title: Laura Robson

text: Her first match on the WTA Tour was courtesy of a wildcard into the Luxembourg Open. She lost in the first round against world No. 42, Iveta Benešová. Returning to the ITF Circuit, Robson entered as the fifth seed in a $10k event held in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. After beating third seed Laura-Ioana Andrei in the quarterfinals, she also beat fellow Brits Tara Moore and Samantha Vickers in straight sets to win her first ITF title at the age of 14 years and 9 months.


title: Laura Robson

text: Robson returned to the junior circuit for the first half of 2009. On 9 June, Wimbledon announced that Robson received a wildcard for the singles event. She faced former world No. 5 and 2002 Wimbledon quarterfinalist, Daniela Hantuchová, in the first round but lost despite being a break up in the second set. With Georgie Stoop she also entered into the doubles tournament, progressing to the second round before losing to 16th seeds, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Amélie Mauresmo.


title: Laura Robson

text: In August 2009, Robson received also a wildcard into the US Open qualifying. She defeated Stéphanie Foretz in the first round in straight sets, and went on to beat Anikó Kapros of Hungary. In the final round, she lost to Eva Hrdinová, after leading 4–1 in the third set.


title: Laura Robson

text: On 17 October, Robson entered the qualifying draw at the Luxembourg Open. In the first round, she defeated world No. 180, Zuzana Ondrášková, and in the second Julia Görges, the world No. 79. In the final round of qualifying, she lost to Maria Elena Camerin. On 10 November, Robson beat Yuliya Beygelzimer in the first round of the Minsk ITF event. She defeated Tetyana Arefyeva in the second round but was defeated in the quarterfinals by Vitalia Diatchenko.


title: Laura Robson

text: Robson began the season playing with Andy Murray in the Hopman Cup, as part of Britain's first team in the tournament since 1992. She lost her opening match to Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan. Later in the day she won the mixed-doubles match against Kazakhstan, partnering with Murray to secure a win. Robson was defeated by Germany's Sabine Lisicki but won the mixed doubles against Germany. Robson and Murray defeated Russia to advance to the finals. Despite her first win of the tournament against world No. 26, María José Martínez Sánchez, Robson and Murray lost to Spain's Martínez Sánchez and Tommy Robredo in a very close match.


title: Laura Robson

text: Robson was granted a wildcard in the qualifying draw for the women's singles of the Australian Open. In her first match, she defeated Sophie Ferguson of Australia. In her second match, she lost to Michaëlla Krajicek. Robson, however, received a wildcard into the main draw of the doubles, partnering Sally Peers. They defeated Jill Craybas and Abigail Spears to set up a second-round clash with the 12th seeds Chuang Chia-jung and Květa Peschke, who they beat in straight sets. Peers and Robson won their third-round clash with Vera Dushevina and Anastasia Rodionova to advance to the quarterfinals, before falling to the No. 15 seeds, Maria Kirilenko and Agnieszka Radwańska.


title: Laura Robson

text: After the Australian Open, Robson did not play again until the start of April. In her third tournament back, she made the semifinal losing to Edina Gallovits of the ITF event in Dothan, after having to qualify for the main draw. She also played in the doubles, and after reaching the quarterfinals, she reached a career high of No. 102 for doubles. She followed this up with a quarterfinal appearance in Charlottesville losing to Anastasiya Yakimova.


title: Laura Robson

text: She then qualified for the main draw of the Aegon Classic in Edgbaston, after receiving a wildcard for the qualifying. She beat Nina Bratchikova and Vitalia Diatchenko. Robson then went on to win her first-ever match on the WTA Tour, after her opponent Stefanie Vögele retired during the second set of their first-round match. She lost to the third seed Yanina Wickmayer in the second round. She also received a wildcard for the Rosmalen Open but was beaten by Dominika Cibulková in the first round.


title: Laura Robson

text: She received a wildcard for Wimbledon, and faced fourth seed Jelena Janković to whom she lost in two sets. Robson's next senior level competition was a GB Pro-Series event at Woking. Seeded seventh, her first senior seeding, she reached the quarterfinals. Her next competitive match did not come till the end of August 2010, when she entered the qualifying tournament for the US Open. In the first round she shocked second seed Jelena Dokić. She beat Vesna Manasieva, but lost in the third round to Nuria Llagostera Vives.


title: Laura Robson

text: On 21 September, Robson announced that she was to split with her coach Martijn Bok, as Bok was unwilling to meet her more demanding 2011 tour schedule.


title: Laura Robson

text: Robson next competed in the Pan Pacific Open. She beat world No. 57, Anastasija Sevastova, in the first round of qualifying and reached the main draw by beating world No. 100, Simona Halep. She was defeated in the first round of the main draw by the experienced 31-year-old player Gréta Arn.


title: Laura Robson

text: For 2011, Robson hired a new coach, Frenchman Patrick Mouratoglou, and moved her working base to Paris. Her season was disrupted by injury at the Hopman Cup and she did not compete in a tournament until March 2011; her comeback was then delayed for a further month by an injury in her second competition. Returning again at the end of April 2011, Robson's best performance to date came at the $50k tournament at Indian Harbor Beach, Florida, where she reached the semifinals. Robson split from Mouratoglou just before Wimbledon. She then won her first match at a Grand Slam tournament as she defeated Angelique Kerber, but lost to Maria Sharapova in the second round.


title: Laura Robson

text: At the US Open, Robson won her three qualifying matches to advance into the main draw. In the first round of the main draw, she was leading when her opponent, Ayumi Morita, retired from the match. She was then beaten by Anabel Medina Garrigues.


title: Laura Robson

text: Robson came through three rounds of qualifying at the Australian Open, beating Melanie Oudin, Anna Floris and Olga Savchuk to advance to the main draw for the first time. She lost to 13th seed Jelena Janković in the first round.


title: Laura Robson

text: Robson was selected for the first time in her career to be a member of British Fed Cup team to play in the Europe/Africa Group-1 match at Eilat, Israel, on 1–4 February 2012. In the group stages she played doubles with Heather Watson, defeating pairs from Portugal, Netherlands and Israel in the group stages. Robson and Watson did not need to play the play-off match against Austria as Anne Keothavong and Elena Baltacha won their singles rubbers, and the 2–0 lead qualified the team for a place in the World Group-II promotion play-off in April 2012.


title: Laura Robson

text: Robson lost in the third round of qualifying for the 2012 French Open at Roland Garros. However, she got a place in the first round of the main draw as a lucky loser when Sílvia Soler Espinosa withdrew, but then lost her first-round match to Anabel Medina Garrigues.


title: Laura Robson

text: After a second round showing at the Birmingham Classic (lost to Marina Erakovic), Robson came through qualifying at the Eastbourne International. She reached the second round before losing to Ekaterina Makarova. However, the result helped Robson break into the top 100 for the first time in her career. In the first round of Wimbledon, Robson lost to Francesca Schiavone in three sets.


title: Laura Robson

text: Immediately after Wimbledon, Robson entered the Palermo Open where she reached her first ever WTA Tour semifinal. After beating the world No. 240, Valentyna Ivakhnenko, for the loss of just one game in the first round, she shocked the No. 2 seed and world No. 27, Roberta Vinci, in straight sets to reach her first ever WTA quarterfinal. She continued her good form in the quarterfinal, where she emerged victorious against No. 5 seed, Carla Suárez Navarro, in three sets. However, her run came to an end when she lost in the semifinals to Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová in three sets. Robson then received a wildcard to enter the main draw of the Swedish Open but lost her first match against Medina Garrigues.


title: Laura Robson

text: She received a late place into the women's singles at the 2012 Olympics due to the withdrawal of Croatian Petra Martić. In her first-round match, she beat the world No. 22, Lucie Šafářová, in straight sets, setting up a second round encounter with Maria Sharapova. She lost to the Russian world No. 3 in a tightly contested match. She also competed in the doubles competition with Heather Watson, losing in the first round to the German pairing of Angelique Kerber and Sabine Lisicki. She then received a wildcard entry into the mixed doubles with Andy Murray. They were drawn against Czech pair Lucie Hradecká and Radek Štěpánek in the first round and won in three sets. In the second round, the pair beat the Australian duo of Lleyton Hewitt and Samantha Stosur, and reached the final by beating Germans Sabine Lisicki and Christopher Kas, where they were beaten by the Belarusian pair Victoria Azarenka and Max Mirnyi.


title: Laura Robson

text: Robson had direct entry to the main draw of the US Open from her WTA ranking, where she defeated Samantha Crawford in the first round. In the second she defeated former US Open champion Kim Clijsters in Clijsters' final singles match before her retirement. Robson consequently reached the third round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in her career and joined Serena Williams, Lindsay Davenport, Venus Williams, Amélie Mauresmo and Justine Henin as one of the only six people to beat Clijsters at the US Open championships, and the first player to beat her there since 2003. She followed up her performance with her first victory over a top-ten player, beating ninth seed Li Na in the third round, in three sets. Robson became the first female British tennis player to reach this stage of a Grand Slam tournament since Samantha Smith reached the fourth round of Wimbledon 14 years previously, but she was defeated by defending champion Stosur, ending her best run at a Grand Slam tournament to date.


title: Laura Robson

text: Her next appearance was at the Guangzhou Open where she beat the then world No. 22, Zheng Jie, and the No. 3 seed Sorana Cîrstea on the way to her first WTA Tour final against Hsieh Su-wei. This was the first WTA singles final for any British woman since Jo Durie in 1990. Robson was eventually defeated, having saved five championship points in the second set and despite taking a 3–0 lead in the third set. The result pushed her ranking inside the top 70 for the first time.


title: Laura Robson

text: Robson qualified for the main draw of the China Open after defeating Garbiñe Muguruza and Johanna Larsson and reached the second round but she lost to Lourdes Domínguez Lino in straight sets. At the Japan Open in Osaka, she was seeded eighth, the first time in her career she had been seeded at a WTA tournament. She reached the quarterfinals before losing to Chang Kai-chen in three sets, but the result ensured that she finished the year with a ranking of 53.


