title: Sapta Puri

text: A temple dedicated to Rukmini, Krishna's consort, is located in Bet Dwarka, away from Dwarka. The temple is said to be 2500 years old but in its present form it is inferred to be of 12th century vintage. It is a richly carved temple decorated with sculptures of gods and goddesses on the exterior with the sanctum housing the main image of Rukmini. Carved "naratharas" (human figures) and carved "gajatharas" (elephants) are depicted in panels at the base of the tower. An interesting legend is narrated to justify separate dwelling temples, far away from each other, for Rukmini and her husband Krishna. It is said that at the request of sage Durvasa (who was renowned for his short temper and bestowing curses) Krishna and Rukmini pulled a chariot taking sage Durvasa to their house for dinner. On the way, when Rukmini asked for water to quench her thirst, Krishna drew Ganges water, by prodding the ground with his toe, for her to drink. Rukmini quenched her thirst with the Ganges water. But Durvasa felt insulted since Rukmini did not have the courtesy to offer him water to drink. He, therefore, cursed her that she would live separately from her husband.


title: Sapta Puri

text: Another legend states, while Dwarka was the official capital of Krishna where he held his assembly, his residence was at Bet Dwarka.


title: Princess Tutu

text: The first season was broadcast in Japan in 2002 and the second in 2002 and 2003. It was also adapted into a two-volume manga. Both the manga and anime series were licensed by ADV Films in 2004 for distribution in North America, then by AEsir Holdings when ADV Films closed in 2009, while Sentai Filmworks distributed the Blu-Ray release of the show, as the latter two are parts of Section23 Films. The series explores the concepts of destiny and free will. Reviewers point out that although "Princess Tutu" is nominally a magical girl series, it is more of a "fairy tale set to ballet with a few magical girl elements mixed in," and its use of dance in lieu of violence to solve conflicts carries "surprisingly effective emotional appeal."


title: Princess Tutu

text: Once there was a writer named Drosselmeyer, who had the power to make his stories come to life. But he died before he could finish his final tale, "The Prince and the Raven", leaving the two title characters locked in an eternal battle. After many years, the Raven managed to break free into the real world, and the Prince pursued him. To seal away the Raven's evil, Prince Siegfried shattered his own heart with his sword, causing him to lose all his memories and emotions.


title: Princess Tutu

text: Drosselmeyer, now a ghost, decides the story must have an ending. He finds it in the form of a little duck, who has fallen in love with Mytho, the empty remainder of Siegfried. He gives her a magic pendant that can transform her, first into an ordinary human girl, then into the graceful ballerina Princess Tutu, another character in the story. As Tutu, it's Duck's job to find all the scattered shards of Mytho's heart and return them to him.


title: Princess Tutu

text: But not everyone wants Mytho to get his heart back. Rue, the Raven's daughter reborn as a human, has fallen in love with him too, and worries he might not return her feelings if he has a heart. Her desire to stop him from regaining his emotions unleashes her ability to transform into Princess Kraehe, Tutu's evil counterpart. Fakir, the boy who found and took care of Mytho after he escaped the story, also tries to stop Tutu, fearing that the story progressing means the Raven will return and Mytho will have to risk his life fighting it again.


title: Princess Tutu

text: What's more, Duck learns that part of Princess Tutu's story is that she can never confess her love to Mytho, or else she'll turn into a speck of light and vanish. However, it becomes clear that Mytho "wants" his heart restored, so despite Fakir and Kraehe's interference, she persists.


title: Princess Tutu

text: Eventually, Fakir accepts Mytho's choice and decides to help Tutu, even discovering her true identity as a Duck and becoming good friends with her. He also learns he's a descendant of Drosselmeyer, meaning he too has the power to make what he writes a reality. Rue finds out she's not the Raven's daughter, but a human child he stole to serve him.


title: Princess Tutu

text: After most of Mytho's heart is returned to him, the seal trapping the Raven begins to break. Finally able to feel love again, Mytho realizes he loves Rue – just as the Raven kidnaps her. Duck discovers her pendant is the final shard, meaning she must give up her life as a human to return it. She eventually finds the courage to do so, and becomes a humble duck again.


title: Princess Tutu

text: Mytho and the Raven battle once more. When the fight turns bleak, Mytho considers shattering his heart to seal the monster away again. Duck begins dancing to show him he must not give up. As she does, Fakir writes a story about how she never stops, no matter how many times the Raven's minions attack her. Together they create hope, which gives Mytho the strength he needs to rescue Rue and defeat the Raven. Mytho asks Rue to be his princess and they return to his kingdom inside the story. Duck and Fakir continue their relationship, even though she's stuck in her duck form. With nothing left to do, Drosselmeyer departs in search of another story.


title: Princess Tutu

text: "Princess Tutu" was conceptualized by Ikuko Itoh, who also designed the characters, and directed by Junichi Sato and Shogo Koumoto, with Michiko Yokote handling series composition and Kaoru Wada composing the music. It was produced by Hal Film Maker and TUTU, a production committee consisting of King Records, IMAGICA Imageworks, Dentsu, Marvelous Entertainment and Memory-Tech. The series originally aired in two seasons. The first season, ""Kapitel des Eies"" ("Chapter of the Egg"), consisted of 13 half-hour episodes. The second season, ""Kapitel des Junges"" ("Chapter of the Fledgling") in R2 DVDs, and ""Kapital des Kükens"" ("Chapter of the Chick") in R1 DVDs, was aired as 25 quarter-hour episodes and one half-hour episode; to conform to the format of the time slot, each episode was halved. These were brought back together in the DVD release as 13 complete episodes.


title: Princess Tutu

text: In 2004, ADV Films announced that they had licensed the anime series for distribution in North America. ADV Films produced English adaptations for all episodes and, beginning in 2005, the series was periodically released as single DVD "volumes" that each contained several episodes. In 2007, the series was released as a complete DVD collection of all 26 episodes. In 2011, AEsir Holdings announced the licensing of the series and the release of a complete DVD collection of all 26 episodes distributed by Section23 Films. In 2018, as AEsir Holdings and Sentai Filmworks are parts of Section23 Films, the latter released a complete Blu-ray collection of all 26 episodes on December 11, 2018.


title: Princess Tutu

text: Anime Network formerly offered all 26 episodes of the series, English dubbed only, from their internet streaming site for North America. After the service was shut down, the series was moved to Hidive. Hulu and Amazon Prime Instant Video both have the English dub available for streaming.


title: Princess Tutu

text: A manga adaptation of the anime series was published in Japan by Akita Shoten in the shōnen (later seinen) manga magazine "Champion Red" from August 19, 2002 to May 19, 2003. The manga was written by Mizuo Shinonome and series creator Ikuko Itoh and illustrated by Shinonome. Two tankōbon volumes of the manga series were published in 2003. The manga was translated to English and published in North America by ADV Manga in 2004 and 2005.


title: Princess Tutu

text: Note: The English language manga continues to use the Japanese name "Ahiru" rather than the name "Duck" used in the English language version of the anime television series.


title: Princess Tutu

text: The series has been reviewed many times, starting from the Japanese language streams, through the latest North American English language DVD releases. Generally the reviews are very positive.


title: Winterthur

text: Winterthur (; ) is a city in the canton of Zürich in northern Switzerland. With over 110,000 residents it is the country's sixth-largest city by population, and is the ninth-largest agglomeration with about 140,000 inhabitants. Located about northeast of Zürich, Winterthur is a service and high-tech industrial satellite city within Greater Zürich.


title: Winterthur

text: The official language of Winterthur is German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect, Zürich German. Winterthur is usually abbreviated as "Winti" in the local dialect and by its inhabitants.


title: Winterthur

text: Winterthur is connected to Germany by direct trains and has links to Zurich Airport. It is also a regional transport hub: the A1 motorway from Geneva through to St. Margrethen connects in Winterthur with the A4 motorway heading north toward Schaffhausen and the A7 motorway heading close to the Swiss-German border at Kreuzlingen. There are also roads leading to other places such as Turbenthal. The railway station is the fourth busiest railway station in Switzerland, and is 20 minutes away by train from Zürich.


