title: 2019 Bolivian political crisis

text: La Paz's legislature forced the capital's infrastructure, schools, and workplaces to close, claiming this was for reasons of public safety. Supporters of Morales also built barricades on roads that lead to the airport.


title: 2019 Bolivian political crisis

text: Barricades were placed around the Senkata refinery in El Alto by Morales supporters, cutting power and fuel to El Alto and La Paz. Pro-Morales demonstrators entered the refinery and set fire to vehicles within the compound. The Bolivian military launched a violent invasion of the site on 19 November using armored vehicles and helicopters, killing three protesters and injuring 22 in the process.


title: 2019 Bolivian political crisis

text: As a result of blockades from various protests surrounding the city, some goods were also not able to enter. Food supply was affected, leading to rationing and controlled prices in El Alto and La Paz.


title: 2019 Bolivian political crisis

text: In the face of protests against the interim government, Áñez called for police to suppress the protests and maintain order and, on 14 November, issued a decree that would exempt the military from any type of criminal responsibility for killing or injuring protestors, when acting in a "legitimate defense or state of necessity". On 15 November, security forces fired upon coca farmers peacefully protesting against the government in Cochabamba. The massacre left nine dead and dozens injured.


title: 2019 Bolivian political crisis

text: José Miguel Vivanco, head of Human Rights Watch in the Americas, said that the decree "sends a very dangerous message to the military that they have carte blanche to commit abuses". The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) condemned Áñez's government for issuing the decree.


title: 2019 Bolivian political crisis

text: UN Human Rights Chief Michelle Bachelet issued a statement, saying that "while earlier deaths mostly resulted from clashes between rival protestors", the latest incidents appear to be due to the "disproportionate use of force by the army and police", stating that "in a situation like this, repressive actions by the authorities will simply stoke that anger even further and are likely to jeopardise any possible avenue for dialogue." Bachelet also expressed concern that "widespread arrests and detentions" were adding to the tensions; according to her office, more than 600 people had been detained since 21 October. Furthermore, Bachelet also declared being concerned that the situation could "spin out of control if the authorities do not handle it sensitively and in accordance with international norms and standards governing the use of force, and with full respect for human rights", stating that it couldn't be solved through "force and repression". The decree was later repealed by Áñez.


title: 2019 Bolivian political crisis

text: The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights expressed concerns over human rights violations that occurred after the 2019 Bolivian general election. Paulo Abrão, who heads the IACHR, declared that due to the "massive" number of human rights violations amid post-election violence, the country may need outside help to investigate the situation and recommended Bolivia coordinate with an international panel of experts to ensure findings are seen as credible. On 5 December 2019, Áñez approved an act to provide compensation to the families of those killed and injured during the conflict. On 10 December, the government and IACHR signed an agreement to investigate the acts of violence that occurred. On 30 Dec, Eva Copa, MAS head of the Senate, stated that a report had been filed with Arturo Murillo to give an account of the deaths in Sacaba and Senkata after the Assembly recess in the new year.


title: 2019 Bolivian political crisis

text: On 29 October 2020, the outgoing parliament approved a report on the "massacres of Senkata, Sacaba and Yapacani, which recommends a judgment of responsibility against Jeanine Anez for genocide and other offenses". Parliament also approved the criminal indictment of 11 of Anez' ministers.


title: 2019 Bolivian political crisis

text: On 17 August 2021, the human rights watchdog of the Organization of American States published their report on human rights during the Áñez administration. It observed that the interim government had come to power by sidestepping the constitutional rules for presidential succession, but stopped short of calling it a coup. The report documented the persecution of opponents with "systematic torture" and "summary executions", such as the use of lethal ammunition to suppress peaceful street protests by unarmed supporters of Morales.


title: 2019 Bolivian political crisis

text: In July 2021, the Bolivian government accused Mauricio Macri's government in Argentina of having supplied arms used in the Senkata and Sacaba massacres. Bolivian Foreign Minister Rogelio Mayta said air force chief General Jorge Gonzalo Terceros had written a letter on 13 November 2019 thanking Argentinian ambassador Normando Alvarez Garcia for the delivery of 40,000 bullets, tear gas canisters and grenades. The Ecuadorian government of Lenin Moreno offered military aid to Bolivia in the same period. Gonzalo Terceros accused the letter of being a forgery, made with a signature not his own and at a point when he had resigned, and the former chancellor Karen Longaric pointed that the date in the letter would mean that the alleged shipment was prepared and sent when Morales was still president. Longaric also pointed that, although the letter describes the shipment as war weapons, they are actually police weapons, whose trade is not illegal. Terceros' lawyer pointed as well that his client belonged to the air force, who had no business trading anti-riot materials.


title: 2019 Bolivian political crisis

text: An investigation carried out by the Argentine Government shows records of the exit of firearms, ammunition, bulletproof vests, pepper spray, and hand grenades of harassment gas, among other materials. The Bolivian Police confirmed they found part of the material sent, which had no associated documentation. Minister of Justice and Human Rights of Argentina Martín Soria said this would suggest the destination was not the Argentine Embassy as previously claimed.


title: 2019 Bolivian political crisis

text: Áñez stated on 15 November that in order to restore faith in the electoral process, a vote would first be held to elect a new Electoral Commission, before having a new vote for president.


title: 2019 Bolivian political crisis

text: On 20 November the interim government presented a bill that aimed to forge a path to new elections. The two chambers congress were expected to debate the bill which would annul 20 October election and appoint a new electoral board within 15 days of its passage, paving the way for a new vote. The bill, drafted jointly by MAS and anti-Morales legislators, was approved on 23 November; it also prohibited Morales from participating in the fresh election. In exchange, Áñez's government agreed to withdraw the armed forces from all protest areas (although some servicemen were still permitted to stay at some state companies to "prevent vandalism"), revoke her decree which granted the army immunity from criminal prosecution, release arrested protesters, protect lawmakers and social leaders from attacks and provide compensation for the families of those killed during the crisis. She approved the bill shortly thereafter.


title: 2019 Bolivian political crisis

text: Elections were initially scheduled to be held on 3 May 2020. However, they were postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.


title: 2019 Bolivian political crisis

text: On 22 June 2020, Áñez approved a law passed by both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate to set a date for the election for 6 September 2020, with elected authorities in place by mid-to-late November 2020.


title: 2019 Bolivian political crisis

text: On 23 July 2020, the TSE postponed the election to 18 October 2020 due to medical reports that the pandemic will have its highest peaks in late August and early September. Many opposition leaders, including Evo Morales, have condemned the delays, seeing the continued delays as an unconstitutional attempt to remain in power, and some groups, including the Bolivian Workers' Center have planned protests.


title: 2019 Bolivian political crisis

text: Immediately after his resignation, protests emerged in support of Morales and against the new government. In response, Áñez signed decree no. 4078, granting total impunity to the armed forces to quell protestors, resulting in the massacres of Senkata and Sacaba, where at least 18 people were killed by the military. This decree was subject to international criticism. José Miguel Vivanco, Americas Director of Human Rights Watch described the decree as, "giv[ing] the armed forces a blank check to commit abuses instead of working to restore the rule of law in the country".


title: 2019 Bolivian political crisis

text: The Áñez administration appointed government ministers between 13 and 18 November. The first eleven members of the interim cabinet, appointed 13 November, did not contain any indigenous members. "The Guardian" described this partial cabinet as showing "no signs that [Áñez] intended to reach across the country's deep political and ethnic divide". Áñez did, however, designate two persons of indigenous origin as ministers of culture and mining as the remaining positions were filled. Morales's first cabinet was majority indigenous (14 out of 16 positions), though this number decreased over the course of his tenure as president. Among the senior ministers in Áñez' cabinet were prominent Bolivian businesspeople. Shortly after taking office, Áñez also appointed a new military high command. The new commander of the armed forces, General Carlos Orellana Centellas, pledged to take orders from Áñez.


title: 2019 Bolivian political crisis

text: On 20 November, Áñez granted safe-conduct to Evo Morales's daughter, Evaliz, to receive political asylum in Mexico.


title: 2019 Bolivian political crisis

text: The government renamed the state newspaper, known as "Cambio" under president Morales, as "Bolivia" on 17 November. On 25 November, the Áñez met with civil groups Bolivian Workers' Center, the country's largest union, and the Pact of Unity, a prominent indigenous grassroots group, to sign agreements on how to pacify Bolivia following previous violent events.


title: 2019 Bolivian political crisis

text: In the week following the inauguration of Áñez, the new government came under heavy criticism from a variety of sources. "The New York Times" described Áñez as "reaching beyond her caretaker mandate of organizing national elections by January". Javier Corrales, a Latin American politics professor at Amherst College in Massachusetts, said "without a popular mandate, [the government] are pushing forward some of the most objectionable aspects of their agenda". Oliver Stuenkel, associate professor of international relations at the Getúlio Vargas Foundation in São Paulo, said that "the only thing this government was supposed to do was calm things down and call elections, and that's just about the only thing it has not done".


title: 2019 Bolivian political crisis

text: By late November and December, some progress was made in passing legislation for new elections, appointing a new electoral body, entering dialogue with representatives from protesting factions in El Alto and cooperating with Morales's MAS party in joint participation in the coming elections, albeit without Morales as a presidential candidate. A survey by Bolivian newspaper "Página Siete" showed that 43% of Bolivians approved of how Áñez has handled the presidency, while 23% disapproved. On 13 Dec, Áñez approved an agreement between the three main parties over a so-called "Law of Guarantees" formulated to restore faith among political actors in the process of moving forward, including reparations for those killed and injured by her government. This act was welcomed by the Secretary General of the UN. A previous incarnation of this legislation, passed in both chambers by the MAS majority, had not been given presidential approval due to articles that implied immunity from prosecution for representatives of the previous government. This version was described by opposition lawmakers as an attempted "cover up" on behalf of the MAS party and caused friction among members of MAS itself.


title: 2019 Bolivian political crisis

text: On 1 January 2020, Áñez presented a change in the law that would it make it mandatory for presidential candidates to engage in public debate with their opponents to support "the strengthening of informed democracy". "La Razón" says such debates did not take place before.


title: 2019 Bolivian political crisis

text: In September 2020, Human Rights Watch released a report saying that the interim caretaker government is "abusing the justice system to wage a politically motivated witch-hunt against former president Evo Morales and his allies", adding that prosecutors had charged some Morales backers with terrorism for simply speaking to him on the phone.


