title: Arma 3

text: On September 10, 2012, Greek media reported that two Czech nationals working for Bohemia Interactive were arrested on the Greek island Lemnos and charged with espionage. The two men took photographs and recorded videos of Hellenic Armed Forces installations on Lemnos, allegedly to use in the development of "Arma 3". Under Greek law, taking pictures and recordings of defense installations is prohibited for reasons of national security. Prior to the incident, the issue of the game causing potential threats to Greek national security was discussed in the Hellenic Parliament in 2011.


title: Arma 3

text: The two men were identified as Martin Pezlar and Ivan Buchta after an earlier misidentification. Bohemia confirmed their employment, but stated that the pair were on vacation in Lemnos and were not sent there by the company in an official capacity. Pezlar and Buchta denied the charges of espionage, maintaining that they "went just to a holiday [...] to enjoy the beauty of the island", noting that the layout of the virtual island in the development studio "was practically done" prior to their arrival, and that any photos or videos taken by them were intended as memorabilia and would not be used in the game's development. After being held in custody for 128 days, the Greek government released the pair from custody on January 15, 2013.


title: Arma 3

text: While the two were imprisoned, Bohemia shut down their "Greek Military" thread on their official forums and made several statements regarding the situation, discussing legal matters and warning forum users regarding the legal issues of photographing military installations. As a result of the incident, on February 2, 2013, Bohemia announced that the name of the main island "Lemnos" would be changed to "Altis". The Greek island of Lemnos was chosen as inspiration after Bohemia CEO Marek Španěl had visited the place on vacation. According to Bohemia, the name change is meant to emphasize that the game is fiction. The name of the game's smaller island, "Stratis", remained unchanged.


title: Arma 3

text: On September 19, 2012, the Iran Computer and Video Games Foundation and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps denied Bohemia Interactive's license to sell "Arma 3" in Iran and banned the game's sale in the country for its depiction of the Iran Armed Forces. In "Arma 3", Iran is portrayed as a member of the CSAT faction, a rival to NATO and one of the story's main antagonists; early builds of the game also allegedly did not feature CSAT and instead featured the Iranian military as the sole antagonists.


title: Arma 3

text: Gameplay footage of "Arma 3" has frequently been mistaken for actual combat footage, deliberately misrepresented as such in fake news, or used in propaganda. In-game footage is edited or modified to prevent easy identification of the hoax. "Arma" hoaxes typically consist of shaky low-resolution footage of anti-aircraft warfare in nighttime settings, with land or people rarely visible, often depicting the unrealistic application of military assets (such as American C-RAM systems destroying American aircraft). Some hoaxes may also unintentionally leave in gameplay features, such as visible HUD elements or in-game sound effects.


title: Arma 3

text: In September 2018, Russian state-run news channel Channel One Russia aired footage from "Arma 3", claiming to show Russian Su-25 attack aircraft conducting an airstrike on a military convoy during the Syrian Civil War. Channel One claimed the clip was accidentally reused from an archived report about computer games. Following the announcement of the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan in April 2021, a Facebook post claiming to show the Taliban shooting down an American military transport plane received millions of views; however, the video was actually taken from a demonstration of a Phalanx CIWS mod for "Arma 3". In May 2021, supposed footage of Israeli anti-aircraft missiles being used against Hamas was sourced to "Arma 3". In September 2021, Republic TV broadcast footage purportedly showing a Pakistani anti-aircraft tank supporting the Taliban by firing at an American A-10 Thunderbolt II. Several sources, including journalist Mohammed Zubair, noticed the clip was from "Arma 3"; Republic TV promptly deleted their online posts of the video. In August 2022, amid tense Chinese military exercises around Taiwan, a video of "military helicopters from China attacking Taiwan" was found to originate from an "Arma 3" livestream.


title: Arma 3

text: "Arma 3" has been used to produce hoax videos claiming to depict events in the Russo-Ukrainian War since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, when a video of a Ukrainian anti-aircraft gun shooting down a Russian military jet received hundreds of thousands of views before being exposed as a hoax made in "Arma 3"; parts of the clip were previously used in January 2020, under the similarly false claim that it was an American anti-aircraft weapon destroying an Iranian missile. Other hoaxes related to the Russian invasion have claimed to depict a drone attack on Russian naval vessels, an attack helicopter destroying a Russian convoy, Ukrainian soldiers ambushing a Russian tank with an NLAW, and Russian missiles destroying crewed NATO tanks traveling to Ukraine.


title: Arma 3

text: Bohemia Interactive is aware of the frequent use of "Arma" games in military hoaxes, and has confirmed "Arma 3"'s use in several hoaxes. Bohemia CEO Marek Španěl told "PC Gamer" in 2012 that he was "surprised" that "Arma" gameplay could be confused for real footage so easily. In November 2022, Bohemia officially acknowledged the use of "Arma" games in combat footage hoaxes and published an official guide to help viewers identify hoaxes made in video games.


title: Arma 3

text: "Arma 4" was announced on May 17, 2022. "Arma Reforger", a standalone preview using the new Enfusion engine, entered early access on the same day.


title: Wendy (film)

text: Wendy is a 2020 American fantasy drama film directed by Benh Zeitlin, from a screenplay by Zeitlin and Eliza Zeitlin. The film stars Devin France, Yashua Mack, Gage Naquin, Gavin Naquin, Ahmad Cage, Krzysztof Meyn, and Romyri Ross. It is intended to be a re-imagining of J. M. Barrie's "Peter Pan".


title: Wendy (film)

text: "Wendy" had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2020 and was released on February 28, 2020 by Searchlight Pictures.


title: Wendy (film)

text: Wendy Darling lives in the rural South with her waitress mother Angela and twin brothers James and Douglas. Back when James and Douglas (Logan Jones and Luke Jones) were celebrating their seventh birthdays, their next-door neighbor and cousin Thomas Marshall storms outside (on discovering what his future will be) and disappears, with Wendy seeing him being lured into climbing aboard a passing train car by a hooded childlike figure. One night, when the children request a bedtime story, Angela tells them about her life and how she was forced to give up on her dreams in order to raise a family. Wendy wonders whether the same thing will happen to her.


title: Wendy (film)

text: The next night, as the train passes by their bedroom window, Wendy notices a boy riding on top of the train cars. The three children climb out of their window and join the boy, Peter, who takes them all to a tropical island with an active volcano, which Peter calls "Mother." The island is populated by other children, including their long-lost cousin Thomas, who has not aged a day for over the past seven years. Peter explains that Mother's spirit resides in the volcano and prevents the children from aging, so long as they believe in her. They later discover a large glowing fish, which is Mother's other form with Wendy then secretly coming across a dated photograph of a deceased family of islanders that include Peter and concludes Mother must've saved him from a natural disaster (that killed the other islanders) and shared her powers with Peter making him ageless.


title: Wendy (film)

text: While exploring a capsized boat called the "Mañana", Douglas injures his head and disappears from sight. The children search for him without success. Missing his twin brother, James withdraws emotionally and his right hand begins to show signs of age. James becomes afraid and asks Peter to cut the hand off lest he become old. Shocked and disgusted, Wendy pulls James away from the group and they explore the back of the island. They encounter a settlement of "Olds," children who lost faith in Mother and thus began to age normally. Among them is Buzzo, well known by the younger kids as being a former member of their group (who lost his faith in Mother when his best friend died). James, bitter at having to grow up without Douglas, rallies the group to kill and eat Mother's fish form in order to regain their youth. The Olds kidnap the children to use as bait for Mother and repurpose the "Mañana" as a fishing boat.


title: Wendy (film)

text: While evading the Olds, Wendy and Peter find Douglas alive. They swim to the "Mañana", where they find the now elderly James, with a hook in place of his missing right hand. As Peter and Wendy rescue the children, James kills Mother with a harpoon. With Peter and the children mournful and the Olds disheartened, Wendy gets them to all start singing, which inspires Peter and revitalizes the volcano. Wendy and Douglas decide it is time for them to go home plus also bring Thomas back with them to give his family closure (along with two other tag along lost children). Knowing that he cannot go home, James stays to play with Peter as his new “enemy” Captain Hook, thereby allowing him to live out the rest of his days with the spirit of a child. Years later Wendy, now a mother herself, wakes to find her daughter Jane climbing aboard a passing train car with none other than Peter himself, still unchanged by time. Unable to keep up, Wendy comforts herself that Peter will look after her daughter and eventually return Jane back home to Wendy.


title: Wendy (film)

text: In August 2015, it was announced Benh Zeitlin would write and direct the film. Production began in March 2017, with filming taking place in Montserrat.


title: Wendy (film)

text: In April 2018, Searchlight Pictures acquired North American distribution rights to the film. It had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2020. It was released on February 28, 2020.


title: Wendy (film)

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The site's critical consensus reads, ""Wendy" dares to do something different with its classic source material; unfortunately, the movie's breathtaking visuals are at odds with a flawed take on the story." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 55 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews."


title: Dandie Dinmont Terrier

text: A Dandie Dinmont Terrier is a small Scottish dog breed in the terrier family. The breed has a very long body, short legs, and a distinctive topknot of hair on the head. They are friendly but tough, and are suitable for interaction with older children. There are breed-specific health concerns: they can be affected by spinal problems due to their elongated body, and the breed is affected by canine cancer at a higher than average rate.


title: Dandie Dinmont Terrier

text: The breed is named after a fictional character in Sir Walter Scott's novel, "Guy Mannering". This character, Dandie Dinmont, is thought to be partly based on James Davidson, who is credited as the originator of the modern breed. Davidson's dogs descended from earlier terrier-owning families, including the Allans of Holystone, Northumberland.


title: Dandie Dinmont Terrier

text: There are three breed clubs in the UK supporting the breed, although it is registered as a Vulnerable Native Breed by the Kennel Club due to its low number of puppy registrations per year.


title: Dandie Dinmont Terrier

text: The breed originates from the dogs being used in the Anglo-Scottish border country. During the 1600s, they were used for hunting badgers and otters. Whilst their ultimate origin remains unknown, dogs owned by the Allans of Holystone, Northumberland in the early 1700s are thought to have been involved in their early origins.