title: Winterthur

text: "Vitudurum" was a "vicus" in what is now Oberwinterthur during the Roman era (first century BC to third century AD). It was fortified into a "castrum" at the end of the third century, apparently in reaction to the incipient Alamannic invasion.


title: Winterthur

text: In a battle near Winterthur in 919, Burchard II of Swabia asserted his control over the Thurgau within the Duchy of Swabia against the claims of Rudolph II of Burgundy.


title: Winterthur

text: The counts of Winterthur, a cadet branch of the family of the counts of Bregenz, built Kyburg castle in the tenth century. With the extinction of the counts of Winterthur in 1053, the castle passed to the counts of Dillingen. Winterthur as a city (presumably on the site of a pre-existing village) was founded by Hartmann III of Dillingen in 1180, shortly before his death in the same year. From 1180 to 1263, Winterthur was ruled by the cadet line of the House of Kyburg.


title: Winterthur

text: When the counts of Kyburg became extinct in the male line in 1263, Winterthur passed to the House of Habsburg, who established a comital line of "Neu-Kyburg" in 1264 and granted city rights to Winterthur in the same year. From 1415 until 1442 Winterthur was "reichsfrei" (subject only to the Holy Roman Emperor). However, in the Old Zürich War they lost this freedom and came back under the control of the Austrian Habsburgs. Needing money, in 1467, the Habsburgs sold Winterthur to the city of Zürich.


title: Winterthur

text: While it was under the leadership of Zürich, Winterthur's economic freedom was restricted. It lost many of its market rights and the right to trade in some goods. This ended in 1798, when Napoleonic troops took the town. On 27 May 1799, it was the site of the Battle of Winterthur between elements of the French Army of the Danube and elements of the Habsburg army, commanded by Friedrich, Baron von Hotze during the War of the Second Coalition, in the French Revolutionary Wars. Because Winterthur lies near Zürich and at the junction of seven roads, the army that held the town held the access to most of Switzerland and points crossing the Rhine into southern Germany. Although the forces involved were small, the ability of the Austrians to sustain an 11-hour assault against the French line, on the plateau north of Zürich, resulted in the consolidation of three Austrian forces. This led to the French defeat a few days later.


title: Winterthur

text: In the 19th century, Winterthur became an industrial town when companies, like Sulzer, Rieter and SLM, built large industrial plants. Winterthur suffered severely from its investments in and guarantee of loans to the National Railway of Switzerland (a private enterprise). In 1878, Winterthur had to sell its shares in the line, and from 1881 to 1885 it was in great difficulties due to a loan of nine million francs guaranteed in 1874 by the town, together with three others in Aargau, to the enterprise. As the three co-guarantor towns were unable to pay their shares, the whole burden fell on Winterthur, which struggled to meet its liabilities. But it was assisted by large loans from the cantonal and federal governments.


title: Winterthur

text: The Great Depression, in the 1930s, hit Winterthur extremely hard. Sixty percent of the total employees in town worked in the machine industry. Jobs became extremely hard to find. However, with the outbreak of World War II, industry grew again in the city.


title: Winterthur

text: Winterthur is located at an elevation of . The city is located in a basin south and east of the river Töss before it meets the High Rhine after 10 kilometers. The Eulach, a small river, flows from the town's east end through the middle of the town to meet the Töss at the west exit of the city. Because of this the town is colloquially also called "Eulachstadt". Zürich lies about southwest of Winterthur.


title: Winterthur

text: , Winterthur has an area of ; 24.8% is used for agricultural purposes, 40.4% is forested, 33.6% is settled (buildings or roads) and 1.1% is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains). housing and buildings made up 21.9% of the total area, while transportation infrastructure made up the rest (9%). Of the total unproductive area, water (streams and lakes) made up 0.6% of the area. , 27.6% of the total municipal area was undergoing some type of construction.


title: Winterthur

text: 1 – Winterthur-Stadt, 2 – Oberwinterthur, 3 – Seen, 4 – Töss, 5 – Veltheim, 6 – Wülflingen, 7 – Mattenbach


title: Winterthur

text: The City Council (Stadtrat) constitutes the executive government of the City of Winterthur and operates as a collegiate authority. It is composed of seven councilors (), each presiding over a department. Departmental tasks, coordination measures and implementation of laws decreed by the Large Municipal Council are carried by the City Council. In the mandate period 2018–2022 ("Legislatur") the City Council is presided by "Stadtpräsident" Michael Künzle. The regular election of the City Council by any inhabitant valid to vote is held every four years. Any resident of Winterthur allowed to vote can be elected as a member of the City Council. The mayor is elected as such by public election by means of a system of Majorz, while the heads of the other directorates are assigned by the collegiate. The delegates are elected by means of a system of Majorz.


title: Winterthur

text: , Winterthur's City Council is made up of three representatives of the SP (Social Democratic Party), one member of the FDP (FDP.The Liberals), one of the GPS (Green Party), one of the GLP (Green Liberal Party), and one of the CVP (Christian Democratic People's Party, who is also the mayor), giving the left parties a combined four out of seven seats. The last regular election was held on 5 March and 15 April 2018, the last special election on 23 August 2020.


title: Winterthur

text: Ansgar Simon is Town Chancellor ("Stadtschreiber") since and Marcel Wendelspiess is Legal Counsel ("Rechtskonsulent") since 2013 for the City Council.


title: Winterthur

text: The Large Municipal Council (Grosser Gemeinderat) holds legislative power. It is made up of 60 members, with elections held every four years. The Large Municipal Council decrees regulations and by-laws that are executed by the City Council and the administration. The delegates are selected by means of a system of proportional representation (Proporz).


title: Winterthur

text: The sessions of the Large Municipal Council are public. Unlike members of the City Council, members of the Large Municipal Council are not politicians by profession, and they are paid a fee based on their attendance. Any resident of Winterthur allowed to vote can be elected as a member of the Large Municipal Council. The parliament holds its meetings in the "Rathaus" once a month on Mondays.


title: Winterthur

text: The last regular election of the Large Municipal Council was held on 8 March 2018 for the mandate period () from May 2018 to April 2022. Currently the Large Municipal Council consists of 18 members of the Social Democratic Party (SP/PS), 10 Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC), 8 The Liberals (FDP/PLR), 7 Green Liberal Party (GLP/PVL), 5 Green Party (GPS/PES), 4 Evangelical People's Party (EVP), 3 Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC), 2 Alternative List (AL), one representative each of the Conservative Democratic Party (BDP/PBD), Federal Democratic Union (EDU/UDF), and the Pirate Party.


title: Winterthur

text: In the 2019 federal election for the Swiss National Council the most popular party was the PS which received 22.6% (−3.4) of the vote. The next six most popular parties were the SVP (17.8%, -5.6), the Green Party (17.8%, +9), the glp (14.3%, +5.5), FDP (10.6%, -1.5), the EVP (5.0%, 0), and the CVP (4.2%, +0.2). In the federal election a total of 32,907 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 47.0%.


title: Winterthur

text: In the 2015 election for the Swiss National Council the most popular party was the SPS which received 26.1% of the vote. The next most popular parties were the SVP (23.4%), the FDP (12.1%), the Green Party (8.8%), the glp (8.8%), the EVP (5.0%), the CVP (4.0%), and BDP (3.5%). In the federal election, a total of 33,426 voters were cast, and the voter turnout was 49.3%.


title: Winterthur

text: In the 2011, federal election the most popular party was the SP which received 22.5% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP (21.8%), the Green Liberals (11.1%) and the Green Party (10.1%).


title: Winterthur

text: Winterthur is twinned with two Swiss and two international towns and coordinates its international relations together with the Swiss towns Frauenfeld, St. Gallen, and Schaffhausen:


title: Winterthur

text: the population of Winterthur is 100,000. More recently (as of ) the population was . 23.6% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. the gender distribution of the population was 48.6% male and 51.4% female. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 10.4%. Most of the population () speaks German (83.0%), with Italian being second-most common (4.9%) and Albanian being third (2.0%).


