hudson, which persist today under Amtrak service) from Grand Central until it fell from the schedule in 1959. Hyde Park last appeared on the schedule in 1958.


title: Hudson Line (Metro-North)

text: At the end of World War II, private rail service began a sharp decline with the start of the Jet Age and the construction of the Interstate Highway System. NYC, facing declining year-over-year profits, merged in 1968 with its former rival, the Pennsylvania Railroad, forming the Penn Central Transportation Company. Penn Central continued to lose money and attempted several maneuvers to delay bankruptcy, including auctioning off the air rights of Grand Central Terminal; the Pennsylvania Railroad had done the same thing to Penn Station. However, this approval was denied, and the denial was affirmed in "Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York City", a 1978 decision by the United States Supreme Court.


title: Hudson Line (Metro-North)

text: On May 1, 1971, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation took over all intercity passenger service in the US. Penn Central continued to operate freight and commuter service along the Hudson line until it was folded into Conrail on April 1, 1976. Conrail continued to operate commuter service to Poughkeepsie & freight service north of Poughkeepsie (while, Amtrak's "Empire Service" continued to Albany and beyond). On July 1, 1973, along with several other stations in Penn Central's Metropolitan Region, the 138th Street, Oscawana and Manitou stops were closed. Manitou reopened in 1983.


title: Hudson Line (Metro-North)

text: On September 10, 1974, the MTA announced that work would start on the construction of high-level platforms at eleven stations in the Bronx and Manhattan including at the Marble Hill, Spuyten Duyvil, University Heights, Morris Heights and Riverdale stations on the Hudson Line. The entire project cost $2.8 million. The work was expected to be completed in the late summer of 1975. As part of the work, the University Heights, Morris Heights and Marble Hill stations had island platforms installed, while side platforms were installed at Riverdale and Spuyten Duyvil. All of the platforms on the Hudson Line were -long with the exception of a -long side platform at Spuyten Duyvil and a -long platform at Morris Heights, which was set to be lengthened at a later date. The abandoned station building at University Heights was removed as part of the project. High-level platforms at Spuyten Duyvil and Riverdale were completed in early 1975. On May 2, 1975, the new platforms on the Hudson Line were formally put into service. The completion was marked with a ceremony with the head of the MTA, David Yunich present. The completion of these five stations marked the completion of a $22.8 million project to install high-level platforms at 43 Penn Central stations. The high-level platforms allowed the new Metropolitan and Cosmopolitan to use the stations.


title: Hudson Line (Metro-North)

text: During the late 1970s, the Hudson Line's former northbound express track between Spuyten Duyvil and its merger with the Harlem Line was removed. The stations along the line between Spuyten Duyvil and Yankees–East 153rd Street were rebuilt on top of this track's roadbed.


title: Hudson Line (Metro-North)

text: In 1983, the MTA Metro-North Railroad took control of all commuter operations in the Hudson Valley. As part of the MTA's five-year capital program in 1982, the MTA planned to remove one of the four tracks on the line. The MTA expected that the change would provide more flexible train service as the line would have received a computerized system capable of running trains in either direction on the three tracks. As part of the plan, trains would have received cab signalling. The change was expected to be completed in three to four years. The New York State DOT and Amtrak were strongly opposed to the proposal as the plan did not take into account future growth of passenger and freight traffic, and reduced the ability to move around stalled trains. Converting the then-existing four tracks to reversible cab signaling would have cost $15 million, which the MTA did not have.


title: Hudson Line (Metro-North)

text: On May 23, 2009, a new station was opened at East 153rd Street in the Bronx to serve Yankee Stadium. It sees regular service on the Hudson Line, plus special service from the Hudson, Harlem, and New Haven Lines for New York Yankees games.