title: Dandie Dinmont Terrier

text: These dogs may have been a type of Border Terrier, although other theories exist including the idea that they are a cross between Scottish Terriers and Skye Terriers. The head of this family was Willie "Piper" Allan, who was born in nearby Bellingham. He kept dogs for the hunting of otters. Lord Ravensworth once hired Allan to remove the otters from the pond in Eslington Park. Lord Ravensworth attempted to purchase one of Allan's dogs after he successfully removed the otters, which Allan refused.


title: Dandie Dinmont Terrier

text: Allan died on 18 February 1779, and his dogs passed into the care of his son James. James's son eventually inherited the dogs and sold a dog named Old Pepper to Mr Francis Sommer who came from Town Yetholm on the Scottish side of the border. Old Pepper was descended from one of Willie Allan's dogs who had worked Lord Ravensworth's manor.


title: Dandie Dinmont Terrier

text: The breed remained relatively unknown outside of the Borders until 1815 when Sir Walter Scott's novel "Guy Mannering" was published. Scott had spent time in the area whilst Sheriff of Selkirk and had learned of the prowess of these types of specialist terriers for working both fox and otter. When he wrote "Guy Mannering", he included a character by the name of Dandie Dinmont who owned a number of terriers named Pepper and Mustard after the colours of their coats. The Dinmont character was partly based on the real life farmer and terrier owner, James Davidson, who too used the generic terms of Pepper and Mustard for his dogs depending on their coats. Davidson's dogs came from a variety of sources including the dogs of the Allan, Anderson and Faas families. Davidson documented his breeding, and he has been accepted as the originator of the modern breed.


title: Dandie Dinmont Terrier

text: Some interbreeding with other breeds took place in the mid-1800s, which may have introduced Dachshund blood into the breed, although certain breeders maintained pure-bred lines. The Dachshund theory was first introduced by John Henry Walsh under the pseudonym of "Stonehenge" in the 1880s, and was denied by many breeders of that era. By the mid-1800s, the breed was known as the Dandie Dinmont Terrier, and became sought after for hunting after Scott's writings were published. They remain the only dog breed to have been named after a fictional character. Around this time the breed had some involvement in the development of the Bedlington Terrier.


title: Dandie Dinmont Terrier

text: The Kennel Club formed in 1873 and, at the Fleece Hotel at Selkirk, Scottish Borders on 17 November 1875, the Dandie Dinmont Terrier Club (DDTC) was formed, becoming the third oldest breed club for dogs in the world. Lord Melgund was the society's first president, while E Bradshaw Smith was the first vice president. Breeders Hugh Dalziel and William Stachen were also involved in the formation of the club. The breed standard was created by William Wardlaw Reid, another founding member of the club, with it was agreed to a year later at another meeting of the club. A club show was held for the first time in Carlisle in 1877. Shows after this were held in conjunction with other clubs on a yearly basis until 1928 when it moved to the Market Hall in Carlisle, where with the exception of during the Second World War, the shows continued to be held until 1982. Shows continued to be held in the general area until 2001 when they moved south to Cheshire and Lancashire.


title: Dandie Dinmont Terrier

text: The DDTC is not the only breed club in the UK. For a while several breed clubs were created in Scotland, but none lasted particularly long except for the Scottish Dandie Dinmont Terrier Society which merged into the DDTC in 1929. Today, in addition to the DDTC, there are also the Southern Dandie Dinmont Terrier Society, and for Scotland, the Caledonian Dandie Dinmont Club.


title: Dandie Dinmont Terrier

text: The breed was first registered with the American Kennel Club (AKC) in 1888. The Dandie Dinmont Terrier was recognized by the United Kennel Club (UKC) in 1918. During the Second World War many kennels were dispersed and the dogs destroyed, due to both the lack of food caused by rationing and that of manpower. Following the war several kennels led the way to re–establishing the breed including the Bellmead Kennels, located first in Surrey before later moving to Old Windsor. Dandies continued to be bred up at Bellmead up until the early 1990s, when it passed into the hands of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.


title: Dandie Dinmont Terrier

text: In 2006, the Kennel Club recognised the Dandie Dinmont Terrier as one of the rarest dog breeds native to the British Isles, putting it on a new list of Vulnerable Native Breeds. The breeds chosen for this list were those who originated in the UK and Ireland, but had less than 300 puppy registrations per year. One particularly low period was between July and September 2003, when only 21 puppies were registered, of which 18 were male. Overall that year, only 90 puppies were registered in the UK, compared to 9,823 for the West Highland White Terrier. Additionally numbers had dropped to low levels in America as well, with the AKC registering only 75 puppies in the same time period. Following work since 2006, the Dandie Dinmont registration numbers have improved slightly, with 151 puppies registered with the Kennel Club in 2010, the highest number for any year in the last ten years. Of other breeds of native terrier, only the Skye, Sealyham, Manchester and Glen of Imaal Terriers have lower registration figures.


title: Dandie Dinmont Terrier

text: The breed has short legs, with an elongated body. Unusually among Scottish terrier breeds, it has pendulous ears. The neck is muscular, having developed from the breed's use against larger game. The typical height at the withers is , and they can weigh anywhere between .


title: Dandie Dinmont Terrier

text: While the Dandie generally is a hardy breed, it may have issue climbing stairs. They have a silky coat which forms a topknot on top of the dog's head. The Dandie Dinmont Terrier has a similar body shape to the Skye Terrier, but the Skye's coat is thicker and longer.


title: Dandie Dinmont Terrier

text: The coat comes in two colour ranges, pepper and mustard. Pepper ranges from dark blueish black to very light silvery gray; mustard can vary from reddish brown to fawn, with the head appearing to be almost white. Typically, the legs and feet are of a darker colour with the lighter colour on the body slowly blending into that on the legs. The depth of the coat can reach up to . The colour of the coat is usually set by the time the dog reaches eight months of age, but the Dandie Dinmont Terrier will continue to mature physically until around two years old.


title: Dandie Dinmont Terrier

text: The breed is tough but usually friendly and is suitable for older children. It makes both a good companion and a guard dog but is among the most docile of the terrier breeds; they are usually quite undemanding of their owners. However they are known for their ability to dig large holes in a short space of time. They can be trained to be good with cats but should not be trusted around smaller animals such as hamsters or rats. They are described as being "very game", in that they are prone to challenging other animals, including foxes, and in some cases other dogs.


title: Dandie Dinmont Terrier

text: Due to the breed's elongated body, there can be back problems within the breed, specifically with intervertebral discs in the dog's back. These discs can sometimes slip out of place, resulting in spinal disc herniation. Symptoms depend on what part of the dog's back is affected; they can include paralysis with loss of bladder and bowel control in the worst cases.


title: Dandie Dinmont Terrier

text: As a concerted effort has been made to breed out genetic abnormalities, there are no especially common conditions affecting the Dandie Dinmont Terrier. However, minor problems affecting the breed can include hypothyroidism, primary closed angle glaucoma and Cushing's syndrome. In order to combat glaucoma in the breed, the breed clubs recommend that Dandies should have a procedure called a gonioscopy performed on them at regular intervals throughout their lives. The Dandie is also at slightly higher risk of canine cancer than average. The average life expectancy of a Dandie Dinmont Terrier is 11–13 years.


title: Free silver

text: Free silver was a major economic policy issue in the United States in the late 19th-century. Its advocates were in favor of an expansionary monetary policy featuring the unlimited coinage of silver into money on-demand, as opposed to strict adherence to the more carefully fixed money supply implicit in the gold standard. Free silver became increasingly associated with populism, unions, and the fight of ordinary Americans against the bankers and monopolists, and the robber barons of the Gilded Age capitalism era and was referred to as the "People's Money".


title: Free silver

text: Supporters of an important place for silver in a bimetallic money system making use of both silver and gold, called "Silverites", sought coinage of silver dollars at a fixed weight ratio of 16-to-1 against dollar coins made of gold. Because the actual price ratio of the two metals was substantially higher in favor of gold at the time, most economists warned that the less valuable silver coinage would drive the more valuable gold out of circulation.


title: Free silver

text: While all agreed that an expanded money supply would inevitably inflate prices, the issue was whether this inflation would be beneficial or not. The issue peaked from 1893 to 1896, when the economy was suffering from a severe depression characterized by falling prices (deflation), high unemployment in industrial areas, and severe distress for farmers. It ranks as the 11th largest decline in U.S. stock market history.


title: Free silver

text: The "free silver" debate pitted the pro-gold financial establishment of the Northeast, along with railroads, factories, and businessmen, who were creditors deriving benefit from deflation and repayment of loans with valuable gold dollars, against farmers who would benefit from higher prices for their crops and an easing of credit burdens. Free silver was especially popular among farmers in the Wheat Belt (the western Midwest) and the Cotton Belt (the Deep South), as well as silver miners in the West. It had little support among farmers in the Northeast and the Corn Belt (the eastern Midwest).


title: Free silver

text: Free silver was the central issue for Democrats in the presidential elections of 1896 and 1900, under the leadership of William Jennings Bryan, famed for his Cross of Gold speech in favor of free silver. The Populists also endorsed Bryan and free silver in 1896, which marked the effective end of their independence. In major elections, free silver was consistently defeated, and after 1896 the nation moved to the gold standard.


title: Free silver

text: The debate over silver lasted from the passage of the Fourth Coinage Act in 1873, which demonetized silver and was called the "Crime of '73" by opponents, until 1963, when the Silver Purchase Act of 1934, which allowed the U.S. President and U.S Department of Treasury to regulate U.S silver, was completely repealed by Public Law 88-36.


title: Free silver

text: Under the gold specie standard, anyone in possession of gold bullion could deposit it at a mint where it would then be processed into gold coins. Less a nominal seigniorage to cover processing costs, the coins would then be paid to the depositor; this was free coinage of gold by definition. The objective of the free silver movement was that the mints should accept and process silver bullion according to the same principle, although the market value of the silver in circulating coins of the United States was substantially less than face value.