title: Winterthur

text: The age distribution of the population () is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 19.9% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 63.9% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 16.2%. There are 42,028 households in Winterthur.


title: Winterthur

text: Historically, Winterthur was one of the homes of Switzerland's rail industry and an industrial centre, however the rail industry and other heavy industry have mostly shut down. Amongst the most significant companies was Sulzer Brothers, today's Sulzer Ltd., "Sulzer AG", commonly abbreviated to Sulzer. Textile production declined even earlier on. The Rieter textile machinery company is based in Winterthur.


title: Winterthur

text: Switzerland's largest bank, and one of the world's large banks, Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS, since 1998 UBS AG), was founded in Winterthur.


title: Winterthur

text: The "Landbote" newspaper is situated in Winterthur, and also serves as "Winterthurer Stadtanzeiger", the official publication organ of the city of Winterthur.


title: Winterthur

text: Peraves, the manufacturer of the fully enclosed "cabin motorcycle" named the Monotracer, predated by an earlier model named the Ecomobile, has been manufacturing these vehicles since the early 1980s. In 2010, Peraves won the Progressive Insurance Automotive X-Prize with an electric powered version of the Monotracer.


title: Winterthur

text: Among other commercial organizations, Winterthur was home to Switzerland's largest insurance business Winterthur Insurance. Until its acquisition, the company was the largest in Switzerland and was in Europe's top 10. On 1 January 2007 the Winterthur company was acquired by the French AXA group and is now known as AXA Winterthur.


title: Winterthur

text: , Winterthur had an unemployment rate of 3.53%. , there were 185 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 60 businesses involved in this sector; 11,880 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 884 businesses in this sector; 59,767 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 6,983 businesses in this sector. 47.9% of the working population were employed full-time, and 52.1% were employed part-time.


title: Winterthur

text: In Winterthur, about 70.7% of the population (between ages 25 and 64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a "Fachhochschule").


title: Winterthur

text: The town is renowned for its institute of higher education "Technikum", which is the largest school of technology in Switzerland. The institute has recently teamed up with schools from Zürich and is now known as Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften (ZHAW).


title: Winterthur

text: SIS Swiss International School maintains a campus in Winterthur. International School Winterthur, formerly located in Winterthur, closed in 2015.


title: Winterthur

text: Bahnhof Winterthur, the central station, is one of the busiest stations on the Swiss Railway Network with 105,000 passengers a day. As the town is close to Zürich, it is served by many trains on the local Zürich S-Bahn network. EuroCity services to Munich and regional trains to St. Gallen, Konstanz or Romanshorn also serve the station. As well as the Hauptbahnhof, there are nine more stations within the city, called "Oberwinterthur", "Seen", "Grüze", "Töss", "Hegi", "Reutlingen", "Wülflingen", "Wallrüti" and "Sennhof-Kyburg".


title: Winterthur

text: The local public transport is run by STADTBUS Winterthur with twelve town bus lines, including the Winterthur trolleybus system, and five regional bus lines.


title: Winterthur

text: Winterthur is not high on the list of tourist destinations in Switzerland. As a result, it does not offer a wide range of hotels to choose from. As it is relatively easy to reach from Zürich by public transport, tourists who do visit Winterthur often stay in Zürich.


title: Winterthur

text: Nevertheless, Winterthur is mentioned in most tourist guides for its numerous museums, many of which offer world class art, among them of the Gottfried Keller-Stiftung. The most famous are:


title: Winterthur

text: Winterthur's chamber orchestra Orchester Musikkollegium Winterthur is the oldest orchestra in Switzerland, and also plays at the Zurich Opera. Between 1922 and 1950, the philanthropist Werner Reinhart and the conductor Hermann Scherchen played a leading role in shaping the musical life of Winterthur, with numerous premiere performances emphasizing contemporary music.


title: Winterthur

text: The city hall "Stadthaus", in which the concerts of the Musikkollegium take place, was built by Gottfried Semper.


title: Winterthur

text: Musikfestwochen, in late August and early September, sees Winterthur's Old Town taken over for live music of all kinds, in the street and bars as well as in concert venues.


title: Winterthur

text: The "Albanifest", the largest annual festival in a historic town in Switzerland, is named after Saint Alban, one of the city's four saints, is held here, over three days in late June every year. Although a recent creation, the festival celebrates the granting of a charter to the town in 1264 by Rudolf of Habsburg on 22 June of that year, which happened to be the saint's day.


title: Winterthur

text: The church of "St. Laurenz" in the city centre dates from 1264, the town hall was built in 1781, the assembly hall in 1865.


title: Winterthur

text: In 1989, Winterthur received the Wakker Prize for the development and preservation of its architectural heritage.


title: Winterthur

text: The Swiss folk metal band Eluveitie was formed in Winterthur and the Punkabilly band The Peacocks comes from here.


title: Winterthur

text: Open Doors is an artist supported platform for artists with art studios in Winterthur, Switzerland. The platform was established to bridge arts and the community as well as provide the artists with means to independently promote their art in any way they choose. Open Doors takes place annually during the last weekend of September. Participating artists open their studios to the public and present their art to the public. Oftentimes it is possible to view the artists while they are working. Among the approximate 60 artists who participate there are local, international, autodidacts and art academy graduates. Open Doors Winterthur was founded in 2008 by San Francisco-born artist Michelle Bird and resident of Winterthur. Open Doors Winterthur publishes the annual MAP Magazine Artist Professionals which is available on line and in print form. "MAP Magazine" features articles about local art initiatives and profiles local artists and their art studios. The event is supported by a map that indicates the location of each artist's studio on a map.


title: Winterthur

text: EHC Winterthur is the city's main hockey team which currently plays in the Swiss League, the second-highest ice hockey league in Switzerland. Their arena is the 3,000-seat Deutweg Arena. The arena held in April 2011 the 2011 IIHF Women's World Championship top division, sharing the hosting with the Hallenstadion in Zürich.


title: Winterthur

text: FC Winterthur are the city's football club and currently play in the Swiss Challenge League. They play at the Stadion Schützenwiese.


title: Winterthur

text: Pfadi Winterthur is the professional handball club, former multiple national champions and still playing in the Swiss First League of Handball. They play at the Winterthur Central Sports Hall which they share with top floorball club HC Rychenberg Winterthur.


title: Winterthur

text: Winterthur Lions AFC, founded in 2017, have been playing Australian rules football in the AFL Switzerland league since 2019.


title: Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa

text: Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa (; born 8 May 1987) is a member of the Bahraini royal family, Commander of Bahrain's Royal Guard, deputy chairman of the Higher Committee for Energy and Natural Resources and the head of the government's Supreme Council for Youth and Sports. He is the third in line of the heir apparent of the Kingdom of Bahrain. In April 2021, he was appointed as chairman of Nogaholding.


title: Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa

text: Al Khalifa is the fourth-born son of the King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa with Sheia bint Hassan Al Khrayyesh Al Ajmi, his second wife.


title: Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa

text: He was educated in Bahrain at Ibn Khuldoon National School. His Highness then joined the commissioning course of officer cadet at the Sandhurst Military Academy in the United Kingdom (2005-2006), where he was the recipient of King Hussain’s Medal for Outstanding Overseas Cadet and achieved Second Lieutenants Rank. H.H. Shaikh Nasser also participated in numerous military training courses, programs and exercises that contributed to his leadership advancement. He also attended the U.S Marine Corps Command and Staff College; Quantico VA, USA (2010-2011). He is currently serving in the Bahrain Defence Force and leads the Bahrain National Endurance Team.


title: Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa

text: Sh. Nasser Bin Hamad started his career as a platoon commander in the Motorized Infantry Company of the Royal Guard Battalion. After that he went on to become the Rapid reaction force commander in the Royal Guard, where he served from 2008 - 2011, and is currently the commander of the Bahrain Defence Force Royal Guard since he was appointed in 2011. As Commander of the Royal Guard, he overseed the operations and strategic planning of the Royal Guards’ functions and regiments – joint-country or domestic – and monitored its growth and development. As part of these development initiatives, he established an elite contingent, the Special Quick Reaction Force, within the Royal Guard. His Highness participated in the Saudi led Operations Decisive Storm and Restoring Hope by commanding the first Royal Guard Task Force in 2015 which conducted operations in both Ma’rib and Aden.