title: 2019 Bolivian political crisis

text: Karen Longaric, appointed as foreign minister by Jeanine Áñez, announced the formal departure from the country of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) and breaking all diplomatic relations with Venezuela's Maduro government, recognizing Juan Guaidó as acting president of Venezuela in the Venezuelan presidential crisis. Longaric also announced that the interim government was considering leaving the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR).


title: 2019 Bolivian political crisis

text: A month later, the country announced its entry into the Lima Group, a regional bloc established in 2017 with the purpose of finding a way out of the Venezuelan crisis. The Bolivian foreign ministry said in a statement that it hoped to "contribute to a peaceful, democratic and constitutional solution to the crisis in Venezuela, which must be guided by the Venezuelan people". On the same month, the interim government announced that they would give refuge to 200 Venezuelans "who have fled their country for reasons of political order, of political persecution promoted by the Nicolás Maduro government".


title: 2019 Bolivian political crisis

text: In January 2020, the interim government suspended relations with Cuba in response to remarks made by Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, who called Áñez a "liar", "coupist" and "self-proclaimed" in reference to her latest statements about the role of Cuban medical doctors in the country.


title: 2019 Bolivian political crisis

text: Since the resignation of Morales, several members of the past administration have taken diplomatic refuge in the Mexican Embassy in La Paz. Several of them faced accusations and prosecution under the interim government, the most senior being the former Minister of the Presidency, Juan Ramón Quintana. Anti-Morales protesters routinely gathered at the doorstep of the Embassy to voice their discontent and demand that they be turned over to the Bolivian authorities. An increased security presence by police and army in the vicinity of the Embassy led to accusations of harassment and a "siege". On 27 December, tensions were further increased when visiting Spanish diplomats were stopped by police during a visit to the Embassy. The Mexican ambassador accused the Bolivian government of María Teresa Mercado violating the Vienna Convention. Longaric responded by saying the presence of masked and armed guards aroused suspicion that there would be an attempt to smuggle Quintana from the Embassy to another location. Longaric said: "No country in the world could tolerate what happened last Friday. In that case, the Vienna Convention empowers the host State to declare those diplomats who violate the rules of the conventions themselves "personas non-gratas"." On 30 December, Áñez made an announcement giving a number of Mexican and Spanish diplomats 72 hours to leave the country; Spain responding by declaring that three Bolivian diplomats likewise must leave the country. Eva Copa, MAS head of the Senate, criticised Áñez for the expulsion of diplomats of countries who helped bring stability to Bolivia and urged her to reconsider the action.


title: 2019 Bolivian political crisis

text: On 15 November, Longaric expelled 725 Cuban citizens, mostly medical doctors, after accusing them of being involved in protests. The government announced it arrested nine Venezuelans in the border city of Guayaramerín (near Brazil) with boots and insignias of the Bolivarian National Police (PNB), identification cards of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) and microchips containing photos of themselves with other people armed with guns. After the arrest and the discovery of the microchips, the interim government accused the men of participating in "violent acts" in the country, and transferred them to the Bolivian Special Crime Fighting Forces to conduct a preliminary investigation.


title: 2019 Bolivian political crisis

text: Arturo Murillo, Áñez's new interior minister, vowed to "hunt down" his predecessor Juan Ramón Quintana, a prominent Morales ally, stoking fears of a vendetta against members of the previous administration. He later announced he would start arresting certain members of the previous government who he accused of "subversion". Roxana Lizárraga, Áñez's communication minister, stated that she had a list of journalists who were "involved in sedition" and threatened them with prosecution.


title: 2019 Bolivian political crisis

text: On 22 November, after an audio recording, allegedly of Morales, leaked in which Morales supporters were directed to block main roads to La Paz, the interim government opened an investigation into Morales for "terrorism and sedition". Hours later, the vice-president of MAS-IPSP was arrested for allegedly using a car of the ministry of the President; in the car, according to Télam, police discovered computers and biometric devices that belonged to the electoral commission.


title: 2019 Bolivian political crisis

text: In December 2019, the interim government of Áñez contracted CLS Strategies, a Washington-based public relations firm, "to carry out lobbying in support of Bolivian democracy" and "in support of holding new presidential elections". In September 2020, Facebook closed 55 accounts, 42 pages and 36 Instagram accounts linked to CLS Strategies. Facebook said these were fake accounts used to secretly manipulate politics in Bolivia, Venezuela and Mexico in violation of Facebook's prohibition on foreign interference.


title: 2019 Bolivian political crisis

text: Following Morales's resignation, a large anti-Morales Twitter bot network was uncovered by the microblogging site in mid November. The network had published automated tweets which declared opposition to Morales, further adding that the events were "not a coup". Compared to the extremely low proportion of the population that speaks English, the abundance of English tweets from this network suggests that it was intended to sway opinions beyond Bolivia. The company behind the site had removed many of the tweets by 19 November, but media reports suggested that around 4200 were still up by that point. The Caracas-based TeleSur network alleged that nearly 70,000 fake accounts had been used by the network, many of which were created just days before. A Social Networks head working for the Spanish party Podemos further alleged that fake accounts were used to artificially boost the online following of anti-Morales political figures, including Añez.


title: 2019 Bolivian political crisis

text: An investigation by "The Guardian" in 2021 found that Facebook was slow to remove fake accounts and pages in Bolivia when notified of their existence. A network of fake accounts supporting a candidate during the October 2019 election were still operating in September 2020. In general, Facebook "allowed major abuses of its platform in poor, small and non-western countries in order to prioritise addressing abuses that attract media attention or affect the US and other wealthy countries".


title: 2019 Bolivian political crisis

text: In May 2020, Health Minister Marcelo Navajas was arrested on suspicion of corruption related to a scheme to buy ventilators for the treatment of COVID-19. The ventilators were purchased from a Spanish company for around twice their value. Intensive care doctors said that the ventilators were not suitable for Bolivian intensive care units. In August 2020, a report in the "New York Times" said the death rate in Bolivia was "nearly five times the official tally" and that testing was very limited. It said that Bolivia was one of the worst affected countries and calculated that Bolivia had five times as many deaths in July as in previous years. Writing in the "New York Times" in September 2020, Diego von Vacano, who is an expert in Latin America, said Añez' interim government had mismanaged the COVID-19 crisis.


title: 1982 NFL season

text: The 1982 NFL season was the 63rd regular season of the National Football League. A 57-day-long players' strike reduced the 1982 season from a 16-game schedule per team to an abbreviated nine game schedule. Because of the shortened season, the NFL adopted a special 16-team playoff tournament; division standings were ignored for seeding (although each division sent at least two teams, except the NFC West which had only one). Eight teams from each conference were seeded 1–8 based on their regular season records. Two teams qualified for the playoffs despite losing records (the Cleveland Browns and the Detroit Lions). The season ended with Super Bowl XVII when the Washington Redskins defeated the Miami Dolphins 27–17 at the Rose Bowl stadium.


title: 1982 NFL season

text: Before the season, a verdict was handed down against the league in the trial brought by the Oakland Raiders and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum back in 1980. The jury ruled that the NFL violated antitrust laws when it declined to approve the proposed move by the team from Oakland to Los Angeles. Thus, the league was forced to let the officially renamed "Los Angeles Raiders" play in the second largest city in the United States, returning football to the Los Angeles area proper following a two-year absence (the Los Angeles Rams left the Coliseum for Anaheim Stadium in Orange County in 1980).


title: 1982 NFL season

text: For the start of the 1982 season, the Minnesota Vikings moved from Metropolitan Stadium to the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.


title: 1982 NFL season

text: September 18, 1982: The New Orleans Saints traded longtime starter Archie Manning to the Houston Oilers for offensive tackle Leon Gray.


title: 1982 NFL season

text: The 1982 NFL Draft was held from April 27 to 28, 1982 at New York City's Sheraton Hotel. With the first pick, the New England Patriots selected defensive end Kenneth Sims from the University of Texas.


title: 1982 NFL season

text: For the first time all Sunday afternoon games began in one of two windows: 1:00 p.m. ET/noon CT for early games, or 4:00 p.m. ET/1:00 p.m. PT for late games. From 1970 to 1981, most games began at 1 p.m. local time regardless of the home team (except in Denver, where the Broncos kick off at 2 p.m. MT). An exception to this rule was made for the Baltimore Colts, who were forced to begin Sunday home games no earlier than 2 p.m. Eastern due to a Baltimore ordinance, since repealed, which prohibited Sunday sporting events from beginning prior to that hour. That ordinance was cited by owner Robert Irsay as a burden and a factor in moving the franchise to Indianapolis in March 1984.


title: 1982 NFL season

text: Players began a 57-day strike following the completion of Week 2 of the regular season. As a result of the impasse, games were simply cancelled until a settlement was reached (ultimately, Weeks 3 to 10). Upon reaching that settlement, the NFL announced that Weeks 11 to 16 would be played as scheduled, and the games originally scheduled for Week 3 of the season would be played following the completion of the resumed regular season as a new Week 17, with the playoffs pushed back one week. Later, the NFL decided to use the final week 17 to hold various intra-division games from cancelled Weeks 3 to 10 instead of merely playing the Week 3 games. This was done to increase attendance and to allow some teams to balance out home and away games, to the extent possible (either five home and four away, or four home and five away). Because the 1982 shortened season would include only nine regular season contests for each team, the NFL announced that the three divisions in each of the two conferences would be eliminated for the purpose of determining playoff qualifications, and the regular season would be followed by an expansion of the playoffs from 10 to 16 teams. With this, each conference had 14 teams competing for 8 playoff spots, with division standings being disregarded in favor of overall conference standings.


title: 1982 NFL season

text: Each of the first three rounds of the playoffs was pushed back one week in order to make room for the new week 17, which was originally scheduled as the Wild Card weekend. This was possible because there was an idle week between the Conference Championship games and the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl was held as originally scheduled.


title: 1982 NFL season

text: Until this season, no team ever reached the post-season with a losing record. The Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions both made playoff appearances with 4–5 records. It would be 28 years before another team with a losing record would make the post-season (however, this would be accomplished in a full season).