title: Laura Robson

text: In October, Robson was nominated for the Sports Journalists' Association Sportswoman of the Year. In November, along with Heather Watson, won "Young Sportswoman of the Year" at the "2012 Sunday Times Sportswomen of the Year Awards". Robson was also nominated for "WTA Newcomer of the Year" and "William Hill" "Sportswoman of the Year" in November, winning the former award.


title: Laura Robson

text: At the start of the year, Robson had reached the top 50 for the first time in her career. She followed this with her first victory at the Australian Open with a convincing straight sets victory over Melanie Oudin. In the second round she played former Wimbledon champion, and fellow left-hander, Petra Kvitová. Robson came back after losing the first set to beat Kvitová in a three-hour match, to set up a third-round meeting with Sloane Stephens. After stopping for several shoulder treatments, Robson was eventually beaten in two sets. After the Australian Open, Robson played six matches in Fed Cup competition that saw Great Britain earn a World Group II play-off spot against Argentina. Following this success, she went on to lose two successive matches, losing to Daniela Hantuchová in Doha and to wildcard Yulia Putintseva in Dubai.


title: Laura Robson

text: At Indian Wells, Robson lost her first-round match against Sofia Arvidsson in three sets. Her next tournament was at Miami. In the singles, Robson reached the second round before losing to Alizé Cornet. In the doubles Laura Robson was given a wildcard to play with Lisa Raymond. The pair reached the final, beating the world No. 1 pairing of Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci, in straight sets in the semifinals, before losing to Nadia Petrova and Katarina Srebotnik.


title: Laura Robson

text: Robson was seeded 16th at Charleston and reached the second round before losing to Eugenie Bouchard in three sets. At the Katowice Open, Robson was seeded eighth, but lost in the first round to Lourdes Domínguez Lino.


title: Laura Robson

text: Robson represented Great Britain in the Fed Cup World Group II play-off against Argentina. After Johanna Konta lost her opening rubber to Paula Ormaechea, Robson easily won her first match over Florencia Molinero. Robson lost her second match against Paula Ormaechea in three sets.


title: Laura Robson

text: After several first-round defeats at the start to the European clay-court season, Robson defeated world No. 4, Agnieszka Radwańska, in the second round of the Madrid Open. She subsequently lost to former world No. 1, Ana Ivanovic, in the next round, having led 5–2 in the final set. Robson then made her debut at the Italian Open where she defeated Venus Williams in the first round but subsequently lost to her sister, world No. 1 and eventual champion, Serena Williams, in the second round. At the French Open Robson was beaten in the first round by former world No. 1, Caroline Wozniacki, in straight sets.


title: Laura Robson

text: To begin the grass-court season, Robson entered the Birmingham Classic where she was seeded seventh. Despite the seeding, she lost in straight sets to the eventual champion Daniela Hantuchová. She then participated in the Eastbourne International. In the first round, she faced Yuliya Beygelzimer in which she won in straight sets. In the second round, she lost to Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets for the second time in a row.


title: Laura Robson

text: In the first round of Wimbledon, she was drawn against the No. 10 seed Maria Kirilenko, whom she beat in straight sets. She beat world No. 117, Mariana Duque, in the second round on Centre Court. In the third round, she came from a set down to beat Marina Erakovic to progress to the last 16 where she was beaten by Kaia Kanepi. Her performance pushed her up to 27 in the world, the first Briton in the top 30 since Jo Durie in 1987.


title: Laura Robson

text: Robson started her US Open Series campaign on 30 July 2013 at the Southern California Open in Carlsbad being drawn against Ayumi Morita, whom she beat having come back from a set down in two hours and 40 minutes. Laura moved into the second round faced with the world No. 7 Petra Kvitová from Czech Republic but lost in straight sets putting an end to her Southern California Open.


title: Laura Robson

text: To start the Canadian Open in Toronto, Robson was due to play Yanina Wickmayer on 5 August 2013 in her opening match, but had to pull out due to a wrist injury. The same injury also led to her pulling out of the tournament in Cincinnati, however her ranking of No. 32 meant that she would be seeded at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in her career, entering the US Open as the 30th seed.


title: Laura Robson

text: At the US Open, Robson returned after intensive rehab on her wrist injury and began her campaign against Spain's Lourdes Domínguez Lino, whom she had lost to twice previously. After winning a scrappy first set, Robson powered through the second at love. In the second round, she faced world No. 75 Caroline Garcia, and won in two tight sets. She then fell in straight sets in the next round to Li Na in the same place they had played last year, where Robson had won. The fifth seed Li powered 11 aces to beat her 12-year younger opponent, Robson in straight sets. After a break of around three weeks, Robson returned to action at the Guangzhou Open, a tournament in which she was a finalist the previous year. She started strongly, with straight sets wins over qualifier Jovana Jakšić in the first round, and Zheng Saisai in the second round. She subsequently lost to another Chinese player in Zheng Jie, despite taking the first set 6–1.


title: Laura Robson

text: In October 2013, it was announced that Miles Maclagan's coaching partnership with Laura had ended and that she would be taking a couple of weeks out and starting the search for a new coach.


title: Laura Robson

text: Robson started her 2014 season at the Hobart International, where she had to retire in her first round match against Yanina Wickmayer due to a left wrist injury. Her wrist continued to affect her at the Australian Open, where Kirsten Flipkens defeated her in straight sets. After taking three-months rest from the tour, Robson underwent surgery on her left wrist in April. The surgery forced her to miss the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open, and although Robson initially hoped to be playing by the end of the season, she only started training in October, and did not play again in 2014.


title: Laura Robson

text: Robson did not enter the Australian Open in 2015 and subsequently left the WTA rankings, having not competed for 12 months. Robson planned to return at the $25k tournament at Surprise, Arizona, but delayed her return and did not enter another ITF event in February. She declined a wildcard into the qualifying event of the Miami Masters in March. Her agent Eisenbund stated that she had not suffered a setback, and was "closer and closer" to a return.


title: Laura Robson

text: After an absence of a year and a half, Robson's first competitive match was at the qualifying draw of the Eastbourne International in June. She lost to top-seed Daria Gavrilova, in straight sets. Robson was granted a wildcard to compete at Wimbledon, but she was defeated in the first round by Evgeniya Rodina.


title: Laura Robson

text: In July 2015, she played at the $50k event in Granby and won a tough three-set match over second seed Naomi Osaka. However, she lost her next match to American qualifier Ellie Halbauer. Robson also reached the final in doubles partnering Erin Routliffe. In Gatineau, she retired from her first-round match, generating fear that her wrist injury had returned, but Robson said that she had been hampered by a stomach strain she had suffered during practice.


title: Laura Robson

text: After receiving some further surgery on her wrist at the end of 2015, Robson took some more time off from tennis and subsequently missed the Australian Open. She started off the year playing some American Challenger events, with limited success. She made her return to WTA events by using her protected ranking to enter Indian Wells. Here she made a reasonable effort in her first round but lost to Magdaléna Rybáriková who subsequently went on to reach the quarterfinals of the event. She also received a wildcard entry into the main draw of Miami and used her protected ranking to enter into the qualifying of Charleston but lost in the first round at both events.


title: Laura Robson

text: Robson later won her first WTA match since her injury in 2013 by beating Klára Koukalová, 6–2, 6–3 in the qualifying of Stuttgart. However, she lost her next match in qualifying to Océane Dodin in straight sets. She also claimed her first main-draw WTA victory since 2013 in Rabat by defeating local wildcard Ghita Benhadi in straight sets. However, she later lost her next match to Tímea Babos.


title: Laura Robson

text: Robson also used her protected ranking to enter Premier clay events in Madrid and Rome, where she lost her first round matches to Victoria Azarenka and Christina McHale, respectively. She had put on a promising display against Azarenka, but was unable to convert 8 out of nine breakpoints, allowing Azarenka to clinch victory in straight sets. Robson was awarded a wildcard into Wimbledon for a second year, but was defeated in 69 minutes by Angelique Kerber in the first round in an error-strewn performance.


title: Laura Robson

text: In August Robson won a second tier ITF tournament in USA. She was then given a wildcard entry to the 2016 US Open qualifying tournament. Straight-set victories over Jang Su-jeong, Isabella Shinikova and Tatjana Maria gained her entry to the main draw of the tournament, losing in the first round to fellow Brit Naomi Broady, 7–6, 3–6, 4–6.


title: Laura Robson

text: Post-US Open, Robson lost in the first round in four out of six ITF tournaments, including a loss to a player ranked 1048.


title: Laura Robson

text: Robson began her 2017 season at the Auckland, but lost in the first round of qualifying to Tereza Martincová. At the Australian Open, she also lost in the first round of qualifying to Amandine Hesse, in straight sets. She then played in the $60k tournament at Andrézieux-Bouthéon and reached the quarterfinals, before losing in straight sets to Amra Sadiković. Between the end of January and the beginning of May, Robson reached three quarterfinals on the ITF Circuit. Robson won the biggest title of her career at a $60k tournament in Kurume, Fukuoka, defeating fellow Briton Katie Boulter in straight sets. The tournament win moved her up 80 places in the ranking, causing her to reach the top 200 for the first time since 2014.


title: Laura Robson

text: At the beginning of her grass-court season, Robson played the $100k event in Surbiton, but lost in the first round to Marina Erakovic. She then played at Nottingham, but fell to Julia Boserup in the first round. She reached the second round of the Ilkley $100k event before falling to Maryna Zanevska in three sets. She received a wildcard for Wimbledon, but lost in the first round to Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia.


title: Laura Robson

text: She continued to struggle with form throughout the latter half of the season post-Wimbledon, losing eleven matches and winning just seven on the ITF Circuit, including a loss in the first round of the qualifying draw at the US Open to world No. 311, Alla Kudryavtseva.


title: Laura Robson

text: Robson was unable to play in the Australian Open qualifying draw as her ranking – at 230 – remained too low to gain direct entry. She did, however, play in the first round of the women's doubles draw with CoCo Vandeweghe, which they lost in straight sets. The following week, she lost in the first round of the Burnie International to world No. 415, Jennifer Elie, but won the doubles title partnering Vania King.