title: Free silver

text: As a result, the monetary value of silver coins was based on government fiat rather than on the commodity value of their contents, and this became especially true following the huge silver strikes in the West, which further depressed the silver price. From that time until the early 1960s the silver content in United States dimes, quarters, half-dollars, and silver dollars was worth only a fraction of their face values. Free coinage of silver would have amounted to an increase in the money supply, resulting in inflation.


title: Free silver

text: Many populist organizations favored an inflationary monetary policy because it would enable debtors (often farmers who had mortgages on their land) to pay their debts off with cheaper, more readily available dollars. Those who would suffer under this policy were the creditors such as banks and landlords. The most vocal and best-organized supporters were the silver mine owners (such as William Randolph Hearst) and workers, and the western states and territories generally, as most U.S. silver production was based there and the region had a great number of highly indebted farmers and ranchers.


title: Free silver

text: Outside the mining states of the West, the Republican Party steadfastly opposed free silver, arguing that the best road to national prosperity was "sound money", or gold, which was central to international trade. They argued that inflation meant guaranteed higher prices for everyone, and real gains chiefly for the silver interests. In 1896 Senator Henry M. Teller of Colorado led many western Republicans to bolt and form a third party that supported Democratic presidential nominee William Jennings Bryan, the short-lived Silver Republican Party.


title: Free silver

text: The Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890, while falling short of free silver's goals, required the U.S. government to buy millions of ounces of silver (driving up the price of the metal and pleasing silver miners) for money (pleasing farmers and many others). However, the U.S. government paid for that silver bullion in gold notes—and actually reduced their coinage of silver. The result was a "run" on the U.S. Treasury's gold reserves, which was one of the many reasons for the Panic of 1893 and the onset of the 1890s Depression. Once he regained power, and after the Panic of 1893 had begun, Grover Cleveland engineered the repeal of the act, setting the stage for the key issue of the next presidential election.


title: Free silver

text: The Populist Party had a strong free-silver element. Its subsequent combination with the Democratic Party moved the latter from the support of the gold standard which had been the hallmark of the Cleveland administration to the free-silver position epitomized by 1896 presidential nominee William Jennings Bryan in his Cross of Gold speech. Bryan's 1896 candidacy was supported by Populists and "silver Republicans" as well as by most Democrats.


title: Free silver

text: The issue was over what would back the US currency. The two options were: "gold" (wanted by the "Goldbugs" and William McKinley) and "silver" (wanted by the Silverites and Bryan). Unbacked "paper" (wanted by the Greenbacks) represented a third option. A fourth option, a currency backed by "land value", was advocated by Senator Leland Stanford through several Senate bills introduced in 1890–1892, but was always killed by the Senate Finance Committee.


title: Free silver

text: Three fraternal organizations rose to prominence during the mid-1890s and supported the silver campaign in 1896. They all disappeared after the failure of the campaign.


title: Free silver

text: The city voters—especially German Americans—overwhelmingly rejected the free-silver cause out of the conviction that it would lead to economic disaster, unemployment, and higher prices. The diversified farmers of the Midwest and East opposed it as well, but the cotton farmers in the South and the wheat farmers in the West were enthusiastic for free silver. Bryan tried again in 1900 to raise the issue but lost by larger margins, and when he dropped the issue it fell out of circulation. Subsequent actions to revive the issue were unsuccessful.


title: Free silver

text: Free silver became increasingly associated with populism, unions, and the fight of ordinary Americans against the bankers, railroad monopolists, and the robber barons of the Gilded Age capitalism era and was referred to as the "People's Money" (as opposed to the gold-based currency, which was portrayed by the Populists as the money of "exploitation" and "oppression"). William H. Harvey's popular pamphlet "Coin's Financial School", issued in the aftermath of the Panic of 1893, illustrated the "restorative" properties of silver; through the devaluation of the currency, closed factories would reopen, darkened furnaces would be relit, and the like. But progressive activist Henry Demarest Lloyd held a harshly critical view, writing: "The free silver movement is a fake. Free silver is the cowbird of the reform movement. It waited until the nest had been built by the sacrifices and labor of others, and then it lay its own eggs in it, pushing out the others which lie smashed on the ground."


title: Free silver

text: In 1934, the passage of the Silver Purchase Act revived the debate stirred by Grover Cleveland's 1893 repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890. The new law granted the U.S. President and U.S. Secretary of Treasury the authority to purchase silver, issue silver certificates, and also nationalize U.S. mines. The law also included a 50¢ tax on profits from the transfer of silver bullion and financing a "Silver Tax Stamp". After the law was passed, the U.S. Treasury paid rates for silver well over its 1934 value, achieving the hoped-for result, raising the price of silver from 45¢ to 81¢ an ounce. However, overprints on the Silver Stamp Taxes, which ranged from 1¢ to $1,000, also presented a problem for free, nationally owned silver. These were stamps attached to transfer memorandums to indicate payment of the silver tax. In 1943, the overprints were discontinued, and the Silver Purchase Act of 1934 would be fully repealed in 1963.


title: Jewish emancipation

text: Jewish emancipation was the process in various nations in Europe of eliminating Jewish disabilities, e.g. Jewish quotas, to which European Jews were then subject, and the recognition of Jews as entitled to equality and citizenship rights. It included efforts within the community to integrate into their societies as citizens. It occurred gradually between the late 18th century and the early 20th century.


title: Jewish emancipation

text: Jewish emancipation followed the Age of Enlightenment and the concurrent Haskalah, or Jewish Enlightenment. Various nations repealed or superseded previous discriminatory laws applied specifically against Jews where they resided. Before the emancipation, most Jews were isolated in residential areas from the rest of the society; emancipation was a major goal of European Jews of that time, who worked within their communities to achieve integration in the majority societies and broader education. Many became active politically and culturally within wider European civil society as Jews gained full citizenship. They emigrated to countries offering better social and economic opportunities, such as United Kingdom and the Americas. Some European Jews turned to socialism and others to Zionism.


title: Jewish emancipation

text: Jews were subject to a wide range of restrictions throughout most of European history. Since the Fourth Council of the Lateran in 1215, Christian Europeans required Jews and Muslims to wear special clothing, such as the Judenhut and the yellow badge for Jews, to distinguish them from Christians. The practice of their religions was often restricted, and they had to swear special oaths. Jews were not allowed to vote, where vote existed, and some countries formally prohibited their entry, such as Norway, Sweden and Spain after the expulsion in the late 15th century.


title: Jewish emancipation

text: Jewish involvement in gentile society began during the Age of Enlightenment. Haskalah, the Jewish movement supporting the adoption of enlightenment values, advocated an expansion of Jewish rights within European society. Haskalah followers advocated "coming out of the ghetto", not just physically but also mentally and spiritually.


title: Jewish emancipation

text: In 1790, in the United States, President George Washington wrote a letter establishing that Jews in America share the same full equal rights, including the right to practice their religion, with all other Americans. However, Jewish commentators observed that exclusion of Jewish citizens from political office occurred in a number of areas still in 1845. In fact, American Jewish citizens organized for political rights in the 1800s, and then for further civil rights in the 1900s.


title: Jewish emancipation

text: On September 28, 1791, revolutionary France emancipated its Jewish population. The 40,000 Jews living in France at the time were the first to confront the opportunities and challenges offered by emancipation. The civic equality that the French Jews attained became a model for other European Jews. Newfound opportunities began to be provided to the Jewish people, and they slowly pushed toward equality in other parts of the world. In 1796 and 1834, the Netherlands granted the Jews equal rights with gentiles. Napoleon freed the Jews in areas he conquered in Europe outside France (see Napoleon and the Jews). Greece granted equal rights to Jews in 1830. But, it was not until the revolutions of the mid-19th century that Jewish political movements would begin to persuade governments in Great Britain, Central and Eastern Europe to grant equal rights to Jews.


title: Jewish emancipation

text: In English law and some successor legal systems there was a convention known as benefit of clergy (Law Latin: ) by which an individual convicted of a crime, through claiming to be a Christian clergyman (usually as a pretext; in most cases the defendant claiming benefit of clergy was a layperson) could escape punishment or receive a reduced punishment. In the opinions of many contemporary legal scholars, this meant that a Jew who had not renounced Judaism could not claim benefit of clergy. In England itself the practice of granting benefit of clergy was ended in 1827 but it continued further in other jurisdictions.


title: Jewish emancipation

text: The early stages of Jewish emancipation movements were part of the general progressive efforts to achieve freedom and rights for minorities. While this was a movement, it was also a pursuit for equal rights. Thus, the emancipation movement would be a long process. The question of equal rights for Jews was tied to demands for constitutions and civil rights in various nations. Jewish statesmen and intellectuals, such as Heinrich Heine, Johann Jacoby, Gabriel Riesser, Berr Isaac Berr, and Lionel Nathan Rothschild, worked with the general movement toward liberty and political freedom, rather than for Jews specifically.


title: Jewish emancipation

text: In 1781, the Prussian civil servant Christian Wilhelm Dohm published the famous script "Über die bürgerliche Emanzipation der Juden". Dohm disproves the antisemitic stereotypes and pleads for equal rights for Jews. Till this day, it is called the "Bible of Jewish emancipation".


title: Jewish emancipation

text: In the face of persistent anti-Jewish incidents and blood libels, such as the Damascus affair of 1840, and the failure of many states to emancipate the Jews, Jewish organizations formed to push for the emancipation and protection of their people. The Board of Deputies of British Jews under Moses Montefiore, the Central Consistory in Paris, and the "Alliance Israelite Universelle" all began working to assure the freedom of Jews.


title: Jewish emancipation

text: Jewish emancipation, implemented under Napoleonic rule in French occupied and annexed states, suffered a setback in many member states of the German Confederation following the decisions of the Congress of Vienna. In the final revision of the Congress on the rights of the Jews, the emissary of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, Johann Smidt – unauthorised and unconsented to by the other parties – altered the text from "The confessors of Jewish faith are preserved the rights already conceded to them the confederal states", by replacing a single word, which entailed serious consequences, into: "The confessors of Jewish faith are preserved the rights already conceded to them the confederal states." A number of German states used the altered text version as legal grounds to reverse the Napoleonic emancipation of Jewish citizens. The Prussian emissary Wilhelm von Humboldt and the Austrian Klemens von Metternich promoted the preservation of Jewish emancipation, as maintained by their own countries, but were not successful in others.


