title: Rey Vargas

text: On 25 February 2017, he faced Gavin McDonnell for the vacant WBC super bantamweight title. The title fight took place in Hull, England. Vargas established control of the fight early on, using his length and head movement to keep the hometown fighter at bay, while landing short combinations. McDonnell attempted to rally back during the later rounds, but he was ultimately unable to turn the scorecards around. Vargas won a majority decision (117-111, 116–112, 114-114) to become a world champion.


title: Rey Vargas

text: Vargas' first defense would come on the Cotto-Kamegai undercard at the StubHub Center, against Ronny Rios. Vargas was also able to out-box Rios, controlling the bout by fighting at range. Vargas won via unanimous decision (118-110, 118–110, 115-113). Vargas made a second defense against Oscar Negrete in another Miguel Cotto undercard, in this case his farewell bout against Sadam Ali. The match was in December 2017 at Madison Square Garden, and was televised on HBO. Vargas was cut twice by headbutts but used his length effectively to cruise to a wide unanimous decision (119-109, 119–109, 120-108).


title: Rey Vargas

text: Vargas made his second title defense against the WBC–NABF bantamweight champion Oscar Negrete, who moved up a weight class in order to challenge Vargas. The bout was scheduled as to co-main event to the Miguel Cotto and Sadam Ali WBO super welterweight title fight. It took place at the Madison Square Garden in New York City on 2 December 2017 and was broadcast by Showtime. On 24 November, Vargas' head trainer Ignacio Beristáin revealed it would be their last fight together, as they agreed to part ways afterwards. Vargas won the fight by a wide unanimous decision. Two of the judges scored the fight 119–109 for him, while the third judge scored it 120–108 in his favor. Vargas was cut above each eye, with one cut happening due to an accidental headbutt in the seventh round, while the second cut came about for the same reason in the eight round.


title: Rey Vargas

text: Vargas made his second title defense against the twice-defeated Azat Hovhannisyan on 12 May 2018, at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York. Hovhannisyan was ranked #9 by the WBC at super bantamweight. The fight was booked as the co-main event of a WBO super welterweight title fight, same as his previous defense, between Sadam Ali and Jaime Munguia. He won the fight by unanimous decision, with scores of 116–112, 118–110 and 117–111. Vargas was once again cut by headbutts, once in the eight and once in the twelfth round.


title: Rey Vargas

text: Vargas made his fourth title defense against the WBC Silver super bantamweight champion Franklin Manzanilla on 9 February 2019 at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California. It took place following a nine-month absence from the sport caused by a shoulder surgery, followed by a respiratory infection. Manzanilla was ranked #3 by the WBC at super bantamweight. The bout served as the co-main event to the DAZN broadcast card headlined by a junior lightweight title fight between Alberto Machado and Andrew Cancio. Vargas won the fight by unanimous decision, with all three judges awarding him a 117–110 scorecard. He sustained three different cuts from head clashes. Manzanilla was twice deducted a point for hitting on the break. Vargas landed 207 of 719 total punches (28.8%) while Manzanilla landed 93 of 581 total punches (16%).


title: Rey Vargas

text: Vargas made his third title defense against the one-time WBO bantamweight champion Tomoki Kameda on 13 July 2019 at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. Kameda had earned his right to challenge with a decision victory over Abigail Medina to capture the WBC interim super bantamweight championship. The bout was headlined a DAZN broadcast card. Vargas justified his role as the betting favorite, Vargas justified his role as the betting favorite, as he won the fight by unanimous decision. All three judges scored the fight 117–110 in his favor. Vargas out-landed Kameda 173 to 133 in total punches, but only 122 to 120 in power punches.


title: Rey Vargas

text: On 13 August, the WBC declared Vargas their super bantamweight champion-in-recess, as he suffered a broken leg in training which left him unable to defend for the remainder of the year. During this year, Vargas also departed from Golden Boy Promotions and signed with Premier Boxing Champions. For his first fight under the PBC banner, Vargas was booked to face Leonardo Baez. The fight took place on 6 November 2021, on the Canelo Álvarez vs. Caleb Plant undercard. He won the fight by unanimous decision, with one scorecard of 99–91 and two scorecards of 100–90.


title: Rey Vargas

text: On 9 March 2022, it was announced that Vargas would challenge the reigning WBC featherweight champion Mark Magsayo in what was the champion's first title defense. Magsayo was ranked #2 by The Ring at featherweight. The fight was officially announced for 9 July 2022. It headlined a It headlined a Showtime card which took place at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Despite his role as the challenger, Vargas entered the fight as the favorite, with most odds-makers having him Magsayo a +105 underdog. He won the fight by split decision. Two of the judges scored the fight 115–112 in his favor, while the third judge scored the bout 114–113 for Magsayo. Vargas was knocked down with a counter right in the ninth round, but his opponent failed to capitalize on it. He landed 196 of 687 total punches (29%) and 135 of 339 power punches (40%), compared to Magsayo's 132 total punches and 92 power punches.


title: Rey Vargas

text: On 24 August 2022, Vargas received permission from the WBC to enter into negotiations for a title unification bout with the reigning WBA "Super" featherweight champion Leo Santa Cruz. As Vargas and Santa Cruz failed to reach an agreement, Vargas was instead permitted by the WBC to move up a weight class and face O'Shaquie Foster for the vacant WBC super featherweight title.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: Chatham-Kent (2021 population: 104,316) is a single-tier municipality in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Mostly rural, its population centres are Chatham, Wallaceburg, Tilbury, Blenheim, Ridgetown, Wheatley and Dresden. The current Municipality of Chatham-Kent was created in 1998 by the amalgamation of Blenheim, Bothwell, Camden, city of Chatham, township of Chatham, Dover, Dresden, Erie Beach, Erieau, Harwich, Highgate, Howard, Orford, Raleigh, Ridgetown, Rodney, Thamesville, Tilbury East, Tilbury, Wallaceburg, Wheatley and Zone.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: The Chatham-Kent census division, which includes the independent Delaware Nation at Moraviantown First Nation, had a population of 102,042 in the 2016 census.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: The area of Chatham-Kent is part of the traditional territory of the Odawa, Potawatomi, Ojibwe and Wyandot First Nations of Canada. After the Treaty of Paris in 1763 ceded control of the area from the French to the British, it became part of the Territory of Quebec. The title to the Chatham-Kent area was surrendered to the British as part of the 1790 McKee's Purchase, (named for Alexander McKee) to provide land for settlers. McKee's Purchase was designated an Event of National Historic Significance in Canada in 1931. A historical plaque for the purchase is located in Blenheim Park in Blenheim. Indigenous persons remain resident in the area today at the Delaware Nation at Moraviantown and Walpole Island First Nation.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: European settlement of the former city of Chatham area began with a naval dockyard in 1792, at the mouth of the Thames River. The town was named after William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham. It was built as a naval dockyard, a characteristic shared by Chatham, Kent, England. In England, the name Chatham came from the British root "ceto" and the Old English "ham" thus meaning a forest settlement. Following the American Revolution and the Gnadenhutten massacre, a group of Christian Munsee settled in what is now the Moraviantown reserve. In the War of 1812, the Battle of the Thames took place between Moraviantown and Thamesville on October 5, 1813.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: During the 19th century, the area was the northern terminus of the Underground Railroad. As a result, Chatham-Kent is now part of the African-Canadian Heritage Tour. Josiah Henson Museum for African-Canadian History, formally known as Uncle Tom's Cabin Historic Site is a museum of the Dawn Settlement, established in 1841 by Josiah Henson near Dresden as refuge for the many slaves who escaped to Canada from the United States. John Brown, the abolitionist, planned his raid on the Harpers Ferry Arsenal in Chatham and recruited local men to participate in the raid. He held in Chatham a Convention of Colored Men on May 8–10, 1858. The small village of North Buxton, part of the African Canadian Heritage Tour, also played an important role in the Underground Railroad. By the 1850s, the city of Chatham was referred to as the "black mecca of Canada". A museum in the city, the Black Mecca Museum, still bears this name. Chatham was home to a number of black churches and business, with Black Canadians making up one-third of the city's population and controlling a significant portion of the city's political power. Nearby Dresden and Buxton were also home to thousands of land-owning black residents. However, after the abolition of slavery in the United States, many black families left the area. Today the city of Chatham is just 3.3% black, with Chatham-Kent as a whole being 2.1% black. Few of the black-owned institutions are still in operation.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: In 1846, the town of Chatham had a population of about 1,500, with part of the town being called Chatham North. There were four churches, a theatre, a weekly newspaper and a cricket club. The road between London and Amherstburg was open, and transportation by stagecoach was available. A fast boat also provided transportation to Detroit and Buffalo. Chatham had many tradesman, a foundry, two banks, three schools, a tavern and a library where one could read books and newspapers. By 1869, the population was 3,000 in this industrial area with several mills, foundries, and breweries; a great deal of wood was being produced. A steamboat offered transportation to Windsor and Detroit. There was one bank office.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: Between 1906 and 1909, the city was home to the Chatham Motor Car Company, and from 1919 to 1921, Denby Motor Truck Company of Canada. It was also where the Hyslop and Ronald steam fire engine manufacturer was located; the factory would be taken over by Chatham Motor Car. In addition, it hosted meat packer O'Keefe and Drew.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: The Hawaiian pizza is claimed to have been invented in Chatham in 1962 at the Satellite Restaurant by Sam Panopoulos. In the U.S., former Ohio Governor Jim Rhodes proposed building a bridge across Lake Erie linking Cleveland to the southern coast of Kent County.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: Before 1998, Kent County consisted of the townships of Camden, Chatham, Dover, Harwich, Howard, Orford, Raleigh, Romney, Tilbury East and Zone. In some of Canada's earliest post-Confederation censuses, some residences in Kent County were incorrectly reported as being in Bothwell "County", which was a separate electoral district comprising parts of Kent and Lambton counties but not a distinct county in its own right.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: In 1998, the County of Kent and the city of Chatham were amalgamated by the Province of Ontario to form the Municipality of Chatham–Kent. Most services were also combined. Since then, bus service has begun to serve all of Chatham-Kent. Starting in 2007, routes were set up to include the former towns of Wallaceburg and Dresden. Before 1998, each town had their own fire department. It then became the Chatham-Kent Fire Department upon amalgamation. The county also had separate police departments until 1998. The city of Chatham, as well as the towns of Wallaceburg, Dresden, and Tilbury, each had their own departments. The Chatham-Kent Police Service was formed on September 1, 1998. Many residents opposed amalgamation, as 18 city councillors boycotted the official vote, and the final decision to amalgamate was imposed on the County by a provincial commissioner. In a study on amalgamations in Ontario from 2003, 48% of respondents in Chatham-Kent felt the value they received as taxpayers became worse after amalgamation, and 64% of respondents still did not think of the community as "the Municipality of Chatham-Kent."