title: Laura Robson

text: After eight months recovering from surgery, Robson returned to tennis on 12 February at the $60k in Shrewsbury, losing to Kathinka von Deichmann, in three sets. Robson's world ranking at this point was 511. She then entered the Bolton $25k qualifying tournament in April, and reached round two before falling to Tara Moore, in straight sets. The following week, Robson entered the $25k Sunderland qualifying and beat Ellie Tsimbilakis, in straight sets, and Alicia Barnett in the match tiebreaker to qualify for the main draw. This was her first main-draw appearance after her comeback. She won her first-round match in a tight three-setter but eventually fell to fellow Brit and top seed Harriet Dart, after having to retire before the second set. However, this injury was not considered serious, and Robson stated she planned to play some tournaments in about two weeks time.


title: Laura Robson

text: In spite of this, Robson was not to play again for the rest of the year and announced in December that she had decided to have another operation on her hip.


title: Laura Robson

text: After missing the entire 2020 and 2021 seasons following continuous injuries and multiple hip surgeries, Robson announced her retirement from the sport shortly before the 2022 French Open.


title: Laura Robson

text: Robson played left-handed, with a two-handed backhand. One of her strengths was her "dominant" serve. She had a strong game from the back of the court and was also noted for having an aggressive forehand return. However, she has been criticised for having "poor lateral movement", as well as an inconsistent second serve, resulting in a considerable number of double faults. She has been praised for showing "extraordinary poise", and having "the attitude and technique required of a leading player". Commentator Simon Reed said that she "has every tool she needs", and former Grand Slam champion Pat Cash called her "a special talent" who "seems to have all the attributes to progress". Former WTA player Ana Ivanovic said that Robson "hits the ball really, really hard", former top British player Samantha Smith said that "she doesn't have any weaknesses at all", and Serena Williams stated that Robson is an "all-around good player". Robson's favourite surface to play on was grass and her favourite shot was her forehand down the line.


title: Leonid Rogozov

text: Leonid Ivanovich Rogozov (; 14 March 1934 – 21 September 2000) was a Soviet general practitioner who took part in the sixth Soviet Antarctic Expedition, 1960–1961. In April 1961 he had developed appendicitis while at Novolazarevskaya Station, and being the only medical professional there at the time, had to perform his own appendectomy.


title: Leonid Rogozov

text: Leonid Rogozov was born in Borzinsky District Dauriya Station, Chita Oblast, a remote village in eastern Siberia, a little over 10 miles from the Soviet border with Mongolia and China, near Manzhouli. His father was killed in World War II in 1943. In 1953, Rogozov completed his studies at a secondary school in Minusinsk, Krasnoyarsk Krai, and was admitted to the Saint Petersburg State Pediatric Medical Academy Leningrad Pediatric Medical Institute now Saint Petersburg. After graduating in 1959 as a general practitioner, he started clinical training to specialise in surgery. In September 1960, at the age of 26, he interrupted his training and joined the sixth Soviet Antarctic Expedition as a medical doctor.


title: Leonid Rogozov

text: From September 1960 until October 1962, Rogozov worked in Antarctica, in his role as the sole doctor for a team of thirteen researchers at the Novolazarevskaya Station, established in January 1961.


title: Leonid Rogozov

text: On the morning of 29 April 1961, Rogozov experienced general weakness, nausea, and moderate fever, and later pain in the lower right portion of his abdomen. None of the possible conservative treatments helped. By 30 April signs of localised peritonitis became apparent, and his condition worsened considerably by the evening. Mirny, the nearest Soviet research station, was more than 1,000 miles from Novolazarevskaya. Antarctic research stations of other countries did not have an aircraft available. Severe blizzard conditions prevented aircraft landing in any case. Rogozov had no option but to perform an operation on himself.


title: Leonid Rogozov

text: The operation started at 02:00 local time on 1 May with the help of a driver and meteorologist, who provided instruments and held a mirror so Rogozov could observe areas not directly visible. Rogozov lay in a semi-reclining position, half-turned to his left side. A solution of 0.5% novocaine was used for local anesthesia of the abdominal wall. Rogozov made a 10–12 cm incision of the abdominal wall, but while opening the peritoneum he accidentally cut the cecum and had to suture it. Then he exposed the appendix. According to his report, the appendix was found to have a dark stain at its base, and Rogozov estimated it would have burst within a day. The appendix was resected and antibiotics were applied directly into the peritoneal cavity. General weakness and nausea developed about 30–40 minutes after the start of the operation so that short pauses for rest were repeatedly needed after that. By about 04:00 the operation was complete.


title: Leonid Rogozov

text: After the operation gradual improvement occurred in the signs of peritonitis and in the general condition of Rogozov. Body temperature returned to normal after five days, and the stitches were removed seven days after the operation. He resumed his regular duties in about two weeks.


title: Leonid Rogozov

text: The self-surgery, which was photographed by his colleagues, captured the imagination of the Soviet public at the time. In 1961 he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour. The incident resulted in a change of policy, and thereafter, extensive health checks were mandatory for personnel to be deployed on such expeditions.


title: Leonid Rogozov

text: In October 1962, Rogozov returned to Leningrad and started working on an MD at his alma mater. In September 1966 he published a dissertation entitled "Resection of the esophagus for treating esophageal cancer". He later worked as a doctor in various hospitals in Leningrad. From 1986 to 2000 he served as the head of the surgery department of Saint Petersburg Research Institute for Tubercular Pulmonology.


title: Farmington, New Mexico

text: Farmington is a city in San Juan County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 census the city had a total population of 46,624 people. Farmington (and surrounding San Juan County) makes up one of the four Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in New Mexico.


title: Farmington, New Mexico

text: Farmington is located at the junction of the San Juan River, the Animas River, and the La Plata River, and is located on the Colorado Plateau. Farmington is the largest city of San Juan County, one of the geographically largest counties in the United States covering . Farmington serves as the commercial hub for most of northwestern New Mexico and the Four Corners region of four states. Farmington lies at or near the junction of several important highways: U.S. Highway 64, New Mexico Highway 170, New Mexico Highway 371, and New Mexico Highway 516.


title: Farmington, New Mexico

text: The primary non-government industries of Farmington are the production of petroleum, natural gas, and coal and its function as a major retail hub. Outside of Farmington, the Navajo Mine (coal), operated by the Navajo Transitional Energy Company (NTEC), is used entirely for fuel for the nearby Four Corners Generating Station to produce electric power.


title: Farmington, New Mexico

text: The area that is now Farmington was settled by Ancestral Pueblo people in the 7th Century. Ruins can be visited at nearby Salmon Ruins and at the Aztec Ruins. When the Ancestral Puebloans left the area, the Navajos, Jicarilla Apaches, and Utes moved into the area. A key part of the region was known in Navajo as "Tóta"' which means "where three rivers meet".


title: Farmington, New Mexico

text: Although Spanish and American mineral prospecting happened in the area, there were few permanent settlements. In 1868, the Navajo Nation was created, taking up the western half of San Juan County. Six years later, the U.S. government offered territory in the rest of San Juan County to the Jicarilla Apache but they refused. As a result, the area was opened for settlement and a number of settlers moved into the region from Southern Colorado. The area was originally known as "Junction City" because of the access to the three rivers.


title: Farmington, New Mexico

text: In 1901 the town was incorporated and named Farmington with a population of 548. By September 19, 1905, the railroad was finished connecting Farmington to Durango, Colorado, expanding economic and settlement opportunities. It was unusual in that it was a standard gauge railroad that connected to the Denver & Rio Grande Western narrow gauge lines of southwestern Colorado. The railroad converted the line to narrow gauge in 1923. The line was abandoned in 1968 and the line was dismantled to Durango in 1969. In addition, in the 1920s there was significant investment in natural gas and oil in the area, although actual production remained low until the 1950s. With construction of a developed road connecting Farmington to U.S. Route 66 and Albuquerque in the 1940s and the construction of the San Juan Basin Natural Gas Pipeline in 1953 – a venture led by Tom Bolack – the population expanded significantly. It grew from 3,637 in 1950 to 35,000 in 1953 and the expansion continued after that. However, the significant connection to the energy industry made the economics of the town largely vulnerable to international market fluctuations during the 1970s energy crisis and resulted in some economic diversification.


title: Farmington, New Mexico

text: In 1967, as part of a joint U.S. Government-El Paso Electric operation, an underground nuclear detonation occurred east of Farmington and about south of Dulce, New Mexico in present-day Carson National Forest. This pilot project of Operation Plowshare, code-named Project Gasbuggy, was an attempt to fracture a large volume of underground bedrock to make more natural gas available for extraction by gas wells.


title: Farmington, New Mexico

text: The people of Farmington have been the subject of several civil rights investigations, including the 2005 report, "The Farmington Report: Civil Rights for Native Americans 30 Years Later".


title: Farmington, New Mexico

text: On March 18, 1950, Farmington was the site of a mass UFO sighting in which over half the town's population was reported to have seen large saucers in the sky flying at rapid speeds.


title: Farmington, New Mexico

text: Farmington has a semi-arid climate. The city can experience hot summers and cold winters with low precipitation throughout the year. The average annual snowfall is .


title: Farmington, New Mexico

text: As of the census of 2010, there were 45,895 people and 17,548 housing units in Farmington. The racial makeup of the city was 62.8% White (including 52.4% White non-Hispanic), 1.0% African American, 22.2% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, and 4.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 22.4% of the population.


title: Farmington, New Mexico

text: There were 16,466 households, out of which 33.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49% were married couples living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.1% were non-families. 21.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.7 and the average family size was 3.19.


title: Farmington, New Mexico

text: Farmington has been the home of the Connie Mack World Series baseball tournament, played in August every year at Ricketts Park (capacity 5,072), since 1965 (except in 2020, when it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Connie Mack league regular season play includes players age 16 to 18. The Connie Mack World Series consists of 10 or more teams from various regions around the United States, including from Puerto Rico.


title: Farmington, New Mexico

text: Farmington holds a riverfest once a year. Area rivers are celebrated with a festival of music, fine arts, food, entertainment, a 10K and 5K run and walk, riverside trail walks, and river raft rides.


title: Farmington, New Mexico

text: Piñon Hills Golf Course, designed by Ken Dye, in Farmington is one of the United States' Top Municipal Golf Courses. Owned and operated by the City of Farmington, Pinon Hills has been ranked in the Top Municipal Golf Courses by Golfweek Magazine for several years.