title: Jewish emancipation

text: During the Revolutions of 1848, Jewish emancipation was granted by the Basic Rights of the Frankfurt Parliament (Paragraph 13), which said that civil rights were not to be conditional on religious faith. But only some German states introduced the Frankfurt parliamentary decision as state law, such as Hamburg; other states were reluctant. Important German states, such as Prussia (1812), Württemberg (1828), Electorate of Hesse (1833), and Hanover (1842), had already emancipated their Jews as citizens. By doing so, they hoped to educate the gentiles, and terminate laws that sought to oppress the Jews. Although the movement was mostly successful; some early emancipated Jewish communities continued to suffer persisting or new "de facto", though not legal, discrimination against those Jews trying to achieve careers in public service and education. Those few states that had refrained from Jewish emancipation were forced to do so by an act of the North German Federation on 3 July 1869, or when they acceded to the newly united Germany in 1871. The emancipation of all Jewish Germans was reversed by Nazi Germany from 1933 until the end of World War II.


title: Jewish emancipation

text: In some countries, emancipation came with a single act. In others, limited rights were granted first in the hope of "changing" the Jews "for the better."


title: Jewish emancipation

text: The newfound freedom of Jews in places such as France, Italy, and Germany, at least during the Empire, permitted many Jews to leave the ghettos, benefitting from and contributing to wider society for the first time. Thus, with emancipation, many Jews' relationships with Jewish belief, practice, and culture evolved to accommodate a degree of integration with secular society. Where Halacha (Jewish law) was at odds with local law of the land, or where Halacha did not address some aspect of contemporary secular life, compromise was often sought in the balancing of religious and secular law, ethics, and obligations. Consequently, while some remained firm in their established Jewish practice, the prevalence of emancipated Jewry prompted gradual evolution and adaptation of the religion, and the emergence of new denominations of Judaism including Reform during the 19th century, and the widely-practiced Modern Orthodoxy, both of which continue to be practiced by strong Jewish communities today.


title: Jewish emancipation

text: Critics of Haskalah lament the emergence of inter-religious marriage in secular society, as well as the dilution of Halacha and Jewish tradition, citing waning religiosity, dwindling population numbers, or poor observance as contributors to the potential disappearance of Jewish culture and dispersion of communities. In contrast, others cite antisemitic events such as the Shoah ( The Holocaust ) as more detrimental to the continuity and longevity of Judaism than Haskalah. Emancipation offered Jewish people civil rights and opportunities for upward mobility, and assisted in dousing the flames of widespread Jew-hatred (though never completely, and only temporarily). This enabled Jews to live multifaceted lives, breaking cycles of poverty, enjoying the spoils of Enlightened society, while also maintaining strong Jewish faith and community. While this element of emancipation gave rise to antisemitic canards relating to dual loyalties, and the successful upward mobility of educated and entrepreneurial Jews saw pushback in antisemitic canards relating to control, domination, and greed, the integration of Jews into wider society led to a diverse tapestry of contribution to art, science, philosophy, and both secular and religious culture.


title: Alpocalypse

text: Alpocalypse is the thirteenth studio album by American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on June 21, 2011. It was the seventh studio album self-produced by Yankovic. The musical styles on the album are built around parodies and pastiches of pop and rock music of the late 2000s and early 2010s. The album's first single, "Whatever You Like", was released almost two and a half years prior to the release of the album, and the single peaked at number 104 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. The album's final single, "Perform This Way", was released digitally on April 25, 2011, but failed to chart.


title: Alpocalypse

text: Prior to the release of "Alpocalypse", Yankovic released the EP "Internet Leaks" (2009); this was an experiment in using the Internet as a way to release music in an efficient and timely manner. All of the tracks released on "Internet Leaks" would later be re-released on "Alpocalypse". The album was preceded by a minor controversy after Yankovic sought Lady Gaga's permission to record a parody of her song "Born This Way". Yankovic recorded the parody, but due to a communication error was very nearly forced to leave it off the album.


title: Alpocalypse

text: Yankovic produced a music video for every song on the record. Most of these videos were animated, but a live action video for "Perform this Way" was produced. A deluxe edition of the CD was later released that included all of these music videos, sans the ones for "Perform this Way" and "Polka Face". Yankovic later issued "Alpocalypse HD", a Blu-ray release which features all 12 music videos from this album, along with three videos from his previous album, "Straight Outta Lynwood" (2006). "Alpocalypse" was met with mostly positive reviews, and was nominated for the 2011 Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album. The album peaked at number 9 on the "Billboard" 200, making it, at the time, Yankovic's highest-charting album.


title: Alpocalypse

text: "Alpocalypse" followed a five-year gap after the release of "Straight Outta Lynwood". Yankovic stated that he had not set any firm date for release of "Alpocalypse", and instead wanted to wait for the right time for its release, telling his record label that the album is "going to be out whenever there’s a dramatic shift in pop culture – whenever that happens to be". Five of the songs from "Alpocalypse" were previously recorded by Yankovic and released digitally during 2008 and 2009, "Whatever You Like", "Craigslist", "Skipper Dan", "CNR", and "Ringtone"; the last four were released with their own music videos. These five songs were later packaged as an EP called "Internet Leaks" (2009), with indications that they would also eventually appear on Yankovic's next published album. Other tracks on the album were recorded in January, May and October 2010. Yankovic waited to release the album until he could cap it off with one final parody of a pop culture song of the moment; the song he chose was Lady Gaga's "Born This Way", which he decided to parody as the album's lead song, "Perform This Way".


title: Alpocalypse

text: Although Yankovic is not required to obtain permission to perform parody work under United States copyright law, he sought to gain Lady Gaga's permission for his parody in early 2011, as he has done with all his parody songs in the past. He was told by Gaga's manager that Gaga wanted to read the lyrics before giving approval, then that she wanted to hear a recorded version. After this was done the manager said Gaga denied permission in April 2011, which was a major setback for Yankovic, as he would have to pull the song from the album's release and prepare and record another song in its place, which would delay the album's release further. Yankovic, after spending all this extra effort (he had to work on this while performing an Australian tour, as well as put a family vacation on hold to meet the demands of Gaga's manager) did not want the song to go to waste, and instead posted it to YouTube and other music sites, indicating that he had wished all sales proceeds to go to the Human Rights Campaign charity. Through Twitter and other social media services within the day of posting, Lady Gaga and her staff realized the artist had never heard the song herself and quickly gave permission for Yankovic to use the song, saying Gaga was "a huge 'Weird Al' fan". Yankovic was able to set the date of "Alpocalypse"s release by the end of that day, and claimed that "Twitter saved my album" based on the rapid turnaround by his fans and Lady Gaga.


title: Alpocalypse

text: The album's opening track, "Perform This Way", is a parody of "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga. The lyrics are told from the point of view of Gaga, and describe her performance style and fashion sense. The song's associated music video shows Yankovic's face superimposed on a female dancer, dancing and performing in many outfits that parody those worn by Gaga or original creations inspired by the artist.


title: Alpocalypse

text: "CNR" is a style parody of the White Stripes, in particular borrowing heavily from "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground". The song's lyrics are about superhuman feats that Charles Nelson Reilly could accomplish, similar to Chuck Norris facts. The song's end is also very similar to the chorus of the song "You Don't Mess Around with Jim". The video, created by JibJab, animates the song's lyrics using JibJab employees as actors against a green screen, interspersed with shots of Yankovic and Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz performing on a White Stripes-inspired red-and-white set, dressed as Jack White and Meg White, respectively. In a first for any major recording artist, users of JibJab's web site had the option of including themselves in the music video.


title: Alpocalypse

text: The third track on the album, "TMZ", which is a parody of "You Belong with Me" by Taylor Swift, is about celebrities whose failings, no matter how minor, appear on the celebrity gossip site TMZ.com. The music video, by Bill Plympton, is about a female celebrity whose bare buttocks are photographed by a TMZ paparazzo and then appear everywhere she goes. Voice actor and comedian Tom Kenny is featured as a voice shouting out various tabloid headlines during an instrumental solo. Yankovic performed the song on "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" on February 9, 2012.


title: Alpocalypse

text: "Skipper Dan" is a style parody of Weezer. The lyrics describe a man that, despite having a fine arts degree, is forced to have a mundane job as a tour guide on the Jungle Cruise ride at Disneyland. Yankovic was inspired to write the song after going on the ride with his family, during which the guide "offhandedly referred to his failed acting career". Yankovic hit upon this idea and developed the character of the narrator to write the song along. Yankovic has stated that actual skippers on the Jungle Cruise ride have responded positively to this song. The music video was created by Divya Srinivasan. In live performance, Yankovic wears an authentic Jungle Cruise uniform.


title: Alpocalypse

text: The fifth track on the album, "Polka Face", is a polka medley that includes the following songs: "Liechtensteiner Polka", "Poker Face" by Lady Gaga, "Womanizer" by Britney Spears, "Right Round" by Flo Rida featuring Kesha, "Day 'n' Nite" by Kid Cudi, "Need You Now" by Lady Antebellum, "Baby" by Justin Bieber featuring Ludacris, "So What" by Pink, "I Kissed a Girl" by Katy Perry, "Fireflies" by Owl City, "Blame It" by Jamie Foxx featuring T-Pain, "Replay" by Iyaz, "Down" by Jay Sean featuring Lil Wayne, "Break Your Heart" by Taio Cruz featuring Ludacris, "The Tick Tock Polka" by Frankie Yankovic, "Tik Tok" by Kesha, and "Whatever's Left Over Polka" by "Weird Al" Yankovic.


title: Alpocalypse

text: "Craigslist" is a style parody of the Doors. The lyrics mimic listings on Craigslist. Keyboard work was performed by former Doors member Ray Manzarek. A low-budget video of Yankovic dressed as Jim Morrison with art-house and stock footage effects was produced by Liam Lynch.