title: Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa

text: In July 2020, his father King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa appointed him as Secretary General of the Supreme Defence Council. As the National Security Advisor and General Secretary of the Supreme Council for Defence, His Highness manages royal directives, charged by His Majesty the King on matters pertaining to national security, regional relations and youth and leads high level delegations globally, to cover various grounds that concern the Kingdom of Bahrain’s role as an active player in the global arena.


title: Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa

text: In December 2006, Al Khalifa led the Bahrain National Endurance team in the Doha Asian Games. He won a silver medal in the individual race and the six-member Bahraini squad came second in the overall team event.


title: Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa

text: In September 2007, Al Khalifa led the Bahrain National Endurance team in the European Open held at Portugal. He came in 8th place in the individual race and the Bahrain team came in second place and won a silver medal.


title: Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa

text: In October 2018, Al Khalifa won the 2018 Ironman World Championship title in his category that was held in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.


title: Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa

text: In July 2022, Al Khalifa riding his horse Lola de Jalima, captained the Royal Endurance Team that won the 120-kilometre race and the 160-kilometre race, clocking 5 hours, 48 minutes and 59 seconds in Slovakia.


title: Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa

text: In October 2022, Al Khalifa won gold at the FEI Endurance World Championship for Young Horses riding the mare Lola de Jalima in Vic, Spain.


title: Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa

text: Al Khalifa was appointed in 2021 as the deputy chairman of the higher committee for energy and natural resources. The Supreme Committee for Energy and Natural Resource's responsibility is to review the national energy strategy of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The committee is also responsible for setting the strategy of the current oil expansion project in Bahrain including the Bapco Modernization Programme (BMP). He became the chairman of (Nogaholding) where the countries energy industry is transitioning towards sustainable energy production. Under his leadership, (Nogaholding) has begun to set various plans to maximize value creation, search for optimize solutions while tapping into alternative energy sources to ensure the company’s goals are in line to meet the Kingdom’s energy requirements and global competition.


title: Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa

text: His Highness furthermore chairs the Board of Trustees of the Royal Charity Organization and contributes to the design of the organization’s strategy and development. As part of Bahrain’s humanitarian initiatives, Major General. Shaikh Nasser Al Khalifa paid a visit to the Al Zatari Refugee Camp in Jordan to preview the matters of the Syrian refugees and inaugurated the Bahrain School for Syrian refugees at the Al Zatari Refugee Camp in Jordan on November 25, 2012. In addition, he signed an agreement in the Philippines in February 2014, following the devastating typhoon, to build two vocational training centers carrying the name of "Bahrain", and a 500-home residential complex.


title: Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa

text: Al Khalifa married in Dubai on 28 September 2009 (nikah ceremony) and 2 October 2009 (milcha reception) to Shaikha bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, a daughter of the Emir of Dubai, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. They have one daughter and four sons.


title: Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa

text: Al Khalifa became the subject of allegations of torture after anti-government protests in 2011. In 2014, a Bahraini citizen sought the arrest of Al Khalifa in the United Kingdom following allegations that he was directly involved in the torture of three prisoners in Bahrain during a pro-democracy uprising there in 2011. In a statement, the Bahraini government denied the accusations and called them "politically motivated", however it also recognized its responsibility to investigate any reasonable allegation.


title: Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa

text: Several criticized his participation at the 2014 FEI World Equestrian Games in Normandy, France. The high court in London ruled that Al Khalifa is not immune from torture claims. In 2017, activists asked the United States to suspend a diplomatic visa for Al Khalifa over the allegations.


title: Trade paperback (comics)

text: In comics in the United States, a trade paperback (shortened: TPB or trade) is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually presenting either a complete miniseries, a story arc from a single title, or a series of stories with an arc or common theme.


title: Trade paperback (comics)

text: A trade paperback may reproduce the stories either at the same size in which they were originally presented (in comic book format), in a smaller "digest-sized" format, or a larger-than-original hardcover. This article applies to both paperback and hardcover collections. In the comics industry, the term "trade paperback market" may refer to the market for any collection, regardless of its actual cover.


title: Trade paperback (comics)

text: A trade paperback differs from a graphic novel in that a graphic novel is usually original material. It is also different from the publishing term "trade paperback", which is a book with a flexible cardstock cover that is larger than the standard mass market paperback format.


title: Trade paperback (comics)

text: For many years, trade paperbacks were mainly used to reprint older comic-book stories that were no longer available to the average reader. Original copies of those stories were scarce, and often very expensive when found due to their rarity. In 1954, "the first mass-market paperback reprints of American comic book material" began with ""The MAD Reader", published by Ballantine Books". The reprint collections of "Mad" in the late 1950s and early 1960s increased their popularity. In the 1960s and 1970s, Marvel Comics (first through Lancer Books and then through the Fireside Books imprint) published trade paperbacks which were collections around specific themes such as battles, villains and individual characters. After Marvel's success with their Fireside Books collections, DC Comics began publishing similar themed collections through Warner Books. In 1981, the Great Superman Comic Book Collection was "the first DC comic book collection in the modern tradition". "These collections of reprints were united by their title character or series but only accidentally had any commonality of story or theme, and their existence as books was clearly an afterthought".


title: Trade paperback (comics)

text: The growth of trade paperbacks and graphic novels in the 1980s allowed smaller publishers to flourish. In 1981, Warp Graphics's "Elfquest" series "landed in bookstores" as full color trade paperback collections – "it was the first graphic novel series to push its way out of the comic book marketplace". The success of series such as Mirage Studios' "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" and Dave Sim's "Cerebus" showed that "readers were interested in bound comic book collections, whether they were called phone books, comic book novels, albums or graphic novels".


title: Trade paperback (comics)

text: In 1984, Marvel shifted from trade paperbacks which were general collections to trade paperbacks which were notable recent runs such as the "Dark Phoenix Saga" and "The Power of Iron Man". Similarly, trade paperbacks were a "minor endeavor" for DC "until 1986's collection of "The Dark Knight Returns"". Brian Cronin, for "CBR", highlighted that "The Dark Knight Returns" trade "was a true game-changer. The crux of the great Alan Moore/DC Comics feud is that Moore's deal with DC for "Watchmen" said that Moore and Dave Gibbons would get the rights to the characters once the book went out of print. At the time that Moore signed the deal, which was [before] the "Dark Knight Returns" was collected, the idea of a comic book staying in print was absurd. Well, by the time that "Watchmen" was finished, "Dark Knight Returns" was a sensation as a trade paperback and naturally, DC gave "Watchmen" the same treatment [...] and it's never been out of print since". "The Dark Knight Returns", "Watchmen", and Art Spiegelman's "Maus" (published as a collection in 1986 by Pantheon Books) "established a beachhead for 'graphic novels' in the book trade".


title: Trade paperback (comics)

text: In the 1990s, "trade paperbacks found their popularity boom". Comic book publishers began releasing trade paperbacks of collected story arcs directly after those stories' original periodical publication, because a new reader could purchase the trade paperbacks and access the entire series' stories to date. "The Librarian's Guide to Graphic Novels for Children and Tweens" by David S. Serchay explains: "At first it was the most popular stories that were being collected, but more and more comic book stories are now being put into trade, sometimes less than two months after the 'newest' issue is sold. And [...] not only recent material but a great deal of older material is finally being collected into trades". In 2015, "Polygon" highlighted that "though this was far less common a decade ago, pretty much every monthly comic out there right now is eventually collected into trade paperback or hardcover edition that prints several issues in one package".


title: Trade paperback (comics)

text: "As with books, trades have an International Standard Book Number (ISBN) and a spine and come in a variety of sizes. In some cases, the pages of the trade are larger or smaller than they were in the original comic book". A trade paperback will sometimes feature additional artwork, such as alternative cover art, pinup galleries by guest artists, or additional story material that had not been released in the standard issues. A common practice is to include an art gallery featuring the artwork of the original comic book covers from which the series was compiled. Many feature introductions written by prominent figures, some from outside the world of comics—for instance, "" features an introduction by Stephen King, the "Ultimates 2" book has an introduction by Jonathan Ross and most "Hellboy" trade paperbacks have included introductions by prominent authors.