title: 1982 NFL season

text: ABC, CBS, and NBC each signed five-year contracts to renew their rights to broadcast "Monday Night Football", the NFC package, and the AFC package, respectively. The major change was that ABC was allowed into the Super Bowl rotation beginning with Super Bowl XIX at the end of the 1984 season.


title: 1982 NFL season

text: Len Berman replaced Bryant Gumbel as host on NBC's pregame show "NFL '82". Pete Axthelm also joined the show as a studio analyst.


title: 1982 NFL season

text: With games canceled during the players' strike, CBS sent Pat Summerall and John Madden, and some of their other regular NFL announcing crews, to instead call a few college football Division II and III games. NBC acquired the rights to air the Canadian Football League for those weeks, sending Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen, and their other regular NFL announcing crews to those games.


title: 1982 NFL season

text: During this season, the new Channel 4 in the United Kingdom began its coverage of the NFL which was to earn a substantial following during English soccer's low point of the mid-1980s. However, the first match shown - between the Dallas Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers - had been played some time before it was shown in the UK, because coverage began during the players' strike.


title: Emmaus

text: Emmaus (; Greek: Ἐμμαούς, "Emmaous"; ; , "Emmaom"; , "ʻImwas") is a town mentioned in the Gospel of Luke of the New Testament. Luke reports that Jesus appeared, after his death and resurrection, before two of his disciples while they were walking on the road to Emmaus.


title: Emmaus

text: Although its geographical identification is not certain, several locations have been suggested throughout history, chiefly Emmaus Nicopolis. It is known only that it was connected by a road to Jerusalem; the distance given by Luke varies in different manuscripts and the figure given has been made even more ambiguous by interpretations.


title: Emmaus

text: The place-name Emmaus is relatively common in classical sources about the Levant and is usually derived through Greek and Latin from the Semitic word for "warm spring", the Hebrew form of which is "hamma" or "hammat" (חמת). In the ancient and present-day Middle East, many sites are named Hama Hamath and variations thereof.


title: Emmaus

text: The name for Emmaus was hellenized during the 2nd century BC and appears in Jewish and Greek texts in many variations: Ammaus, Ammaum, Emmaus, Emmaum, Maus, Amus, etc.: ,


title: Emmaus

text: Emmaus may derive from the Hebrew "ḥammat" () meaning "hot spring", and is generally referred to in Hebrew sources as "Ḥamtah" or "Ḥamtān". A spring of Emmaus (), or alternatively a 'spring of salvation' () is attested in Greek sources. Emmaus is mentioned by this name in Midrash Zutta for Song of Songs 6,8 and Midrash Rabba for Lamentations 1,45, and in the Midrash Rabba on Ecclesiastes (7:15).


title: Emmaus

text: Emmaus is mentioned in the Gospel of Luke as the village where Jesus appeared to his disciples after his crucifixion and resurrection. indicates that Jesus appears after his resurrection to two disciples who are walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus, which is described as being 60 stadia (10.4 to 12 km depending on what definition of "stadion" is used) from Jerusalem. One of the disciples is named Cleopas (verse 18), while his companion remains unnamed:


title: Emmaus

text: That very day two of them were going to a village (one hundred and) sixty stadia away from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were speaking about all the things that had occurred. And it happened that while they were speaking and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him … As they approached the village to which they were going, he gave the impression that he was going on further. But they urged him, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is declining." So he went in to stay with them. And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him.


title: Emmaus

text: According to the gospel, the story takes place in the evening of the day of Jesus's resurrection. The two disciples hear that the tomb of Jesus was found empty earlier that day. They are discussing the events of the past few days when a stranger asks them what they are discussing. "Their eyes were kept from recognizing him." He rebukes them for their unbelief and explains prophecies about the Messiah to them. On reaching Emmaus, they ask the stranger to join them for the evening meal.


title: Emmaus

text: When he breaks the bread, "their eyes [are] opened" and they recognize him as the resurrected Christ. Jesus immediately vanishes. Cleopas and his friend then hasten back to Jerusalem to carry the news to the other disciples.


title: Emmaus

text: A similar event is mentioned in the Gospel of Mark (), although the disciples' destination is not stated. This passage is believed by some to be a late addition, derived from the Gospel of Luke.


title: Emmaus

text: Emmaus is the Greek variant of the Hebrew word and place-name for hot springs, "hammat", and is therefore not unique to one location, which makes the identification of the New Testament site more difficult.


title: Emmaus

text: Several places in Judea and Galilee are called Emmaus in the Bible, the works of Josephus Flavius, and other sources from the relevant period. The one most often mentioned is a town of some importance situated in the Valley of Ajalon (today, Ayyalon), later called Emmaus Nicopolis.


title: Emmaus

text: Many sites have been suggested for the biblical Emmaus, among them Emmaus Nicopolis (c. 160 stadia from Jerusalem), Kiryat Anavim (66 stadia from Jerusalem on the carriage road to Jaffa), Coloniya (c. 36 stadia on the carriage road to Jaffa), el-Kubeibeh (63 stadia, on the Roman road to Lydda), Artas (60 stadia from Jerusalem) and Khurbet al-Khamasa (86 stadia on the Roman road to Eleutheropolis). The oldest identification that is currently known is Emmaus Nicopolis. The identification is complicated by the fact that New Testament manuscripts list at least three different distances between Jerusalem and Emmaus in Luke 24:13-14.


title: Emmaus

text: The first modern site identification of Emmaus was by the explorer Edward Robinson, who equated it with the Palestinian Arab village of Imwas (), near the Latrun monastery. Before its destruction in 1967, the village of Imwas was located at the end of the Ayalon Valley, on the border of the hill country of Judah, at 153 stadia (18.6 miles) from Jerusalem via the Kiryat Yearim Ridge Route, 161 stadia (19.6 miles) via the Beth-Horon Ridge Route and lower by elevation.


title: Emmaus

text: Eusebius was probably the first to mention Nicopolis as biblical Emmaus in his Onomasticon. Jerome, who translated Eusebius' book, implied in his letter 108 that there was a church in Nicopolis built in the house of Cleopas where Jesus broke bread on that late journey. From the 4th century on, the site was commonly identified as the biblical Emmaus.


title: Emmaus

text: Archaeologically, many remains have been excavated at the site of the former Palestinian village, now located inside Canada Park, which support historical and traditional claims. Five structures were found and dated, including a Christian basilica from the 6th century and a 12th-century Crusader church. Emmaus Nicopolis is a titular see of the Roman Catholic Church.


title: Emmaus

text: There are several sources giving information about this town's ancient history, among them the First Book of Maccabees, the works of Josephus, and chronicles from the Late Roman, Byzantine and Early Muslim periods. According to 1 Maccabees 3:55-4:22, around 166 BC Judas Maccabeus fought against the Seleucids in the region of this particular Emmaus, and was victorious at the Battle of Emmaus; later, this town was fortified by Bacchides, a Seleucid general (1 Macc 9:50). When Rome took over the land it became the capital of a district or toparchy, and was burnt by order of Varus after the death of Herod in 4 BC. During the First Jewish Revolt, before the siege of Jerusalem, Vespasian's 5th legion was deployed there while the 10th Legion was in Jericho. The town was renamed Emmaus Nicopolis in AD 221 by Emperor Elagabalus, who conferred it the title of "polis" ("city") following the request of a delegation from Emmaus. The Plague of Emmaus in AD 639, mentioned in Muslim sources, is claimed to have caused up to 25,000 deaths in the town.


title: Emmaus

text: Another possibility is the village of al-Qubeiba, west of Nabi Samwil on the Beit Horon road northwest of Jerusalem. The town, meaning "little domes" in Arabic, is located at about 65 stadia from Jerusalem. A Roman fort subsequently named Castellum Emmaus (from the Latin root castra, meaning encampment) was discovered at the site in 1099 by the Crusaders. However, there is no source from the Roman, Byzantine or Early Muslim periods naming it as "Emmaus" for the time of Jesus. Whether Josephus (who puts Emmaus at a distance of thirty "stadia" from Jerusalem) was referring to this place is now uncertain. However, the Gospel of Luke speaks of 60 stadia (Luke 24:13), a distance very close to the actual 65 stadia to Qubeibeh.


title: Emmaus

text: In the 12th century, the Crusaders of the Kingdom of Jerusalem called the site "Small Mahomeria", in order to distinguish it from the "Large Mahomeria" near Ramallah. Sounding similar to "Mahommed", the term was used in medieval times to describe a place inhabited or used for prayer by Muslims. It was referred to as Qubaibat for the first time at the end of that same century by the writer Abu Shama, who writes in his "Book of the Two Gardens" about a Muslim prince falling into the hands of the Crusaders at this spot. The Franciscans built a church here in 1902, on the ruins of a Crusader basilica.


title: Emmaus

text: During the Second World War, British authorities held Franciscans of Italian and German nationality at Emmaus-Qubeibeh. While there,


title: Emmaus

text: Bellarmino Bagatti conducted excavations from 1940 to 1944 which revealed artifacts from the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, and Crusader periods. Inspired by Bagatti's work, Virgilio Canio Corbo also undertook some experimental explorations.


title: Emmaus

text: Abu Ghosh is located in the middle of the Kiryat Yearim Ridge Route between Nicopolis and Jerusalem, nine miles (83 stadia) from the capital. A former Minorite convent with a Gothic church was turned into a stable. Robinson dated it to the Crusader period and declared it "more perfectly preserved than any other ancient church in Palestine." Excavations carried out in 1944 supported the identification with Fontenoid, a site the Crusaders held for a while to be Emmaus before accepting Nicopolis as the "real" Emmaus.


title: Emmaus

text: Colonia, between Abu Ghosh and Jerusalem on the Kiryat Yearim Ridge Route, is another possibility. At a distance of c. 8 km from Jerusalem, it was referred to as Mozah in the Old Testament (). Listed among the Benjamite cities of , it was referred to in the Talmud as a place where people would come to cut young willow branches as a part of the celebration of Sukkot (Mishnah, Sukkah 4.5: 178). Motza was identified as the Emmaus of Luke in 1881 by William F. Birch (1840–1916) of the Palestine Exploration Fund, and again in 1893 by Paulo Savi. One mile to the north of modern Motza is a ruin called Khirbet Beit Mizza, which was identified by some scholars as the biblical Mozah, until recent excavations placed Mozah at Khirbet Mizza (without "Beit"), as the ruins of Qalunya/Colonia are called in Arabic.