title: Alpocalypse

text: The seventh track on the album, "Party in the CIA" is a parody of "Party in the U.S.A." by Miley Cyrus The song is about a CIA operative and all the missions he goes on, including covert assassination attempts and torturing "the folks [The CIA] don't like." Yankovic recognized that the original "Party in the U.S.A." was a sensational hit, and sought to find a topic to contrast the "pop, bubblegum-y fluff" of the original song. It has a music video animated by a team led by Roque Ballesteros, the group responsible for Happy Tree Friends. Yankovic sought this team, believing their dark comedic work on "Happy Tree Friends" matched well with his lyrics for "Party in the CIA".


title: Alpocalypse

text: The eighth track on the album, "Ringtone" is a style parody of Queen. The lyrics are about the downsides of having an annoying cell phone ringtone. The song has an associated music video created by SuperNews!, which premiered August 21, 2009.


title: Alpocalypse

text: The ninth track on the album, "Another Tattoo", is a parody of "Nothin' on You" by B.o.B featuring Bruno Mars. The song is about a person who keeps getting more and more bizarre tattoos. The video was made by Augenblick Studios and consists of showing a man's tattoos.


title: Alpocalypse

text: The tenth track on the album, "If That Isn't Love", is a style parody of Hanson, with Taylor Hanson on piano. The song is about all of the extremely unromantic and sometimes misguided things that the singer does to show his love for his significant other, such as "let you warm your freezing hands inside my buttcrack." The music video was animated and directed by Brian Frisk.


title: Alpocalypse

text: The eleventh track on the album, "Whatever You Like", is a parody of T.I.'s "Whatever You Like". The song is about a man who woos his girlfriend amid financial hardships. A video was made in 2010 by Cris Shapan.


title: Alpocalypse

text: The final track on the album, "Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me", is a style parody of the work of Jim Steinman. The song is a diatribe against someone sending the narrator useless junk emails. The music video is a kinetic typography representation of the lyrics made by Koos Dekker.


title: Alpocalypse

text: The name "Alpocalypse" is a play on words that Yankovic had listed in a notebook with other potential album titles. It was chosen to parody recent public fears of an apocalypse, such as the May 2011 end times predictions and the 2012 doomsday predictions: "I figured that I might as well do my apocalypse-themed album before the actual apocalypse because I really don't think people are gonna be buying CDs at the end of the world," Yankovic stated. The title is tied to the album's cover art, a parody image depicting a happily waving Yankovic as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. He rides the Black Horse, generally understood as Famine, which Yankovic attributed to "all the songs I had written about food in the '80s".


title: Alpocalypse

text: Yankovic created music videos for every song on the album. At the time of the album's release, videos for all but two of the songs were included with the physical DVD and deluxe downloadable version of the album. A live-action video for "Perform This Way" was released a day prior to the release of the album, while a video for the polka medley, "Polka Face", was slated to be released in late July. It was finally released in late September 2011 on Comedy Central's Jokes.com. The polka medley video, primarily animated but featuring some live-action takes, is the first time that Yankovic has created a video for his traditional polka medleys. Yankovic later released "Alpocalypse HD", which features all 12 music videos on Blu-ray, along with three from his previous album "Straight Outta Lynwood".


title: Alpocalypse

text: "Alpocalypse" has received moderately favorable reviews from critics. Allmusic's David Jeffries rated the album three-and-a-half out of five stars, declaring that the album "fits the Yankovic album template splendidly, offering a great gut busters-to-groaners ratio". Although he pointed out that "five of these tracks are repeated from the Internet Leaks EP", he concluded by stating that "Al remains the undisputed king of the parody song." Matt Wild, writing for the entertainment newspaper "The A.V. Club", rated it a B+, explaining that "Yankovic once again goofs on an increasingly throwaway pop landscape, and barely manages to keep up." However, he stated that it "is the most enjoyable collection of Yankovic tunes since 1996's "Bad Hair Day"." Jason Lipshutz of "Billboard" gave it a positive review. He declared that its songs "will still be examples of highly intelligent musical comedy" over time, and that the album "is essentially the same kind of album Yankovic has been making for 20 years". Although he stated that "the parodies of specific songs are a bit stronger than the originals this time out", he also said that "the laughs remain just as consistent as they've always been."


title: Alpocalypse

text: Scott Shetler, of music news website PopCrush, rated it four out of five stars. He reviewed the album's songs individually. He called "Perform This Way" "[an] impressive way to kick off the album." Although he stated that "Skipper Dan" was "a strikeout" and that "the story is actually kind of a bummer", and that "Party in the CIA" "doesn’t have the same irresistible vibe of Miley [Cyrus]’s original", he concluded by declaring that the album as a whole "is one of the better records Weird Al has made in recent years." Will Hermes of "Rolling Stone", however, gave it a negative review, calling it a "batch of fish in a barrel" and stating that "the jokes don't always relieve the earworm annoyingness of the Xeroxed tunes."


title: Alpocalypse

text: "Alpocalypse" debuted on the "Billboard" 200 at number 9, Yankovic's highest chart position at the time, and managed to sell 44,000 copies in its first week. During its second week, the album dropped to number 44, selling 10,353 copies. As of August 2014, the album has sold 139,000 copies.


title: Josh Kelly (boxer)

text: Josh Kelly (born 7 March 1994) is a British professional boxer. As an amateur competed in the men's welterweight event at the 2016 Summer Olympics and the 2015 European Games, in which he won a bronze medal, representing Great Britain. Kelly has held the WBA International welterweight title in 2018 and the Commonwealth welterweight title in 2018.


title: Josh Kelly (boxer)

text: Having competed in the Olympics, Kelly's first fight as a professional was a six rounds points victory (59-55) against Jay Byrne (4-1) of Dublin in April 2017 at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow on the undercard of Ricky Burns vs. Julius Indongo.


title: Josh Kelly (boxer)

text: Kelly won his next two fights in the next two months, defeating Spain's Jony Vila (6-1) and Gateshead's Tom Whitfield (4-1) by fourth-round stoppage and first-round knockout respectively. The Vila fight took place at the Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham in May whilst the Whitfield fight took place at the Walker Activity Dome, Newcastle in June, with his fight being the main event.


title: Josh Kelly (boxer)

text: Kelly finished the year with a record of 5-0 after victories over Mexico's Jose Luis Zuniga (13-2-1) and France's Jean Michel Hamilcaro (25-8-3), winning by second-round stoppage and sixth-round stoppage respectively in October and December. Those fights took place at the SSE Arena, Belfast and the York Hall, London.


title: Josh Kelly (boxer)

text: On June 1, 2019, Kelly fought Ray Robinson, who was ranked #13 by the WBC and #15 by the WBO at welterweight. Kelly was ranked #9 by the WBA at welterweight. The contest was even and ended up in a majority draw, with one scorecard going in favour of Kelly, 96-94, while the other two read 95-95 twice.


title: Josh Kelly (boxer)

text: In his next fight, Kelly fought Wiston Campos. Kelly was struggling to handle Campos at times, but nonetheless managed to win the bout via unanimous decision, scoring 99-90, 99-90 and 98-91 on the scorecards.


title: Josh Kelly (boxer)

text: In his next fight, Kelly fought highly ranked welterweight David Avanesyan, who was ranked #6 by the IBF, #7 by the WBC, #9 by the WBA and #10 by the WBO at the time. Avanesyan showed to be the better man on the night and finished Kelly within six rounds.


title: Josh Kelly (boxer)

text: Kelly is the current British light middleweight champion after beating Troy Williamson by unanimous decision at the Newcastle Arena on 2nd December


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: In 2010, a Pakistani Christian woman, Aasiya Noreen (, ; born ), commonly known as Asia Bibi () or Aasia Bibi, was convicted of blasphemy by a Pakistani court and was sentenced to death by hanging. In October 2018, the Supreme Court of Pakistan acquitted her based on insufficient evidence, though she was not allowed to leave Pakistan until the verdict was reviewed. She was held under armed guard and was not able to leave the country until 7 May 2019; she arrived in Canada the next day.


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: In June 2009, Noreen was accused of blasphemy after an argument with co-workers while harvesting berries. She was subsequently arrested and imprisoned. In November 2010, a Sheikhupura judge sentenced her to death by hanging. The verdict was upheld by Lahore High Court and received worldwide attention. Various petitions for her release were created by organisations aiding persecuted Christians such as Voice of the Martyrs, including one that received 400,000 signatures; Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis called for the charges to be dismissed. She received less sympathy in comparison in the country, where some adamantly called for her to be executed. Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti and Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer were both assassinated for advocating on her behalf and opposing the blasphemy laws. Noreen's family went into hiding after receiving death threats, some of which threatened to kill Noreen if released from prison. Muslim cleric Maulana Yousaf Qureshi announced a bounty of to anyone who would kill her.


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: On 31 October 2018, the Supreme Court of Pakistan acquitted Noreen, citing "material contradictions and inconsistent statements of the witnesses" which "cast a shadow of doubt on the prosecution's version of facts." The decision sparked protests headed by Islamist parties in major cities of the country, but was praised by human rights groups and those advocating on behalf of Christian minorities, such as International Christian Concern, Open Doors and Aid to the Church in Need. On 2 November 2018, however, the Government of Pakistan signed an agreement with the Tehreek-e-Labbaik political party (TLP), which was leading the protests; this agreement barred Noreen from leaving the country. It led to accusations that the executive was capitulating to extremists. Italy, Canada, as well as other Western countries worked to help her leave Pakistan. On 7 November 2018, she was released from the New Jail for Women in Multan. However, by Christmas, she was reported to have spent Christmas Day in some form of custody.


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: On 29 January 2019, a petition requesting an appeal against the court's decision to acquit Noreen was rejected, "lifting the last legal hurdle in the case and paving the way for her to leave the country." On 11 April 2019, Prime Minister Imran Khan (who had previously attacked hardliners appealing them to be calm) stated that a "complication" had delayed her departure from the country. On 8 May 2019, she landed in Canada and was reported to be doing well. The blasphemy law in Pakistan has resulted in the extrajudicial killings, incited by accusations, of over 60 people, has been blamed for dozens of communal attacks that have taken place against religious minorities on the pretext of blasphemy; it has been used by individuals as a tool for revenge against other people. Noreen was the first woman in Pakistan to be sentenced to death for blasphemy and would have been the first person in Pakistan to be executed for blasphemy under the current law.