title: Trade paperback (comics)

text: Trade paperbacks generally do not feature advertisements, fan mail, or special foil or embossed covers. "Back-up" stories not related to the main arc may also be omitted, and in older trade paperbacks it was common practice to omit pages from the main story related to other subplots.


title: Trade paperback (comics)

text: Since trade paperbacks may be less expensive and more convenient than buying the individual periodicals, readers may forgo purchasing individual issues in favor of the trade. A significant benefit of the trade paperback version is that it is often available in bookstores, from smaller booksellers to the larger suppliers, and other retailers that do not normally carry comic books. Despite the growing popularity of the trade paperback, the serialized, individual issues are still considered the primary mode of sale by comics publishers, and a poorly selling series may face cancellation irrespective of trade paperback sales. However, some series, such as "Ms. Marvel" and "Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur", "survive on the popularity of their trades sales, not just in the direct market and local comic shops, but in book stores across the world" and at "Scholastic [book] fairs and the like". Other times a series might be relaunched after cancellation, such as "Iceman" and "The Unstoppable Wasp" in 2018, if the series has good trade sales.


title: Trade paperback (comics)

text: In 2018, "Screen Rant" highlighted, "publishers and retailers traditionally ignore the sales of trade paperbacks when it comes to deciding whether or not a specific title is doing well. For decades, the single issue has been king, even though those sales figures are far from helpful. [...] Trade paperbacks are increasingly important as a marker of what sells, with 2016 seeing a 12% jump in trade sales over 2015 - a period when single issue sales fell. Even 2017, which saw both trades and single issue sales fall compared to 2016, trades were down 9.38%, compared to single issues dropping 10.4%". In 2019, "Bleeding Cool" emphasized, "in recent years, collected issues/trade paperbacks are more popular and profitable than monthly comic book periodicals. As single issue sales have consistently plummeted, trade paperbacks and graphic novels have filled in the gaps. From 2013 to 2018, graphic novels were the highest-selling format for comic books". According to industry reports, "the massive shift to graphic novels as the preferred format for comics continued in 2019 bringing sales in the book channel above the comic store channel in North America for the first time in the history of the medium" and that "the sales of graphic novels were growing faster in the book trade than in comics shops".


title: Trade paperback (comics)

text: Trade paperbacks and graphic novels are the preferred format for circulating library collections, since these collections are created to be read, and not to be retained as collector's items or as investments. Attempts to catalogue and circulate single-issue comics can pose difficult problems and the durability of the trade paperback format is an important consideration for longevity and collection development in public and school libraries. Trade paperbacks "are also the primary culprit in people's confusion of the lexicon, since 'TPBs make up 95% of what many librarians refer to as graphic novels'".


title: Templeton Peck

text: Lieutenant Templeton Arthur Peck, played by Dirk Benedict, is a fictional character and one of the four protagonists of the 1980s action-adventure television series "The A-Team". A recognized war hero, he is often referred to as (The) Faceman or simply Face. Although creators Stephen J. Cannell and Frank Lupo had Benedict in mind for the role, studio executives initially insisted that the role be handled differently; Tim Dunigan played the role in the pilot episode, but after it was completed, he was thought by the same executives to look too young to be a believable Vietnam veteran and he was, at 6'5" (196 cm), much taller than the rest of the cast, particularly the show's 5'10" (178 cm) muscleman Mr. T. He was replaced by Benedict for the rest of the show's run. Bradley Cooper portrayed the character in the 2010 film while Benedict appeared in a post-credits cameo.


title: Templeton Peck

text: Originally serving as an infantry Soldier (thus earning a Combat Infantryman's Badge), "Face" commissioned as an Army Intelligence Officer assigned to support a Special Forces Operations Detachment Alpha (ODA) Team or "A-Team" where he met his soon to be fugitive counterparts. Suave, smooth-talking, and hugely successful with women, Peck serves as the team's con man and scrounger, able to get his hands on just about anything they need, using various disguises—albeit less than Colonel Hannibal—and assuming a wide variety of personas and backstories as his scams require. Effectively second-in-command behind Hannibal (although Army Aviator Captain Murdock outranks him), he is the one who arranges for supplies, equipment, and sensitive information using numerous scams and hustles; several episodes also suggest that he is also responsible for arranging the team's weaponry, especially when overseas, often via highly illegal means (see season three's "Skins" for one such reference). When Hannibal is elsewhere or captured during several episodes, Face is often seen to be at the helm of the team, planning their course of action (see season two's "Bad Time on the Border", season four's "Wheel of Fortune" and season five's "Point of No Return" for examples). He is also the team member who usually organizes the fees for their services, due to his aptitude with numbers, as demonstrated in a number of episodes, and at times is shown to have the ability to count large amounts of money or value expensive items within a matter of seconds.


title: Templeton Peck

text: In the pilot episode, it is revealed in a discussion with an elderly priest, who it is suggested was his mentor during his youth, that Face spent his youth at a Los Angeles orphanage run by the Catholic Church, although whether Face himself is actually Catholic is never revealed. Several later episodes also reference this orphanage, later named as "St. Mary's". The elderly priest is not seen again after the pilot. He does, however, mention that Face wandered into the orphanage when he was five years old and was "first orphaned by his family and then by his country." In "Mind Games," it is revealed that he was born with the name Alvin Brenner, and after a series of name changes, ended with Templeton Peck.


title: Templeton Peck

text: Face's relationship with the rest of the team is that of a surrogate family. His relationship with Hannibal is built on respect and, while Hannibal sometimes has to order him to do things (usually by saying "Move it Lieutenant" in a stern voice), Hannibal oftentimes treats Face like a son and calls him "kid," usually when he is apologizing for something. He tends to treat B.A. as a brother and, although B.A. never actually hurts him, Face is sometimes scared that B.A. is going to hit him, especially after he has found out that he and Hannibal drugged him to get him on an airplane. After Face ruins a scam in "Black Day at Bad Rock" and B.A. ends up getting shot in the leg as a result, Face spends the entire day terrified that B.A. is going to retaliate (which he never does). Face tends to treat Murdock like a little brother and acts like a mentor to him and often takes Murdock with him on scams (which Murdock loves) and placating whatever delusion Murdock is currently having, although not nearly as badly as Hannibal does.


title: Templeton Peck

text: In the fifth-season episode "Family Reunion", it is revealed that Face is Richard Bancroft, the son of former presidential adviser and convicted criminal A. J. Bancroft. However, Face only learns this from Murdock after his father's death. Although Murdock found out earlier, Bancroft made him promise not to tell Face, who is furious that Murdock didn't tell him sooner about his father. Face is happy to find out about his half-sister Ellen Bancroft as it gives him at least one family member. Note that for the original broadcast, two endings were shot, with viewers able to phone in and vote on the outcome on whether Bancroft really was Face's father or not. The alternative ending has never been aired or released in any form.


title: Templeton Peck

text: Face seems to have an affinity for heavier caliber revolvers as opposed to the rest of the team's .45 or 9mm automatic pistols. Face usually carried a Colt Trooper .357 Magnum with a nickel finish and rosewood grips although he sometimes used a blued Smith & Wesson Model 29. Face was usually seen to use a Ruger Mini-14 or an Uzi when he needed more firepower.


title: Templeton Peck

text: Although in early episodes he is depicted very much as a suave but general hustler, often seen in leather jacket and jeans and merely trying to make a life for himself while on the run, by the second season his interests tend towards more cultural facets, such as country clubs, art purchasing, and wine tasting—albeit often obtained via, or used in, various cons—and his wardrobe reflecting this, containing more tailor-made suits and up-market designer items. He is sometimes also seen to be enjoying smoking expensive cigars, again a trait shared by Hannibal. This trait was written in to reflect Dirk Benedict's own love of cigars; the early first-season episode "A Small and Deadly War" shows a contradiction to this—while smoking a cigar as part of his guise on a scam mission with Amy, he throws it away and comments "How can Hannibal stand those things?". The very next episode broadcast and produced, "Black Day at Bad Rock", shows him to be contently puffing on a cigar for the first of a number of times in the series, suggesting that the character may have grown to like them.