title: Hudson Line (Metro-North)

text: On December 1, 2013, a southbound train derailed near the Spuyten Duyvil station in the Bronx. Four people were killed and more than 60 passengers were injured in the crash. Federal investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board determined that the train was traveling at , a speed nearly three times the maximum allowable speed of . The train's brakes were apparently operating normally and area tracks in proper condition.


title: Hudson Line (Metro-North)

text: On November 13, 2018, the MTA announced its intent to purchase the Hudson and Harlem Lines as well as the Grand Central Terminal for up to $35.065 million, plus a discount rate of 6.25%. The purchase would include all inventory, operations, improvements, and maintenance associated with each asset, except for the air rights over Grand Central. At the time, the Hudson and Harlem Lines were owned by Argent Ventures, a holding company that had taken possession of Penn Central's assets upon its bankruptcy, while the Grand Central Terminal was owned by Midtown TDR Ventures. Under the terms of the leases for each asset, the MTA would only be able to exercise an option to purchase the three assets before October 2019. The MTA's finance committee approved the proposed purchase on November 13, 2018, and the purchase was approved by the full board two days later. The deal finally closed in March 2020, with the MTA taking ownership of the terminal and rail lines.


title: Hudson Line (Metro-North)

text: The MTA purchased the segment of the Hudson Line from Grand Central to a point north of Poughkeepsie. North of this point, milepost 75.8, the CSX Transportation-owned and Amtrak-operated Hudson Subdivision rail line continues north to Albany.


title: Hudson Line (Metro-North)

text: The southernmost of the Hudson Line, south of Spuyten Duyvil, is not parallel to the Hudson River. Much of the line in the Bronx parallels the Harlem River, while the entirety of the line in Manhattan follows Park Avenue. North of Spuyten Duyvil, the Hudson Line travels mostly parallel to the river (viewable on the left side northbound and the right side southbound) until the line terminates in Poughkeepsie.


title: Hudson Line (Metro-North)

text: Once past 125th Street and over the Harlem River, the Hudson Line departs from the track shared with the Harlem and New Haven Lines, passing first Yankees–East 153rd Street, which offers access to the lower Bronx and Yankee Stadium. After it is the employee-only Highbridge stop as it follows the river northward and, at first, the Major Deegan Expressway.


title: Hudson Line (Metro-North)

text: Marble Hill, technically in Manhattan despite being on the mainland, offers a transfer to the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line of the New York City Subway at the 225th Street station. A short curve away brings the trains to Spuyten Duyvil and its stairs to the street. Just past the station, the track rejoins the original Hudson River Railroad, shared with Amtrak, and after one more stop at Riverdale is out of New York City.


title: Hudson Line (Metro-North)

text: The Palisades present themselves across the river as trains pass through the city of Yonkers and its four stops, mostly local. A few express trains do stop at the recently renovated Yonkers station, the first where a transfer to Amtrak is possible.


title: Hudson Line (Metro-North)

text: Smaller, local-only suburban stations are passed as the Tappan Zee Bridge appears to the north and the river widens. Finally, between Irvington and Tarrytown, it passes overhead, as does the inevitable replacement known as the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge. Rockland County fades to almost away across Haverstraw Bay. But after passing through Sing Sing prison, the train reaches Ossining, where a ferry brings travelers across the wide river.


title: Hudson Line (Metro-North)

text: Electric trains end their runs one stop beyond, at Croton–Harmon, a terminal shared again with Amtrak just south of Harmon Yard and east of Croton Point. The tracks veer inland, closely following US 9, to the next and newest stop, Cortlandt, the only non-New York City station on the line where the Hudson River cannot be seen.


title: Hudson Line (Metro-North)

text: The Hudson River reappears at Peekskill, the last stop in the county, where the Bear Mountain Bridge can be seen to the north.


title: Hudson Line (Metro-North)

text: North of Peekskill the river narrows as the Hudson Highlands begin. Dunderberg and Bear mountains can be seen across the river. The train passes through two short tunnels, one under the Bear Mountain Bridge abutment. Putnam County's first station, Manitou, serves a small hamlet. Just north of Garrison, there is another tunnel and then a view of the stone buildings of West Point; the riverside village of Cold Spring is the next stop, last in the county.