title: Farmington, New Mexico

text: Fishing, fly and reel, is a very popular activity in Farmington. Fishing is permitted on the San Juan River, Navajo Lake, Lake Farmington, Morgan Lake, the Animas River, Jackson Lake and Cutter Dam.


title: Farmington, New Mexico

text: The Farmington Municipal School District serves over 10,000 students in grades K-12 in 20 schools. The high schools are Farmington High School, Piedra Vista High School, Rocinante High School, and San Juan College High School. There are four middle schools, Heights, Hermosa, Mesa View and Tibbetts. New Mexico School for the Deaf operates a preschool facility in Farmington. Navajo Preparatory School is a Bureau of Indian Education-affiliated tribal school.


title: Farmington, New Mexico

text: There are six private schools, if Navajo Preparatory is counted as one. The National Center for Education Statistics counts Navajo Prep as public. Sacred Heart School, Farmington (K-8), of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup, was established in 1910.


title: Farmington, New Mexico

text: Farmington Public Library moved into a new building in 2003 and holds about 200,000 items in its collection. There was a branch library in Shiprock that is currently closed.


title: Farmington, New Mexico

text: As of August 2022, Farmington had approximately 28,548 active registered voters. There were 24.4% unaffiliated with a party, 51.0% Republican, 22.2% Democrat, 1.2% Libertarian, and 1.2% various other parties.  Like the rest of San Juan County, it is a politically conservative community surrounded by generally more liberal counties, and situated within an overall more liberal/left-leaning state.


title: Farmington, New Mexico

text: Voting has historically strongly favored conservative ideals and candidates, although state and local government bonds and other tax-imposing initiatives are almost always approved by the electorate.


title: Magnetic particle inspection

text: Magnetic particle Inspection (MPI) is a nondestructive testing (NDT) process for detecting surface and shallow subsurface discontinuities in ferromagnetic materials such as iron, nickel, cobalt, and some of their alloys. The process puts a magnetic field into the part. The piece can be magnetized by direct or indirect magnetization. Direct magnetization occurs when the electric current is passed through the test object and a magnetic field is formed in the material. Indirect magnetization occurs when no electric current is passed through the test object, but a magnetic field is applied from an outside source. The magnetic lines of force are perpendicular to the direction of the electric current, which may be either alternating current (AC) or some form of direct current (DC) (rectified AC).


title: Magnetic particle inspection

text: The presence of a surface or subsurface discontinuity in the material allows the magnetic flux to leak, since air cannot support as much magnetic field per unit volume as metals.


title: Magnetic particle inspection

text: To identify a leak, ferrous particles, either dry or in a wet suspension, are applied to a part. These are attracted to an area of flux leakage and form what is known as an indication, which is evaluated to determine its nature, cause, and course of action, if any.


title: Magnetic particle inspection

text: There are several types of electrical currents used in magnetic particle inspection. For a proper current to be selected one needs to consider the part geometry, material, the type of discontinuity one is seeking, and how far the magnetic field needs to penetrate into the part.


title: Magnetic particle inspection

text: An AC electromagnet is the preferred method for find surface breaking indication. The use of an electromagnet to find subsurface indications is difficult. An AC electromagnet is a better means to detect a surface indication than HWDC, DC, or permanent magnet, while some form of DC is better for subsurface defects.


title: Magnetic particle inspection

text: A wet horizontal MPI machine is the most commonly used mass-production inspection machine. The machine has a head and tail stock where the part is placed to magnetize it. In between the head and tail stock is typically an induction coil, which is used to change the orientation of the magnetic field by 90° from the head stock. Most of the equipment is built for a specific application.


title: Magnetic particle inspection

text: Magnetic yoke is a hand-held device that induces a magnetic field between two poles. Common applications are for outdoor use, remote locations, and weld inspection. The drawback of magnetic yokes is that they only induce a magnetic field between the poles, so large-scale inspections using the device can be time-consuming. For proper inspection the yoke needs to be rotated 90 degrees for every inspection area to detect horizontal and vertical discontinuities. Subsurface detection using a yoke is limited. These systems used dry magnetic powders, wet powders, or aerosols.


title: Magnetic particle inspection

text: After the part has been magnetized it needs to be demagnetized. This requires special equipment that works the opposite way of the magnetizing equipment. The magnetization is normally done with a high current pulse that reaches a peak current very quickly and instantaneously turns off leaving the part magnetized. To demagnetize a part, the current or magnetic field needed has to be equal to or greater than the current or magnetic field used to magnetize the part. The current or magnetic field is then slowly reduced to zero, leaving the part demagnetized. A popular method to record residual magnetism is by using a Gauss meter.


title: Magnetic particle inspection

text: It is common industry practice to use specifically designed oil and water-based carriers for magnetic particles. Deodorized kerosene and mineral spirits have not been commonly used in the industry for 40 years. It is dangerous to use kerosene or mineral spirits as a carrier due to the risk of fire.


title: German submarine U-995

text: German submarine "U-995" is a Type VIIC/41 U-boat of Nazi Germany's "Kriegsmarine". She was laid down on 25 November 1942 by Blohm & Voss in Hamburg, Germany, and commissioned on 16 September 1943 with "Oberleutnant zur See" Walter Köhntopp in command. She is preserved at Laboe Naval Memorial near Kiel.


title: German submarine U-995

text: German Type VIIC/41 submarines were preceded by the heavier Type VIIC submarines. "U-995" had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a total length of , a pressure hull length of , a beam of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines producing a total of for use while surfaced, two Brown, Boveri & Cie GG UB 720/8 double-acting electric motors producing a total of for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to .


title: German submarine U-995

text: The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a maximum submerged speed of . When submerged, the boat could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at . "U-995" was fitted with five torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen torpedoes, and three anti-aircraft guns. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.


title: German submarine U-995

text: "U-995" was mounted with a single 3.7 cm Flak M42 gun on the LM 42U mount. The LM 42U mount was the most common mount used with the 3.7 cm Flak M42U. The 3.7 cm Flak M42U was the marine version of the 3.7 cm Flak and was also used by the Kriegsmarine on other Type VII and Type IX U-boats.


title: German submarine U-995

text: Additionally, the boat was armed with a pair of twin Flak 38 20mm "Flakzwilling" mounts immediately adjacent to the 37mm gun mount.


title: German submarine U-995

text: "U-995" was fitted with a Royal Norwegian Navy design "Balkongerät" sometime during the 1960s and then removed sometime between 4 November 1971 and 13 March 1972.


title: German submarine U-995

text: The boat's career began with training at 5th Flotilla on 16 September 1943, followed by active service on 1 June 1944 as part of the 13th Flotilla. She later transferred to 14th Flotilla on 1 March 1945.


title: German submarine U-995

text: At the end of the war, on 8 May 1945, "U-995" was stricken at Trondheim, Norway. She was surrendered to the British on 9 December and then transferred to Norwegian ownership in October 1948. On 1 December 1952 "U-995" became the Norwegian submarine "Kaura" (Norwegian K class) and in 1965 she was stricken from service by the Royal Norwegian Navy. She then was offered to the West German government for the ceremonial price of one Deutsche Mark. The offer was refused; however, the boat was saved by the German Navy League, DMB. "U-995" became a museum ship at Laboe Naval Memorial in October 1971.


title: Keystone Cops

text: The Keystone Cops (often spelled "Keystone Kops") are fictional, humorously incompetent policemen featured in silent film slapstick comedies produced by Mack Sennett for his Keystone Film Company between 1912 and 1917.


title: Keystone Cops

text: The idea for the Keystone Cops came from Hank Mann, and they were named for the Keystone studio, the film production company founded in 1912 by Sennett. Their first film was "Hoffmeyer's Legacy" (1912), with Mann playing the part of police chief Tehiezel, but their popularity stemmed from the 1913 short "The Bangville Police" starring Mabel Normand, which had Ford Sterling in the role of chief.


title: Keystone Cops

text: As early as 1914, Sennett shifted the Keystone Cops from starring roles to background ensemble in support of comedians such as Charlie Chaplin and Fatty Arbuckle. The Keystone Cops served as supporting players for Marie Dressler, Mabel Normand, and Chaplin in the first full-length Sennett comedy feature "Tillie's Punctured Romance" (1914); "Mabel's New Hero" (1913) with Normand and Arbuckle; "Making a Living" (1914) with Chaplin in his first pre-Tramp screen appearance; "In the Clutches of the Gang" (1914) with Normand, Arbuckle, and Al St. John; and "Wished on Mabel" (1915) with Arbuckle and Normand, among others. Comic actors Chester Conklin, Jimmy Finlayson, and Ford Sterling were also Keystone Cops, as was director Del Lord.


title: Keystone Cops

text: The original Keystone Cops were George Jeske, Bobby Dunn, Mack Riley, Charles Avery, Slim Summerville, Edgar Kennedy, and Hank Mann. In 2010, the lost short "A Thief Catcher" was discovered at an antique sale in Michigan. It was filmed in 1914 and stars Ford Sterling, Mack Swain, Edgar Kennedy, and Al St. John and includes a previously unknown appearance of Charlie Chaplin as a Keystone Cop.


title: Keystone Cops

text: Mack Sennett continued to use the Keystone Cops intermittently through the 1920s, but their popularity had waned by the time that sound films arrived. In 1935, director Ralph Staub staged a revival of the Sennett gang for his Warner Brothers short subject "Keystone Hotel", featuring a re-creation of the Kops clutching at their hats, leaping in the air in surprise, running energetically in any direction, and taking extreme pratfalls. The Staub version of the Keystone Cops became a template for later re-creations. 20th Century Fox's 1939 film "Hollywood Cavalcade" had Buster Keaton in a Keystone chase scene. "Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops" (1955) included a lengthy chase scene, showcasing a group of stuntmen dressed as Sennett's squad. (Two original Keystone Cops in this film were Heinie Conklin as an elderly studio guard and Hank Mann as a prop man. Sennett also starred in a cameo appearance as himself).


title: Keystone Cops

text: Richard Lester's "A Hard Day's Night" (1964) has a scene where the reminiscent Keystone cops chase the Beatles around the streets.