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: Aasiya Noreen was born and raised in Ittan Wali, a small, rural village in the Sheikhupura District of Punjab, Pakistan, thirty miles outside of Lahore. Poor Christians in the district, and elsewhere in Pakistan, often have lower-class occupations such as cleaning and sweeping. Noreen, who is a Catholic, worked as a farmhand in Sheikhupura to support her family. She married Ashiq Masih, a brick laborer who had three children from a previous marriage, and had two children with him. Noreen and her family were the only Christians in the village. Before her incarceration, she had been repeatedly urged by her fellow workers to convert to Islam.


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: In June 2009, Noreen was harvesting falsa berries with a group of other women farmhands in a field in Sheikhupura. She was asked at one point to fetch water from a nearby well; she complied but stopped to take a drink with an old metal cup she had found lying next to the well. A neighbor of Noreen, Musarat, who had been involved in a running feud with Noreen's family about some property damage, saw her and angrily told her that it was forbidden for a Christian to drink water from the same utensil from which Muslims drink, and that some of the other workers considered her to be unclean because she was a Christian, referring to the caste system in Pakistan. Noreen recounts that when they made derogatory statements about Christianity and demanded that she convert to Islam, she responded, "I believe in my religion and in Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for the sins of mankind. What did your Prophet Mohammed ever do to save mankind? And why should it be me that converts instead of you?" An argument ensued.


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: A mob came to her house, beating her and members of her family before she was taken away by the police. The police initiated an investigation about her remarks, resulting in her arrest under Section 295 C of the Pakistan Penal Code.


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: In an interview with CNN, local police officer Muhammad Ilyas claimed that Noreen said that "the Quran is fake and your prophet remained in bed for one month before his death because he had worms in his ears and mouth. He married Khadija just for money and after looting her kicked her out of the house". Village Imam Qari Muhammad Salim, to whom Noreen's coworkers reported the alleged blasphemy, claimed that Noreen confessed to him and apologized. On the other hand, the Asian Human Rights Commission published a letter that stated:


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: Noreen denied that she had committed blasphemy and said that she had been accused by her neighbor to "settle an old score". In November 2010, Muhammad Naveed Iqbal, a judge at the court of Sheikhupura, Punjab, sentenced her to death by hanging. Additionally, a fine the equivalent of $1,100, was imposed on her.


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: With the verdict, she became the first woman condemned to death in Pakistan on blasphemy charges. Noreen described the day of her sentencing as follows:


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: Noreen's husband, Ashiq Masih, 51 years old at the time, announced that he planned to appeal the verdict, which has to be upheld by the Lahore High Court. A month later, Salmaan Taseer, the governor of Punjab who investigated the affair for President Asif Ali Zardari, stated that Noreen would most likely be pardoned if the High Court did not suspend the sentence. Zardari was poised to grant pardon, but the High Court issued a stay order against a potential presidential pardon, which remains in force to date. Court transcripts showed numerous inconsistencies in the evidence presented, and reporters said they dare not repeat Noreen's testimony lest they also be accused of blasphemy.


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: Noreen was put in solitary confinement in an cell without windows at the Lahore prison. Before his assassination, Taseer visited her at the jail several times with his wife, Aamna, and daughter, Shehrbano, though Pakistani court officials later ruled that she could be visited only by her husband and lawyer. Khalid Sheikh, the prison superintendent, said that while he wanted her to be treated "like any other prisoner", she had to be kept away from other inmates for her own well-being, as other individuals accused of blasphemy had been killed while in prison. The Masihi Foundation, a human rights group, described her physical condition as "very frail", and her health was reported to be in decline due to poor living conditions at the jail. She has also been threatened by other inmates and subjected to physical abuse from prison guards.


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: According to Human Rights Watch, Noreen's situation is not unusual. Though no one has been executed for blasphemy yet in Pakistan, the accused often remain imprisoned for a long time while the case is being processed. In May 2014, Noreen's appeal hearing was delayed for the fifth time.


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: Noreen's conviction led to divided opinions on the blasphemy laws and drew strong reactions from the public. Pakistani Human Rights Watch researcher Ali Dayan Hasan said, "The law creates this legal infrastructure which is then used in various informal ways to intimidate, coerce, harass and persecute." He further described the law as "discriminatory and abusive". Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer and Pakistan's Minority Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti both publicly supported Noreen, with the latter saying, "I will go to every knock for justice on her behalf and I will take all steps for her protection." She also received support from Pakistani political scientist Rasul Baksh Rais and local priest Samson Dilawar. The imprisonment of Noreen left Christians and other minorities in Pakistan feeling vulnerable, and liberal Muslims were also unnerved by her sentencing.


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: The general population was less sympathetic towards Noreen. Several signs were erected in Sheikhupura and other rural areas declaring support for the blasphemy laws, including one that called for Noreen to be beheaded. Mohammad Saleem, a member of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan party, organized a demonstration in Rawalpindi and led a small crowd chanting, "Hang her, hang her." In December 2010, a month after Noreen's conviction, Maulana Yousaf Qureshi, the Muslim cleric of the Mohabaat Khan Mosque in Peshawar, announced a Pakistani rupee bounty to anyone who would kill her. One survey reported that around 10 million Pakistanis had said that they would be willing to personally kill her out of either religious conviction or for the reward. The village mosque in Ittan Wali was reportedly indifferent towards Noreen's plight; its imam, who helped register the case against her, Qari Mohammed Salim, stated that he had wept for joy on learning that she had been sentenced to death and threatened that some people would "take the law into their own hands" should she be pardoned or released. However, journalist Julie McCarthy suggested that the country's "more peaceful majority views" had been overshadowed by the more vocal fundamentalists.


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: Noreen's family has received threats and has gone into hiding. Ashiq, her husband, stated that he was afraid to let their children go outside. He also expressed concern about how Noreen would be kept safe should she be released, saying, "No one will let her live. The mullahs are saying they will kill her when she comes out." Her family declined to leave the country while she remained in prison. Italy, France, and Spain all offered to grant her and her family asylum in the event of her release.


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: On 4 January 2011, at Kohsar Market of Islamabad, governor of Punjab Salmaan Taseer was assassinated by Malik Mumtaz Hussein Qadri, a 26-year-old member of his security team, because of his defence of Noreen and opposition to the blasphemy law. Mumtaz Qadri was sentenced to death for the assassination and hanged on 29 February 2016. Taseer was outspoken in his criticism of the law and the verdict in Noreen's case. The next day, thousands turned up for the governor's funeral in Lahore in spite of warnings by the Taliban and some clerics, while a portion of the Pakistani population also praised Qadri as a hero; thousands of Sunni Muslims rallied in support of the blasphemy laws in Pakistan after the murder, and 500 Barelvi clerics prohibited their followers from sending condolences to the family of Taseer. This resulted in concerns that the public was becoming tolerant of extremists.


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: Prison officials said that Noreen "wept inconsolably" on learning of Taseer's assassination while repeatedly saying, "That man came here and he sacrificed his life for me." Father Andrew Nisari, a senior Catholic spokesperson in Lahore, described the situation as "utter chaos". Seven months later, in August 2011, Taseer's 28-year-old son, Shahbaz, was kidnapped. Shahbaz Taseer was later found or released in March 2016, and he returned to Lahore on 9 March after five years in captivity.


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: Minority Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti said that he was first threatened with death in June 2010 when he was told that he would be beheaded if he attempted to change the blasphemy laws. In response, he told reporters that he was "committed to the principle of justice for the people of Pakistan" and willing to die fighting for Noreen's release. On 2 March 2011, Bhatti was shot dead by gunmen who ambushed his car near his residence in Islamabad, presumably because of his position on the blasphemy laws. He had been the only Christian member of Pakistan's cabinet.


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: Noreen's death sentence drew international outrage and strong condemnation from non-governmental organizations defending persecuted Christians, as well as human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch who saw the blasphemy laws as a form of religious persecution and called for them to be abolished. Pope Benedict XVI publicly called for clemency for Noreen. In his statement, he described his "spiritual closeness" with Noreen and urged that the "human dignity and fundamental rights of everyone in similar situations" be respected.


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: Her case also achieved extensive media coverage, and American journalist John L. Allen Jr. wrote that she is "almost certainly the most famous illiterate Punjabi farm worker and mother of five on the planet". According to Allen, she has become a celebrity among Christian activists, an unusual instance when cases of discrimination against Christian minorities typically receive little attention in the press. A number of campaigns have been organized to protest her imprisonment through online petitions, Twitter trends, and concerts. Ooberfuse, a Christian pop band based in the United Kingdom collaborated with the British Pakistani Christian Association, and released a song titled "Free Asia Bibi" with a music video that included "a disturbing visual portrayal of the squalid prison conditions where Bibi is being held". She has also been the subject of books and documentaries.


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: One petition created by the Voice of the Martyrs, an organisation aiding persecuted Christians, received over 400,000 signatures from individuals from over 100 countries. Another petition, organised by the American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ), obtained over 200,000 signatures and called for America's aid to Pakistan (said to be cumulatively eight billion dollars) to stop whilst persecution of minorities is allowed in that country.


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: Umar Al-Qadri, an Islamic cleric in Ireland, called for Noreen's release and stated he would back organisations wishing the same, holding that, "Asia Bibi is a case where the lady is denying that she committed blasphemy, and based on that it would be sufficient for the court to release her, but unfortunately that particular law, the blasphemy law in Pakistan, does not represent the true Islamic teaching".


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: On 16 October 2014, the Lahore High Court dismissed Noreen's appeal and upheld her death sentence. On 20 November 2014, her husband appealed to the President of Pakistan for clemency. On 24 November 2014, her lawyer appealed to the Supreme Court of Pakistan.