title: Chatham-Kent

text: Chatham-Kent has many historic festivals throughout the year, such as the Battle of Longwoods reenactment, which takes place on Labour Day weekend at Fairfield Museum on Longwoods Road. Chatham Kent is also home to many historic buildings which are part of an annual ghost tour offered each year at Halloween. The participants go on a guided walk of downtown while the guide informs them of various ghost stories tied to the local buildings in which they pass. Chatham-Kent was a major part of the Underground Railroad and as such hosts the Buxton Homecoming each September. This celebrates the areas black culture and the roots laid by early black settlers in the Buxton area.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: The Municipality of Chatham-Kent currently consists of the following communities, listed by the Townships of the former Kent County (pre-1998 amalgamation):


title: Chatham-Kent

text: At , Chatham-Kent is the 12th largest municipality by area in Canada and the largest in southwestern Ontario. Over 44,000 of the 107,000 residents live in the former City of Chatham. Other population centres in the municipality include Wallaceburg, Blenheim and Tilbury, Ridgetown and Dresden.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: The Lower Thames River runs through Chatham–Kent to Lake St. Clair in the west, while the Sydenham River flows through Wallaceburg and Dresden. The municipality has approximately 88 kilometres of shoreline along lake Erie and 24 kilometres along lake St. Clair.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: The Indian reserve of Bkejwanong (commonly referred to as Walpole Island) borders on Chatham–Kent, whereas the Indian reserve of Moravian 47 is an enclave within the city and is part of the Chatham–Kent census agglomeration and census division.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: Chatham-Kent has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification "Dfa"), with cold, snowy winters and warm to hot, humid summers. A typical summer will feature heat waves with temperatures exceeding often. Winters are cold, and feature occasional cold snaps bringing temperatures below , but also commonly include mild stretches of weather above freezing.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Chatham-Kent had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: "For all groups that comprise at least 1% of the population. Note that a person can report more than one ethnic origin."


title: Chatham-Kent

text: Although most of the population of Chatham-Kent is English-speaking, a few of its communities and Catholic parishes were settled by francophone (French-speaking) farmers in the mid-nineteenth century. These include Pain Court, Tilbury and Grande Pointe, where French is still spoken by a significant percentage of the population. These communities are designated French language service areas under Ontario's French Language Services Act.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: Approximately 8,500 residents of Chatham-Kent have French as a mother tongue and 1,500 have French as their home language. Essex County also has a relatively large francophone population, especially in the municipality of Lakeshore. Together, Chatham–Kent and Essex Counties make up one of the concentrations of Franco-Ontarians in the province of Ontario.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: Both elementary and secondary francophone schools exist across the municipality. A French cultural organization, "La Girouette", which is based in Pain Court, promotes French-Canadian culture and language in the area.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: Chatham–Kent's economy has a base in the agricultural and automotive sectors. The municipality and senior levels of government are keen to promote continuing diversification. The CP railway splits Chatham city in two, and the unstaffed Chatham railway station attends to Via Rail passengers.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: At the outskirts of Chatham is the headquarters for Pioneer Hi-Bred Limited (a division of DuPont), a major agricultural seed breeding and biotechnology company.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: GreenField Specialty Alcohols Inc.'s Commercial Alcohols division, Canada's largest ethanol plant and one of the world's largest, opened in Chatham in 1996. The plant produces ethanol for industrial, medical, and beverage uses.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: Chatham's roots in the automotive sector go back to Gray-Dort Motors Ltd., one of Canada's earliest automobile manufacturers. In the 21st century, auto industry plants in the municipality include Autoliv Canada in Tilbury (airbags), Mahle in Tilbury (emissions controls and plastics), in Ridgetown (automotive electronic pedal assembly and sensors), Dana Canada in Chatham (heat shields for thermal and acoustic management of exhaust manifolds, catalytic converters, and turbochargers), and Continental Corporation (Powertrain Canada ULC) in Chatham (design, development, and testing of Actuators for clean, efficient vehicles).


title: Chatham-Kent

text: Chatham-Kent also is home to RM Auctions, a vintage automobile auction house, and RM Restorations, a vintage automobile restoration company. The nickname "The Classic Car Capital of Canada"comes from the abundance of classic car events in the community.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: Chatham is home to a major corporate office of Enbridge Gas Inc., a natural gas utility and Enbridge company. Other energy related companies include wind farms near the shores of Lake Erie.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: The Canadian Federal government is one of the largest employers in the Chatham-Kent area with over 450 employees in several departments in the area.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) Disability Unit is housed in the Judy Lamarsh (see Notable Residents) Building in downtown Chatham. This federal office is the single largest disability processing centre in Canada, processing 50% of all CPP Disability benefits. The office also processes Old Age Security benefit claims.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: Chatham serves as a retail centre for the municipality and surrounding area. This includes the large big-box stores in Super Centre on St. Clair Street and arguably the north end of Communication Road in Blenheim.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: The long, white sandy beaches, fishing, hiking trails and conservation areas make Erieau a popular vacation spot.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: There are two Provincial Parks in Chatham-Kent: Rondeau Provincial Park and Wheatley Provincial Park,


title: Chatham-Kent

text: Downtown Chatham is home to the annual "Retrofest" organized by the Historic Downtown Chatham BIA, in partnership with the Kent Historic Auto Club. Hundreds of classic car enthusiasts travel to downtown Chatham to showcase their classic cars and vintage vehicles.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: Downtown Chatham is also home to the Chatham Capitol Theatre, a theatre that, when it opened in 1930, was the largest in the region. The theatre is run by the Municipality of Chatham-Kent and hosts world class shows and entertainers.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: Chatham was home to the iconic Wheels Inn, a family resort for four decades until its closure in 2010. In 2011, the Chatham-Kent John D. Bradley Convention Centre was constructed on the site of the Wheels Inn. In July 2019, a new Cascades casino was opened in Chatham, close to the Convention Centre on Richmond Street.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: Chatham-Kent boasts a rich visual culture throughout the entirety of the municipality. Both the Thames Art Gallery and ARTspace, located in the historic downtown, feature exhibitions showcasing local artists from the Chatham-Kent area, while also housing other Canadian and international works.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: Chatham-Kent is served by the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance. The Public General Hospital and St. Joseph Hospital in Chatham were moved to a single campus in 2004, while the former Sydenham District Hospital remains in Wallaceburg. The eastern portion of the municipality is served by the Four Counties Health Services in Newbury in nearby Middlesex County.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: Research published in 2002 by the Heart and Stroke Foundation cited Chatham-Kent as a hotspot for heart disease in Ontario. Further research is underway to determine the reasons for this and other hotspots. The Chatham-Kent Public Health Unit launched a campaign in fall 2007 to tackle other ailments prevalent throughout the community, including asthma, chronic allergies, sinus problems, many types of cancer, diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, alcoholism, and obesity.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: In October 2008, Chatham-Kent Health Alliance was named one of "Canada's Top 100 Employers" by Mediacorp Canada Inc., and was featured in "Maclean's" newsmagazine.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: Chatham-Kent features one of the 14 provincial Local Health Integration Networks (LHIN). The Erie St. Clair (ESC) LHIN services the Chatham-Kent Community as well as Sarnia/Lambton and Windsor/Essex. The ESC LHIN is located in the town of Chatham.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: The "Chatham Daily News" is the only daily newspaper in Chatham-Kent. There are several weeklies located in Chatham and the various communities in the municipality, including the "Chatham Voice, Wallaceburg Courier Press", the "Blenheim News Tribune", "Chatham-Kent This Week", "Ridgetown Independent News", "Tilbury Times", and the "Wheatley Journal".


title: Chatham-Kent

text: The "Chatham Daily News", "Chatham-Kent This Week", and "Wallaceburg Courier Press" are all owned by Postmedia.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: "The Chatham Daily News", "Chatham-Kent This Week", "Wallaceburg Courier Press", "Chatham Voice" and "CKReview" are daily online news media in Chatham-Kent with coverage of local news, sports, entertainment, and cultural events as well as a number of regular contributing columnists. The "Chatham-Kent Sports Network" is an online source covering local sports news, scores, and highlights from each of Chatham-Kent's communities. CKSN also follows Chatham-Kent athletes who have progressed to the Junior, College, International, or Professional ranks.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: There are two anglophone school boards and one francophone school board in Chatham–Kent. These are the Lambton Kent District School Board (headquartered in both Chatham and Sarnia), the St. Clair Catholic District School Board (headquartered in Wallaceburg) and the "Conseil scolaire catholique Providence" (CSC Providence). The LKDSB is a public school board, and consists of 13 secondary and 53 elementary schools. Chatham-Kent Secondary School is the largest public high school in Lambton-Kent. The St. Clair Catholic board consists of two secondary schools (one in Chatham and one in Sarnia) and 26 elementary schools. There are also independent schools, such as Wallaceburg Christian School and Chatham Christian Schools—an elementary and secondary school in the same building.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: The French Catholic board, headquartered in Windsor, has its Chatham-Kent regional office in Pain Court.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: Chatham–Kent is the home of two colleges – St. Clair College and University of Guelph Ridgetown Campus, popularly known as Ridgetown College.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: St. Clair College is a satellite of St. Clair College of Windsor. There are two campuses located in the municipality – Thames Campus (located in Chatham) and the Wallaceburg Campus (located in Wallaceburg). More than 5,000 full-time and 12,000 part-time students attend the college each year.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: The Ridgetown Campus of the University of Guelph offers diplomas in agriculture, horticulture, and veterinary technology. It is part of the University of Guelph's Ontario Agricultural College, and formerly known as Ridgetown College of Agricultural Technology.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: Other teams in Chatham-Kent include the Chatham Outlaws Girls Hockey Association, the Chatham AAA Cyclones and the AA Kent Cobras.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: In 2006 Chatham-Kent entered a team into the inaugural season of the Allstar Peewee Football League, and in 2007 entered a team into the Jr. Ontario Varsity Football League. Now Chatham-Kent plays in the OFC with 4 spring/summer teams.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: Chatham-Kent is situated just off Highway 401, connecting Montreal, Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo, London, and Windsor, Ontario; and Detroit, Michigan via the Ambassador Bridge. Blenheim, Chatham and Wallaceburg are linked with Sarnia, Ontario and the Blue Water Bridge to the United States by Highway 40.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: (the Talbot Trail) in Chatham–Kent were downloaded by the province in 1998, becoming local roads 2 and 3, but they remain significant through routes and are still locally known by their old names.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: The first gas station in Canada to sell E85 fuel to the public is located on Park Avenue East in Chatham.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: Chatham station is served by Via Rail passenger services between Toronto and Windsor, part of the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor with four trips in each direction daily, and the community is served by both the Canadian National Railway and the Canadian Pacific Railway for freight transportation.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: Within Chatham public bus services are provided by CK Transit. Chatham-Kent has an intercity bus service, also provided by CK Transit, between all communities in the municipality except Wheatley.