title: Emmaus

text: Excavations in 2001-2003 headed by Professor Carsten Peter Thiede were cut short by his sudden death in 2004. Thiede was a strong proponent of Motza as the real Emmaus. He offered that the Latin "Amassa" and the Greek "Ammaous" are derived from the biblical Hebrew name Motza: Motza – ha-Motza ("ha" is the Hebrew equivalent of the definite article "the") – ha-Mosa – Amosa – Amaous – Emmaus. His excavation summaries were removed from the website of the Basel college he was teaching at, but a book and at least one article he published on the topic are available. He contended that neither Nicopolis, Abu Ghosh, or Al-Qubeiba can be considered because the first was located too far from Jerusalem, while the two others were not called Emmaus at the time of Jesus.


title: Emmaus

text: Josephus Flavius writes in "Antiquities of the Jews" about a city called Emmaus in the context of the Maccabean Revolt, which corresponds well with the large city later called Emmaus Nicopolis, located at over 170 Roman stadia from Jerusalem, while in "The Jewish War" he brings up another Emmaus, just 30 Roman stadia from Jerusalem, where Vespasian settled 800 Roman legionnaires after the First Jewish Revolt. The ancient Latin manuscripts use "Amassa", while the medieval Greek manuscripts use "Ammaous". The newly created Roman "colonia" soon made the old name disappear: even the Jewish works of the 3rd-5th centuries, the Mishnah, the Babylonian and the Jerusalem Talmud, talk about "Qeloniya", an Aramaic distortion of "colonia". This name survived into modern times in Arabic as "Qalunya". This was indeed always a village, not a city like Emmaus Nicopolis, and thus fits the description by Luke (κωμη "village") much better than the latter. The difference in distance to Jerusalem between Luke's and Josephus' Emmaus, 60 vs. 30 stadia, is still much smaller than the one to Nicopolis, which lays fully 176 stadia down the Roman road from Jerusalem. Thiede recalculated the actual distance between Jerusalem's western city gate at the time, and his excavation site at Motza which unearthed the Jewish village that predated the Roman veterans colony, and came up with a figure of 46 stadia. That would put it squarely in the middle between Luke's and Josephus' stated distances, which Thiede considers a good approximation for the time. Thiede's excavation produced Jewish artifacts of the time preceding the fall of Jerusalem in 70 CE, giving substance to his claim to have found Luke's Emmaus, which had necessarily to be settled by Jews. With no other Emmaus in the vicinity of Jerusalem, Motza was thus the only credible candidate.


title: Emmaus

text: One of the oldest extant versions of the Gospel of Luke, preserved in the Codex Bezae, reads "Oulammaus" instead of Emmaus. In Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament scriptures, Oulammaus was the place where Jacob was visited by God in his dream, while sleeping on a rock. However, Oulammaus was not a real place name but a translation mistake. The original name in Hebrew was "Luz". This mistake was later corrected, but was still there at the time when the Gospel was written around AD 100. Thus, a theory has been put forward, that the story in the Gospel was merely symbolic, drawing a parallel between Jacob being visited by God and the disciples being visited by Jesus.


title: Emmaus

text: Richard Carrier (a prominent Jesus "Mythicist"), in his book "On the Historicity of Jesus," cites this story as one of two examples of the "Vanishing Hitchhiker" urban legend from antiquity, the other being a legend concerning Romulus, the mythical founder of Rome. The story, found in Livy and Plutarch, tells of Proculus (meaning "Proclaimer" in archaic Latin) journeying by road from Alba Longa to Rome and meeting a stranger who is the resurrected Romulus. Rome is in turmoil because Romulus was recently killed and his body vanished. On their journey, Romulus explains the secrets of the kingdom, in other words how to conquer and rule the world, before ascending into heaven. Proculus then recognises the stranger and goes on to proclaim what he was told. The story recounted in Luke's gospel (Luke 24) parallels the earlier Roman myth: Cleopas (meaning "glory of her father" in Greek), while traveling by road from Jerusalem to Emmaus after learning of the death of Jesus, meets Jesus in disguise. As they walk and eat together, Jesus explains the secrets of the kingdom of heaven. Jesus later vanishes and Cleopas, now realizing who the stranger was, goes on to proclaim what he was told.


title: Emmaus

text: Emmaus, Pennsylvania, a township in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States, draws its name from the Biblical references to Emmaus.


title: Solna Municipality

text: Solna Municipality ( or , ) is a municipality in Stockholm County in Sweden, located just north of Stockholm City Centre. Its seat is located in the town of Solna, which is a part of the Stockholm urban area. Solna is one of the richest municipalities in Sweden.


title: Solna Municipality

text: The municipality is a part of Metropolitan Stockholm. None of the area is considered rural, which is unusual for Swedish municipalities, which normally are of mixed rural/urban character. Solna is the third smallest municipality in Sweden in terms of area.


title: Solna Municipality

text: Solna borders Stockholm Municipality to the south, southeast and northwest; to Sundbyberg Municipality to the west; to Sollentuna Municipality to the north; and to Danderyd Municipality to the northeast. The boundary with Danderyd Municipality is delineated by the Stocksundet strait.


title: Solna Municipality

text: There are two parishes in Solna Municipality: Råsunda (population 29,677) and Solna (population 28,317). Solna Parish once included parts of present-day City of Stockholm.


title: Solna Municipality

text: Solna is divided into eight traditional parts with no administrative functions: Bergshamra, Haga, Hagalund, Huvudsta, Järva, Råsunda, Skytteholm and Ulriksdal. The largest districts are Råsunda, Hagalund and Huvudsta, with the Solna Centrum in between them.


title: Solna Municipality

text: With few exceptions, Solna's built-up areas have a suburban character, but there are also several large parks and Friends Arena, Sweden's new national football stadium adjacent to the Solna station of Stockholm commuter rail.


title: Solna Municipality

text: The final matches of both the 1958 FIFA (men's) World Cup and the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup were played at Råsunda Stadium, the national football stadium from 1937 to 2012 (demolished in 2013).


title: Solna Municipality

text: Solna has attracted a wide range of businesses and authorities, making it a major place of work in Greater Stockholm. Among the most important employers are the medical university Karolinska Institutet and the Karolinska University Hospital. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) are also located in Solna.


title: Solna Municipality

text: The population in Solna Municipality has the 16th highest median income per capita in Sweden, and the share of highly educated persons, according to Statistics Sweden's definition: persons with post-secondary education that is three years or longer, is 46.0% (national average: 27.0%) and the 5th highest in the country.


title: Solna Municipality

text: On 31 December 2017 the number of people with a (persons born outside of Sweden or with two parents born outside of Sweden) was 30 601, or 38.39% of the population (79 707 on 31 December 2017). On 31 December 2002 the number of residents with a foreign background was (per the same definition) 14 986, or 26.02% of the population (57 585 on 31 December 2002). On 31 December 2017 there were 79 707 residents in Solna, of which 23 597 people (29.60%) were born in a country other than Sweden. Divided by country in the table below – the Nordic countries as well as the 12 most common countries of birth outside of Sweden for Swedish residents have been included, with other countries of birth bundled together by continent by Statistics Sweden.


title: Solna Municipality

text: As with all 290 municipalities of Sweden, Solna has a municipal assembly ("kommunfullmäktige"), holding 61 members elected by proportional representation for a four-year term. An executive committee ("kommunstyrelse") is appointed by its members.


title: Solna Municipality

text: Solna is centrally located in the Stockholm area and is well served by the Stockholm public transport system with two commuter train stations and six metro stations as well as a dense bus network run by SL. It was served by trams until 1959. Light rail returned after 54 years of absence when Tvärbanan was extended from Alvik to Solna centrum. A further extension to Solna Station opened in 2014.


title: Solna Municipality

text: The head office of Scandinavian Airlines and SAS Group is located in Solna. The airline head office was formerly located on the property of Stockholm Arlanda Airport in Sigtuna Municipality, but now it is back in Solna.


title: Solna Municipality

text: The bandy department of AIK has been very successful on the women's side, with several national titles in recent years. The men's team has gotten promoted to Elitserien 2019-20.


title: Garabandal apparitions

text: The Garabandal apparitions are apparitions of Saint Michael the Archangel and the Blessed Virgin Mary that are claimed to have occurred from 1961 to 1965 to four young schoolgirls in the rural village of San Sebastián de Garabandal in the Peña Sagra mountain range in the autonomous community of Cantabria in Northern Spain.


title: Garabandal apparitions

text: The Virgin Mary in this series of claimed visitations is often referred to as "Our Lady of Mount Carmel of Garabandal", because her appearance and dress looked like portrayals of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. The bishops of Santander have yet to identify anything to indicate an occurrence of supernatural nature.


title: Garabandal apparitions

text: The events at Garabandal began on June 18, 1961, when four girls eleven and twelve years old, Mari Loli Mazón (May 1, 1949 – April 20, 2009), Jacinta González (b. April 27, 1949), Mari Cruz González (b. June 21, 1950) and Maria "Conchita" Concepción González (b. February 7, 1949) said that they saw an angel. The angel made another appearance on June 25. The story quickly spread throughout the village. They subsequently reported seeing the Blessed Virgin. These claims continued for a number of years.


title: Garabandal apparitions

text: According to the visionaries, the purpose of the visitations was to call for a "conversion of heart". The visionaries reported receiving two 'messages', one directly from the Blessed Virgin Mary and the other from the Virgin Mary by way of Saint Michael the Archangel.


title: Garabandal apparitions

text: The first, revealed on October 18, 1961, states: "We must make many sacrifices, perform much penance, and visit the Blessed Sacrament frequently. But first, we must lead good lives. If we do not, a chastisement will befall us. The cup is already filling up, and if we do not change, a very great chastisement will come upon us."


title: Garabandal apparitions

text: The June 18, 1965, apparition, in which Conchita heard the second message, was televised live by Spanish television. Only Conchita González, regarded by most devotees of Garabandal as the "principal visionary", reported receiving the second message:


title: Garabandal apparitions

text: As my Message of the 18th of October has not been complied with, and as it has not been made known to the world, I am telling you that this is the last one. Previously, the Cup was filling; now, it is brimming over. Many Cardinals, Bishops and priests are following the road to perdition, and with them they are taking many more souls. Ever less importance is being given to the Holy Eucharist. We should turn the wrath of God away from us by our own efforts. If you ask His forgiveness with a sincere heart. He will pardon you. I, your Mother, through the intercession of St. Michael the Archangel, wish to tell you that you should make amends. You are now being given the last warnings. I love you very much, and I do not want your condemnation. Ask Us sincerely and We shall grant your plea...Reflect on the Passion of Jesus.