title: Keystone Cops

text: In Sydney, Australia, in the 1960s, Rod Hull, Desmond Tester and Penny Spence featured in a local homage series of TV comedy shorts, "Caper Cops". "It’s a direct steal of the American "Keystone Kops" [sic], but this is Sydney, Australia, in the late 1960s and who cares..." said creator/star Hull.


title: Keystone Cops

text: Mel Brooks directed a car chase scene in the Keystone Cops' style in his comedy film "Silent Movie" (1976).


title: Keystone Cops

text: In the late 1960s, Warner Bros.-Seven Arts pitched to create a series of animated cartoon short films based on the Keystone Cops, before being scrapped permanently following the closure of Warner’s original animation studio in 1969.


title: Keystone Cops

text: The name has since been used to criticize any group for its mistakes and lack of coordination, particularly if either trait was exhibited after a great deal of energy and activity. For example, in criticizing the Department of Homeland Security's response to Hurricane Katrina, Senator Joseph Lieberman claimed that emergency workers under DHS chief Michael Chertoff "ran around like Keystone Kops, uncertain about what they were supposed to do or uncertain how to do it."


title: Keystone Cops

text: In sport, the term has come into common usage by television commentators, particularly in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The rugby commentator Liam Toland uses the term to describe a team's incompetent performance on the pitch. The phrase "Keystone cops defending" has become a catchphrase for describing a situation in an English football match where a defensive error or a series of defensive errors leads to a goal. The term was also used in American Football commentary to describe the play of the New York Jets against the New England Patriots in the 2012 Butt Fumble game, with sportscaster Cris Collinsworth declaring "This is the Keystone Cops", after the Jets gave up 21 points in 51 seconds.


title: Keystone Cops

text: According to Dave Filoni, supervising director of the animated television series "", the look of the police droid is based on the appearance of the Keystone Kops.


title: Keystone Cops

text: The 1983 video game "Keystone Kapers", released for the Atari 2600, 5200, MSX and Colecovision, by Activision, featured Keystone Kop Officer Kelly.


title: Keystone Cops

text: The open-source 1987 video game "NetHack" features Keystone Kops as a type of enemy, appearing whenever a player steals from an in-game shop.


title: Keystone Cops

text: In 2022 Tom Cooper, an Austrian military analyst and book writer, repeatedly used 'Keystone Cops in Moscow' as an alias for the Russian Ministry of Defense.


title: Lictor

text: A lictor (possibly from , "to bind") was a Roman civil servant who was an attendant and bodyguard to a magistrate who held "imperium". Lictors are documented since the Roman Kingdom, and may have originated with the Etruscans.


title: Lictor

text: The lictors were instituted by Rome's first king, Romulus, who appointed twelve lictors to attend him. Livy refers to two competing traditions for the reason that Romulus chose that number of lictors. The first version is that twelve was the number of birds that appeared in the augury, which had portended the kingdom to Romulus. The second version, favoured by Livy, is that the number of lictors was borrowed from the Etruscan kings, who had one lictor appointed from each of their twelve states.


title: Lictor

text: Originally, lictors were chosen from the plebeians, but through most of Roman history, they seemed to have been freedmen. Centurions from the legions were also automatically eligible to become lictors on retirement from the army. They were, however, definitely Roman citizens, since they wore togas inside Rome. A lictor had to be a strongly built man, capable of physical work. Lictors were exempted from military service, received a fixed salary (of 600 sesterces, in the beginning of the Empire), and were organized in a corporation. Usually, they were personally chosen by the magistrate they were supposed to serve, but it is also possible that they were drawn by lots.


title: Lictor

text: Lictors were associated with Comitia Curiata and, probably, one was originally selected from each curia, since there were originally 30 curiae and 30 lictors (24 for the two consuls and six for the sole praetor).


title: Lictor

text: The lictor's main task was to attend as bodyguards to magistrates who held "imperium". They carried rods decorated with fasces and, outside the "pomerium", with axes that symbolized the power to carry out capital punishment. Dictatorial lictors had axes even within the "pomerium". They followed the magistrate wherever he went, including the Forum, his house, temples, and the baths. Lictors were organized in an ordered line before him, with the primus lictor (the principal lictor) directly in front of him, waiting for orders. If there was a crowd, the lictors opened the way and kept their master safe, pushing all aside except for Roman matrons, who were accorded special honor. They also had to stand beside the magistrate whenever he addressed the crowd. Magistrates could only dispense with their lictors if they were visiting a free city or addressing a higher status magistrate. Lictors also had legal and penal duties; they could, at their master's command, arrest Roman citizens and punish them. A Vestal Virgin was accorded a lictor when her presence was required at a public ceremony.


title: Lictor

text: Sometimes, lictors were ascribed to private citizens on special occasions, such as funerals or political reunions, as a show of respect by the city.


title: Lictor

text: The "lictor curiatus" (plural "lictores curiati") was a special kind of lictor who did not carry rods or "fasces" and whose main tasks were religious. There were approximately thirty of them, serving at the command of the "pontifex maximus", the high priest of Rome. They were present at sacrifices where they carried or guided sacrificial animals to the altars. Vestal Virgins, "flamines" (priests), and other high-ranking priests were entitled to be escorted and protected by "lictores curiati". In the Empire, women of the imperial family were usually followed by two of this kind of lictor. The "lictores curiati" were also responsible to summon the "Comitia Curiata" (the Public Assembly) and to maintain order during its procedures.


title: Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat

text: Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat () is a 1996 Indian Hindi-language drama film written and directed by Ashok Gaikwad.


title: Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat

text: The film marked the Hindi film debut of actress Rani Mukerji. Starting in 1995, principal photography took place in Gangtok and was coordinated with the filming of "Biyer Phool", another home production of Ram Mukherjee, Rani's father, which Rani was simultaneously shooting in the area. The film was remade into Tamil as "Prathi Gnayiru 9 Manimudhal 10.30 Varai" (2006).


title: Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat

text: Mala, a young school teacher, has idealistic dreams for her future. She hopes for a grand love affair, with a large, extravagant wedding and a dashing bridegroom who will arrive on a horse. One day, Mala's friend confides in her about her relationship with the son of a wealthy man, with whom she has been intimate, but is now marrying someone else. Mala accompanies her friend to the man's wedding, successfully managing to disrupt it and reveal the truth. The groom's friend, Raj, is enraged and insults Mala, in response to which she slaps him. Looking for revenge, Raj seeks Mala out and, in the presence of her pupils, beats and rapes her. Mala is distraught and ashamed, getting home to her shocked family with the help of her pupils. The police get involved and Raj is arrested.


title: Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat

text: Raj's powerful father, Rai Bahadur, attempts to cover up the situation by bribing Mala's guardian Karthar Singh, who refuses to accept the money. Raj's sister and brother-in-law support Mala and defend her in the case. The judge finds Raj guilty and orders that he marry Mala in the next twenty-four hours, because her honor has been ruined and no other man would be likely willing to marry her, in her eyes. Raj unsuccessfully tries to kill Mala, and so they get married without great pomp and ceremony. After the marriage, Mala moves into Raj's home, and his family begins to treat her badly. Rai Bahadur travels abroad and instructs his family to deal with Mala and ensure that she is belittled and tortured, with the hope that she is eventually driven out of their house. Raj's elder sister-in-law Sharda is especially tough on Mala since plots for her own sister to be married to Raj, due to his wealth.


title: Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat

text: Sharda and her siblings lie to Raj about Mala, telling him that she asked them to leave the house. Raj angrily tries to beat Mala but is stopped by Kartar Singh. Raj's uncle makes plans for the couples honeymoon and promises to protect Mala, however it is revealed that he is also trying to kill her.


title: Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat

text: Raj's uncle leaves a snake in the house while Mala is having a shower. When she gets dressed, she sees the snake and faints out of fear. The men believe that she has been bitten. While he is checking on Mala, the snake bites Raj's leg. Mala awakens and saves him, however she is poisoned in the process. Raj is shocked at Mala's actions and realizes that his treatment of her was wrong. His uncle tells Raj that he should leave Mala to die, however he calls a doctor and she recovers. His attitude towards her softens and he stands up to his uncle, who tries to influence him against Mala. The couple gradually fall in love.


title: Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat

text: Seeking revenge, Raj's uncle and Sharda plot to kill Mala via a gas explosion in the house. Raj's sister and brother-in-law unexpectedly arrive, and his sister goes into the kitchen to light the stove, which results in her death. Rai Bahadur's arrives back in India for his daughter's funeral, where Raj and he argue about Mala. When Raj decides to leave, an altercation arises and Mala is badly wounded. Raj takes her to the hospital and she is in critical condition. The family realises their terrible treatment of Mala, telling Rai Bahadur that they do not want to have anything to do with him. Rai Bahadur mends his ways and comes to apologise. When the police arrive to investigate the matter, Raj tries to spare his father and implicate himself, but Rai Bahadur accepts the fault. Mala regains consciousness and she saves her father-in-law by lying about the incident. After seeing Mala's kind character, she is accepted by Raj's family the couple are remarried in a grand ceremony similar to Mala's dreams.


title: Flixster

text: Flixster is an American social-networking movie website for discovering new movies, learning about movies, and meeting others with similar tastes in movies, currently owned by parent company Fandango. The formerly independent site, allows users to view movie trailers as well as learn about new and upcoming movies at the box office. It was originally based in San Francisco, California and was founded by Joe Greenstein and Saran Chari on January 20, 2006. It was also the former parent company of Rotten Tomatoes from January 2010 to February 17, 2016. On February 17, 2016, Flixster, including Rotten Tomatoes, was acquired by Fandango.


title: Flixster

text: In February 2016, Fandango acquired Flixster and began migrating Flixster Video users to its competing service called FandangoNow, closing the Flixster Video service. On August 28, 2017, Flixster shut down its digital redemption and streaming video service and directed customers to use Vudu. On December 22, 2017, the company sent an email to customers saying that it would cease all operations in the U.S. as of February 20, 2018. Starting in late January 2018, visitors to Flixster.com were encouraged to download the Flixster app or were redirected to Fandango.com. They were also directed to continue watching videos and redeeming digital codes via Vudu.