title: Templeton Peck

text: Despite his preference for the finer things in life, Face often takes on the most dangerous roles in missions (something that he frequently complains about) as he often acts as the bait to lure out their target or takes huge risks with risky scams. This arguably makes him the most visible member of the team. In "The White Ballot" he publicly runs for Sheriff in order to invite an assassination attempt so that the A-Team can have the would-be assassins arrested for attempted murder. Similarly, in "Till Death Do Us Part" he marries an heiress that they rescue from a forced marriage so that her kidnappers will target him instead of her. Because Face sticks his neck out so much he is the most frequently captured member of the team while Murdock, who often accompanies Face on scams or acts as the bait when Face isn't able to, is captured the second most often. He is; however, pretty good at finding ways to escape but usually gets rescued by Hannibal and the rest of the team.


title: Templeton Peck

text: Aside from acting as bait, Face's role as scrounger and scam artist means that the risks he takes are usually higher than the other members of the team. In "Curtain Call" Face knocks out a guard, steals his uniform, and walks straight into a ranger station controlled by Col. Decker and his MPs to steal medical supplies that Murdock needs after being shot despite knowing there was a high probability of getting arrested. Also, when a member of the team needs to be captured in order to infiltrate an enemy prison it's usually Face who ends up with the job (although he'd rather not since it ruins his designer suit). In "The Island" Face lets himself be captured in order to find the prison where the doctor who once saved B.A.'s life in Vietnam is being held and in "The Theory of Revolution" he purposely gets caught in order to infiltrate a brutal dictator's prison. What's interesting is that he does this despite knowing that he will likely be beaten and interrogated as he doesn't seem to be surprised when he is hauled off for interrogation. Even Murdock tells him he was brave to have done it and gives him a merit badge (Murdock is a boy scout leader at this time). Despite his complaining, Face is actually a very brave guy who is willing to put the team before himself.


title: Templeton Peck

text: Face is the most gentle member of the main A-Team foursome, generally attempting to avoid conflict and reluctant to get into brawls—if nothing else to avoid damaging his clothes and seeing fights as a nuisance, a contrast to the more gung-ho attitudes of Hannibal, Murdock and B.A., who are more typically seen to enjoy piling into a fight. A running gag is that "Face" is always trying to get a beautiful girl; one episode ending however leaves Face in Shock when its "Howling Mad" Murdock who goes on "Wheel of Fortune" gameshow and wins a car and dream trip to Hawaii and a date with a beautiful girl!


title: Templeton Peck

text: The following are the medals and service awards fictionally worn by Lieutenant Peck in "A Nice Place to Visit".


title: Templeton Peck

text: The following are the medals and service awards fictionally worn by Lieutenant Peck in "Trial by Fire" and "Firing Lane".


title: Templeton Peck

text: The character's full nickname varies in different media. Introduced in the Pilot and many other episodes, his nickname is clearly given as ""The" Faceman". Other examples drop "The". Many early episode scripts listed the character as "Face Man". In other literature, he is sometimes referred to as "The Face". In the 2010 movie, he is "Faceman", again dropping "the".


title: Templeton Peck

text: The name "Faceman" originates from a popular slang term used by girls for attractive male students during Stephen J. Cannell's high school years - i.e. "Look at that faceman" as in "Look at that good looking boy"; a hunk.


title: Templeton Peck

text: Peck drives a custom white 1984 Chevrolet Corvette (released 1983) with red interior and a red stripe (to match B.A.'s van). It is equipped with a CB radio and a mobile phone. The license plate was S967238 in "The Taxicab Wars" and then changed to 1HJG851. The car first featured in the second-season episode "The Taxicab Wars".


title: Templeton Peck

text: As well as a number of cameos in other stories, the car was prominently featured in several episodes, including season two's "Chopping Spree", where it was used as bait in an attempt to catch car thieves. The car's final appearance is in the fifth season opener "Dishpan Man", where it is heard, off-screen, to crash after new recruit Frankie Santana gives Face some bad advice about repairing the faulty brakes. However, as B.A.'s jewelry is also damaged via similar bad advice and yet reappears in subsequent episodes, it is never made clear whether the Corvette was too badly damaged to drive from that point onwards, or simply didn't happen to appear in any more stories before production of the series was cancelled later in the season.


title: Templeton Peck

text: In the 2010 film, Peck is played by Bradley Cooper. Like B.A., Hannibal, and Murdock, he has an Army Ranger tattoo (on his right arm). As in the TV series, Face is depicted as a handsome, smooth-talking ladies' man, but is also shown having a relationship with Captain Charissa Sosa (Jessica Biel), who pursues the A-Team after they escape from prison.


title: Templeton Peck

text: Throughout the film, Face matures from a womanizing joker to a calculating professional - to the point that, in the film's climax, "he", not Hannibal, plans the A-Team's legal redemption. Face plans the mission based on a classic confidence game including cranes and shipping crates, and involving Murdock being shot in the head. B. A. initially regrets the team's reliance on Face, but changes his mind after they learn Sosa has smuggled a key into Face's mouth with a kiss. Face also shows considerable maturity when he accepts his own punishment, rather than allowing Hannibal to take the full blame. Face ends the film by saying Hannibal's catchphrase, "I love it when a plan comes together."


title: Templeton Peck

text: Benedict had a small cameo, which he reportedly regretted. In the scene before Face's escape from the disciplinary barracks, he (Cooper) is approaching a tanning bed and asks Benedict's character what to do about his "face". Benedict answers, "You don't mess with it, kid."


title: Templeton Peck

text: The following are the medals and service awards fictionally worn by Lieutenant Peck in the 2010 movie adaptation.


title: The Frankenstein Chronicles

text: The Frankenstein Chronicles is a British television period crime drama series that first aired on ITV Encore on 11 November 2015, designed as a re-imagining of Mary Shelley's 1818 novel "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus". Lead actor Sean Bean also acted as an associate producer on the first series. It follows Inspector John Marlott (Bean), a river police officer who uncovers a corpse made up of body parts from eight missing children and sets about to determine who is responsible.


title: The Frankenstein Chronicles

text: The series co-stars Richie Campbell as Joseph Nightingale, Robbie Gee as Billy Oates, Tom Ward as Home Secretary Sir Robert Peel, Ed Stoppard as Lord Daniel Hervey, Vanessa Kirby as Lady Jemima (Lord Hervey's sister), and Anna Maxwell Martin as author Mary Shelley. Other historical characters portrayed include William Blake (first series), Ada Lovelace (second series) and Charles Dickens under his pseudonym of ‘Boz’. The first series consists of six episodes which opened to critical acclaim and drew an average 250,000 viewers per episode.


title: The Frankenstein Chronicles

text: "A&E" subsequently acquired the series for broadcast in the United States, describing it as "thrilling and terrifying". On 20 June 2016, ITV announced that it had renewed it for a second six-part series, with production set for January 2017. Filming commenced in March 2017, with Laurence Fox and Maeve Dermody joining the cast. The writing team for the second series consisted of Michael Robert Johnson, Paul Tomalin, Noel Farragher, Colin Carberry, and Glenn Patterson, with all six episodes directed by Alex Gabassi. In December 2017, it was announced that Netflix had struck a deal to carry the programme in the United States and other territories but was removed in February 2022.


title: The Frankenstein Chronicles

text: Euan Ferguson at "The Guardian" concluded "It's genuinely rather good, and a beast of wholly different hide to Jekyll". Carl Wilson at "The Globe and Mail" wrote: "On balance, the season ended just as brilliantly grim as it started." Ben Travers at IndieWire said: "While it's unlikely to be remembered for as long as it took to make, Frankenstein certainly earned its shot at a long life on Netflix."