title: Garabandal apparitions

text: The second message caused particular controversy when it was revealed that Conchita had actually written "many cardinals, many bishops and many priests are following the road to perdition." She was asked many times to verify this information. The young woman stated many times that Mary stressed the importance of the priesthood, and focused attention on priests above others.


title: Garabandal apparitions

text: Besides the two "messages", the visionaries forecast a "warning", a "miracle" and a "punishment" (if people do not correct their ways). The warning is described as a momentary stopping of time around the world, with all people then seeing the spiritual condition of their souls, and how they should amend their ways. Within a year of the warning, a miracle will take place. The miracle will leave a permanent sign in Garabandal, which can be seen and photographed, but not touched. The "miracle" will occur between March and May. The "punishment", or "chastisement", is conditional upon how humankind reacts to the preceding "warning" and "miracle".


title: Garabandal apparitions

text: In addition to the predicted events, devotees believe a "small" miracle took place in the early morning hours of July 19, 1961. A photo, reproduced in all books and websites on Garabandal, is said to be taken from a film in which a Holy Communion wafer materialized in Conchita's open mouth, supposedly put there by an angel. The girls often claimed that an angel gave them Communion, and were frequently seen going through the motions of receiving the Eucharist.


title: Garabandal apparitions

text: In January 1966 Conchita was called to the Vatican for an interview with Cardinal Ottaviani, Pro-Prefect of the Congregation for the Sacred Doctrine of the Faith. In February 1968 Conchita again went to Rome, to meet with Cardinal Francis Seper.


title: Garabandal apparitions

text: Past practice regarding approved apparitions indicates that in the absence of clear supernatural proof, neither the local bishop nor Rome is likely to approve an apparition. Authorities maintain a conservative attitude toward the apparitions. In accordance with usual procedure concerning claimed visitations, the Bishop of Santander has primary jurisdiction. Four successive bishops of Santander have viewed the supernatural character of Garabandal as unfounded.


title: Garabandal apparitions

text: On July 8, 1965, Bishop Eugenio Beitia of Santander wrote, We point out, however, that we have not found anything deserving of ecclesiastical censorship or condemnation either in the doctrine or in the spiritual recommendations that have been publicized as having been addressed to the faithful, for these ...contain an exhortation to prayer and sacrifice, to Eucharistic devotion, to veneration of Our Lady in traditional praiseworthy ways, and to holy fear of God offended by our sins. They simply repeat the common doctrine of the Church in these matters.


title: Garabandal apparitions

text: In 1967 Bishop Vicente Puchol Montiz of Santander issued an "official note" declaring: "There was no apparition either of the Blessed Virgin or of St. Michael the Archangel or of any other celestial personage. There was no message. All the phenomena which occurred have a natural explanation." Despite claims from Garabandal devotees that jurisdiction lies with the Holy See, on May 10, 1969, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a declaration giving "full support to Bishop Montiz, saying he 'acted correctly in this matter, and in full accord with his authority.


title: Garabandal apparitions

text: Regarding the alleged Marian apparitions at Garabandal, Bishop Jose Vilaplana stated that: "All the bishops of the diocese from 1961 through 1970 asserted that the supernatural character of the said apparitions, that took place around that time, could not be confirmed. [no constaba]. He further expressed the opinion that he did not find it necessary to reiterate this in a new declaration and give undue publicity to something which happened so long ago.


title: Garabandal apparitions

text: In a letter to Archbishop Philip M. Hannan of New Orleans, Louisiana, dated April 21, 1970, Cardinal Seper, Prefect of the Congregation for the Sacred Doctrine of the Faith, stated: The Holy see has always held that the conclusions and dispositions of the Bishop of Santander were sufficiently secure guidelines for the Christian people and indications for the Bishops to order to dissuade people from participating in pilgrimages and other acts of devotion that are based on claims connected with or founded on the presumed apparitions and messages of Garabandal. In order to reply to certain doubts that you expressed in your letter this Sacred Congregation wishes to assert: that the Holy See has never approved even indirectly the Garabandal movement, that it has never encouraged or blessed Garabandal promoters or centers. Rather the Holy See deplores the fact that certain persons and Institutions persist in formatting the movement in obvious contradiction with the dispositions of ecclesiastical authority and thus disseminate confusion among the people especially among the simple and defenseless."


title: Garabandal apparitions

text: In 1975 Jacinta, the visionary, visited Rome in order to gain the Holy Year indulgence. The Bishop of Santander, del Val, had given her a personal letter of introduction addressed to certain Cardinals of the Sacred Congregation. She was received by Cardinal Ottaviani for 30 minutes. Cardinal Philippe, who was presiding over a Bishops' Conference, left it in order to meet her and tell her, "I bless you in the name of the Madonna and I am fully with you." She was also told, "It is very important that the four of you remain united."


title: Garabandal apparitions

text: On March 10, 1996, the Sacred Congregation wrote a letter to this effect to the Bishop of Santander, who had also asked for a more explicit declaration of the Holy See to the matter.


title: Garabandal apparitions

text: "However, promoters of the Garabandal movement have tried to minimize the decisions and the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Santander. "This Sacred Congregation wants it to be clearly understood that the Bishop of Santander has been and continues to be the only one with complete jurisdiction in this matter and the Holy See has no intention of examining this question any further", since it holds that the examinations already carried out are sufficient as well as are the official declarations of the Bishop of Santander. There is no truth to the statement that the Holy See has named an Official Papal Private Investigator of Garabandal and affirmations attributed to the anonymous personage to the extent that the verification of the Garabandal apparitions lies completely in the hands of Pope Paul VI and other such expressions that aim at undermining the authority of the decisions of the Bishop of Santander are completely unfounded.


title: Garabandal apparitions

text: In April 2007 Joey Lomangino, founder of a large organization for U.S. Garabandal devotees, received from Conchita a copy of a letter dated February 12, 2007 from Archbishop Carlos Sierra of Oviedo. Sierra was the acting Apostolic Administrator for the Diocese of Santander in Spain, and the letter was addressed to a prominent Garabandal supporter in that country.


title: Garabandal apparitions

text: "I want you to know that I am open to receiving and considering all information about Garabandal, and would like to continue—as long as our Holy Father wishes me to serve as Apostolic Administrator—the work that my brothers at the Bishopric have already done in reference to this subject. What I have just done is authorize the priests to go to Garabandal and hold Holy Mass at the Parish, at any desired time, and to administer the Sacrament of Reconciliation to anyone that wishes to receive it. I am sure the next Bishop will promote further studies to examine in depth the Garabandal events and will send the findings to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome... I encourage you to keep maintaining such devotion toward our Mother." - Carlos, Archbishop of Oviedo


title: Garabandal apparitions

text: On May 7, 1970, addressing a group of Garabandal pilgrims from St. Michael's Garabandal Centre, Brockton, Mass., the Pope blessed their banner.


title: Garabandal apparitions

text: In his book "Garabandal The Village Speaks", Ramon Perez concludes: "At the end of 1980 we are still at the same point: Rome takes the affair very seriously but officially she declares that it is the Bishop of Santander who must decide."


title: Garabandal apparitions

text: Albrecht Weber wrote the book "Garabandal Der Zeigefinger Gottes" ("Garabandal: The Finger of God") on Garabandal in 1993. A copy was presented to Pope John Paul II, who later asked his secretary, Fr. (later Archbishop) Stanislaus Dziwisz, to write to the author. In the subsequent printing (2000) of the book, on page 19, a portion of the Pope's message is reprinted, as follows:


title: Garabandal apparitions

text: "May God reward you for everything. Especially for the deep love with which you are making the events connected with Garabandal more widely known. May the Message of the Mother of God find an entrance into hearts before it is too late. As an expression of joy and gratitude, the Holy Father gives you his apostolic blessing."


title: Garabandal apparitions

text: Weber writes, "From the attached greeting in the Pope's own handwriting, with his signature, it is clear how deep an interest he has in the events of Garabandal, and how anxious he is that they should be made known in a credible way."


title: Garabandal apparitions

text: From the book "The Final Hour" (Michael Brown) page 141 on the topic of Padre Pio's belief in Garabandal: "Asked on another occasion about its authenticity, he answered curtly, 'How many times must she appear there to be believed?


title: Garabandal apparitions

text: Joey Lomangino’s recall of when he talked to Padre Pio:"We made arrangements to come back again that same day and greeted Padre Pio in the cloister. When we knelt down, we said to him, "Padre Pio, is it true that the Virgin is appearing to the four girls of Garabandal?" And he said, "Yes." We said, "Padre Pio, should we go there?" He said, "Yes, why not?" And that’s how it happened. Because I received the assurance from Padre Pio that the Virgin was appearing and that he permitted me to go, then I wasn't afraid and I went."Mother Teresa, the Foundress of the Missionaries of Charity, said "It was in 1970 that I heard about the apparitions of San Sebastian de Garabandal for the first time ... From the beginning, I felt that the 'events' were authentic ..." (Letter of November 10, 1987, to Msgr. del Val).


title: Garabandal apparitions

text: In 1972, Mari Loli Mazón moved to the United States, where she would live for the next 37 years until her death in Plaistow, New Hampshire in 2009. Jacinta González became Jacinta Moynihan and is living in Oxnard, California, just north of Los Angeles with her husband, Jeffrey Moynihan and daughter Maria. Mari Cruz González lives in Aviles, Spain and is married with four children (Gabriel was born in 1975, Juan Carlos — in 1978, Lourdes — in 1981 and Ignacio — in 1985). Conchita González later went to the United States and married Patrick Keena in 1973; they live in New York City with their four children but they also maintain a house in Fátima, Portugal.


title: Garabandal apparitions

text: In his book "Person and God in a Spanish Valley", W. A. Christian, Jr., who spent some time in Garabandal, suggests that the alleged apparitions arose from a perceived threat to traditional local beliefs and practices due to some changes resulting from the Second Vatican Council.