title: Flixster

text: In February 2018, the Flixster website was no longer functioning and directed users to Fandango.com. Flixster Video's website and mobile apps, including UltraViolet code redemption, streaming, and downloading services are still available in various other countries, such as Canada. Flixster account holders would later have any of their purchased content sent to its competitor Vudu.


title: Flixster

text: In June 2019, Flixster announced that it will shut down its streaming video services in all countries that Flixster Video operates outside of the U.S. on October 31, 2019 due to the shutdown of UltraViolet. Customers in these areas were asked to transfer their content to Google Play, although Flixster warned users that due to rights restrictions, not all videos purchased on a Flixster library would be transferable depending on country.


title: Flixster

text: Between November 2006 and January 2007, the number of daily page views reported for Flixster by Alexa Toolbar users rose from fewer than 20 million to around 50 million. Quantcast reported that the number of global daily page views for Flixster.com peaked at 8,331,961 on January 23, 2008 and dropped to 1,325,685 by July 5, 2008. Alexa stopped reporting daily page views as of June 2008; the number of page views for Flixster as a percentage decreased by almost two-thirds from mid-December 2007 to mid-June 2008.


title: Flixster

text: Flixster's Facebook application, Movies, was consistently one of the most popular apps on that site; its daily user totals peaked in December 2007. By September 2010, its popularity had waned significantly; its 2.98 million monthly active users placed the Movies app as the ninth most-used entertainment application on Facebook and 92nd among apps overall.


title: Flixster

text: Flixster Collections, a desktop application featuring a content discovery and management system, began open beta testing on August 4, 2011.


title: Flixster

text: Flixster's growth was described in the trade press as attributable to "its aggressive viral marketing practices," including "the automated selection of your email account's entire address book in order to send a Flixster invitation to all of your contacts." Although company claimed this procedure was an industry standard used by other services, Flixster differed in that its system automatically selected all contacts in the user's address book and required the user to manually un-select each address to prevent email from being sent to a user. Cofounder Joe Greenstein described the difference between Flixster and other sites as: "We make it easy to invite your friends. Other sites don't provide good ways for people to spread the word."


title: Flixster

text: As a consequence of its policy of emailing users' entire address books with advertisements for the site, the website was criticized on numerous Internet blogs. At one time, email from Flixster to Hotmail users was being filtered and deleted as spam.


title: Flixster

text: Flixster developed applications for several social networking sites. These had many of the same features as the main Flixster site, such as ratings, reviews, and user-generated quizzes. In addition, all offered social media integration, and mobile app usage was offered free-of-charge, allowing more users to download it. The first of these apps was released in June 2007 on Facebook. In March 2008, a MySpace app followed, which had 3,923,506 users as of July 2008. This made it the then-fourth most popular application on the MySpace platform. In addition, Flixster also developed applications for Bebo and Orkut.


title: Flixster

text: In August 2008, Flixster released an iOS application, which allowed users to access movie showtimes, reviews, and trailers. The iPhone and iPod app for Flixster was the then-number-one movie app on the platform. Flixster also released apps for Android mobile phones, Windows Phone, and BlackBerry phones.


title: Flixster

text: In August 2010, Flixster hit 20 million combined mobile app downloads and was ranked as the top movie app on iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry.


title: Flixster

text: In April 2014, Flixster's app was updated with Chromecast support, allowing users to "cast" movies to a Chromecast-connected device. A streaming-only app, Flixster Video, was also released. The app handled only movie streaming, as this function was removed from the Movies by Flixster app.


title: Flixster

text: In November 2017, the Flixster app was removed from all non-U.S. stores. It was later restored in 2018, though without support for finding local movie screening times.


title: Government of Vietnam

text: The Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (), also known as the Vietnamese Government or the Government of Vietnam (), is the executive branch and body of the State administration of Vietnam. The members of the Government are appointed by the President of Vietnam on the advice of the Prime Minister of Vietnam, and approved by the National Assembly. The government is led by the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), which is headed by the CPV General Secretary.


title: Government of Vietnam

text: After the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on 2 September 1945, based on 1945 Constitution the executive branch is called the Government ("Chính phủ"). The Government is headed by the President. Under the President is the Cabinet which is headed by the Prime Minister.


title: Government of Vietnam

text: From 1959 to 1980, based on 1959 Constitution the executive branch is named as the Council of Government ("Hội đồng Chính phủ"). The Council of Government is headed by the Chairman (equivalent to the Prime Minister).


title: Government of Vietnam

text: From 1980 to 1992, based on 1980 Constitution the executive branch is called the Council of Ministers ("Hội đồng Bộ trưởng"). The Council of Ministers is headed by the Chairman (equivalent to the Prime Minister).


title: Government of Vietnam

text: From 1992 to now, based on 1992 Constitution the executive branch is renamed as the Government ("Chính phủ"). The Government is headed by the Prime Minister.


title: Government of Vietnam

text: The Vietnamese Council of Ministers ("Hội đồng Bộ trưởng") was entrusted by the 1980 Constitution with managing and implementing the governmental activities of the state. It is described in that document as "the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the highest executive state body of the highest body of state authority." It is accountable to the National Assembly of Vietnam, and, more directly, to the Vietnamese Council of State when the National Assembly is not in session. Its duties include submitting draft laws, decrees, and other bills to the National Assembly and the Council of State; drafting state plans and budgets and implementing them following the National Assembly's approval; managing the development of the national economy; organising national defence activities and assuring the preparedness of the armed forces; and organising and managing the state's foreign relations. Its membership includes a chairman, vice-chairman, cabinet ministers, and the heads of state committees, whose terms of office coincide with that of the National Assembly. The Council of Ministers includes its own standing committee, which serves to co-ordinate and mobilise the council's activities. In 1986 the standing committee was expanded from ten to thirteen members.


title: Government of Vietnam

text: Each ministry is headed by a minister, who is assisted by two to twelve deputy ministers. The number and functions of the ministries are not prescribed in the Constitution, but in 1987 there were twenty-three ministries and a number of other specialised commissions and departments. In an apparent response to the call by the Sixth National Party Congress in 1986 for a streamlined bureaucracy, several ministries were merged. The former ministries of agriculture, food, and food industry were joined in a newly created Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry. The ministries of power and mines were merged to form the Ministry of Energy, and a newly created Ministry of Labour, War Invalids, and Social Welfare consolidated the duties of three former ministries. The addition of two new ministerial bodies also resulted from the 6th National Party Congress: a Ministry of Information to replace the Vietnam Radio and Television Commission, and a mission for Economic Relations with Foreign Countries to act as a co-ordinating body for foreign aid.


title: Government of Vietnam

text: Since 1992 the executive branch of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is officially named the Government ("Chính phủ"). The current Government of Vietnam consists of 18 ministries, 4 ministry-level agencies and 8 other government-dependent agencies.


title: Government of Vietnam

text: The Government is headed by a Prime Minister ("Thủ tướng") and 4 Deputy Prime Ministers ("Phó Thủ tướng").


title: Government of Vietnam

text: In additions, the Government of Vietnam also established many National Committees ("Ủy ban Quốc gia") when needed. The National Committees are not separate political entities or ministries, instead they are composed of Deputy Prime Ministers, Ministers and Deputy Ministers in appropriate fields. The National Committees act as advisor bodies to the Prime Minister on social and economic issues, and coordinate actions between many ministries and agencies. Therefore the National Committees do not have any executive powers. Currently there are 9 National Committees, each is headed by a Chairman ("Chủ tịch"):


title: Government of Vietnam

text: Incumbent Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính, who had replaced Nguyễn Xuân Phúc as prime minister since 5 April 2021, was re-elected on 26 July 2021 following a 484-0 vote by the National Assembly.


title: Government of Vietnam

text: After taking the oath of office on the same day, Chính nominated 26 people to serve in his Cabinet, including 4 deputy prime ministers (1 less than the previous term), 18 ministers, and 4 heads of ministerial-level agencies. The lineup was approved by the National Assembly on 28 July 2021. Cabinet members are expected to serve a 5-year renewable term ending before the 2026 election.


title: Government of Vietnam

text: The heads of other government-dependent agencies are appointed by the Prime Minister without approval by the National Assembly. Usually there is no term limit on the leaders of those agencies. The current heads of the government-dependent agencies are:


title: Rules of netball

text: Netball is a ball sport for two teams of seven players; its rules are published in print and online by the International Netball Federation. Games are played on a rectangular court divided into thirds, with a raised goal at each short end. The objective of the game is for teams to score goals, by passing a ball and shooting it into the opposite team's goal ring. Players are assigned "positions" that define their role within the team and restrict their movement on court.


title: Rules of netball

text: During general play, a player with the ball can take no more than one step before passing it, and must pass the ball or shoot for goal within three seconds. Goals can only be scored by the assigned shooting players. Netball games are 60 minutes long, divided into 15-minute quarters, at the end of which the team with the most goals scored wins.


title: Rules of netball

text: The objective of a game of netball is to score more goals than the opposition. Goals are scored when the ball is passed to team members in the goal circle who then shoot the ball through the goal ring.


title: Rules of netball

text: Netball is played on either a hard or soft court with scoring hoops or "rings" at both ends. The court is slightly larger than a basketball court, being long and wide. The longer sides are called "side lines" and the shorter sides are called "goal lines" or "back lines". The two lines dividing the court into thirds are called "transverse lines". Court markings are no more than wide. The court is divided into thirds which regulate where individuals of each position are allowed to move. A -diameter "centre circle" is located in the centre of the court. At each end of the court there is a -radius semi-circular "shooting circle" or "goal circle" from within which all scoring shots must be taken. The goal posts are high from the top of the ring to the ground and have no backboards. The rings have an internal diameter of , and are located forward from the post and are made of diameter steel.


title: Rules of netball

text: The ball is made of leather, rubber or similar material, measures in circumference and weighs . For INF sanctioned competitions, Gilbert is the official supplier of netball balls.


title: Rules of netball

text: A game is played in four-quarters, each lasting fifteen minutes. There are intervals of three minutes between the first and second quarters and between the third and fourth quarters, and an interval of five minutes at half time. If an umpire or player calls time, the time keeper pauses the timer. When play resumes, the timer is restarted. A maximum of two minutes is allowed for an injury. Overtimes, in elimination games, consist of two straight seven-minute periods; if still tied after fourteen minutes, whoever is up two points will win.