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: On 22 July 2015, the Supreme Court suspended Noreen's death sentence for the duration of the appeals process. In November 2015, her lead attorney, Naeem Shakir, announced that, after two postponements in 2015, the Supreme Court would hear an appeal in Noreen's case on 26 March 2016. The hearing was rescheduled for 13 October 2016, but on that morning when it was the turn of the case "Asia Bibi against the state", one of the three members of the bench of judges of that section – Iqbal Hameedur Rehman – refused to be part of the bench, which led to the postponement of the hearing to an undetermined date. The Judge later resigned in a handwritten letter addressed to Mamnoon Hussain, the President of Pakistan, without stating any specific reasons for his resignation. On 26 April 2017, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar declined a request for the early hearing of the case in the first week of June made by her lawyer Saiful Malook.


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: On 8 October 2018, a three-judge bench comprising CJP Mian Saqib Nisar, Justice Asif Saeed Khosa and Justice Mazhar Alam reserved its judgement on the final legal appeal. On 31 October 2018, the Supreme Court in a 56-page detailed judgement authored by Nisar, with a separate concurring opinion note from Khosa, acquitted Asia Bibi of blasphemy charges after accepting her 2015 appeal against her sentence. The court also ruled that "she was free to go, if not wanted in connection with any other case". In his verdict, Khosa noted:


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: The final judgement said that one of Noreen's accusers violated the "Ashtiname" of Muhammad, a "covenant made by Muhammad with Christians in the seventh century but still valid today". Khosa also stated that the two women who made accusations against Noreen "had no regard for the truth" and that the claim that she blasphemed Muhammad in public was a "concoction incarnate". The Supreme Court of Pakistan's ruling cited "material contradictions and inconsistent statements of the witnesses" that "cast a shadow of doubt on the prosecution's version of facts."


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: Upon hearing the news, Asia Bibi exclaimed: "I can't believe what I am hearing, will I go out now? Will they let me out, really? ... I just don't know what to say, I am very happy, I can't believe it." Noreen's daughter Eisham Ashiq, said that the news of the acquittal was "the most wonderful moment in my life ... I want to hug my mother and then celebrate with my family. I am grateful to God for listening to our prayers."


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: In response to the verdict, Islamist groups protested in the streets of Pakistan, "blocking roads and damaging infrastructure". The Supreme Court decision sparked protests in Lahore, Islamabad, Karachi, Peshawar and Multan. JUI-F chief Fazal-ur-Rehman called for "peaceful" protests, stating that Noreen's release was "not acceptable at any cost". Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) chief Khadim Hussain Rizvi and Jamaat-i-Ahle Hadees also called for protests. Protesters belonging to the TLP party said traffic will "remain blocked until Asia Bibi is hanged". and Islamabad's main highway was blocked by "approximately a thousand club-wielding demonstrators". Muhammad Afzal Qadri, a TLP co-founder, also called for the death of the three Supreme Court justices involved in hearing the appeal, stating: "The Chief Justice and two others deserve to be killed ... Either their security guards, their drivers, or their chefs should kill them." The Red Zone of Islamabad was sealed off from the public in order to keep protesters away, with paramilitary forces being deployed to this end. Prime Minister Imran Khan, in a televised address to the nation on the Asia Bibi verdict, issued a stark warning to the groups that were agitating against the decision. He concluded his address stating, "do not take the state to a point where it has no option but to take action". On 1 November, the National Highways and Motorway Police advised commuters to "refrain from travelling on motorways and national highways" on account of "the law & order situation across the country". Christian schools in Lahore "closed indefinitely" for safety reasons following the protests. The government of Pakistan also shut down mobile phone networks on 2 November.


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: Before the announcement of the acquittal on 31 October, Christians in Pakistan fasted and prayed. Cardinal Joseph Coutts, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Karachi, prayed that "there may not be a violent reaction from the extremists".


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: Saif-ul-Mulook, the lawyer who defended Asia Noreen, states that "his life has not been the same since; he rarely socialises, lives in a constant state of hypervigilance and has been inundated with threats." The "South China Morning Post" and "Christian Today" reported that he is now an "easy target" for extremists. On 3 November 2018, he was reported as "having fled" the country, to the Netherlands. Saif-ul-Mulook maintains that the United Nations "kept me for three days and then put me on a plane against my wishes" as he "refused to leave the country without ensuring that his client was out of prison."


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: The decision was praised by human rights groups and organizations advocating for persecuted Christians, such as International Christian Concern, Open Doors, and Aid to the Church in Need. CEO of Open Doors David Curry, said: "We are breathing a sigh of relief today ... as these charges stemmed from her Christian identity as well as false accusations against her. We are hopeful that Pakistan will now take additional steps to offer religious freedom and basic human rights throughout the country." Omar Waraich, Amnesty International's Deputy South Asia Director, described the ruling as a "landmark verdict". Neville Kyrke-Smith of Aid to the Church in Need proclaimed with respect to Noreen's acquittal: "Today is like the dawn of new hope for oppressed minorities." The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan issued a statement on 1 November welcoming the acquittal, stating that "From a human rights perspective, the Supreme Court's detailed judgement underlines several of the most problematic aspects of applying the blasphemy laws. The presumption of innocence is too easily buried by moral outrage, which invariably pits the vulnerable and underprivileged against those in majority."


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches, "received with joy" news of the acquittal, stating: "We celebrate her acquittal and release together with her, her family and community ... The WCC has repeatedly called for justice for Asia Bibi, convicted 8 years ago on charges resulting from a village argument in which she was accused by her neighbours of blasphemy. ... WCC therefore appeals once again to the Government of Pakistan to review its blasphemy laws, to curb their abuse, and to eliminate discriminatory bias against religious minorities."


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: The European branch of the American Center for Law and Justice lauded the ruling as well, and advocated the "abolition of the crime of blasphemy in Pakistan".


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: On 2 November 2018, the Government of Pakistan under the administration of Imran Khan and the Islamist Tehreek-e-Labbaik political party, which encouraged the protests against Noreen, came to an agreement that barred her from leaving the country, in addition to releasing Tehreek-e-Labbaik protesters. Noor-ul-Haq Qadri, the religious affairs minister, and Muhammad Basharat Raja, Punjab's minister for law, signed the agreement on behalf of the government. The deal included expediting a motion in the court to place Asia Noreen on Pakistan's no fly list, known officially as the Exit Control List (ECL). Pakistani authorities would not release Asia Noreen until the "Supreme Court makes a final review of its verdict" as "Ghulam Mustafa, the lawyer representing a provincial cleric in Punjab who had filed the initial blasphemy charges against Noreen, petitioned the Supreme Court requesting that the judges review her acquittal." Similar reviews have taken years to process. The TLP agreed to end its three-day protest sit-ins across the country and its leaders asked the protesters to disperse peacefully.


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: A plane from the United Kingdom reportedly arrived to pick up Asia Noreen after her acquittal, but returned without her, as the Pakistani government then still had her under detention as a result of the agreement with Tehreek-e-Labbaik.


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: Wilson Chowdhry, chairman of the British Pakistani Christian Association (BPCA), stated that "placing Asia Bibi on the ECL is like signing her death warrant" and Sardar Mushtaq Gill, head of the Legal Evangelical Association Development (LEAD), attributed the government's reluctance to act both to fear of hardliners' response and to sentiment within its own ranks.


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: This agreement between the Government of Pakistan and Tehreek-e-Labbaik led to "allegations [that] the government was capitulating to extremists". Pakistani Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry responded to these allegations, saying that "We had two options; either to use force, and when you use force people can be killed, and that is not something a state should do, or second, we tried negotiations and (in) negotiations you take something and you leave something."


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: Asia Noreen's lawyer Saif-ul-Mulook called the agreement between the Government of Pakistan and the Islamists "painful", stating that "They cannot even implement an order of the country's highest court". Feeling that his life was threatened, Mulook fled to Europe in order "to stay alive as I still have to fight the legal battle for Asia Bibi". BPCA chairman Wilson Chowdhry likewise stated that "I am not surprised that Imran Khan's regime has caved in to extremists". Jemima Goldsmith, an ex-wife of Imran Khan, similarly "said that Pakistan's government caved in to extremist demands to bar Asia Bibi from leaving the country", opining: "Not the Naya Pakistan we'd hoped for. 3 days after a defiant & brave speech defending the judiciary, Pakistan's government caves in to extremist demands to bar Asia Bibi from leaving Pakistan, after she was acquitted of blasphemy – effectively signing her death warrant."


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: Ashiq Masih, Noreen's husband, appealed to US president Donald Trump, as well as British prime minister Theresa May and Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, to "help the family leave the country" and grant them asylum. He told the charity Aid to the Church in Need, an organisation that aids persecuted Christians: "Help us get out of Pakistan. We are extremely worried because our lives are in danger. We no longer have even anything to eat, because we cannot leave the house to buy food".


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: On 7 November 2018, a release order arrived at the New Jail for Women, in which Noreen was incarcerated in Multan. Local news reported that she had been flown to PAF Base Nur Khan and would depart the country on a charter plane to the Netherlands. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied the media reports that she had left Pakistan, stating that she was "in a safe place in Pakistan".


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: Hafiz Shahbaz Attari of the Islamist political party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), upon hearing the news, said that TLP members would gather in Islamabad and Rawalpindi and try to prevent her departure. Another TLP leader Afzal Qadri, stated that "officials told the group that Noreen would not be allowed to leave until the Supreme Court ruled on their appeal of her acquittal".


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: British member of Parliament Mike Gapes, then of the Labour and Co-operative Party, suggested in November 2018 that the UK should reassess their relationship with Pakistan, and Rehman Chishti resigned as Britain's trade envoy to Pakistan in the same month, partially in protest to the government's refusal to offer Noreen asylum. US senator Rand Paul spoke to President Donald Trump about securing asylum for Noreen in that nation.


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: Noreen was reported to have spent Christmas 2018 in custody. Joseph Nadeem, the man guarding her husband and family, said that Islamists had fired at the gate of their home and that they had to move five times in order to evade them.


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: On 29 January 2019, Pakistan's Supreme Court upheld the acquittal on blasphemy charges and ruled that she was now free to leave Pakistan, where she was facing death threats, and join members of her family who were (according to unconfirmed reports) already abroad. Violent protests erupted across Pakistan, demanding the execution of the judge and Noreen. While her lawyer, who escaped to Germany, said that Asia was in Canada, others allege that she was being held in a secret location in Islamabad and that it is not clear when she would leave or where she would go.