title: Hudson Line (Metro-North)

text: The Dutchess County line is crossed in a pair of tunnels under Breakneck Ridge at Breakneck Point; across the river Storm King Mountain is seen. The Breakneck Ridge flag stop marks the end of the Highlands as the river once again broadens around Newburgh Bay. At Beacon, ferry service is available during peak hours to Newburgh, whose skyline is visible across the river, and shortly after leaving the train passes under the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge.


title: Hudson Line (Metro-North)

text: Just upriver is New Hamburg, a hamlet of the Town of Poughkeepsie and a station closed in the NYCRR days but eventually reopened. The last to Poughkeepsie's recently renovated station, including the vast Tilcon quarry, is the longest distance between any two stations on a Metro-North main line.


title: Hudson Line (Metro-North)

text: Electric service from and to Croton–Harmon uses the standard M3A and M7A multiple units also seen on the Metro-North Harlem Line. Diesel trains are headed by Genesis P32AC-DMs. These electro-diesels run off third-rail through the Park Avenue Tunnel. Turning the locomotives around at either end of the line would be cumbersome and time-consuming, so trains use push-pull operation with the locomotive usually on the north end of the train. They usually pull/push six or seven Shoreliner passenger cars with a cab car at the south end of the train.


title: Hudson Line (Metro-North)

text: The Genesis locomotives are mostly in Metro-North's silver-and-blue livery, but sometimes the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad's red-black-white palette can be seen as equipment on the line is pooled with ConnDOT, whose red-striped passenger coaches are also in wide use on the Hudson Line. The Metro-North-owned Genesis units received a new paint scheme in 2007.


title: Hudson Line (Metro-North)

text: As part of the Penn Station Access project, the MTA has proposed to send some Hudson Line trains to Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan. Hudson Line trains would access Penn Station via the Empire Connection, a segment of track owned by Amtrak. This segment currently used by Amtrak's Empire Corridor trains to access Penn Station, diverges from the Hudson Line between Riverdale and Spuyten Duyvil stations. The proposal includes the construction of two new Hudson Line stations along the Empire Connection in Manhattan; one near 125th Street in Manhattanville and the other near 62nd Street on the Upper West Side. The project would give Hudson Line riders a direct ride to destinations on the West Side.


title: Hudson Line (Metro-North)

text: Since the tracks continue north of Poughkeepsie, there have been various proposals over the years from both the MTA (Metro-North's parent agency) and Amtrak, to extend service northwards. New York Central and Penn Central operated rail service north of Poughkeepsie to Albany-Rensselaer until April 30, 1971; since then, only Amtrak's intercity trains continue beyond Poughkeepsie. Most proposals have been scratched after strong opposition from residents of northern Dutchess County, who fear the effect that an easy rail commute to midtown Manhattan would have on their still largely rural communities. They feared that their small towns would become strip malls. In 1999, Metro-North proposed to extend the line to Tivoli or just to Rhinecliff. Three new stops would have been built: at Tivoli, Staatsburg and Hyde Park. Service would have also stopped at Rhinecliff, which is served by Amtrak. Parking facilities would have been built at the stations, and a yard would have been built. The Draft Environmental Impact Study for the extension, which would have cost $3 million, was deemed as necessary as ridership on the northern part of the Hudson Line was growing faster than that of any other part of the system. The Federal Transit Administration provided some funding for the study. The Towns of Stanford, Milan, Red Hook and Rhinebeck and the Villages of Tivoli and Rhinebeck passed resolutions against the study. The study was not done because of significant opposition. However, Poughkeepsie-area commuters have supported such plans since they would ease pressure on that station. As recently as January 2007, supervisors of some towns north of Poughkeepsie have expressed new interest in extending rail service.