title: Rules of netball

text: There are seven players on each team, who are given nominated, named positions. Each player must wear a "bib" showing one of the abbreviations below, indicating that player's position. Each player is only allowed in certain areas of the court: a player in a section of the court that is not part of their playing area is deemed "offside". The positions are described below:


title: Rules of netball

text: The Fast5 variation of netball only has five positions: goal shooter (GS), goal attack (GA), centre (C), goal defence (GD), and goal keeper (GK).


title: Rules of netball

text: When a goal is scored or at the start of a quarter/overtime, play is resumed from the centre of the court using a "centre pass". These passes alternate between the teams, regardless of which team scored the last goal. A centre pass is made by a player in the centre position who must have one foot grounded within the centre circle. As the game restarts, only the two centre players are allowed in the centre third: when the umpire blows the whistle to restart play, the goal attack, goal defence, wing attack and wing defence players can move into the centre third to receive the pass. The centre pass must be caught or touched in the centre third.


title: Rules of netball

text: If the ball touches the ground outside the court boundaries, then a member of the team that was not the last to touch the ball before it went out is able to throw the ball back into the court to restart play.


title: Rules of netball

text: Netball rules do not permit players to let their landing foot touch the ground again if it is lifted at all while in possession of the ball, so players can take 1.5 steps while holding the ball. Pivoting does not count as a step. Players are entitled to balance on the other foot if the landing foot is lifted. An infraction of this rule is usually called "stepping" or "travelling" , as in the similar rule in basketball. Consequently, the only way to move the ball towards the goal is to throw the ball to a teammate.


title: Rules of netball

text: The ball can be held by a player for less than three seconds at any time. A player may tap or deflect the ball, let it bounce and then take possession and throw it. The player cannot catch the ball with both hands, drop it and pick it up again; this is called a replayed ball. The duration before it is called a drop is determined by the umpire. These rules, combined with the restrictions on where one player of a particular position can move, ensure that everyone on the team is regularly involved in play.


title: Rules of netball

text: Netball strategy involves several types of passes, including centre passes, penalty passes and short passes. A centre pass occurs after a goal has been scored, when the centre passes the ball. A short pass is a pass between two players on the same team, where the length of the pass is so short that a defensive player cannot get between the two opposing players to intercept the ball. A penalty pass is a pass where the ball is returned from the sideline into play. This pass occurs after a penalty has been called.


title: Rules of netball

text: There are several styles of passing the ball, including one-handed shouldered passes, two-handed passes (chest-passes), overhead passes, bounce passes, lob passes, drop passes, bullet passes and underarm passes.


title: Rules of netball

text: The one-handed shoulder pass involves holding the ball in one hand behind the shoulder with the elbow bent, and weight on the back foot. The passer then shifts the weight to the forward foot, while moving the ball with their hand forward and extending the elbow, and releasing the ball as the elbow fully extends at shoulder height. The purpose of the one-handed shoulder pass is to throw the ball a long distance while throwing the ball hard, fast and direct.


title: Rules of netball

text: The two-handed pass is sometimes called a chest-pass. It is executed by holding the ball at chest height with the passer having their elbows bent next to the body at chest height. The passer then moves the ball forward, extending their elbows forward while they step forward and release the ball. The purpose of the two-handed pass is to accurately deliver the ball to another player who is in motion. It is used because it ensures accuracy, both for long and short distances.


title: Rules of netball

text: The overhead pass is executed similarly to the two-handed pass. The difference is that it is executed over the passer's head. The overhead pass may also be executed similarly to the one-handed shoulder pass, with the difference being that the movements are done overhead, instead of at shoulder height.


title: Rules of netball

text: The bounce pass is executed by getting low to the ground, holding the ball with one or two hands at hip height, and stepping forward while releasing the ball. The ball should be aimed low at the ground and released with a great deal of force. The purpose of the bounce pass is to move the ball around an opponent. It is used when a player is in a confined space, with limited passing options.


title: Rules of netball

text: The lob pass is executed by throwing the ball in a high arc, with the ball initially being held behind the head and being released above the head. The drop pass is similar to the lob pass. The major difference is with the catcher: a lob pass is for a catcher who is stretching to get away from a defender, while a drop pass is for a catcher who will move into free space to receive the ball. These two passes are sometimes referred to as throw-up passes. The purpose of the lob and drop passes is to get around a defender and reach a teammate who is moving away from the passer. The lob pass is used because it is very accurate and covers both long and short distances.


title: Rules of netball

text: The side pass is a two-handed pass. It is used in situations requiring quick, straight throws. The bullet pass is a one-handed pass. It is used as a short or medium pass. The pass is fast and direct. The underarm pass is a one-handed pass. This short pass style is used in situations where an element of surprise is required.


title: Rules of netball

text: Different positions require different passing skills. The fake pass should be mastered by every position. The centre pass should be mastered by the centre. The centre should also master any pass that must be made on the run. Both the goal attack and wing attack should be familiar with the long passes and the lob and drop pass. The goal attack should also be familiar with all styles of passing. The goal shooter should know how to do penalty passes. The wing defence should also be comfortable making lob passes. The goal defence should know how to make goal-line passes. The goal keeper should be comfortable making penalty passes and inbounding the ball.


title: Rules of netball

text: Contact is only permitted provided it does not impede an opponent or the general play and players must be at least away from a player with the ball while attempting to defend. If impeding contact is made, a penalty is given to the team of the player who was contacted, and the player who contacted must stand "out of play", meaning they cannot participate in play until the player taking the penalty has passed the ball.


title: Rules of netball

text: Only the goal attack and goal shooter are able to score goals directly, and this may only be done from the inside of the semicircle. The job of the goal defence and goal keeper is to block the goal attack and goal shooter from shooting; however, they must be three feet or more away from the landing foot of the shooter, otherwise it is called an obstruction. In this penalty situation, the goal keeper or goal defence must stand by the shooter's side for a penalty pass or shot, and must remain out of play until the ball is thrown. A ball that passes through the hoop, but has been thrown either from outside the circle or by a player other than the two shooters, is deemed a "no goal". Furthermore, a shooter (GA or GS) may not shoot for a goal if a "free pass" has been awarded for an infringement such as stepping, offside, or using the post.


title: Rules of netball

text: If a player completely misses a shot, the player may not catch it; if they do, it is called a "replay", and a free pass is awarded to the other team.


title: Rules of netball

text: If the ball is deflected off the goal keeper or goal defence and goes through the goal ring, it is a no goal and play continues.


title: Rules of netball

text: In 1893, Martina Bergman-Österberg informally introduced one version of basketball to her female physical training students at the Hampstead Physical Training College in London, after having seen the game being played in the United States. The rules of this game were modified at Madame Österberg's college over several years. Substantial revisions were made during a visit in 1897 from another American teacher, Miss Porter, who introduced rules from women's basketball in the United States; the game also moved outdoors onto grass courts, the playing court was divided into three zones, and the baskets were replaced with rings that had nets. By 1960, the rules of netball were standardised internationally. An international governing body was formed to oversee the sport globally, now called the International Netball Federation (INF).


title: Rules of netball

text: At the INF Congress 2013 in Glasgow, the INF announced that the Rules of Netball would be freely available online for individual use to assist the growth and development of the sport.


title: Colby Keller

text: Richard John Sawka II, better known as Colby Keller (born October 18, 1980) is an American visual artist and pornographic actor. His career in porn film started in 2004 at Sean Cody and subsequently expanded to include such studios as Cocksure Men, Randy Blue, Titan Men, Falcon, CockyBoys and Men.com. Keller has also appeared in the short, "Zolushka", a queer retelling of Cinderella, and in the popular series "Capitol Hill", both by the cult filmmaker Wes Hurley.


title: Colby Keller

text: Born October 18, 1980, in Michigan, Colby Keller was raised in Texas where he graduated from the University of Houston with a bachelor's degree in anthropology. In addition, he is a graduate of The Maryland Institute College of Art, with a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in visual and performing arts.


title: Colby Keller

text: During his time performing in gay porn, Keller continued to work as an artist. His two most notable art projects are "Pieces of Eight" and "Everything But Lenin", both collaborative performance pieces. "Pieces of Eight" involved multiple projects and multiple collaborations while "Everything But Lenin" involved giving away all of his earthly possessions with the exception a large metal plaque of Lenin and was precipitated by an eviction notice presented to residents of his Baltimore apartment complex in March 2014. Those who took part received a signed certificate as project participants.


title: Colby Keller

text: In addition to his porn performances and art projects, Keller appeared in a series of sex advice videos (titled "In Bed With Colby Keller") for Manhunt. The series ran from 2012 until 2014 and resulted in 62 videos.


title: Colby Keller

text: In 2012, Keller appeared in a masquerade-themed music video for the song "After Dark", by dance artists Undercover. And, in his 2013 music video for "Cannibal", Natti Vogel enlisted Keller to play a hooded witch to his tempted Hansel in a recreation of Hansel and Gretel.


title: Colby Keller

text: In 2013, Keller collaborated with artist Cameron Stalheim on a project called "Myth as Object", which resulted in a 2014 exhibit as Stalheim's MFA graduating thesis at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Keller's body was cast in silicone to create a thirty-foot long merman sculpture in his likeness.


title: Colby Keller

text: In 2014, Keller sold his belongings and began a project "Colby Does America", composed of porn scenes filmed across every state in the United States.


title: Colby Keller

text: In 2016, Keller was presented the Cybersocket Web Award for Best Personality. He is a featured model in the 2016 Spring/Summer Vivienne Westwood "Mirror the World" campaign.


title: Colby Keller

text: Keller is a communist who credits his communist beliefs to a strict Christian upbringing with the Assemblies of God.


title: Colby Keller

text: Keller voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 United States presidential election, stating, "I’m going to vote for Trump! I think he’s a destabilizing force...I don’t support or endorse any of Trump’s policies. I just think it’ll escalate the problem, which is the best we can hope for."


title: Colby Keller

text: In making it public regarding his political vote for Trump, Keller was swiftly criticized by many of his fellow performers in the adult film industry, as well as many of his fans. This resulted in a blacklisting of Keller from the mainstream gay porn studios he had once worked with.