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: France, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, and Australia were among the countries who offered her asylum.


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: In the Pakistani city of Faizabad, fifty-five people were arrested during a protest of the decision to uphold the Supreme Court's acquittal decision.


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: On 8 May 2019, Noreen arrived in Canada, where she was reunited with her family who had previously arrived in the country before her. International Christian Concern, an organisation long advocating for her release, released a statement saying that "Our prayers are now with Asia and her family as they seek peace and security in a new country". In 2020, she claimed asylum in France. In February 2020, Asia Bibi was interviewed by Open Doors in Paris, where she shared her feelings about her life and how her Christian faith helped her through her imprisonment that was a result of a false accusation.


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: A Barelvi mosque was built in 2014 in Islamabad named after Mumtaz Qadri, who assassinated the Punjab governor Salman Taseer for defending Noreen. Qadri was convicted by the Islamabad High Court, sentenced to death and hanged in February 2016.


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: French journalist assisted Noreen in writing a memoir titled "" (2013, ). Noreen is illiterate, and Tollet was unable to visit her directly due to prison restrictions. She conducted interviews through Noreen's husband, who passed questions and answers between them. Tollet also met other members of Noreen's family, including her children and sister, and had known Shahbaz Bhatti before his assassination. In August 2020, she distanced herself from the memoir, stating that she was not involved in its planning, did not recognize the story as hers, and did not agree with its conclusions regarding Pakistani law.


title: Asia Bibi blasphemy case

text: In 2015, Polish filmmakers, inspired by the memoir, produced the film "Uwolnić Asię Bibi" ("'Freedom for Asia Bibi").


title: The Trench (film)

text: The Trench is a 1999 British war film directed by William Boyd and starring Paul Nicholls and Daniel Craig. It depicts the experiences of a group of young British soldiers in the 48 hours leading up to the Battle of the Somme in 1916.


title: The Trench (film)

text: The film paints a picture of the soldiers' emotional experience in the confines of the trenches; an experience running the gamut from boredom to fear, panic to restlessness. Billy MacFarlane (Paul Nicholls), 18, along with his older brother, Eddie (Tam Williams), has volunteered for service. The whole platoon, all in their late teens, depend on the war-hardened Sergeant Winter (Daniel Craig) and the scholarly Lieutenant Harte (Julian Rhind-Tutt) for their survival. When word arrives that the platoon will join the first wave of attacks, they do not yet know they will be present when the British Army loses the greatest number of soldiers in a single day in its history. Many of the platoon are killed, among them Winter and Harte, and the film ends with McFarlane being shot in the neck.


title: Perodua Axia

text: The Perodua Axia is a five-door hatchback produced by Malaysian automobile manufacturer Perodua. It was launched on 15 September 2014 as the successor to the Viva. The car takes over the title of being the most affordable car in Malaysia from the Viva, and the best-selling car in Malaysia for three consecutive years, between 2015 until 2017. The Axia is the first model to debut from Perodua's all-new second factory in Rawang, Selangor.


title: Perodua Axia

text: The name ‘Axia’, which is pronounced ‘a-zee-a’ or ‘A-xia’, is derived from the Greek word ‘ΑΞΙΑ’ (axia) which means value. The word Axia also resembles the word Asia but with the letter ‘s’ having been replaced by ‘x’ which represents the number ten, as the Axia is Perodua's tenth model.


title: Perodua Axia

text: The Axia was developed as the successor to the Viva. Perodua chose to license the Daihatsu Ayla/Toyota Agya platform for their Viva Replacement Model (VRM). The Ayla and Agya duo have been on sale in neighbouring Indonesia and Philippines since 2013, but not in Malaysia. Although the Viva replacement model will be based on the Ayla/Agya platform, Perodua has iterated that the upper body and external elements will be indigenously designed, and the car will not be just a rebadged model.


title: Perodua Axia

text: On 26 August 2013, the former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak announced that the replacement model to the Viva will launch in 2014 as the cheapest new car on the market. The new model will be built at Perodua's all-new RM1.3 billion, 65,000 sq ft second manufacturing plant, located adjacent to the company's original factory in Rawang, Selangor. Perodua's new factory will mirror Daihatsu Kyushu's factory in terms of work ethics, technology and efficiency. Perodua has since announced the construction of a new engine manufacturing factory in Sendayan, Negeri Sembilan at cost of RM600 million.


title: Perodua Axia

text: Perodua showcased the Global Model A Segment Space (GMA) concept at the 2013 Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show in November. The GMA previewed the interior design of the Viva Replacement Model (VRM). Perodua also showcased a new engine, the 1.0 litre Daihatsu 1KR-DE as a possible candidate for the VRM.


title: Perodua Axia

text: On 11 June 2014, the first spyshots of an undisguised Perodua Axia were leaked online. Further photos of various pre-launch Perodua Axia units have since been leaked online, but on 6 August 2014, additional photos revealed the final product name was indeed ‘Perodua Axia’, after months of media speculation.


title: Perodua Axia

text: On 11 August 2014, Perodua teased a photo of the Axia on their official Facebook page. Three days later, Perodua announced that bookings for the Axia will open on 15 August, with prices starting from RM24,900 along with a five-year warranty, a first for a Perodua model 5 years


title: Perodua Axia

text: . The following day, the first official photo from Perodua confirmed the product name ‘Axia’ along with the tagline ‘Your Smart Move’. Later that same day, even more extensive official details on the Axia were unveiled. Perodua released a teaser of the front end of the Axia Standard E and G variants on 19 August 2014. The more expensive Axia SE and Advance variants sport a more aggressive and sporty exterior, whereas the cheaper Standard E and G trim lines offer a more modest and basic package.


title: Perodua Axia

text: In the morning of 19 August 2014, Perodua announced that around 3,500 bookings have been made for the Axia in just the five days since 15 August, when bookings were officially opened. Around 60-70% of the total bookings were made for the mid-range Axia Standard G model, whereas around 13% accounted for the base model, the Axia Standard E, and the remaining 17-27% made up the more expensive Axia SE and range-topping Axia Advance models. Additionally, Perodua maintained that production of the now seven-year-old Viva will continue for as long as the demand persists. However, production of the no-frills Viva 660 and high-end Viva 1.0 and Elite is expected to cease nonetheless, with just the mid-range Viva 850 remaining in production. Perodua also claimed that the all-new Axia will have 95% locally sourced content, with the remainder being imported from Indonesia and Japan. Despite having the vast majority of parts and components locally sourced, Perodua will still have to pay royalties to Toyota and Daihatsu for the licensing of their platform, engine and other key elements which were not indigenously designed by Perodua in Malaysia. Perodua also announced during the media briefing on 19 August that the tentative launch of the Perodua Axia would be in September 2014. The company aims to sell 10,000 Axia units per month.


title: Perodua Axia

text: The Axia, which is a city car/A-segment car was not originally launched to compete with the similar but more upmarket subcompact/B-segment Proton Iriz, which also launched in the second half of 2014.


title: Perodua Axia

text: The Axia received first facelift update on 20 January 2017 with the new 1.0L VVT-i engine. The same four variants remained on sale. The facelift brought along revised front grill and bumpers, an external boot release and revised equipment list.


title: Perodua Axia

text: On 20 September 2019, the second-facelifted Axia was launched with six variants: E, G, GXtra, SUV-inspired Style, SE and AV. Only E variant has manual transmission while the rest have automatic transmissions with ABS and EBD. The 1KR-VE engine also retained. At this facelift, both SE and AV variants share similar appearance with E, G and GXtra variants with few trim differences. New safety features are fitted such as VSC for GXtra variants and upwards. ASA 2.0 is available only on range-topping AV variant. Other features such as retractable side mirrors, reverse sensors, driver seat height adjuster and anti-snatch hook are fitted for GXtra varaints and upwards also.


title: Perodua Axia

text: The SUV-inspired Style variant differs from other variants with SUV-style bumpers, decorative roof rails, different grille and clear tail lamps. The Style, along with SE and AV variants have keyless entry, push start button and white-illuminated meter panel as additional standard features.


title: Perodua Axia

text: The interior dimensions are similar to those of the Myvi, with rear legroom being particularly generous for a car with such a modest footprint.


title: Perodua Axia

text: The Standard G variants gains over the Standard E variant a centre console, air conditioning control knobs painted silver as opposed to being unpainted, a double din FM AM CD headunit, a rev counter and a parcel shelf with strings.


title: Perodua Axia

text: The SE switches amber illumination for red illumination, gains Bluetooth connectivity, fabric insets on the door cards, chrome surrounds on the air con vents and instrument cluster, silver trim on the left and right spoke of the steering wheel as well as sports grip and the use of glossy plastic on the centre stack.


title: Perodua Axia

text: All four variants uses different seat upholstery with the Advance model the only variant that uses leather.


title: Perodua Axia

text: Alongside with the introduction of ABS in 2016, the Standard G variant also gained the glossy plastic finish on the centre stack. Do note that the headunit front fascia remained matt resulting into an interesting mid march.


title: Perodua Axia

text: With the facelift in 2017 saw new headunits for all three variants with the Standard G headunit ditching a knob for buttons to control volume. The front facia was updated to match the glossy plastic centre stack.


title: Perodua Axia

text: The Perodua Axia has been crash tested by the New Car Assessment Program for Southeast Asia (ASEAN NCAP), and has claimed a 4-Star rating, thus becoming the second Perodua model to score a 5-Star rating after the Alza. The Axia is also safer than the 3-Star rated pre-facelift second generation Myvi, despite being a smaller car.


title: Perodua Axia

text: At launch, Anti-lock braking system (ABS) with Electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD) and Brake assist (BA) were equipped on the SE and Advance variant while the more affordable Standard E and Standard G variant were not equipped with the aforementioned features. The Axia is equipped with 2 airbags for all variants.


title: Perodua Axia

text: For the 2017 facelift models, halogen projector headlights were made standard across all trim levels.