title: Hudson Line (Metro-North)

text: Milepost Zero on the Hudson Line is at the north property line of 42nd St (which is 200–300 feet south of the ends of the tracks). The Marble Hill Cutoff shortened the line by circa 1906, so Yonkers station (for example) is at milepost 15.24 but is about from the end of the tracks at GCT. The Hudson Line did not serve the stations in the Park Avenue tunnel.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: The 2019 election of members to the Senate of the Philippines was the 33rd election of members to the Senate of the Philippines for a six-year term. It was held on May 13, 2019.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: The seats of 12 senators elected in 2013 were contested during this election, and the senators that were elected in this election would serve up to June 30, 2025. The winners in this election joined the winners of the 2016 election to form the 18th Congress of the Philippines. The senators elected in 2016 would serve until June 30, 2022.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: The Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP–Laban), the ruling party headed by President Rodrigo Duterte, led its own administration coalition, the Hugpong ng Pagbabago.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: The Senate election was held concurrently with elections to the House of Representatives and local officials above the barangay level.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: Hugpong ng Pagbabago won overwhelmingly, while the main opposition coalition, Otso Diretso, was not able to win any seat in the Senate. Hugpong won 9 seats, while the Nationalist People's Coalition, United Nationalist Alliance, and an independent candidate won 1 seat each.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: A total of five women, or 42% of the seats contested, won the election, beating the previous record of four female winners set in 2013 (12 seats contested) and in 1992 (24 seats contested).