title: Chatham-Kent

text: There is a municipal airport located 14 km south east of Chatham featuring a 1500m paved, lighted runway, with refuelling facilities, tie-down services, pilot training and chartered flights. The nearest airports served by regional carriers are Windsor and London.


title: 2018 missile strikes against Syria

text: On 14 April 2018, beginning at 04:00 Syrian time (UTC+3), the United States, France, and the United Kingdom carried out a series of military strikes involving aircraft and ship-based missiles against multiple government sites in Syria during the Syrian Civil War. They said it was in reprisal for the Douma chemical attack against civilians on 7 April, which they attributed to the Syrian government. The Syrian government denied involvement in the Douma attacks and called the airstrikes a violation of international law.


title: 2018 missile strikes against Syria

text: A Syrian government offensive to recapture the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta suburb began in February 2018. The offensive was condemned by Western media and human rights organizations for its reportedly brutal humanitarian consequences. By the beginning of April, Douma was one of the last rebel enclaves remaining in the region, with rebel group Jaysh al-Islam in control of the city. Russian and Syrian state media reported a deal between the rebel group and Russia to hand over Douma to government control. Other news agencies reported members of the rebel group claiming a deal had not been brokered and that Jaysh al-Islam would not surrender Douma. What followed was a suspected chemical attack carried out in the Syrian city of Douma on 7 April 2018, with at least 70 people reported killed. One pro-opposition source said that a thousand people suffered from the effects. The Jaysh al-Islam rebel group, which controlled Douma at the time, along with several medical, monitoring, and activist groups, including the pro-rebel White Helmets (Syria Civil Defence), all reported that two Syrian Air Force Mi-8 helicopters had dropped barrel bombs. The bombs were filled with chlorine gas and possibly sarin. The World Health Organization said it received reports from partner agencies that some 500 people arrived at health facilities showing "signs and symptoms consistent with exposure to toxic chemicals." On 6 July 2018, the OPCW produced an interim report stating that chlorine residues had been found at the two attack sites, although no organophosphorous nerve agents or their degradation products were detected.


title: 2018 missile strikes against Syria

text: As with previous incidents, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and other nations accused the Syrian government of being responsible for the use of chemical weapons. Russia and Iran, the Syrian government's main allies, denied chemical weapons had been used, claiming it was a false flag operation. Russia has said video of the chemical attack was staged by members of the White Helmets. Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said that the Saudi Arabian-backed Jaysh al-Islam was making "chemical attack fabrications in an exposed and failed attempt to obstruct advances by the Syrian Arab Army".


title: 2018 missile strikes against Syria

text: In May 2017, French President Emmanuel Macron said the use of chemical weapons in Syria would be a red line requiring immediate reprisal. France and the United States cited positive urine and blood samples collected as proof of chlorine being used in Douma.


title: 2018 missile strikes against Syria

text: In the early hours of 9 April 2018, an airstrike was conducted against Tiyas Military Airbase in Syria. The United States denied launching the airstrike, and an Israeli spokeswoman declined to comment. On 10 April, an emergency United Nations Security Council meeting was held where competing solutions were presented on how to handle the response to the chemical attack; all were eventually vetoed by Russia. By 11 April, Western nations began to consider military action in Syria, seeking a "strong joint response." On the same day, the Syrian government said it invited the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to investigate the sites of the attacks. "Syria is keen on cooperating with the OPCW to uncover the truth behind the allegations that some western sides have been advertising to justify their aggressive intentions," said SANA, quoting an official source in the Foreign Ministry. Russia denied chemical weapons were used, and on 13 April, blamed Britain for staging the event in order to provoke US airstrikes.


title: 2018 missile strikes against Syria

text: By 12 April, British Prime Minister Theresa May had ordered Royal Navy submarines in the Mediterranean to move within cruise missile range of Syria by the end of the week. British military sources later told "The Times" that days before the missile strikes a British submarine armed with Tomahawk missiles and approaching within firing range of Syrian military targets was chased by "one, and possibly two" Russian s from the Russian Navy base at Tartus. The Russian submarines were supported by two frigates and an antisubmarine aircraft, while the British submarine was assisted by a US Navy P-8 Poseidon patrol aircraft. Ultimately, no British submarine took part in the strikes.


title: 2018 missile strikes against Syria

text: The United Nations Charter requires a mandate from the United Nations Security Council for sovereign states to use force for the purpose of maintaining international security, but not for acting in self-defence or the protection of populations threatened by extermination at the hands of their own government. Since the UN Charter came into effect in 1945, military action in retaliation or reprisal to the act of another state has been prohibited; but a reprisal may be justified if its aim is to force the other state into compliance with its international obligations. Russia's use of its veto meant there was no prospect of the Security Council authorizing the use of force. Therefore, military action relies on an international public order argument based on defending the credibility of the prohibition of the use of chemical weapons, enforcing Syria's obligations under the terms of its membership of the Chemical Weapons Convention, and protecting civilians from further chemical weapon attacks to alleviate humanitarian suffering.


title: 2018 missile strikes against Syria

text: The strikes came hours before inspectors from the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission were due to arrive in Syria to investigate the attack.


title: 2018 missile strikes against Syria

text: The United Kingdom published its legal position regarding military action which concluded limited strikes are justified on humanitarian grounds. After the strikes, the UK Parliament debated the considerations under international law regarding the urgency of the intervention, and whether there was a lack of practical alternatives.


title: 2018 missile strikes against Syria

text: The strikes were carried out by the forces of the United States, the United Kingdom, and France and were delivered by ship-launched, submarine-launched and airborne cruise missiles. All of the missiles launched by British and French forces were variants of the Storm Shadow missile, known as SCALP EG and Missile de Croisière Naval (MdCN for Naval Cruise Missile) in French service.


title: 2018 missile strikes against Syria

text: Flying from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, four Royal Air Force Tornado GR4 fighters of No. 9 Squadron, supported by four Eurofighter Typhoon air superiority fighters of No. 6 Squadron, fired a total of eight Storm Shadow missiles. The Royal Navy deployed the Type 45 destroyer, , to provide air defense for allied naval forces. The French Navy deployed a strike group in the Eastern Mediterranean consisting of the , the , the , and the FREMM multipurpose frigates , , and ; the latter ship fired three MdCN land attack missiles. The French strike group was accompanied by the US Navy , which launched six Tomahawk cruise missiles.


title: 2018 missile strikes against Syria

text: The French Air Force participation in the strikes consisted of five Rafale B fighters from the Escadron de Chasse 1/4 "Gascogne" based at Saint-Dizier Air Base, each carrying two SCALP EG missiles, four Mirage 2000-5F air superiority fighters from the Escadron de chasse 1/2 "Cigognes" from Luxeuil Air Base, two E-3F airborne early warning and control planes from the from Avord Air Base, and six C-135FR tankers from the Groupe de ravitaillement en vol 2/91 "Bretagne" from Istres Air Base.


title: 2018 missile strikes against Syria

text: US forces included two US Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers from the 34th Bomb Squadron, which fired a total of nineteen JASSM missiles after taking off from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. They were accompanied by four F-22A Raptor air superiority fighters from the 95th Fighter Squadron, two KC-10 Extender tankers from the 908th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron and one US Marine Corps EA-6B Prowler electronic-warfare aircraft from VMAQ-2, which all departed from Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates. Immediately after the strike it was claimed that long-range JASSM-ER had been fired by the two B-1B Lancer bombers, but five days later, the U.S. Air Force Central Command issued a correction saying that actually older JASSM-A were used. From a position in the Red Sea the US Navy fired seven and the thirty Tomahawk cruise missiles, while the "Arleigh Burke"-class destroyer fired twenty-three Tomahawks from a position in the northern part of the Persian Gulf. The "Arleigh Burke"-class destroyer, was reported to have participated in order to mislead defending forces, firing no missiles. US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said twice as many weapons were used in the strike as in the 2017 Shayrat missile strike; an anonymous US Defense Department official quoted by "The Washington Post" said about 100 Tomahawk missiles were fired by the US.


title: 2018 missile strikes against Syria

text: The US Air Force also deployed a fighter group over the Eastern Mediterranean in the air-superiority and defensive-counter-air role, which consisted of at least eight F-15C Eagle fighters from the 493d Fighter Squadron and seven F-16C Falcon fighters from the 510th Fighter Squadron. The fighters were accompanied by at least two KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft from the 351st Air Refueling Squadron.


title: 2018 missile strikes against Syria

text: Syria responded using its air defense systems, and its state media aired a video purporting to show a successful missile interception. The Syrian state news agency SANA and Colonel-General Sergei Rudskoi of the Russian military said Syria used Russian and Soviet air defense systems Pantsir-S1, S-125, S-200, Buk, and Kvadrat.


title: 2018 missile strikes against Syria

text: President Donald Trump announced the strikes at 9 pm EDT, 13 April (4 AM, 14 April in Syria, 2 AM in London, 3 AM in Paris) along with allies France and the United Kingdom. Explosions were heard in Damascus, the capital of Syria, just as Trump was speaking. According to US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford, Russia had not been warned in advance of the incoming attack; he was contradicted by other American and French officials.