title: Tonic (band)

text: Tonic is an American rock band, formed in 1993 by Emerson Hart and Jeff Russo. Later members have included Dan Lavery, Kevin Shepard, and Dan Rothchild. Signed to a recording contract in 1995, the band released its debut album "Lemon Parade" in 1996. The single "If You Could Only See" reached No. 11 on the "Billboard" Airplay Hot 100 in 1997, and "Lemon Parade" itself reached platinum status.


title: Tonic (band)

text: Tonic spent much of the next two years touring, adding to its reputation as a relentlessly gigging band. In addition to extensive touring Tonic produced other work, including songs for feature film soundtracks. After self-producing its 1999 album "Sugar", Tonic released its third album "Head on Straight" in 2002. Tonic received two Grammy nominations from "Head on Straight", including one for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "Take Me As I Am", and one for Best Rock Album. The band then went on hiatus beginning in 2004 while its members pursued other musical endeavors. It wasn't until late 2008 Tonic became active again, embarking on a tour and releasing a greatest-hits compilation, all of which served as a prelude to their fourth studio album, 2010's "Tonic". After the release of that album, Tonic has continued to tour and remain active, utilizing direct funding from fans to make an all-acoustic version of "Lemon Parade" titled "Lemon Parade Revisited" in 2016, and debuting their first non-album single with 2021's "To Be Loved".


title: Tonic (band)

text: Tonic was founded by Emerson Hart and guitarist Jeff Russo, long-separated childhood friends who randomly crossed paths at a Los Angeles, California area pool hall in 1993. The pair quickly began collaborating on music writing, and soon added bass player Dan Rothchild, whom they met at a venue named The Kibitz Room. The final addition to the band was drummer Kevin Shepard, who was recruited at an L.A. venue named Masker's Cafe.


title: Tonic (band)

text: Hart later said the original choice for the band's name was "Radio Flyer", but upon learning that name was unavailable, selected "Tonic" instead (the band later referenced the term "Radio Flyer" in their song "Top Falls Down"). The newly formed group performed gigs around the Los Angeles, California area prior to signing their first professional recording contract in 1995. Earning a reputation as a "relentlessly gigging" band, Tonic played over 300 shows in less than two years during the mid-to-late 1990s.


title: Tonic (band)

text: Teaming with producer Jack Joseph Puig, Tonic released their debut album "Lemon Parade" on July 15, 1996. Music critic Shawn M. Haney said of the album that, "The record as a whole is full of the heavy, distortion-laden Tonic sound, and guitars that make them who they are." Singles for the songs "Open Up Your Eyes" and "If You Could Only See", were released in 1996 and 1997 respectively. The single "If You Could Only See" received the honor of being Rock Radio's most played song of 1997, and "Lemon Parade" as an album reached platinum status. Music videos were created for the songs "Open Up Your Eyes," "If You Could Only See," and "Soldier's Daughter." The "Lemon Parade" album spent 57 weeks on the "Billboard" 200 chart, reaching a peak of No. 28 during the week of August 2, 1997. By February 2003 "Lemon Parade"'s running total of albums sold had reached 1.3 million copies.


title: Tonic (band)

text: Dan Lavery replaced Rothchild on bass in December 1996, and around this same time period drummer Shepard ceased full-time activity with the band for family and personal reasons. The year 1997 marked the band's first contribution to an original soundtrack, recording the song "Eyes of Sand" for the "Scream 2" soundtrack. Continuing their work on film soundtracks into 1998, Tonic recorded the song "Flower Man" for "", and performed a cover of the song "Everybody's Talkin'" for the "Clay Pigeons" soundtrack. Tonic also performed a cover of the song "Second Hand News" for the album "Legacy: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac's Rumours." The band finished 1998 by contributing a live version of the song "Open Up Your Eyes" to the charitable album "Live in the X Lounge". On March 1, 1999 the band released the now out-of-print "Live and Enhanced" CD, which featured an acoustic version of "If You Could Only See" and the previously unreleased music video of "Soldier's Daughter". In 2000, Tonic allowed their song "Mean To Me" from their album "Sugar" to be released as a single from the soundtrack album for the Warner Bros. film "Gossip", which was directed by Academy Award-winning director Davis Guggenheim. The band appeared in the music video for the song, which featured clips from the film as well as actors from it, who seemingly appear to be interacting with the band via webcam as they perform the song.


title: Tonic (band)

text: The band returned to the studio to self-produce their second album. Released on November 9, 1999, the album title "Sugar" shared the same name as the fifth track on the recording. The creative and collaborative process spanned several geographic locations including Austin, Texas, and a mansion in New Orleans, Louisiana, where actual recording for the album was performed. "Knock Down Walls" and "You Wanted More" were charting singles released off the record, with the latter having first appeared on the soundtrack to the movie "American Pie". With Shepard no longer part of the band, Peter Maloney played drums on the album, although Joey Waronker filled in for the single "You Wanted More". Music videos for the songs "You Wanted More" and "Mean to Me" were created as part of the album's promotion. Tonic appeared on the television shows "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and "The Martin Short Show" in late 1999 as part of additional promotion. "Sugar" spent eight total weeks on the Billboard 200 chart, reaching a peak of No. 81 in its first week of release.


title: Tonic (band)

text: A cover of the song "East Bound and Down" for the "King of the Hill" original television soundtrack rounded out the group's output for the year 1999. The band later contributed a performance of "Mean To Me" to the fourth installment in the charitable "Live in the X Lounge" album series.


title: Tonic (band)

text: Tonic took a break from constant touring and recording, time which Hart used to, "...make sure the next record would be coming from fresh eyes and ears" after he moved to a new home in Nashville, Tennessee. In 2002, the band began collaborating with producer Bob Rock on their next studio recording. In contrast to the "exhausting" experience of self-producing "Sugar", producer Rock's "laid-back efficiency" and Hawaii studio location provided a welcome change. The resulting studio album, "Head on Straight", was released on September 1, 2002.


title: Tonic (band)

text: While still billed as a three-piece band, Joey Waronker performed much of the drumming on "Head On Straight," and the band also utilized drummer Kevin Murphy for some live performances during this time period. The band also enlisted the help of Keyboardist Will Holis. Hart and Russo both also played piano and Rhodes synth respectively on the record. "Head on Straight" charted on the Billboard 200 for one week, where it was No. 141. In its review of the album, "Rolling Stone" described it by saying it was, "...less rootsy and harder-rocking than previous efforts."


title: Tonic (band)

text: In March 2003 Tonic embarked on an acoustic tour, and as band member Russo said, they were hoping to, "...bring things back to a level where we remember what it's all about."


title: Tonic (band)

text: While "Head on Straight" had sold 34,000 copies by February 2003, in 2003 the band received two Grammy nominations, one for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "Take Me As I Am", and one for Best Rock Album. While the band's activity began to diminish, they participated in the annual The Rock Boat music-themed cruise, performing there in 2004 for instance. The grind of constant touring over the previous seven years had taken its toll on the band, and each member needed some space.


title: Tonic (band)

text: Tonic went on hiatus beginning in 2004, all three members began working on other projects unrelated to Tonic. Hart released a solo album entitled "Cigarettes and Gasoline" on July 17, 2007. Russo became part of the band Low Stars, who released a self-titled CD in 2007. Lavery did song writing for projects including the feature-length movies "The Passion of the Christ" and "Elektra", and began playing bass on tour for The Fray in March 2007. Commenting on this time period, Russo said, "It wasn’t like we broke the band up. Everyone just went to their own corner and did their own thing. We figured when it was time to get back together it will happen."


title: Tonic (band)

text: The first verifiable account that Tonic was reuniting came in November 2008 via an announcement from band member Russo, confirming new tour dates and a forthcoming studio album. "We're [planning on] getting together to write some new material," Russo said. "Over the last 6 months or so we've been talking about it. We've been doing different things for the last 6 years, and we all decided that we missed rocking."