title: Garabandal apparitions

text: The Garabandal apparitions had the support of members of the family of Prince Xavier of Bourbon-Parma, pretender to the Spanish and French thrones. Conchita Gonzales attended a public papal audience with some of the Bourbon-Parmas. There was, however, no private audience or special blessing as claimed.


title: Garabandal apparitions

text: Skeptical investigator Joe Nickell has written that the alleged Garabandal miracles came from anecdotal reports, never performed under reliable conditions or observed by experts in deception, such as professional magicians. According to Nickell they have "the earmarks of childish stunts and simple tricks." Nickell also noted that on three occasions the "Garabandal visionaries retracted some statements they had made about their experiences."


title: Jodie Prenger

text: Jodie Prenger (born 12 June 1979) is an English actress and singer, best known as the winner of BBC television series "I'd Do Anything" on 31 May 2008 and the second series of "The Biggest Loser" in 2006. In 2022, she began portraying the role of Glenda Shuttleworth in the ITV soap opera "Coronation Street".


title: Jodie Prenger

text: Prenger was educated at Elmslie Girls' School in Blackpool and Blackpool and the Fylde College before starting work in the area as an entertainer. She has performed extensively on the cabaret circuit in Northern England and particularly her hometown of Blackpool and Fylde coast where she has also worked as an agony aunt. In June 1998 she appeared in two different shows each night in two Blackpool theatres. First she had a solo spot in the "Tiptoes Summer Spectacular" at the resort's Opera House theatre before appearing 20 minutes later in one of the main roles in a Blackpool and the Fylde College production of the musical comedy "Hot Mikado" at the Grand Theatre.


title: Jodie Prenger

text: Prenger's first appearance on television came in 1999 when she appeared on "A Taste for Travel" on Granada Television with her mother. In 2000, she took part in the Dale Winton show "The Other Half" on BBC One in which she had to pretend to be the wife of boxer Chris Eubank. Later that year, she played the role of the good witch Hurricane in a non-skating role in "Halloween Spectacular on Ice" at Alton Towers in Staffordshire. In 2001, she spent eight months as one of four main entertainers in a team of 19 aboard the cruise ship "Disney Wonder".


title: Jodie Prenger

text: Prenger won the second series of "The Biggest Loser" in 2006, making her the first female in the world to win the show, starting the show a size 22 and weighing . During the series, she lost over . Her final weight was and she slimmed down to a size 10 before settling at a size 14/16. Prenger won £25,000 for winning the series.


title: Jodie Prenger

text: In 2006, Jodie Prenger was also featured on Charlotte Coyle's "Fat Beauty Contest" on Channel 4, where Coyle searched for plus sized models for a beauty pageant.


title: Jodie Prenger

text: On 10 March 2009, Prenger appeared on "The Paul O'Grady Show" and spoke about her time on "The Biggest Loser". On seeing a picture of herself after initially losing weight, she said that she believed she lost too much weight and became too thin at that time. She also commented that she believed all women should have curves.


title: Jodie Prenger

text: Prenger was the winner of "I'd Do Anything" on 31 May 2008, giving her the opportunity to play Nancy in a West End revival of the British musical "Oliver!" at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Prenger attended auditions for the show in Manchester in January 2008, and made it through to the final 42 at "Nancy School" from where she was eventually chosen as one of the twelve finalists to perform in the live shows each week.


title: Jodie Prenger

text: After her performance of "Chasing Pavements" in the first live show of the series, Prenger was the joint favourite to win. Panelist John Barrowman said, "I love you to death, you connected with everyone and told the story – that's making a good Nancy!" while Denise Van Outen, another panellist, commented that "Nancy needs to have a lot of life experience and I see that coming through in your performance. It was absolutely brilliant". Barry Humphries, another panellist, who had played Mr Sowerberry, the undertaker, in the original Lionel Bart West End stage production, said "You've got that toughness and also a tenderness. A beautiful performance and a fine actress." Head judge Andrew Lloyd Webber said that Jodie could "absolutely play this role." In week five Humphries said that Prenger was "destined for the West End", and in week eight Barrowman labelled Prenger his "perfect Nancy". In the week leading up to the final in week ten, the Nancy finalists posed for publicity pictures recreating some of Madonna's iconic images. Prenger posed in a wedding dress to recreate the cover of the album "Like a Virgin". On 30 May, Webber revealed that theatrical producer Cameron Mackintosh, who produced the show in the West End, and joined the panel in week nine, was concerned about her curvaceous figure saying, "Cameron thinks she is a bit too big and has more or less said so". However, Webber defended Prenger, saying that she had both the vocal talents and personality for the role, saying "Jodie could be anybody's idea of Nancy – I can see it absolutely. She has got a lovely voice and a super personality. She has experience as well." In the final, on 31 May, Prenger performed a total number of seven songs including her performance of "As Long as He Needs Me" after she was announced as winner. She also performed "I'd Do Anything" with all the Nancy and Oliver finalists; "Son of a Preacher Man"; "Getting to Know You" from the musical "The King and I" with Laurence ; "Maybe This Time" from the film "Cabaret" with Jessie Buckley and Samantha Barks as well as also singing "As Long as he Needs Me" and "I Have Nothing" from "A Star Is Born" before the final vote. Of her performance of "Son of a Preacher Man", Mackintosh said: "Jodie has convinced me that she could make a Nancy. You absolutely deserve to be in the final." Barrowman said, "every song she sings, you believe the words. I look forward to the day I can guest star with you on the West End stage!" and Webber said, "that was a very, very, very good performance. You have an outsize talent, and a very strong voice. I just don't know if it's going to be quite enough tonight, but it might be." In the second part of the live final, Prenger performed her favourite song from the series, "I Have Nothing", and Nancy's tragic love ballad, "As Long As He Needs Me". After she was announced as the winner, Prenger said, "You have genuinely given me my dream, I can't actually put into words how I feel. I'm so grateful and so chuffed. I'm just Jodie from Blackpool and to be here is my dream." Andrew Lloyd Webber said, "The people's Nancy. Jodie was always going to be the people's choice," adding " I think people love her, they love her open personality. I think they relate to that personality and I think that's what makes her Nancy for the public. Her strengths are her personality and her very, very strong voice." Mackintosh said, "I'm thrilled for Jodie, congratulations!" adding, "She is obviously the public's view of what they want to see as Nancy. She'll give a terrific performance and I really look forward to putting her into training and getting her into rehearsals."


title: Jodie Prenger

text: In June 2008, it was confirmed that Prenger would be performing six of the eight weekly shows of "Oliver!" after it opened at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on 12 December 2008. She performed on Monday and Tuesday evenings, Wednesday matinees, Friday evenings and both the matinee and evening shows each Saturday. Prior to that she appeared in the ensemble in "Les Misérables" at the Queen's Theatre from 26 August 2008, in order to gain some experience of performing in the West End. "Oliver!" opened successfully on 14 January 2009, and Prenger received positive reviews. On 16 March 2009, a new cast recording of the revival was released with Prenger and the rest of the cast. For her role as "Nancy", Prenger received the "Theatregoers' Choice Whatsonstage Award" for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical. She played her final performance as "Nancy" on 27 March 2010, and was succeeded by fellow West End leading lady Kerry Ellis, who is best known for her role as Elphaba in the hit musical "Wicked". Prenger reprised the role of Nancy once more, for two one-off performances on 13 November 2010, whilst Ellis was absent.


title: Jodie Prenger

text: After winning "I'd Do Anything", Prenger was given a civic reception in her hometown of Blackpool on 7 June 2008, with a specially erected stage in front of the town hall where she performed several songs from "Oliver!". On 24 August 2008, she performed in a "Music Under the Stars" event at the annual Faenol Festival held near Y Felinheli in Gwynedd, North Wales.


title: Jodie Prenger

text: Prenger played the role of The Lady of the Lake in the UK tour of the hit musical "Spamalot", which began performances at New Wimbledon Theatre on 29 May 2010. She was also cast as Diane in the new drama series, "Candy Cabs", about a group of friends who set up a female-only taxi company in a seaside town in Northern England.


title: Jodie Prenger

text: Prenger appeared in "One Man, Two Guvnors" at the Haymarket Theatre in London, alongside Owain Arthur who took over the role of Francis Henshall from Tony award-winning actor James Corden. Prenger played Elsie Tanner in the ill-fated "Street of Dreams", the "Coronation Street" musical written by Trisha Ward. The show finally premiered in May 2012 after its opening was delayed by more than a month at the Manchester Arena and then was supposed to tour around major UK arenas, It closed after a couple of nights amid controversy.


title: Jodie Prenger

text: Jodie performed in the UK tour of Tell Me on a Sunday before taking on the title role in the UK tour of Shirley Valentine.


title: Jodie Prenger

text: In 2017/2018, Prenger played the lead role of Kelly in the world premiere of Kay Mellor's "Fat Friends The Musical" alongside Andrew Flintoff, Sam Bailey, Kevin Kennedy, Natalie Anderson, Neil Hurst and Rachel Wooding


title: Jodie Prenger

text: In 2013, Prenger participated in "Let's Dance for Comic Relief". Boyzone's Keith Duffy had originally planned to participate in the programme, but was unable to compete due to private matters. Prenger then took his place on the show. Her first appearance was in the third heat on 2 March 2013, where she danced to the song "Word Up" by Cameo. She was saved by the public, and as a result, made it through to the final on 9 March 2013 where she finished second place to Antony Cotton.


title: Jodie Prenger

text: She occasionally presented the midweek National Lottery draw on BBC One. In June 2011, Prenger appeared in an episode of "Waterloo Road", playing Linda Wickes.


title: Jodie Prenger

text: Prenger also frequently sits in for Paul O'Grady and Elaine Paige, when they are absent from their BBC Radio 2 shows.


title: Jodie Prenger

text: Prenger was engaged to her boyfriend, Steve Greengrass, who proposed to her after the Saturday show in week three of "I'd Do Anything" on 12 April 2008; a whirlwind romance which was featured throughout the series as their first date some three months earlier had been Prenger's audition in Manchester. She split from Greengrass a few weeks after the show's finale.


title: Jodie Prenger

text: In April 2012, Prenger announced her engagement to boyfriend of two years, Simon Booth, soon after her father Marty died of kidney cancer.