title: 2018 missile strikes against Syria

text: US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford said three sites were targeted: a scientific research center in Damascus, a chemical weapons storage facility west of Homs, and an equipment storage facility and command post also near Homs. The UK Ministry of Defence reported British aircraft struck the Him Shanshar chemical weapons precursor storage site 15 miles west of Homs. Witnesses reported loud explosions and smoke in the capital Damascus in the early morning, including in the Barzeh neighborhood, the site of the Barzah scientific research centre, a major research establishment. The strike destroyed what employees of the facility characterised as a Syrian antivenom medical center, but which US General Joseph Dunford described as a center for research, development, production and testing of chemical and biological weapons. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said the attack sites included a scientific research center in Damascus and another in the Homs area, as well as military bases in Damascus and Homs.


title: 2018 missile strikes against Syria

text: The US armed forces said all missiles hit their intended targets without interference, and according to Lieutenant General Kenneth McKenzie, the Syrian air defences fired 40 intercepting surface-to-air missiles but failed to hit any of the targets. He said most were fired after the last incoming missile had struck its target. Similarly, France said none of the twelve missiles it fired appear to have been intercepted, although there were reports that between three and seven French missiles were not fired due to malfunctions. The Syrian Army said it "intercepted most of the missiles", while the Syrian state media reported its air defenses shot down 13 incoming missiles near Al-Kiswah, south of Damascus. The Russian military reported Syria's air defences shot down 71 of 103 cruise missiles, and listed various airports and airbases, not mentioned by US military sources, as having been targeted partly or completely unsuccessfully. The SOHR, which is cited by many western media organisations, reported no known casualties, but stated there was considerable material damage while also saying that the Syrian Air Defense Force intercepted and downed at least 65 missiles. Syria's state-run TV news reported three civilians injured at Homs, and that the missile strike there was "aborted".


title: 2018 missile strikes against Syria

text: Russia called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council on 14 April, but the resolution it brought to the session condemning the attacks failed to pass, with only Bolivia and China supporting it. Nikki Haley, Permanent Representative of the United States to the UN, said the United States was "locked and loaded", should the Syrian government use chemical weapons again. A further meeting of the Security Council was scheduled to be held on 16 April, to discuss a resolution presented jointly by France, the UK, and the US. The resolution calls for an independent inquiry into the use of chemical weapons in Syria, medical evacuations, and the safe passage of aid convoys across the country.


title: 2018 missile strikes against Syria

text: The effectiveness and impact of the strike has been downplayed by analysts. In Syria, the strikes were interpreted as a victory for Bashar al-Assad, because their limited scope was seen as indicating that Western countries no longer intended to seriously challenge his rule. According to Russian state media, the governor of Russia's autonomous Khanty-Mansiysk district said after meeting with Assad that "President Assad was in absolutely positive spirits. He is in a good mood." American Director of the Joint Staff, Lt. Gen Kenneth McKenzie, said the air strikes were a "severe blow" to the development of Syria's chemical weapons and that the United States military is "ready anytime" in the event of retaliation by the Syrian government.


title: 2018 missile strikes against Syria

text: The activity of web brigades increased by "2,000%" following the attack, according to Chief Pentagon spokesperson Dana W. White. The UK's National Cyber Security Centre, the FBI, and the US Department of Homeland Security issued a joint alert warning of a Russian global hacking campaign.


title: 2018 missile strikes against Syria

text: According to Syrian state television, Syrian air defenses intercepted missiles that targeted Shayrat Airbase "late Monday night" (16 April); however, the Pentagon spokesman said the US military was not active at the time, while an Israeli military spokesman declined to comment. Hezbollah's media unit claimed Syrian air defenses had also intercepted three missiles which targeted Al-Dumayr Military Airport; a commander in the regional military alliance backing the government told Reuters that it was a false alarm and part of an "electronic attack" by Israel and the US on the Syrian radar system.


title: 2018 missile strikes against Syria

text: According to "Jane's IHS", on 25 April 2018, the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) "appeared to contradict" the MoD's earlier 16 April account, and was now stating that 22 (rather than 32) missiles hit their targets, that 66 (rather than 71) were intercepted, and those other incoming missiles had suffered technical malfunctions. According to Russia, 46 missiles were intercepted in five areas of the capital of Syria and Duvali, Dumayr, Blai, and Mazzeh nearby airfields, and 20 missiles were intercepted in three areas of the Homs air defense zone. The MoD did agree that the U.S. hit all three of the publicly targeted sites. The MoD also displayed remnants of SCALP and Storm Shadow missiles purportedly shot down; "Jane's" stated that "The missile remnants it displayed could have come from missiles that hit their targets or failed in a previous attack". Russian government sources claimed they had recovered as duds one Tomahawk and one 'precision air launched' missile, and would study them to improve their own weapons systems; the US denied the claims as "absurd".


title: 2018 missile strikes against Syria

text: On 21 April, the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission visited a site in Douma to collect samples, and on 25 April visited a second site in Douma to collect further samples. The team also interviewed people related to incident in Damascus. On 4 May, the OPCW announced that the initial deployment of the Fact-Finding Mission in Douma was complete. Analysis of the samples may take at least three to four weeks.


title: 2018 missile strikes against Syria

text: French President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement on 14 April that France's "red line has been crossed", referring to the previous attacks on Douma.


title: 2018 missile strikes against Syria

text: While announcing the strikes, UK Prime Minister Theresa May said there was "no practicable alternative to the use of force" to deal with the Syrian government's use of chemical weapons. Opposition politicians condemned the strikes, with many questioning May's decision to press ahead without obtaining parliamentary approval first. Leader of the Opposition Jeremy Corbyn called the strikes "legally questionable", said "Bombs won't save lives or bring about peace", although some of his party's MPs backed the strikes. He also said that "while much suspicion rightly points to the Assad government", other groups had carried out similar attacks and weapons inspectors must continue their investigation.


title: 2018 missile strikes against Syria

text: US President Donald Trump announced the strikes in a televised address, arguing they were part of the effort to stop Assad from using chemical weapons, and said the US was "prepared to sustain this response" until this was achieved. Dana W. White, The Pentagon Chief Spokesperson, said "this operation does not represent a change in US policy or an attempt to depose the Syrian regime". "The New York Times" reported the reactions initially broke among partisan lines, with members of the Republican Party—the party of President Donald Trump—being generally supportive while the Democrats were generally critical. Republicans Tom Cotton and Orrin Hatch praised the strikes. Other US lawmakers, in particular Democrats, although generally supportive of a limited strike to punish Assad for using banned chemical weapons, criticized the Trump administration for not seeking Congressional approval and for not having a "coherent Syria Strategy". Democratic senator Tim Kaine re-emphasized his long-held belief that the military intervention without Congressional authorization and long-term strategy are "illegal" and "reckless".


title: 2018 missile strikes against Syria

text: On 19 April, at a Pentagon press briefing, American Director of the Joint Staff Lt. Gen. Kenneth McKenzie affirmed that Russian air defenses - which included advanced S-400 missile systems - were active but did not engage any missiles during the operation. "Russian air defenses were energized. They were scanning. They had a air defense aircraft up. They did not choose to engage, so I cannot speculate about why they did or did not do that," McKenzie stated, while denying that any missiles were shot down by Syrian air defenses.


title: 2018 missile strikes against Syria

text: The Iran Foreign Ministry condemned the missile strikes, said there is "no proof" of Syrian responsibility in the chemical attack on Douma, and criticized the United States for attacking without waiting for an Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons investigation. Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, called Trump, May and Macron "criminals" and warned "they will gain nothing" from the strike.


title: 2018 missile strikes against Syria

text: Russian politician Alexander Sherin referred to the strike as a terrorist attack and compared it to Operation Barbarossa. Russian President Vladimir Putin described the strikes as an "act of aggression". Russia also called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council. Anatoly Antonov, the Russian ambassador to the United States, strongly condemned the coalition attacks on Syria and warned the Western countries of "consequences". Sergei Rudskoi, a Russian Colonel-General, in a TV briefing, said Russia may consider sending S-300 surface-to-air missile systems to Syria and other countries.


title: 2018 missile strikes against Syria

text: President of the European Council Donald Tusk confirmed the European Union's support for the strikes as did High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini. Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg supported the strikes in a statement.


title: 2018 missile strikes against Syria

text: The Collective Security Treaty Organization condemned the strikes as violating norms of international law.


title: 2018 missile strikes against Syria

text: Mohammed Alloush, a key member of the Army of Islam (a coalition of Salafist and Islamist rebel groups) criticized the missile strikes for not going far enough, writing on Twitter that the airstrikes were a "farce" and an example of punishing "the instrument of the crime while keeping the criminal [in power]". In a press statement released on 14 April 2018, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum that the organization "condemns in the strongest terms" the airstrikes, describing them as "blatant aggression on Syrian soil [with the aim] to destroy its capabilities in order to preserve the existence of the Zionist entity".


title: 2018 missile strikes against Syria

text: Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, the patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church, and Patriarch John X of Antioch, primate of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All The East, issued a joint condemnation of the strikes. They said the bombings "were clear violation of the international laws and the UN Charter", and that the "unjust aggression encourages the terrorist organizations and gives them momentum to continue in their terrorism."


title: 2018 missile strikes against Syria

text: Protests against the strikes occurred in the United Kingdom in April 2018, including in London (organised by the Stop the War Coalition, which said the strikes risked "causing a catastrophic war with Russia") and Bristol, Exeter, Swansea and Milton Keynes. The British Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament described the decision of the government to carry out airstrikes in Syria as defying international law and criticised Prime Minister Theresa May for bypassing parliament in her decision on the matter. The British Stop the War Coalition condemned the missile strikes in a public statement in April 2018.


title: Chaparral Cars

text: Chaparral Cars was a pioneering American automobile racing team and race car developer that engineered, built, and raced cars from 1963 through 1970. Founded in 1962 by American Formula One racers Hap Sharp and Jim Hall, it was named after the roadrunner, a fast-running ground cuckoo also known as a "chaparral bird".