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: Senate elections in the Philippines are conducted via the plurality-at-large voting system, where the entire country is one at-large "district". Each voter can select up to twelve candidates (one vote per candidate), and the twelve candidates with the highest total number of votes are elected.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: Senators are term-limited to two consecutive terms, although they are eligible for a third non-consecutive term. Only half of the seats are up in every senatorial election. The winning senators succeeded those elected in 2013, and joined those elected in 2016 in the 18th Congress.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: Each party endorses a slate of candidates, typically not exceeding a 12-person ticket. A party may also choose to invite "guest candidates" to complete its slate. The party may even include, with the candidates' consent, independent candidates and candidates from other parties as the party's guest candidates. Parties also may form coalitions to endorse a multi-party slate of candidates.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: While the Philippines is a multi-party system, parties tend to group themselves into two major coalitions in midterm elections (e.g. Lakas-Laban vs NPC in 1995; PPC vs Puwersa ng Masa in 2001). This is opposed to senatorial elections in presidential election years where most presidential candidates also have senatorial slates. This results in an election where voters can choose between two major political forces. Sometimes a weaker third coalition is also formed.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: Winning candidates are proclaimed by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), sitting as the National Board of Canvassers. Candidates are proclaimed senators-elect if the thirteenth-place candidate no longer has a mathematical chance of surpassing the twelfth-place candidate. Post-proclamation disputes are handled by the Senate Electoral Tribunal, a body composed of six senators and three justices from the Supreme Court.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: As the 2016 Senate election was held concurrently with the presidential election, most of the presidential candidates also put up their respective senatorial slates. These slates shared several candidates, although most of the shared candidates only campaigned with one slate. The presidential election was won by Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP–Laban), while the vice presidency was won by the Liberal Party's Leni Robredo, the representative from Camarines Sur. Senator Bongbong Marcos disputed Robredo's victory, and his electoral protest was pending before the Presidential Electoral Tribunal at that time.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: Koko Pimentel, Duterte's party-mate, was elected as president of the Senate in July 2016 by a large majority, while a handful of Liberal Party senators comprised the minority; they were later joined by other Liberal Party members who had earlier voted for Pimentel, forming a six-person minority bloc in the Senate.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: Pimentel resigned from the Senate presidency on May 21, 2018. He was replaced by Tito Sotto of the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC), who was elected by majority of the senators.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: In October 2017, the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP–Laban) was only considering to form a coalition with the Nacionalista Party for the 2019 senatorial elections.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: In November 2017, PDP–Laban reportedly released a "partial list" of their senatorial slate for the 2019 edition consisting of six people. The party's president Koko Pimentel clarified that the list was not finalized and remarked that there was "no party decision yet". In January 2018, the House Speaker announced that the 6 candidates were now official. In February 2018, two more names were added to PDP–Laban's potential slate.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: Pimentel announced a shortlist of 20 names in April 2018. It included himself and the five other senators that were members of the majority bloc, several administration officials, representatives, and private citizens. Pimentel said that his list was not approved by Alvarez when he released it.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: By August 2018, Pimentel wrote to Duterte of their party's prospective candidates for the Senate. Pimentel divided the names into three groups: members of PDP–Laban, outsiders, and the incumbent senators of the majority bloc. Pimentel said that Duterte's decision would be final in the composition of their slate.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: In March 2018, a supposed Liberal Party slate was circulated on social media. The list of candidates included Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, Sen. Bam Aquino, former senators Teofisto Guingona III and Ramon Magsaysay Jr., former Pampanga governor Eddie Panlilio, former representative from Quezon Lorenzo Tañada III, representative from Albay Edcel Lagman, representative from Northern Samar Raul Daza, Magdalo Representative Gary Alejano, Representatives Jose Christopher Belmonte from Quezon City and Kaka Bag-ao from Dinagat Islands, and Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña. However, on April 2, Magsaysay said that he had no plans of returning to the Senate. Lagman, Daza, and Belmonte all denied that they were running for senator. Alejano, meanwhile, neither confirmed nor denied his plans. After multiple candidates denied interest in running, Senator Francis Pangilinan denied that this slate was an accurate list of Liberal Party candidates, as the official list had yet to be finalized.