title: Joseph Rochefort

text: Joseph John Rochefort (May 12, 1900 – July 20, 1976) was an American naval officer and cryptanalyst. He was a major figure in the United States Navy's cryptographic and intelligence operations from 1925 to 1946, particularly in the Battle of Midway. His contributions and those of his team were pivotal to victory in the Pacific War.


title: Joseph Rochefort

text: Rochefort was born in Dayton, Ohio. In 1917, he joined the United States Navy while still in high school in Los Angeles, without obtaining a diploma. He enlisted in the Navy in 1918, lying that he was born in 1898 so as to appear almost 21 and eligible for the service. This adjustment lasted his entire career. He was commissioned as an ensign after a 14 June 1919 graduation from the US Navy's Steam Engineering School at Stevens Institute of Technology, and later in 1919 became engineering officer of the tanker USS "Cuyama".


title: Joseph Rochefort

text: A fellow officer observed that Rochefort had a penchant for solving crossword puzzles and adept skills at playing the advanced card game auction bridge and recommended him for a Navy cryptanalysis class in Washington, D.C.


title: Joseph Rochefort

text: Rochefort's tours ashore included cryptanalytic training as an assistant to Captain Laurance Safford, and work with the master codebreaker Agnes Meyer Driscoll in 1924.


title: Joseph Rochefort

text: He then served a stint as second chief of the Division of Naval Communications' newly created cryptanalytic organization, OP-20-G, from 1926 to 1929; training in the Japanese language from 1929 to 1932; and a two-year intelligence assignment in the Eleventh Naval District, San Diego, from 1936 to 1938. Until 1941, Rochefort spent nine years in cryptologic or intelligence-related assignments and fourteen years at sea with the U.S. Fleet in positions of increasing responsibility.


title: Joseph Rochefort

text: In early 1941, Laurance Safford, again chief of OP-20-G in Washington, sent Rochefort to Hawaii to become officer in charge of Station Hypo ("H" for Hawaii in the Navy's phonetic alphabet at the time) in Pearl Harbor as Rochefort was an expert Japanese linguist and trained cryptanalyst.


title: Joseph Rochefort

text: Rochefort handpicked many of HYPO's staff, and by the time of Pearl Harbor had gotten many of the Navy's best cryptanalysts, traffic analysts, and linguists including Joseph Finnegan. Rochefort's team was assigned to break the Japanese Navy's most secure cypher system, the Flag Officers Code, while Navy cryptographers at Station CAST (Cavite in the Philippines) and OP-20-G in Washington (NEGAT, "N" for Navy Department) concentrated on the main fleet cipher, JN-25.


title: Joseph Rochefort

text: Rochefort had a close working relationship with Edwin T. Layton, whom he first met on the voyage to Tokyo where both men were sent to learn Japanese at the Navy's request. In 1941, Layton was the chief intelligence officer for Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet (). Both he and Rochefort were denied access to decrypts of diplomatic messages sent in Purple, the highest level diplomatic cypher, in the months before the Japanese attack, on the orders of the director of the War Plans Division, Richmond K. Turner.


title: Joseph Rochefort

text: After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Navy cryptographers, with assistance from both British cryptographers at the Far East Combined Bureau (in Singapore; later Colombo, Kenya, Colombo), and Dutch cryptographers (in the Dutch East Indies), combined to break enough JN-25 traffic to provide useful intelligence reports and assessments regarding Japanese force disposition and intentions in early 1942. Rochefort would often go for days without emerging from his bunker, where he and his staff spent 12 hours a day, or even longer, working to decode Japanese radio traffic. He often wore slippers and a bathrobe with his khaki uniform and sometimes went days without bathing.


title: Joseph Rochefort

text: Station HYPO maintained the coming Japanese attack would be in the Central Pacific, and convinced Admiral Chester W. Nimitz (who replaced Kimmel). OP-20-G (with support from Station CAST) insisted it would be elsewhere in the Pacific, probably the Aleutian Islands, possibly Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea, or even the west coast of the United States. OP-20-G, which had been restructured (Safford having been replaced by Commander John Redman, a communications officer untrained in cryptanalysis) agreed the attack was scheduled for mid-June, not late May or early June, as Rochefort maintained. Redman also said that Rochefort was being "un-cooperative", and should concentrate on additive recovery. Admiral Ernest King, Nimitz's superior in Washington, was persuaded by OP-20-G. Rochefort believed an unknown codegroup, AF, referred to Midway.


title: Joseph Rochefort

text: One of the Station HYPO staff, Jasper Holmes, had the idea of faking a failure of the water supply on Midway Island. He suggested using an unencrypted emergency warning in the hope of provoking a Japanese response, thus establishing whether Midway was a target. Rochefort took the idea to Layton, who put it to Nimitz. Nimitz approved, and the garrison commander was told by submarine cable to immediately radio in "plain-language" an emergency request for water as an explosion in the water desalination system meant that they had only enough water for two weeks. An apparently "follow-up" report was to be made in one of the strip-cipher code systems that the Japanese were known to have captured on Wake. As the plan was to convince Washington, Rochefort tactfully let Fleet Radio Unit, Melbourne (FRUMEL) notify the main objects of the deception (Washington) of the Japanese message by reporting a message from the AF Air Unit saying that they had only enough water for two weeks: "This will confirm identity of AF". Rochefort then sent a reminder on Friday.


title: Joseph Rochefort

text: The Japanese took the bait. Within hours they broadcast instructions to load additional water desalination equipment, confirming Rochefort's analysis. Layton notes the instructions also "produced an unexpected bonus". They revealed the assault was to come before mid-June.


title: Joseph Rochefort

text: In Washington, Admiral Ernest J. King, who disliked Rochefort intensely, still was not convinced, however as to the date of the attack. The date-time data in Japanese naval messages was "superenciphered," or encrypted even before it was encoded in JN-25. HYPO made their all-out effort to crack this by searching the stacks of printouts and punched cards for five-digit number sequences. After finding low-grade codes, the team set about to unravel the cipher itself. Layton credits Lieutenant Joseph Finnegan for discovering "the method that the Japanese had used to lock up their date-time groups." An intercept of 26 May with orders for two destroyer groups escorting invasion transports was analyzed with this table and "really clinched the pivotal date of the operation" as either 4 or 5 June.


title: Joseph Rochefort

text: During May 1942, Rochefort and his group decrypted, translated, reviewed, analyzed, and reported as many as 140 messages per day. During the week before Nimitz issued his final orders, "decrypts were being processed at the rate of five hundred to a thousand a day."


title: Joseph Rochefort

text: When Nimitz recommended Rochefort for a Navy Distinguished Service Medal, the recommendation was rejected by King who unfairly considered Rochefort “one of the most unmilitary-looking officers he had ever encountered.” Rochefort also told Nimitz to stop the recommendation since it would only "make trouble". Other sources suggest Rochefort received no official recognition during his lifetime because he was made a scapegoat for the embarrassment of OP-20-G. Redman (whose brother was the influential Rear Admiral Joseph Redman) complained to King about the operation of the Hawaii station; as a result, Rochefort was reassigned from cryptanalysis to command the floating dry dock ABSD-2 at San Francisco. Rochefort never served at sea again. The fact that Rochefort received no higher recognition at the time is considered by some to have been an outrage and an example of King’s counterproductive personal vendettas. However, he was decorated with the Legion of Merit at the end of the War over King’s objection.


title: Joseph Rochefort

text: Rochefort headed the Pacific Strategic Intelligence Group in Washington after the war. He died in Torrance, California, aged 76.


title: Joseph Rochefort

text: In 1985, Rochefort was posthumously awarded the Navy Distinguished Service Medal. In 1986, he was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 2000, he was inducted into the National Security Agency, Central Security Service Hall of Fame.


title: Joseph Rochefort

text: On 6 January 2012, the "CAPT Joseph J. Rochefort Building" was dedicated at the NSA facility within a Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam Annex, Hawaii.


title: Joseph Rochefort

text: In the 1976 movie "Midway" with Charlton Heston and Henry Fonda, Rochefort was portrayed by Hal Holbrook. Rochefort died a month after the movie premiered. In 2019 film "Midway", he was portrayed by actor Brennan Brown.


title: Johnny Chan

text: Johnny Chan (; born in Guangzhou, China in 1957) is a Chinese professional poker player. He has won 10 World Series of Poker bracelets, including the 1987 and 1988 World Series of Poker main events consecutively.


title: Johnny Chan

text: Chan moved with his family in 1962 from Guangzhou to Hong Kong, then in 1968 to Phoenix, Arizona, and later in 1973 to Houston, Texas, where his family owned restaurants. He started playing cards with the staff of the restaurant.


title: Johnny Chan

text: When he was 21, Chan dropped out of the University of Houston, where he was majoring in hotel and restaurant management, and moved to Las Vegas to become a professional gambler.


title: Johnny Chan

text: However, his first live casino experience was before his 21st birthday. During a visit in Las Vegas at the age of 16, Chan managed to buy in for a cash game, allegedly turning $500 into $20,000 in one night, before losing the whole $20,000 the next day.


title: Johnny Chan

text: Chan won the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in 1987 and 1988 becoming the first foreign national to win the main event. A videotape of the 1988 WSOP final heads-up match is featured in the 1998 movie "Rounders", in which Chan makes a cameo appearance. He almost won a third consecutive title, but finished as the runner-up in 1989 to Phil Hellmuth. He is the last player to win back-to-back WSOP Main Events.


title: Johnny Chan

text: In 2005, Chan became the first player to win ten World Series of Poker bracelets, defeating Phil Laak in a $2,500 Pot Limit Texas hold 'em event. He is currently tied with Doyle Brunson and Phil Ivey for second place with 10 World Series of Poker bracelets, behind Phil Hellmuth (16). He was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2002.


title: Johnny Chan

text: In 2008, Chan cashed for the first time in the Main Event since 1992, earning $32,166 for his 329th-place finish.


title: Johnny Chan

text: Chan's last recorded cash dates back to 2019, when he had a fairly deep run in the WSOP Main Event, eventually busting in 560th place.


title: Johnny Chan

text: Chan competed in the $400,000 Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament in February 2005. He came back from having $20,000 chips out of $3,200,000 in play to finish in second place to Gus Hansen. Chan later competed in Poker Superstars II during the summer of 2005. He defeated 22 players to make it to the finals. He defeated Todd Brunson in the finals after three matches to win the $400,000 first prize. Chan appeared in Poker Superstars III where he made it as far as the semi finals but was defeated by Todd Brunson after three matches.