title: Chaparral Cars

text: Dick Troutman and Tom Barnes were builders of the original Chaparral race cars (later referred to as Chaparral 1). Jim Hall purchased two Chaparral 1s to race. When Hall and Sharp began building their own cars, they asked Troutman and Barnes if they could continue to use the Chaparral name. That is why the Hall/Sharp cars are all named Chaparral 2s (models 2A through 2J for sports cars/CanAm cars, and the 2K which was the 1979–1982 Indycar). Despite winning the Indianapolis 500 in 1980, they left motor racing in 1982. Chaparral cars also featured in the SCCA/CASC Can-Am series and Endurance racing.


title: Chaparral Cars

text: Jim Hall was a leader in the innovation and design of spoilers, wings, and ground effects. A high point was the 1966 2E Can-Am car. The 2J Can-Am "sucker car" was the first "ground-effect" car.


title: Chaparral Cars

text: The development of the Chaparral chronicles the key changes in race cars in the 1960s and 1970s in both aerodynamics and tires. Hall's training as an engineer taught him to approach problems in a methodical manner, and his access to the engineering teams at Chevrolet and at Firestone was instrumental in changing race car aerodynamics and handling from an art to an empirical science. The embryonic data acquisition systems created by the GM research and development group aided these efforts. An interview with Hall by Paul Haney illustrates many of these developments.


title: Chaparral Cars

text: In 1957, Hall raced the front-engined Chaparral (retroactively called the "Chaparral 1") through 1962, bought from Troutman and Barnes (like the Scarab, the Chaparral 1 cars were built in California by Troutman and Barnes). Hall and Hap Sharp extensively modified their Chaparral and eventually decided to build their own car. They obtained permission from Troutman and Barnes to use the Chaparral name, which is why all of Hall's cars are called Chaparral 2s.


title: Chaparral Cars

text: The first Chaparral 2-series was designed and built to compete in the United States Road Racing Championship and other races of the time, particularly the West Coast Pro Series that were held each fall. Hall had significant "under the table" assistance from GM, including engineering and technical support in the development of the car and its automatic transmission (this is evidenced by the similarity between the Chevy Corvette GS-II "research and development" model and the Chaparral 2A through 2C models).


title: Chaparral Cars

text: First raced in late 1963, the Chaparral 2 developed into a highly competitive car in the Can-Am series in 1966 and 1967. Designed for the 200-mile races of the Can-Am series, it was also a winner in longer endurance races. In 1965, it shocked the sports car world by winning the 12 Hours of Sebring in a pouring rainstorm, on one of the roughest tracks in North America.


title: Chaparral Cars

text: The Chaparral 2 featured the innovative use of fiberglass as a chassis material. The Chaparral 2C had a conventional aluminum chassis.


title: Chaparral Cars

text: It is very difficult to identify all iterations of the car as new ideas were being tested continually.


title: Chaparral Cars

text: Alongside the development of aerodynamics was Hall's development of race tires. Jim Hall owned Rattlesnake Raceway, located adjacent to his race shop; its proximity allowed him to participate in much of Firestone's race tire development.


title: Chaparral Cars

text: A two-article series in "Car and Driver" magazine featured Hall's design theories, turning speculation about vehicle handling into applied physics. Hall's theories were the precursor to the elaborate data collection and management of current racing teams.


title: Chaparral Cars

text: The 2D was the first closed cockpit variant of the 2-series, designed for endurance racing in 1966. It won at 1000 km Nürburgring in 1966 with Phil Hill and Joakim Bonnier driving. It also competed in the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans, withdrawing after 111 laps. The Chaparral 2D was equipped with a 327 cubic-inch displacement (5.3-liter) aluminum alloy Chevrolet engine producing 420 horsepower; the car weighed only 924 kg.


title: Chaparral Cars

text: The 2E was based on the Chevrolet-designed aluminum 2C chassis and presented Hall's most advanced aerodynamic theories to the racing world in 1966. The 2E established the paradigm for virtually all racing cars built since. It was startling in appearance, with its radiators moved from the traditional location in the nose to two ducted pods on either side of the cockpit and a large pivoting variable-incidence wing-mounted several feet above the rear of the car on struts. As opposed to an aircraft wing, it generated downforce instead of lift and was attached directly to the rear suspension uprights, loading the tires for extra adhesion while cornering. A ducted nose channeled air from the front of the car upwards, creating extra downforce as well. By depressing a floor pedal that was in the position of the clutch in other cars, Hall was able to feather or flatten out, the "normally" negative-incidence wing's angle when downforce was not needed (as on a straight track section) to reduce drag and increase top speed. An interconnected air dam also closed off the nose ducting for streamlining. When the pedal was released, the front ducting and wing returned to full downforce position. Until they were banned many race cars, including some in Formula One, had wings on tall struts. The resulting accidents from their failures led to pivoting wings mounted on the suspension prior to being fully banned.


title: Chaparral Cars

text: The 2E scored only one win, at the 1966 Laguna Seca Raceway Can-Am with Hill driving. Hall stuck to an aluminum 5.3-liter Chevrolet engine in his lightweight racer while the other teams were using 6- to 7-liter iron engines, trading weight for power.


title: Chaparral Cars

text: In the 2F Hall applied the aerodynamic advances of the aluminum 2E to the older fiberglass chassis closed-cockpit 2D for the 1967 racing season. A movable wing mounted on struts loaded the rear suspension while an air dam kept the front end planted. The radiators were moved to positions next to the cockpit. An aluminum replaced the 5.3-liter engine of the 2D. While always extremely fast, the extra power of the larger engine was too much for the automatic transmission to handle and it broke with regularity. After solving the transmission problems, the 2F scored its only win on 30 July 1967 in the BOAC 500 at Brands Hatch with Hill and Mike Spence driving. After this race the FIA changed its rules, outlawing not only the 2F but also the Ford GT40 Mk.IV (winner at Le Mans that year) and the Ferrari 330 P3/4 (winner, 24 Hours of Daytona) and 365 P4 (finished second, Le Mans). As with the 2D, the 2F raced wearing Texas license plates.


title: Chaparral Cars

text: The 1967 2G was a development of the 2E. It featured wider tires and a 427 cu in aluminum Chevrolet V-8 engine. While on par with its competitors in terms of power, the lightweight 2C chassis was stretched to the limit and it was only Hall's driving skills that kept the car competitive. For the 1968 Can-Am series, still larger tires were added to increase grip.


title: Chaparral Cars

text: Hall's racing career was effectively ended in a severe crash at the Stardust Grand Prix Can-Am race when he rear-ended the slow-moving McLaren of Lothar Motschenbacher, although he did drive in the 1970 Trans-American Sedan Championship while fielding a team of Chevrolet Camaros.


title: Chaparral Cars

text: Hall noted that the increasing downforce also created enormous drag. Seeking a competitive edge, the highly advanced 2H was built in 1968 as the replacement for the 2G to minimize drag. Not only was it extremely slippery it was narrow to reduce frontal area. Development problems kept it out of the Can Am series, forcing Hall to update the 2G for the 1968 series, during which his catastrophic accident occurred. Hall was consistently the best driver for Chaparral and knew how to get the best out of his cars. John Surtees was brought in as driver for the 1969 Can Am series but never figured out how to drive the 2H to take advantage of its low drag potential. Surtees complained he couldn't see out of the car and demanded a redesign which ruined the aerodynamics, then ran the rear wing almost upright, negating any advantage of the compact slippery shape. Ultimately, by 1969 the massive amount of power being generated from the big block Chevrolet engines that Hall effectively debugged in 1967 and 1968, downforce was more important than low drag. Had the 2H kept the low drag shape but with a wider track it most likely would have been very competitive, but the true monocoque construction made changes to the chassis almost impossible. Beautifully constructed, the 2H looks as if it was made by NASA.


title: Chaparral Cars

text: The most unusual Chaparral was the 2J. On the chassis' sides bottom edges were articulated plastic skirts that sealed against the ground (a technology that would later appear in Formula One). Two fans adapted from a military tank engine were housed at the rear, driven by a single two-stroke twin-cylinder engine. The car had a "skirt" made of Lexan extending to the ground on both sides, laterally on the back of the car, and laterally from just aft of the front wheels. It was integrated with the suspension system so the bottom of the skirt would maintain a distance of one inch from the ground regardless of g-forces or anomalies in the road surface. The skirting produced a zone within which the fans could create a vacuum producing downforce on the order of 1.25 to 1.50 g when the car was fully loaded (fuel, oil, coolant). Tremendous gripping power and greater maneuverability at all speeds were produced. Since it created the same levels of low pressure under the car at all speeds, downforce did not decrease at lower speeds. With other aerodynamic devices, downforce decreased as the car slowed or reached too much of a slip angle.


title: Chaparral Cars

text: The 2J competed in the Can-Am series and qualified at least two seconds quicker than the next fastest car, but mechanical problems limited its success. It only ran in the 1970 season, after which it was outlawed by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). Although originally approved by the SCCA, they succumbed to pressure from other teams who argued that the fans constituted "movable aerodynamic devices". Sanctioning body FIA had banned such devices beginning with the 2E. There were also complaints of debris generated by the fans damaging the following cars. McLaren argued that if the 2J were not outlawed, the Can-Am series would be ruined by its dominance – something McLaren had been doing since 1967.


title: Chaparral Cars

text: Unusually, the Chaparral 2J only had three speed gears, being fitted in a automatic transmission, with the first gear providing 110kmh. The engine overall was capable of producing 680 bhp at 7,000 rpm, with the max speed of roughly 360kmh. The weight of the 2J was under 1800 pounds, or 816kg. With these specifications, The Chaparral 2J could overpower other race cars such as the 787b if it weren't for the unreliability of the 2J.


title: Chaparral Cars

text: A similar fan was used in Formula One eight years later on the Brabham BT46B, which won the 1978 Swedish Grand Prix, but the company reverted to the fanless BT46 soon afterward due to concern for a rules violation. The car was later deemed to have been within FIA technical specifications.


title: Chaparral Cars

text: The 2K was a Formula One-inspired ground effect Indy car designed by Briton John Barnard. Debuting in 1979 with driver Al Unser Sr., it went on to win six races in 27 starts over three seasons. Its greatest success came in 1980 when Johnny Rutherford won both the Indy 500 and CART championship.