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: In April, Antonio Trillanes said that his Samahang Magdalo was cooperating with the Liberal Party, Akbayan and Tindig Pilipinas to put up an opposition coalition against the pro-Duterte parties. On April 24, Liberal Party and other groups urged Mar Roxas to run. By mid-May, the Liberal Party had settled on several names; however, Roxas himself declined to run. The Liberals intend to form a coalition with anti-Duterte groups, with the slate being named as "the Resistance". In June, Alejano announced his intention to run.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: Leni Robredo announced that she accepted the role of opposition leader in the election, and they released the line-up by mid-September. The line up may include former Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, who was removed from office by a "quo warranto" petition. By August, Roxas, in an interview at Robredo's radio show said that he was unsure of his plans in 2019. In early September, a list of 18 possible candidates was publicized by the coalition. The list included incumbent senator Paolo Benigno "Bam" Aquino IV, Magdalo representative Gary Alejano, former Department of Interior and Local Government secretary Manuel "Mar" Roxas II, former chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, former Quezon representative Lorenzo "Erin" Tañada III, lawyer Jose Manuel "Chel" Diokno, former Bangsamoro Transition Committee member Samira Gutoc, former Solicitor General Florin Hilbay, former Akbayan representative Ibarra "Barry" Gutierrez III, actor Dingdong Dantes, former presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda, writer Manuel Luis "Manolo" Quezon III, activist Leah Navarro, actress Agot Isidro, musician Jim Paredes, election lawyer Romulo Macalintal, former Social Welfare secretary Corazon "Dinky" Soliman, and ex-chief justice Hilario Davide Jr.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: By October 2018, before the 2019 general elections, the Liberal Party formed the Otso Diretso (), an electoral coalition led by the party that also comprises members of the Magdalo Party-List, Akbayan Citizens Action Party, and Akyson Demokratiko along with independent candidates. The coalition hopes to drive a new political culture based on political leaders practicing "makiking, matuto, kumilos" (listen, learn, take action), each candidate emphasizing the need for government to listen to its citizens. As part of the Liberal Party's efforts to instill this new political culture, it launched Project Makining in October 2018, a modern, nationwide listening campaign driven by volunteers. It aimed to find out what have been important to Filipinos, the basis for the messaging, strategy, and platform of the coalition.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: By June 2017, Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC), erstwhile chairman emeritus Danding Cojuangco returned as chairman, in an active leadership role. Senate Majority Leader Tito Sotto said Cojuangco was reportedly unsatisfied with how the party was being run, as leadership cannot agree on what direction to take.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: The party has considered all of the eligible incumbents from the majority bloc to run in its slate as "Friends of the party". Sotto also said that Bam Aquino, the only non-term limited incumbent from the minority bloc, was also invited to run in their slate. Aquino is the nephew of NPC founder Cojuangco who Sotto said would personally help Aquino in the latter's campaign. Sotto announced in July 2018 that Senator JV Ejercito and former senator Lito Lapid would run under the NPC banner. Ejercito said this was to avoid his running together with his half-brother Jinggoy Estrada, under the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino. Lapid was formerly from the-then moribund Lakas–CMD.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: Hugpong ng Pagbabago, Davao City mayor Sara Duterte's regional political party in the Davao Region formed in mid-2018, reportedly had national parties it wanted to forge alliances with. By August, the Hugpong had established alliances with the Nacionalista Party, Nationalist People's Coalition, the National Unity Party, and six other local parties. In August, incumbent senator Cynthia Villar announced that she would seek reelection. The coalition also supported the candidacies of Governor Imee Marcos and Representative Pia Cayetano.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: A new political party called the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (Federal Party of the Philippines) was launched and accredited by the Commission on Election on October 8, 2018. It elected Land Bank of the Philippines director Jesus Hinlo as president. On October 17, 2018, the party nominated three senatorial candidates for the 2019 midterm elections, namely Maria Socorro Manahan, Elmer Francisco, and Diosdado Padilla.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: A new political party, led by Consultative Committee on Constitutional Amendments member Ding Generoso fielded nine candidates in this mid-term election.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: It was disputed if Koko Pimentel (PDP–Laban) had already been on his second term, considering he only took over from Juan Miguel Zubiri's seat after the latter resigned and Pimentel won his electoral protest against him.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: Alan Peter Cayetano, who was on his second consecutive term, resigned from the Senate in order to become Secretary of Foreign Affairs on May 18, 2017. It left one vacant seat and since it was vacated less than three years before Cayetano's term would have expired, no special election was held to fill the seat. Cayetano resigned as foreign affairs secretary on October 17, 2018 and filed his candidacy as House representative from Pateros and Taguig's 1st district. Cayetano eventually won the election, and was later elected House Speaker. Cayetano ran for senator in 2022 and won.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: Half of the seats in the Senate, or the 12 seats disputed in odd-numbered years since 1995, were up in the 2019 senatorial election.