title: Johnny Chan

text: On NBC's late-night show "Poker After Dark", a six-person $20,000 buy-in winner-takes-all tournament, Johnny Chan has the most victories to date with four wins in six appearances. He came in second and fifth when he did not win.


title: Johnny Chan

text: Chan won Bob Stupak's 1981 American Cup poker tournament. He defeated all 9 other players at the final table in less than an hour. As a result, Stupak gave Chan the nickname "The Orient Express".


title: Johnny Chan

text: Chan played in the 2004 and 2005 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions events and the National Heads-Up Poker Championship in the same years.


title: Johnny Chan

text: As of 2014, his total live tournament winnings exceed $8,600,000. His 45 WSOP cashes account for $4,355,464 of those winnings.


title: Johnny Chan

text: In addition to playing poker, Chan owns a fast-food franchise in the Las Vegas Stratosphere Hotel and is a consultant for casinos and game makers. Chan has written for "Card Player" magazine. He appeared in the first (2006) and 2011 seasons of the GSN series High Stakes Poker.


title: Johnny Chan

text: In 2005, Chan collaborated with Mark Karowe to release "Play Poker Like Johnny Chan" (), an instructional book on several different types of poker. On November 28, 2006, the follow-up titled: "Million Dollar Hold'em: Winning Big in Limit Cash Games" (), which focuses on limit hold'em strategy, was released.


title: Johnny Chan

text: Johnny Chan portrayed himself in the 1998 film "Rounders". In a flashback scene, Chan is bluffed out of a pot by the main character Mike McDermott (Matt Damon).


title: National Youth Service Corps

text: The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) is a program set up by the Nigerian government during the military regime to involve Nigerian graduates in nation-building and the development of the country. There is no military conscription in Nigeria, but since 1973 graduates of universities and later polytechnics have been required to take part in the National Youth Service Corps program for one year. This is known as national service year. Ahmadu Ali served as the first Director-General of the NYSC until 1975. The incumbent Director-General is Mohammed Kaku Fadah.


title: National Youth Service Corps

text: Major General Suleiman Kazaure was appointed director general of the NYSC on 18 April 2016, and served as the 17th DG of the scheme until his redeployment to the Nigerian Army Resource Centre on 26 April 2019.


title: National Youth Service Corps

text: NYSC was created on 22 May 1973 as an avenue for the reconciliation, reconstruction, and rebuilding of the nation after the civil war. It was established based on decree No. 24 that stated that the scheme was created "with a view to the proper encouragement and development of common ties among the youths of Nigeria and the promotion of national unity".


title: National Youth Service Corps

text: Corps members (participants in the National Youth Service Scheme) are posted to states other than their state of origin where they are expected to mix with people from different ethnic groups, social and family backgrounds, and learn the culture of the indigenes in the location they are posted to. This action is aimed at bringing about unity in the country and help the youths appreciate other ethnic groups.


title: National Youth Service Corps

text: There is an "orientation" period of approximately three weeks spent in a military controlled "camp" away from family and friends. The camps are situated across the 36 states of the federation. There is also a "passing out ceremony" at the end of the three weeks orientation camp after which corp members are posted to their Place of Primary Assignment (PPA). They are expected to work as full-time staff at their PPA with exception of one working day devoted for the execution of community development service popularly called CDS. After eleven months at their PPA, corp member are allowed one month of vacation before their final passing out ceremony where they would be issued certificates of completion.


title: National Youth Service Corps

text: To be eligible to participate in the compulsory one year service, a graduate must be below or not above the age of 30 years upon graduation, or else he/she will be given a Certificate of Exemption, which is also equivalent to the NYSC Discharge Certificate. A graduate who graduated before 30 years but skipped the service year, will still be eligible since his certificate of graduation was dated before he clocked 30 years of age. NYSC is compulsory in the sense that the graduates of the country can't request an exemption by themselves, unless they are disabled, have served in the military or paramilitary for a period of more than one year or are older than 30 when they graduated. Part-time graduates (CEP) are given exemptions, since they're not allowed to serve.


title: National Youth Service Corps

text: Prospective corps members should have a valid and functional email address and Nigerian (GSM) telephone number to register. A correct jamb and matriculation number is also required for locally trained graduates. Foreign trained prospective corps members should ensure that their institutions are accredited. Also, if they trained in non-English speaking countries they are expected to translate their certificates to English before uploading. It is also important to note that registrations by proxy are not allowed as every participants would be required to undergo biometrics screening.


title: National Youth Service Corps

text: Nigerian graduates are ineligible for employment in governmental establishments (and most private establishments) until they have completed the mandatory one year service or obtained the relevant exemptions. Graduates who are exempted from the service include those above the age of thirty and those with physical disability. During the service year, Corps members have the opportunity to learn the cultures of other people.


title: National Youth Service Corps

text: The objectives of the National Youth Service Corps Program are clearly enumerated in Decree No.51 of 16 June 1993 as follows:


title: National Youth Service Corps

text: The program has been met with criticism from a large portion of the country and complaints from Corps members about their remuneration. A few youth carrying out the NYSC program have been killed in the regions where they were sent due to religious, ethnic or political violence.


title: National Youth Service Corps

text: Besides the issue of security, many have questioned the continued importance of the program and have called for a dialogue in this regard. Preemptive measures must be taken in order to avoid future incidents of violence. The integrity and nobility of the program must be upheld by addressing the aforementioned issues. Recently there was a call for the NYSC to be scrapped. The bill was sponsored by Hon Awaji-Inombek Abiante who listed insecurity in the country, incessant killing of corp members and inability of firms to retain corp members after service due to failing economy as some of the reasons why the NYSC should be scrapped. This call for the scrapping of NYSC has been met with mixed feelings. While some past leaders are against the scrapping of it because its gains overweigh its loses, some Nigerians feel the scheme has lost its use and should be scrapped to avoid endangering the lives of innocent Nigerians to insecurity and unnecessary one year stress.


title: Single source of truth

text: In information science and information technology, single source of truth (SSOT) architecture, or single point of truth (SPOT) architecture, for information systems is the practice of structuring information models and associated data schemas such that every data element is mastered (or edited) in only one place, providing data normalization to a canonical form (for example, in database normalization or content transclusion). Any possible linkages to this data element (possibly in other areas of the relational schema or even in distant federated databases) are by reference only. Because all other locations of the data just refer back to the primary "source of truth" location, updates to the data element in the primary location propagate to the entire system, providing multiple advantages simultaneously: greater efficiency/productivity, easy prevention of mistaken inconsistencies (such as a duplicate value/copy somewhere being forgotten), and greatly simplified version control. Without SSOT architecture, rampant forking impairs clarity and productivity, imposing laborious maintenance needs.


title: Single source of truth

text: Deployment of an SSOT architecture is becoming increasingly important in enterprise settings where incorrectly linked duplicate or de-normalized data elements (a direct consequence of intentional or unintentional denormalization of any explicit data model) pose a risk for retrieval of outdated, and therefore incorrect, information. Common examples (i.e., example classes of implementation) are as follows:


title: Single source of truth

text: Ideally, SSOT systems provide data that are authentic (and authenticatable), relevant, and referable.


title: Single source of truth

text: An acknowledged prerequisite (of the notion that any given single source of truth can exist) is that it depends on the ontologic condition that no more than a single truth (about any particular fact or idea) exists, an assertion that is ontologic in both the IT sense and the general sense of that word. In many instances, this presents no problem (for example, within particular namespaces, or even across them, as long as naming collisions or broader name conflicts are adequately handled). The broadest contexts (and thus thorniest, regarding ontologic discrepancies) require adequate epistemic regime comparison and reconciliation (or at least negotiation or transactional exchanges). An archetypal example of this class of reconciliation is that two theological seminary libraries, from two different religions (X and Y), could exchange information with an SSOT architecture, but the unification of truth would reside on the level of the statement that "religion X asserts that God is purple whereas religion Y asserts that God is green", rather than on the level of "God is purple" or "God is green". This platform-agnostic concept has civil applications and foreign relations applications as well, regarding jurisdictional differences in legal definitions: for example, whether any particular economic lens is good, bad, or syncretizible (e.g., capitalism, socialism, mixed economy), legal definitions of marriage (EHR example: is patient X married or not, according to which state law or its interstate reciprocity), whether sex assignment equals legal gender (EHR example: what is the gender or gender identity of patient X, according to the patient themselves (self-report) or according to someone else), and so on.


title: Single source of truth

text: An ideal implementation of SSOT is rarely possible in most enterprises. This is because many organisations have multiple information systems, each of which needs access to data relating to the same entities (e.g., customer). Often these systems are purchased as commercial off-the-shelf products from vendors and cannot be modified in non-trivial ways. Each of these various systems therefore needs to store its own version of common data or entities, and therefore each system must retain its own copy of a record (hence immediately violating the SSOT approach defined above). For example, an ERP (enterprise resource planning) system (such as SAP or Oracle e-Business Suite) may store a customer record; the CRM (customer relationship management) system also needs a copy of the customer record (or part of it) and the warehouse dispatch system might also need a copy of some or all of the customer data (e.g., shipping address). In cases where vendors do not support such modifications, it is not always possible to replace these records with pointers to the SSOT.


title: Single source of truth

text: For organisations (with more than one information system) wishing to implement a Single Source of Truth (without modifying all but one master system to store pointers to other systems for all entities), four supporting architectures are commonly used:


title: Single source of truth

text: An enterprise service bus (ESB) allows any number of systems in an organisation to receive updates of data that has changed in another system. To implement a Single Source of Truth, a single source system of correct data for any entity must be identified. Changes to this entity (creates, updates, and deletes) are then published via the ESB; other systems which need to retain a copy of that data subscribe to this update, and update their own records accordingly. For any given entity, the master source must be identified (sometimes called the Golden Record). Any given system could publish (be the source of truth for) information on a particular entity (e.g., customer) and also subscribe to updates from another system for information on some other entity (e.g., product).


title: Single source of truth

text: An alternative approach is point-to-point data updates, but these become excessively expensive to maintain as the number of systems increases, and this approach is increasingly out of favour as an IT architecture.