title: Chaparral Cars

text: Chaparral started fielding Indy cars in 1978 with Al Unser driving the No. 2 First National City Traveler's Checks Lola T500-Cosworth DFX. Unser then managed to win the 1978 Indianapolis 500. Later in the season Unser added wins at the California 500 at Ontario Motor Speedway and the Schafer's 500 at Pocono International Raceway; this remains the only time a driver has won the Triple Crown. Despite these wins, Unser lost the championship to Tom Sneva (who failed to win a race). With the formation of CART, Hall fielded Unser in the No. 2 Pennzoil Lola T500-Cosworth DFX. At the 1979 Indianapolis 500, Hall and fellow CART board men Roger Penske, Pat Patrick, Teddy Mayer, Ted Field, and Robert Fletcher were initially not allowed to compete in the race since it was part of the USAC National Championship. At the same time Hall was going to introduce the Chaparral 2K-Cosworth DFX. In the race Unser lead for 89 of the 200 laps but an engine fire on lap 105 ended his participation. He later won the season-ending Miller High Life 150 at Phoenix International Raceway and finished fifth in CART standings but was ineligible for USAC points.


title: Chaparral Cars

text: By 1980 Unser was replaced by Johnny Rutherford after having disagreements with Hall. The only change to 2K was its number, now four. Rutherford won five races that season, including the 1980 Indianapolis 500, the Datsun Twin 200 at Ontario Motor Speedway, the Red Roof Inn 150 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course; the Norton 200 at Michigan International Speedway, and the Tony Bettenhausen 200 at the Wisconsin State Fair Park Speedway. He also won the 1980 IndyCar and CRL championships. In 1981 Rutherford returned with the No. 1 Pennzoil Chaparral 2K-Cosworth DFX and won the season-opening Kraco Car Stereos 150 at Phoenix International Raceway. The rest of the season proved to be inconsistent as he dropped to fifth in points. The team also competed in the opening round of the USAC Gold Crown season at the 1981 Indianapolis 500. Rutherford led for three laps early on but fuel pump issues ended the team's day after only 25 laps. By the 1982 IndyCar season the 2K was becoming outdated, with its best result in fourth place at the Miller High Life 150. After four races he ranked 18th in points. By the time of the Norton Michigan 500 at Michigan International Speedway, the team was using a March 82C-Cosworth DFX purchased from Bob Fletcher Racing. Rutherford's results managed to improve as he took his season-best finish of third at the AirCal 500K at Riverside International Raceway. Rutherford ended up in 12th place in points that year. The team also competed at the USAC Gold Crown season finale, the 1982 Indianapolis 500, where Rutherford started 12th and finished 8th.


title: Chaparral Cars

text: In the 1991 CART season Hall returned to Indy cars in conjunction with VDS Racing, with the team being called Hall-VDS Racing with John Andretti driving the No. 4 Pennzoil Z-7 Lola T91/00-Ilmor-Chevrolet Indy V8. The team managed to get a victory in their debut, the Gold Coast IndyCar Grand Prix on the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit. The team also got a second-place finish at the Miller Genuine Draft 200 at the Milwaukee Mile. Also, at the 1991 Indianapolis 500 Andretti got a fifth-place finish. At the end of the season Andretti was ranked a career-best eighth in points. In the 1992 CART season Andretti drove the No. 8 Pennzoil Z-7 Lola T92/00-Ilmor-Chevrolet Indy V8 for the team. However, Andretti's best finish came at the Pioneer Electronics 200 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course where he came in fourth place. At the end of the year Andretti finished eighth in points again. He then left the team at the end of the season to compete in the NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series for Jack Clark. So in the 1993 CART season the team fielded Teo Fabi in the No. 8 Pennzoil Lola T93/00-Ilmor-Chevrolet Indy V8. Fabi's best finish was fourth, at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on his way to an 11th-place finish in points. In the 1994 CART season Fabi drove the No. 11 Pennzoil Reynard 94i-Ilmor D. Fabi's best results that season were a pair of fourth-place finishes at the at Michigan International Speedway and the at Road America. Fabi went on to end the season ranked ninth in points. At the end of the season he left to drive for Forsythe Racing. For the 1995 CART season VDS dropped out of the venture and the team became known as Hall Racing and rookie Gil de Ferran was signed on to pilot the No. 8 Pennzoil Reynard 95i-Ilmor-Mercedes-Benz IC108. In four of the first six races de Ferran managed to qualify in the top-10. Although he only scored two points during that time. His season soon turned around starting with a pole position at the Budweiser Grand Prix of Cleveland at Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport where he was leading with five laps to go when he collided with the lapped car of Scott Pruett taking him out of the race. De Ferran avenged this later in the season when he won the season-ending Toyota Monterey Grand Prix at Laguna Seca Raceway. He finished 14th in points and won the Jim Trueman PPG IndyCar World Series Rookie of the Year Award. For the 1996 IndyCar season he drove the No. 8 Pennzoil Reynard 96i-Honda Indy V8 and qualified for the pole at the 1996 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. He also won the Medic Drug Grand Prix of Cleveland and finished sixth in the final points standings. Despite the recent success Hall closed up the Indy car team for good, after which de Ferran drove for Walker Racing in the 1997 CART season. In total Hall won 13 races and two championships.


title: Chaparral Cars

text: In 2005, a wing of the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum in Midland, Texas was dedicated to the permanent display of the remaining Chaparral cars and the history of their development. To aid in keeping these cars in an optimal state of performance, they are driven on a semi-regular basis at the museum grounds.


title: Baharat

text: is the Arabic word for "spices" (the plural form of , 'spice'). The word originates from the Indian name Bharata, an Indian emperor, as India was historically a large producer and trader of spices with the Middle East.


title: Baharat

text: In the Levant a spice mix called ( 'seven spices') is used. Its origins are from Aleppo, Syria. Though it seems to slightly vary from province to province, the typical recipe for it is these following ground spices mixed:


title: Baharat

text: Turkish "baharat" includes mint in the largest proportion. In Tunisia, "baharat" refers to a simple mixture of dried rosebuds and ground cinnamon, often combined with black pepper. In Eastern Arabia, "loomi" (dried black lime) and saffron may also be used for the "kebsa" spice mixture (also called ).


title: Fallow

text: Fallow is a farming technique in which arable land is left without sowing for one or more vegetative cycles. The goal of fallowing is to allow the land to recover and store organic matter while retaining moisture and disrupting pest life cycles and soil borne pathogens by temporarily removing their hosts. Crop rotation systems typically called for some of a farmer's fields to be left fallow each year.


title: Fallow

text: The increase in intensive farming, including the use of cover crops in lieu of fallow practices, has caused a loss of acreage of fallow land, as well as field margins, hedges, and wasteland. This has reduced biodiversity; fallows have been the primary habitat for farmland bird populations.


title: Fallow

text: Fallow syndrome is when a crop has insufficient nutrient uptake due to the lack of arbuscular mycorhizae (AM fungi) in the soil following a fallow period. Crops such as corn that are prone to fallow syndrome should not follow a period of fallow, but instead should follow a cover crop which is a host for AM fungi, such as oats or other small grain crops. The presence of "any" plant roots, including weeds, can reduce occurrence of fallow syndrome. Nowadays, agricultural fields are routinely planted with cover crops to prevent erosion, keep down weeds, provide a green manure, and reduce the risk of fallow syndrome.


title: Sam Hubbard

text: Sam Hubbard (born June 29, 1995) is an American football defensive end for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State, and was drafted by the Bengals in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft.


title: Sam Hubbard

text: Hubbard attended Archbishop Moeller High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. Hubbard played the position of Safety in high school, and as a senior, had 109 tackles and five interceptions. He was rated as a five-star recruit by Scout.com and committed to Ohio State University to play college football. Hubbard also played lacrosse in high school, and was at one time committed to the University of Notre Dame to play college lacrosse.


title: Sam Hubbard

text: Hubbard redshirted his first year at Ohio State in 2014. As a redshirt freshman in 2015, he played in all 13 games and had 28 tackles and 6.5 sacks. As a redshirt sophomore in 2016, he started all 13 games and had 46 tackles and 3.5 sacks. Hubbard played in 14 games in 2017 as a redshirt junior and had 42 tackles along with a career high seven sacks. Hubbard declared for the 2018 NFL Draft on December 30, 2017.


title: Sam Hubbard

text: On December 30, 2017, Hubbard released a statement on Twitter announcing his decision to enter the 2018 NFL Draft. He attended the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis and completed the majority of combine drills, but opted to skip the 40-yard dash and bench press. Hubbard participated in linebacker and defensive end drills at the combine. On March 22, 2018, he participated at Ohio State's pro day and performed positional drills, the 40-yard dash, 20-yard dash, and 10-yard dash. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Hubbard was projected to be a first or second round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked the third best defensive end in the draft by DraftScout.com, was ranked the fourth best defensive end by Scouts Inc., and was also ranked the fifth best edge rusher in the draft by Sports Illustrated.


title: Sam Hubbard

text: The Cincinnati Bengals selected Hubbard in the third round with the 77th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Hubbard was the seventh defensive end drafted in 2018.


title: Sam Hubbard

text: On June 21, 2018, the Cincinnati Bengals signed Hubbard to a four-year, $3.61 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $929,200.


title: Sam Hubbard

text: On September 13, Hubbard recorded his first-career sack against the Baltimore Ravens, bringing down Joe Flacco for a loss of 11 yards in the 34–23 victory. In a Week 5 victory over the Miami Dolphins, he recorded a 19-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown. As a rookie, he totaled 39 total tackles, nine quarterback hits, seven tackles-for-loss, two passes defensed, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.


title: Sam Hubbard

text: In the Bengals' 2019 regular season opener, Hubbard recorded two sacks and a career-best 10 tackles in the 21–20 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.


title: Sam Hubbard

text: In week 5 against the Arizona Cardinals, Hubbard sacked rookie quarterback Kyler Murray once in the 26-23 loss.


title: Sam Hubbard

text: In Week 17 against the Cleveland Browns, Hubbard recorded a team high six tackles and sacked Baker Mayfield 1.5 times during the 33–23 win.


title: Sam Hubbard

text: In Week 3 against the Philadelphia Eagles, Hubbard recorded his first sack of the season on Carson Wentz during the 23–23 tie game. He suffered an elbow injury in Week 5 and was placed on injured reserve on October 15, 2020. He was activated on November 14, 2020.