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: Opinion polling, locally known as "surveys" in the Philippines, is conducted by Social Weather Stations (SWS), Pulse Asia and other pollsters. The first poll released through by the DZRH website reportedly done by SWS in December 2017 was not posted in SWS's official website, and SWS neither confirmed nor denied the existence of the survey when asked by the Philippine Star, leading to speculation that it was commissioned by a third party.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: This list includes all individuals named by at least 10% of respondents in any of the nine conducted surveys. The top 16 candidates with the highest favourability in each poll are listed below, where the top 12 is marked with a "black line". For a comprehensive list of all individuals included in the surveys, see the main article.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: On February 28, 2019, Otso Diretso candidates Gary Alejano, Samira Gutoc, Florin Hilbay, and Romulo Macalintal wrote a letter to the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), requesting to facilitate a debate with administration-supported party Hugpong ng Pagbabago. Otso Diretso said that the debate "would benefit not only the senatorial aspirants, but mainly the voting public." Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte slammed the former for being "fixated" on debates. Prior to this, on February 25, the day of the 33rd anniversary of People Power Revolution, Otso Diretso had challenged the Hugpong ng Pagbabago candidates for public debate but none of them showed up in the event. On March 8, the COMELEC rejected the request of debate by Otso Diretso.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: Debates independently organized outside of COMELEC were still done. GMA Network had their debate on February. On February and March, ABS-CBN organized series of debates entitled ""Harapan"" (). CNN Philippines held a debate in the University of Santo Tomas (site of their leg of the 2016 vice presidential debate) which was attended by 11 candidates on April.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: In February, Cebu representative Gwendolyn Garcia was dismissed by the Ombudsman for a corruption case and barred her from seeking public positions from 2019 onward, but Garcia said that she would appeal the dismissal at the courts.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: Candidates campaigning from detention were previously allowed; Senator Antonio Trillanes ran and won in 2007 despite being jailed for taking part in the Oakwood mutiny. Trillanes was ultimately convicted of participating in a coup d'etat after winning, but accepted the amnesty passed by Congress that was proposed by President Benigno Aquino III. While convicts are not allowed to run anymore unless pardoned or accepting an amnesty, these people had pending cases as of yet and were innocent until proven guilty.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: As this was a midterm election, it served as a "de facto" referendum on the policies of the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte, such as pursuing the Philippine Drug War, bringing back the death penalty, federalism in the Philippines, and the Bangsamoro peace process, among other things.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: One of President Rodrigo Duterte's promises during the 2016 election campaign was to revise the current constitution and to shift the country from a unitary form to a federal form. On September 29, 2017, PDP–Laban presented a draft constitution to Congress.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: The House of Representatives, through Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez began its own hearings on constitutional change without the participation of the Senate. Alvarez took a hard line on the interpretation that voting via the Constituent Assembly would be joint, instead of the two chambers voting separately, as is the usual. A joint vote would've rendered the Senate's votes as virtually meaningless, as the representatives outnumbered them by almost 300–23. Senators maintained that voting must be done separately. Senator Grace Poe moved that all moves to make the Senate irrelevant in the proposed constitution be rejected by the Senate, and supported Panfilo Lacson's suggestion that any vote be separate.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: This is how the Senate has been currently constituted. On July 25, 2016, voting 20–3, senators elected Koko Pimentel as the new Senate President. The senators who voted for Pimentel became the majority bloc. Senator Francis Escudero then nominated Senator Ralph Recto, a member of the Liberal Party, for the presidency. Senator Antonio Trillanes seconded Escudero's nomination. During nominal voting, Pimentel voted for Recto. Recto voted for Pimentel. After losing the vote, Recto automatically became the Minority Leader. He was joined by Escudero and Trillanes. Drilon was later elected Senate President Pro-Tempore while Sotto was elected Majority Leader.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: On February 27, 2017, Senator Manny Pacquiao, a key administration ally, moved to remove from key positions LP senators Franklin Drilon, Francis Pangilinan and Bam Aquino and opposition-allied Risa Hontiveros (Akbayan). Drilon was removed as Senate President Pro-Tempore, Pangilinan was relieved as agriculture committee chairman, and Aquino was sacked as education committee chairman. Hontiveros was also removed as health committee head. The revamp prompted the LP senators to shift to the minority bloc. De Lima later joined them. Senator Ralph Recto, who used to be the Senate Minority Leader, was elected to replace Drilon as Senate President Pro-Tempore.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: Winning candidates were proclaimed on May 22. Nine candidates in the Hugpong ng Pagbabago slate won. None of the Otso Diretso candidates won, while three won who were not from either slate.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: Five incumbents won reelection: Cynthia Villar, Grace Poe, Sonny Angara, Koko Pimentel and Nancy Binay.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: Four neophytes won election: Bong Go, Ronald dela Rosa, Imee Marcos and Francis Tolentino. Go and dela Rosa won their first elections.