title: Biddu

text: Biddu Appaiah (born 8 February 1944) is a British-Indian singer-songwriter, composer, and music producer who composed and produced many worldwide hit records during a career spanning five decades. Considered one of the pioneers of disco, Euro disco, and Indian pop, he has sold millions of records worldwide, and has received an Ivor Novello award for his work. He has been ranked at number 34 on "NME"s "The 50 Greatest Producers Ever" list.


title: Biddu

text: Biddu was born in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. He began his music career in the 1960s, singing as part of a music band in India before moving to England where he would start his career as a producer. He eventually found some success producing a hit song for Japanese band The Tigers in 1969, scoring the soundtrack for 1972 British film "Embassy", and producing several early disco songs that would find a niche audience in British northern soul clubs during the early 1970s.


title: Biddu

text: His international breakthrough came in 1974 with "Kung Fu Fighting" performed by Carl Douglas; the song became one of the best-selling singles of all time with eleven million records sold, helped popularise disco music, was the first worldwide disco hit from Britain and Europe, and established Biddu as one of the most prolific dance music producers from outside the United States at the time. He soon began producing his own instrumental albums under the name Biddu Orchestra, which started an orchestral disco trend in Britain and Europe with 1975 hits "Summer of '42" and "Blue Eyed Soul"; his solo albums eventually sold 40 million copies worldwide. He also launched the careers of other British disco stars such as Tina Charles, helping her sell 36 million records within a few years, and Jimmy James; scored soundtracks for several British films such as "The Stud" (1978); and produced a hit song for the French singer Claude François. Biddu also experimented with electronic disco and Hi-NRG music from the mid-1970s, and influenced British new wave bands such as The Buggles, founded by two of his former session musicians Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes.


title: Biddu

text: Following the decline of disco in the Western world, he later found success in Asia during the 1980s, where he launched the careers of the late Pakistani pop singer Nazia Hassan and her brother Zoheb; he produced their debut album "Disco Deewane", which charted in fourteen countries and became the best-selling Asian pop album up until that time, and helped the duo eventually sell 60 million records worldwide. During that decade, he also produced several hit Bollywood soundtracks for films such as "Qurbani" (1980) as well as several hit songs for Japanese pop idol Akina Nakamori and Chinese pop singer Samantha Lam (林志美). In the 1990s, he popularised Indian pop with the hit album "Made in India" (1995), which became the best-selling pop album in India and launched the career of Alisha Chinai, after which he would launch the careers of several more Indian pop acts such as Shaan and his sister Sagarika as well as Sonu Nigam and K.S. Chithra In the 2000s, Biddu has been active in the Western and Indian music scenes producing albums which are more spiritual and Eastern-oriented. He rearranged a classical hit for Luke Kenny's film, "Rise of the Zombie".


title: Biddu

text: Biddu's family originally hailed from Kodagu in the Karnataka state of India, but he was born and grew up in the city of Bangalore, where he attended the Bishop Cotton Boys' School. He carries the clan name of Chendrimada. In the 1960s, as a youth, he developed a liking for the then new pop and rock music, as he said in a media interview, listening to pop hits played on the shortwave radio band of Radio Ceylon of Ceylon (Sri Lanka), which was then popular throughout Asia. He learnt to play the guitar and in his late teens and early twenties he frequented the clubs and bars of Bangalore, and soon started a music band called 'Trojans' with a few friends, including Ken Gnanakan, who later went on to start an NGO called "ACTS". The band was India's first English-speaking band, and found success playing cover versions of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Trini Lopez and hits of other Western stars of the day, in the clubs of Bangalore and also other Indian cities, such as Calcutta and Bombay. The band, however, split since Ken Gnanakan wanted to pursue higher studies, leaving Biddu alone as the sole member of the band. He played under the name 'Lone Trojan' and was popular as an act at a night club called "Venice" in Bombay.


title: Biddu

text: Biddu held an interest for bigger things in popular music, and in 1967 left for England. He traveled through the Middle East, earning money by singing catchy numbers and playing the guitar. Biddu arrived in England at the age of 23, a few months after leaving India. About his arrival in England, he said in an interview to the BBC: "I didn't really know too much about England or anything – I'd just come here on the chance of meeting the Beatles and doing some music. Everything that I did had this danceable flavour". Within a few months of his arrival, he had met The Beatles, but expressed disappointment that "Lennon was dressed so badly."


title: Biddu

text: In England, he supported himself doing odd jobs and also working as a chef in the American Embassy. His attempts at becoming a singer in England were unsuccessful and, according to Biddu, "as an Indian in those days they were happier to hire me as an accountant than as a singer". He eventually gave up on his ambition to become a singer and instead decided to produce his own records rather than working for a record company. He saved a few pounds before he decided to rent studio time and record several singles, none of which received any airplay from UK radio stations.


title: Biddu

text: Biddu's first major success was in 1969, when he produced the song "Smile for Me", performed by The Tigers, who were Japan's most famous band at the time, and written by Barry and Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees. Since the band did not speak English, Biddu had to show them how to sing the English lyrics phonetically. Following its release that year, the song topped the chart in Japan. His success abroad in Japan would later pave the way for his later success back in Britain.


title: Biddu

text: During the early 1970s, Biddu produced several early disco songs that, despite receiving no airplay on radio, began gaining some underground success in UK northern soul clubs, in places like Wigan and Blackpool, which were more receptive to Biddu's early disco sounds due to northern soul being a forerunner to disco. The Biddu sound incorporated "solid playing by a hard rhythm section and fast swirling Northern soul–style melodies" and resembled the disco sound that had appeared independently in New York at around the same time.


title: Biddu

text: In 1971, he wrote the title track for the Jack Wild album "Everything's Coming Up Roses", which was released as a single backed with "Bring Yourself Back to Me", written by Don Gould and Lynsey De Paul. The single earned positive reviews, with "Billboard" awarding it Special Merit Spotlight status and it reached number 107 on the "Billboard" Bubbling Under Chart. In 1972, Biddu scored music for the UK spy thriller "Embassy". Around this time, he also started working with UK-based Jamaican-born musician Carl Douglas on a 45 (rpm record) single "I Want to Give You My Everything". While this song was intended for the A side, they cut a song for the B side, "Kung Fu Fighting", in only 10 minutes. Later, at the insistence of A&R at Pye Records, "Kung Fu Fighting" was put on the A-side. Soon after release in 1974, "Kung Fu Fighting" became a worldwide hit, ultimately selling eleven million copies worldwide. In 1974, it received a Gold certification. Shortly after, Biddu also produced Carl Douglas' debut album "Kung Fu Fighting and Other Great Love Songs", which produced another major hit, "Dance The Kung Fu". He soon established himself as one of the key figures in Britain's soul and disco scenes during the 1970s, working with a variety of British soul and disco artists, including Tina Charles, The Outriders, and Jimmy James.


title: Biddu

text: In 1975, Biddu recorded and released the instrumental LP, "Blue Eyed Soul", and the album's first single, "Summer of '42", climbed to No. 14 on the UK Singles Chart, spending two months there and then had similar success in the US, topping the Dance Music/Club Play Singles chart and reached No. 57 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. Another single, "Jump for Joy", also topped the Dance Music/Club Play Singles chart in the US while reaching No. 72 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1976. In the Billboard Year-End chart, "Jump For Joy" was ranked No. 21 on the list. Also in 1975, he produced the album "Can You Hear Me Ok?" and single "I Got My Lady" for John Howard. Around the same time, a friend introduced Biddu to Tina Charles, a singer who had had some success singing lead vocals for the group 5000 Volts. The first single they worked together, "You Set My Heart on Fire", clinched a recording deal with CBS. In 1976, the second single "I Love to Love (But My Baby Loves to Dance)" was a major hit worldwide. "I Love to Love" and the subsequent hit "Dance Little Lady Dance" sold millions of copies around the world, giving Tina Charles a worldwide audience and fame, launching her solo career and firmly establishing Biddu.


title: Biddu

text: In 1976, Biddu produced his own "Rain Forest" LP, followed by "Eastern Man" in 1977, both credited to Biddu & His Orchestra. His album "Rain Forest" earned him four Ivor Novello Awards, including the "Songwriter of the Year" award. Around this same time, he began experimenting with electronic music in some of his disco songs, making use of electronic musical instruments such as keyboards and synthesizers. Some of his early examples of electronic disco include the early boogie 1976 single "Bionic Boogie" ; the 1977 "Soul Coaxing" single; the "Eastern Man" and "Futuristic Journey" albums, which were recorded from 1976 to 1977; and the 1979 "Phantasm" single. He also began experimenting with high-tempo Hi-NRG disco music, with early examples including some of the songs in his 1976 Tina Charles albums "I Love to Love" and "Dance Little Lady", as well as his disco singles such as "Voodoo Man" (1979) which had a tempo of 130 beats per minute. His backing tracks also had a strong influence on the British new wave band The Buggles, founded by two of Biddu's former session musicians, Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes, who are most famous for writing the hit song "Video Killed the Radio Star" in 1979.


title: Biddu

text: In 1977, he worked on the "Life" album for the veteran Jamaican-born soul singer Jimmy James, which put out two chart hits "I'll Go Where your Music Takes Me" and "Disco Fever". In early 1978, Biddu's own "Journey to the Moon" was a hit, peaking at No. 41 in the UK. That same year, he scored the music for the English film "The Stud", starring Joan Collins; the film's soundtrack was successful on the UK Albums Chart, where it reached No. 2. He also produced the soundtrack for its sequel, "The Bitch", in 1979. During the late 1970s, Biddu also had a hit in France with Claude François, for whom he produced the song "Laisse Une Chance A Notre Amour", a re-working of Jimmy James' UK hit song, "Now Is the Time".


title: Biddu

text: Biddu worked with various musicians including some players from Manchester and Liverpool who had worked on sessions with Tina Charles until the late 1970s, after which disco music slowly began to wane as funk, new wave and electronic music began taking centre-stage in Western popular music, taking with it Biddu's established place in the Western music scene, despite his early attempts at producing electronic synthpop music, such as his 1980 song "Small Talk" for Amy.