title: Sam Hubbard

text: On July 25, 2021, Hubbard signed a four-year, $40 million contract extension with the Bengals. Hubbard had a 2.5-sack game against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 7, a 41–17 victory. In the 4th Quarter of the 2021 AFC Championship game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Hubbard strip sacked Patrick Mahomes in the redzone which forced the Chiefs to kick a field goal to tie the game and send the Bengals into overtime in the eventual 27-24 win.


title: Sam Hubbard

text: In 2021, Hubbard created the Sam Hubbard Foundation. In recognition of his support for his community the Bengals selected him as their nominee for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award in 2021 and 2022.


title: Saundra Santiago

text: Saundra Santiago (born April 13, 1957) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Det. Gina Calabrese in the NBC original crime drama series "Miami Vice" (1984–1990). She also played Carmen Santos on the CBS soap opera "Guiding Light" and the second Carlotta Vega on the ABC soap opera "One Life to Live".


title: Saundra Santiago

text: Santiago is the daughter of a Cuban father and a Puerto Rican mother. Raised in the South Bronx, New York City, she attended Our Lady of Victory Grammar School. When she was 13 years old, her family moved to Homestead, Florida.


title: Saundra Santiago

text: Santiago graduated from South Dade Senior High School and attended the University of Miami on a scholarship, majoring in psychology. As a University of Miami student, she became interested in acting. After graduation, she went on to post-graduate study in theater and arts at Southern Methodist University, eventually earning a Master of Fine Arts degree. Santiago joined the company of regional summer stock theater, Timber Lake Playhouse, Mount Carroll, Illinois, performing many roles including Maria in "West Side Story" in the 1980 season.


title: Saundra Santiago

text: In 1984, Santiago made her big screen debut appearing in the dance drama film "Beat Street", and later that year began starring in the NBC crime drama series "Miami Vice" playing the role of Detective Gina Calabrese opposite Don Johnson. The series ran for five seasons to 1989. In 1990s, Santiago appeared in a number of made for television movies, including "The Cosby Mysteries" (1994) and "To Sir, with Love II" (1996) opposite Sidney Poitier.


title: Saundra Santiago

text: In 1999, Santiago joined the cast of long-running CBS soap opera "Guiding Light" playing crime boss Carmen Santos. She received Daytime Emmy Award nomination for America's Favorite Villain in 2002. She left the soap after three years. She appeared simultaneously in a recurring role on "The Sopranos" as Tony Soprano's next door neighbor, Jeannie Cusamano, and as her twin sister, Joan from 1999 to 2007. Additionally, on television, Santiago guest-starred on "Law & Order" in the 1992 episode "Prince of Darkness" (episode 3.8) and in the 2004 episode "Veteran's Day" (episode 14.15).


title: Saundra Santiago

text: In 2004, Santiago joined the cast ABC soap opera "One Life to Live" in the role of Isabella Santi/Angelina Parades after leaving "Guiding Light". In 2007, she had a recurring role in the first season of FX legal thriller "Damages". In 2009, she returned to "One Life to Live" again, this time taking over the role of Carlotta Vega from Patricia Mauceri. She remained with the show until 2011. In 2014, she returned to prime time television playing the role of Marciela Acosta, the wife of gang leader Javier Acosta, in the short-lived Fox drama series "Gang Related". Santiago also guest-starred on "Person of Interest", "True Detective", "Gotham", "Blue Bloods", and "Madam Secretary".


title: Malvika Nair

text: Malvika Nair is an Indian actress who appears in Telugu and Malayalam-language films. Her notable works include "Black Butterfly" (2013) and "Cuckoo" (2014).


title: Malvika Nair

text: Malvika Nair was born in Delhi. Her family soon moved to Kerala and she attended the Toc H Public School in Vyttila, Kochi, before returning to New Delhi, where she continued her studies at DAV Sreshtha Vihar. As of November 2018, she is a graduate from St Francis College for Women in Begumpet, Hyderabad.


title: Malvika Nair

text: While studying, Nair modelled, appearing in various advertisements as well as the Mohan Sithara-directed music video, "Rithukkal". She subsequently began to receive acting offers and eventually entered the film industry at age 13. In her first few films she had minor supporting or cameo roles; in "Ustad Hotel", she made a brief appearance in a song sequence, while in "Puthiya Theerangal" and "Karmayodha" she played the daughter of Nedumudi Venu and Mohanlal's characters, respectively. Her first major role was as Reena, a house maid who faces an acid attack, in the Malayalam drama film "Black Butterfly" (2013), a remake of "Vazhakku Enn 18/9".


title: Malvika Nair

text: After watching her performance in "Black Butterfly", Balaji Sakthivel, director of its original version, was impressed and recommended aspiring director Raju Murugan to cast her in his romantic drama film "Cuckoo" (2014). She portrayed an independent blind girl in the film and prior to the shoot, attended a workshop where she interacted with blind people. Pairing alongside Dinesh, Malavika portrayed Sudhanthirakodi and won critical acclaim for her portrayal. Behindwoods noted her as "effectuated excellence", while Sify.com's review stated she was "superb" and that she "lives the role". Her performance was subsequently rewarded with the Filmfare Award for Best Actress, Vijay Award for Best Debut Actress as well as the SICA Award for Best Newcomer and the Vikatan Award for Best Actress. Prior to "Cuckoo", she had a Malayalam release, "Pakida", in which she portrayed a fifteen-year-old girl who is sold to a brothel by her own father.


title: Malvika Nair

text: Nair next appeared in the Telugu film "Yevade Subramanyam" (2015) alongside Nani, with a critic noting she "shows a lot of spunk and comes up with a matured performance for a newcomer". Malavika's next release was the romantic drama, "Kalyana Vaibhogame" (2016), opposite Naga Shourya. It was directed by B. V. Nandini Reddy and the film was praised and her role was well appreciated. Sify wrote that "Malavika Nair who wowed the audiences with her performance in "Yevade Subramanyam" shines again as modern independent minded girl. She steals the show in many scenes".


title: Malvika Nair

text: In 2018, she starred as Alamelu Gemini Ganeshan in the Savitri biopic, "Mahanati", directed by Nag Ashwin, which was successful at the box-office ran of 100 days.


title: Toeplitz matrix

text: In linear algebra, a Toeplitz matrix or diagonal-constant matrix, named after Otto Toeplitz, is a matrix in which each descending diagonal from left to right is constant. For instance, the following matrix is a Toeplitz matrix:


title: Toeplitz matrix

text: is called a Toeplitz system if "A" is a Toeplitz matrix. If "A" is an "n" × "n" Toeplitz matrix, then the system has only 2"n" − 1 degrees of freedom, rather than "n". We might therefore expect that the solution of a Toeplitz system would be easier, and indeed that is the case.


title: Toeplitz matrix

text: Toeplitz systems can be solved by the Levinson algorithm in "O"("n") time. Variants of this algorithm have been shown to be weakly stable (i.e. they exhibit numerical stability for well-conditioned linear systems). The algorithm can also be used to find the determinant of a Toeplitz matrix in "O"("n") time.


title: Toeplitz matrix

text: A Toeplitz matrix can also be decomposed (i.e. factored) in "O"("n") time. The Bareiss algorithm for an LU decomposition is stable. An LU decomposition gives a quick method for solving a Toeplitz system, and also for computing the determinant.


title: Toeplitz matrix

text: Algorithms that are asymptotically faster than those of Bareiss and Levinson have been described in the literature, but their accuracy cannot be relied upon.


title: Toeplitz matrix

text: The convolution operation can be constructed as a matrix multiplication, where one of the inputs is converted into a Toeplitz matrix. For example, the convolution of formula_21 and formula_22 can be formulated as:


title: Toeplitz matrix

text: A bi-infinite Toeplitz matrix (i.e. entries indexed by formula_25) formula_5 induces a linear operator on formula_27.


title: Toeplitz matrix

text: The induced operator is bounded if and only if the coefficients of the Toeplitz matrix formula_5 are the Fourier coefficients of some essentially bounded function formula_30.


title: Toeplitz matrix

text: In such cases, formula_30 is called the symbol of the Toeplitz matrix formula_5, and the spectral norm of the Toeplitz matrix formula_5 coincides with the formula_34 norm of its symbol. The proof is easy to establish and can be found as Theorem 1.1 of:


title: Aidan McArdle

text: McArdle was born in Dublin. He studied for an Arts degree at University College Dublin before going on to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, England.


title: Aidan McArdle

text: His work with the Royal Shakespeare Company includes the title role in "Richard III" and the role of Puck in "A Midsummer Night's Dream". He also appeared in the title role of a stage adaptation of John Irving's "A Prayer for Owen Meany" by Simon Bent at London's Royal National Theatre in 2002, along with the role of Joseph Surface in Deborah Warner's 2011 "The School for Scandal" at the Barbican Centre.


title: Aidan McArdle

text: He appeared in the BBC Two show "Beautiful People" in 2008. His first foray into the Hollywood film industry was as Slannen, an elf who secretly aspires to be a lawyer in the 2004 movie "Ella Enchanted". He appeared as a supporting character, Jewish anarchist Saul Landau, on an episode of the 2009 BBC TV series, "Casualty 1909".


title: Aidan McArdle

text: As of 2005 his most significant roles have been in television biographical films. These roles include Dudley Moore in the 2004 television movie "Not Only But Always", Albert Einstein in the 2005 biography "E=mc²", and Igor Stravinsky in the 2005 production "Riot at the Rite".


title: Aidan McArdle

text: McArdle is well known for his numerous television roles, the majority of which are period roles. He has recently starred in Garrow's Law as John Silvester and in the comedy television series "Beautiful People" as Andy Doonan. He also worked on the British period drama "Mr Selfridge" about the founder of the department store Selfridges as Lord Loxley who becomes an arch-enemy to Harry Selfridge. A further prominent role was as a defence lawyer in "The Fall". Title role in ITV series Mr Ridley 2022.


title: Brumby

text: A brumby is a free-roaming feral horse in Australia. Although found in many areas around the country, the best-known brumbies are found in the Australian Alps region. Today, most of them are found in the Northern Territory, with the second largest population in Queensland. A group of brumbies is known as a "mob" or "band".


title: Brumby

text: Brumbies are the descendants of escaped or lost horses, dating back in some cases to those belonging to the early European settlers. Today they live in many places, including some National Parks, notably Alpine National Park in Victoria, Barrington Tops National Park and Kosciuszko National Park in NSW, and Carnarvon National Park in Queensland. Occasionally they are mustered and domesticated for use as campdrafters, working stock horses on farms or stations, but also as trail horses, show horses, Pony Club mounts and pleasure horses. They are the subject of some controversy – regarded as a pest and threat to native ecosystems by environmentalists and the government, but also valued by others as part of Australia's heritage, with supporters working to prevent inhumane treatment or extermination, and rehoming brumbies who have been captured.


title: Brumby

text: There are no known predators of feral horses in Australia, although it is possible that dingoes or wild dogs occasionally take foals. On average, 20% of the feral horse population dies each year, mainly from drought, poisonous plants and parasites. Few feral horses reach 20 years of age. The maximum possible rate that feral horse numbers can increase is 20–25% per year.


title: Brumby

text: The term "brumby" refers to a feral horse in Australia. The first recorded use in print in 1871 has the connotation of an inferior or worthless animal, and culling of feral horses as a pest soon became known as brumby shooting. The "Australasian" magazine from Melbourne in 1880 said that brumbies were the bush name in Queensland for 'wild' horses. In 1885, the "Once a Month" magazine suggested that "rumbies" was a New South Wales term, and the poet Banjo Paterson stated in the introduction for his poem "Brumby's Run" published in the Bulletin in 1894 that brumby is the Aboriginal word for a wild horse. Its derivation is obscure, and may have come about from one or more of the following possibilities:


title: Brumby

text: Earlier nineteenth-century terms for wild horses in rural Australia included "clear-skins" and "scrubbers".


title: Brumby

text: Horses first arrived in Australia in 1788 with the First Fleet. They were imported for farm and utility work; recreational riding and racing were not major activities. By 1800, only about 200 horses are thought to have reached Australia. Horse racing became popular around 1810, resulting in an influx of Thoroughbred imports, mostly from England. Roughly 3,500 horses were living in Australia by 1820, and this number had grown to 160,000 by 1850, largely due to natural increase. The long journey by sea from England, Europe, and Asia meant that only the strongest horses survived the trip, making for a particularly healthy and strong Australian stock, which aided in their ability to flourish.


title: Brumby

text: Horses were likely confined primarily to the Sydney region until the early 19th century, when settlers first crossed the Blue Mountains and opened expansion inland. Horses were required for travel, and for cattle and sheep droving as the pastoral industry grew. The first report of an escaped horse is in 1804, and by the 1840s some horses had escaped from settled regions of Australia. It is likely that some escaped because fences were not properly installed, when fences existed at all, but it is believed that most Australian horses became feral because they were released into the wild and left to fend for themselves. This may have been the result of pastoralists abandoning their settlements, and thus their horses, due to the arid conditions and unfamiliar land that combined to make farming in Australia especially difficult. After World War I, the demand for horses by defence forces declined with the growth in mechanization, which led to a growth in the number of unwanted animals that were often set free. Throughout the 20th century, the replacement of horses with machines in farming led to further reductions in demand, and may have also contributed to increases in feral populations.


title: Brumby

text: Currently, Australia has at least 400,000 horses roaming the continent. It is also estimated that, during non-drought periods, the feral horse population increases at a rate of 20 percent per year. Drought conditions and brushfires are natural threats. Despite population numbers, feral horses are generally considered to be a moderate pest. Where they are allowed to damage vegetation and cause erosion, the impact on the environment is significant, and for that reason can be considered a serious environmental threat. However, because they also have cultural and potential economic value, the management of brumbies presents a complex issue.


title: Brumby

text: Brumbies roaming in the Australian Alps of south-eastern Australia are thought to be descendants of horses which were owned by the pastoralist and pioneer, Benjamin Boyd. Feral horses in Barmah National Park mainly originate from stock released by a local horse breeder after 1952, there was no significant long term population of "wild" horses in the park area prior to this date.


title: Brumby

text: On the coast south of Geraldton, Western Australia the brumbies there are known as "Pangare ponies", as they appear to carry the rare Pangaré gene. This colouring is commonly known as "mealy" and is seen mainly in a number of old breeds such as British Ponies, Timor Ponies, Haflingers and even Belgian Draught horses. The gene causes lightening in parts of a horse's coat, resulting in a mealy-coloured muzzle, forearms, flanks, and the belly. It is sometimes seen in chestnut horses with flaxen-coloured manes and tails.


title: Brumby

text: The Pangaré brumbies appear to have adapted well to their coastal environment, where they are consuming saltbush, which they do not appear to be damaging. The Department of Environment and Conservation and the Outback Heritage Horse Association of Western Australia (OHHAWA) are monitoring these particular brumbies to ensure the careful management of these unusual feral horses.


title: Brumby

text: Brumbies have been captured, fitted with GPS tracking collars, and used in extensive comparative research into the effect of terrain on the morphology and health of different horses' hooves. They have their paths of movement, diet, watering patterns, and mob structure tracked and recorded.


title: Brumby

text: Captured brumbies can be trained as stock horses and other saddle horses. Encouraging viewing of feral herds may also have potential as a tourist attraction. Brumbies are sometimes sold into the European horse meat market after their capture, and contribute millions of dollars to the Australian economy. Approximately 30% of horses for meat export originates from the feral population. The hides and hair of these horses are also used and sold.


title: Brumby

text: Wild brumbies are used in brumby training camps by organisations that promote positive interaction between troubled, high-risk youths. These camps usually last several weeks, allowing youths to train a wild brumby to become a quiet, willing saddle horse while improving the youths' self-esteem.


title: Brumby

text: Wild brumbies are also used in the brumby catch and handle event in stockman's challenge competitions, where riders are required to catch a free running brumby from their horse within a time limit of a few minutes. Sectional points are awarded for the stockman's challenge for care and skill in catching the brumby and their ability to teach them to lead. These demanding challenges for riders are held in New South Wales at Dalgety, Tamworth and Murrurundi plus "The Man From Snowy River Challenge" in Corryong, Victoria. Several New South Wales show societies, including Walcha, Bellingen and Dorrigo, hold special classes for registered brumbies at their annual agricultural shows.


title: Brumby

text: Horses were first described as pests in Australia in the 1860s. Their environmental impact may include soil loss, compaction, and erosion; trampling of vegetation; reduction in the vastness of plants; increased tree deaths by chewing on bark; damage to bog habitats and waterholes; spreading of invasive weeds; and various detrimental effects on population of native species. In some cases, when feral horses are startled, they may damage infrastructure, including troughs, pipes, and fences. However, brumbies are also credited for helping keep tracks and trails clear for bush walkers and service vehicles in some areas. In recent years, the impact of bushfires has exacerbated the impact of brumbies as native species struggle to adapt to climate change.


title: Brumby

text: In some habitats, hooves of free-roaming horses compact the soil, and when the soil is compacted, air spaces are minimized, leaving nowhere for water to collect. When this occurs, soil in areas where horses are prevalent has a water penetration resistance over 15 times higher than that in areas without horses. Trampling also causes soil erosion and damages vegetation, and because the soil cannot hold water, plant regrowth is hindered. Horse trampling also has the potential to damage waterways and bog habitats. Trampling near streams increases runoff, reducing the quality of the water and causing harm to the ecosystem of the waterway. Horse excrement carcasses that result when feral horses perish add to the negative environmental impact of feral horses in Australia.


title: Brumby

text: Alpine areas, such as those of Kosciuszko National Park, are at particular risk; low-growing alpine flora is highly vulnerable to trampling, and the short summers mean little time for plants to grow and recover from damage. The biodiversity there is high, with 853 species of plant, 21 of which are found nowhere else. Erosion in the limestone karst areas leads to runoff and silting. Sphagnum moss is an important component of highland bogs, and is trampled by horses seeking water.


title: Brumby

text: Feral horses may also reduce the richness of plant species. Exposure of soil caused by trampling and vegetation removal via grazing, combined with increased nutrients being recycled by horse dung, favour weed species, which then invade the region and overtake native species, diminishing their diversity. The dispersal of weeds is aided by the attachment of seeds to the horses' manes and tails, and are also transferred via horse dung after consumption of weeds in one location and excrement in another. Although the effects of the weeds that actually germinate after transfer via dung is debated, the fact that a large number of weed species are dispersed via this method is of concern to those interested in the survival of native plant species in Australia. The effect on plants and plant habitats are more pronounced during droughts, when horses travel greater distances to find food and water. They consume the already threatened and limited vegetation, and their negative influences are more widespread. Feral horses may also chew the bark of trees, which may leave some trees vulnerable to external threats. This has occurred during drought, among eucalyptus species on the Red Range plateau. It appears as though feral horses may prefer these species.


title: Brumby

text: The changes in vegetation that result when feral horses overpopulate a region affects bird species by removing plants upon which they feed, as well as altering the habitat of the birds and their prey. Feral horse grazing is also linked to a decline in reptiles and amphibians due to habitat loss. In addition, the grazing and trampling near waterways influences aquatic fauna. In areas frequented by horses, crab densities are higher, increasing the propensity for predation on fish. As a result, fish densities decline as the removal of vegetation renders them more susceptible to predation.


title: Brumby

text: In areas where horses are abundant, macropod populations are less prevalent. This is most likely due to the horses' consumption of vegetation upon which the macropods normally feed. When horses are removed, signs of the presence of various macropods, specifically the black-footed rock wallaby, increase. Thus, competition with horses may be the reason for the decline in macropod populations in certain areas.


title: Brumby

text: Brumby populations also may have the potential to pass zoonotic and exotic diseases, such as equine influenza and African horse sickness, to domestic horses and other animals, including humans. They also may carry tick fever, which can be passed to both horses and cattle. Disease can lead to high fatalities and financial losses among domestic populations, prompting many farmers to call for the regulated management of feral horses.


title: Brumby

text: Like all livestock, brumbies can carry the parasite "Cryptosporidium parvum", which can result in serious gastroenteritis in people, from drinking contaminated water.


title: Brumby

text: Although poor management of feral horses may pose an ecological and environmental threat in some parts of Australia, their management is made difficult by issues of feasibility and public concern. Currently, management attempts vary, as feral horses are considered pests in some states, such as South Australia, but not others, including Queensland. There is also controversy over removal of brumbies from National Parks. The primary argument in favour of the removal of brumbies is that they impact on fragile ecosystems and damage and destroy endangered native flora and fauna.