title: Tonic (band)

text: Officially active again, Tonic had already played their first show together in many years on September 16, 2008 at a venue in Antioch, Illinois. As part of the band's 2009 tour, a greatest hits compilation titled "" was released. The album featured live versions of the songs "Irish" and "Sugar" in addition to an acoustic version of "You Wanted More." November 2009 marked the band's inclusion in the video game "Band Hero", as the track "If You Could Only See" was a playable song in the game.


title: Tonic (band)

text: After the year 2010 began, Tonic announced that their self-titled fourth studio album, "Tonic", would be released on May 4, 2010. The album was primarily recorded over the span of a month during fall 2009 at Conway Studios in Hollywood. Pete Maloney also continued his longtime association with the band by playing drums on the album. The album was jointly produced by Tonic and Nathaniel Kunkel, with the song "Release Me" chosen as the first single from the album. A promotional behind the scenes tour of Conway Studios hosted by Emerson Hart was made available on Amazon.com's Tonic store and YouTube at the time. In an official press release for the album, bandmember Hart said about Tonic that, "When we play music together it feels like going home. Getting together, playing some rock-n-roll, it's the best feeling in the world." The self-titled album spent one week on the Billboard 200 chart, where it ranked 150. Tonic continued to tour in conjunction with the release of their self-titled album into late 2011.


title: Tonic (band)

text: Tonic continued to actively tour into 2011. As 2012 began, the band made official announcements via their Twitter feed that writing and recording on new songs had begun. The band continued periodically playing shows throughout the course of 2012, with mention of some vocals for new songs being recorded on July 21. In June 2012, Tonic partnered with Hard Rock International to become "Artist Ambassadors," traveling to Haiti to raise awareness of hunger issues still affecting many residents of the country. Hart provided an update to the band's studio recording work in December 2012, saying the band was debating whether to release their upcoming studio recordings as either an EP or a full studio album. As the band continued to tour periodically into the start of the year 2014, Hart announced he was releasing a new solo album, and Russo began scoring the television series "Fargo" and various other film, TV and video game projects.


title: Tonic (band)

text: In March 2016, Tonic announced that in celebration of "Lemon Parade"'s 20th anniversary, they would utilize direct funding from fans via the PledgeMusic website to record and release an all-acoustic version of that album. This funding platform method allows purchasers to pre-order the album in various formats, including marking the first time any Tonic album has been commercially available as a vinyl record. Other incentives and items offered by the band included handwritten lyric pages for the purchaser's choice of one track from the album, access to exclusive video and content updates showing the behind-the-scenes creative process, and even an offer to purchase a private concert by the band.


title: Tonic (band)

text: By 2021, the band was still periodically active while each member continued to find success individually, such as Russo's 2017 Emmy win for Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited Series, Movie, or Special (Original Dramatic Score) for his continued work scoring Fargo, and Hart releasing his 2019 solo album, "32 Thousand Days". During the COVID-19 pandemic, the band worked together to record new music. As the music industry continued to evolve, it had become increasingly common for artists to periodically release stand-alone digital music singles, especially on popular music streaming services such as Spotify and Amazon Music. To this end, Tonic released their first non-album single on February 12, 2021 with a track titled "To Be Loved", followed shortly after by the release of their first music video in nearly 20 years with the debut of the official lyric video for the track. This was followed shortly thereafter by the release of "If You Could Only See (25th Anniversary) as another single, consisting of a new recording of the band's single from Lemon Parade.


title: Premier Padmini

text: The Premier Padmini was a four-seat saloon manufactured in India from 1964 to 2001 by Premier Automobiles Limited, a division of the Walchand Group, under license from Fiat and marketed initially as the "Fiat 1100 Delight" — and from 1974 as the "Premier Padmini". The Padmini's primary competitors in the Indian market were the Hindustan Ambassador and Standard Herald. This famous car ruled the Indian car market and its popularity peaked during 1970s and 80s. Many celebrities of the time including Rajnikanth, Mammootty, Aamir Khan owned a Premier Padmini during its prime years. Known colloquially as the "Pad", or "Fiat" (since the Padmini was originally a Fiat car), the Padmini is named after a 14th-century Rajput princess. Padmini translates to "she who sits on the lotus" and refers to the Goddess Lakshmi. It was also a common name for girls in India at the time.


title: Premier Padmini

text: The Fiat 1100D, based on the Fiat 1200 GranLuce Berlina, debuted in India in 1964 with a carburetted 1,089 cc four-cylinder petrol engine — rather than the 1,221 cc engine fitted to the GranLuce in Italy. With a 10.8:1 compression ratio, it created at 4,800 rpm with a maximum torque of at 3,000 rpm. The original transmission was a four-speed manual gearbox (without synchronized first gear), which drove the rear wheels via a live rear axle. Its shifter was mounted on the left of the steering column. Weighing , its top speed was .


title: Premier Padmini

text: Premier manufactured the Padmini at their Kurla plant in Bombay (now Mumbai) until they sold a majority stake to Fiat SpA in September 1997. The licensed vehicle was initially marketed as the Fiat 1100 Delight. For model year 1973, it was marketed as the Premier President and subsequently as the Premier Padmini. At its peak during the 1970s and 1980s, the car achieved immense popularity among youngsters, celebrities and women. Compared to the Hindustan Ambassador, it looked more modern, was more fuel-efficient and was very easy to drive.


title: Premier Padmini

text: By the early 1980s, engine power was reduced to (at 5,000 rpm) with a modified carburettor to make it more fuel efficient. Premier began to offer an air-conditioner, leather upholstery, courtesy lights and tinted glass. These were considered luxuries in Indian cars at the time.


title: Premier Padmini

text: From the mid-1980s, with the advent of more modern, aesthetic and more fuel-efficient cars from Maruti Suzuki, the popularity of the Padmini slowly began to wane. The liberalisation of the Indian economy in 1991, which allowed foreign car manufacturers to launch operations in India, began the end for the Padmini. In 1996, Premier tried to revive the car's sagging fortunes with an updated model. Named the Padmini S1, this had a more modern radiator grille, bucket seats, a Nissan floor-shift synchronised gearbox and a more powerful engine thanks to a Solex carburetor and use of a thermostat-controlled electric fan with an output of . A diesel variant, the 137D, was also introduced, with the hope of taking advantage of the rising popularity of diesel vehicles in India. Its engine was built under license from Fratelli Negri Macchine Diesel Sud (FNM), Italy, with a displacement of 1,366 cc and generating . Its top speed was close to 140 km/h, and its fuel efficiency was 24 km/L. Production was shut down because of PAL's management problems.


title: Premier Padmini

text: While all cars built by Premier were four-door sedans, small companies such as Starline also offered other bodywork, mainly in the form of estates.


title: Premier Padmini

text: In the 2010s numerous examples served as taxicabs in Mumbai, though these were being phased out due to regulations enacted in 2013 by the government disallowing vehicles over 20 years old. Many of these taxis now run on CNG for fuel economy.


title: Running Wild (band)

text: Running Wild is a German heavy metal band formed in Hamburg in 1976. They were part of the German metal scene to emerge in the early to mid-1980s, and are also considered to be one of the country's so-called "big four" of power metal, along with Grave Digger, Helloween and Rage. Over the course of their career, they have released 17 studio albums, three live albums, five compilation albums, and six singles/EPs.


title: Running Wild (band)

text: Although their earlier releases contained Satanic themes and imagery, from the third album on, the band's primary subject matter centered around pirates, sailing and other historical events. In 1987, the band released the album "Under Jolly Roger," which was a switch to pirate-based and historical themes, creating and influencing the later named pirate metal subgenre of heavy metal in the 2000s in the process. While the historical lyrics were very superficial at first, the lyrics for later albums were intensively researched, by frontman Rolf Kasparek in particular.


title: Running Wild (band)

text: After this album, from 1988 to 1992 (for the albums "Port Royal", "Death or Glory", "Blazon Stone" and "Pile of Skulls"), Running Wild mainly wrote historically based lyrics. In addition to lyrics about pirates, the band also addressed subjects like the Wars of the Roses, the Battle of Waterloo, or the colonization of the New World by the Conquistadors.


title: Running Wild (band)

text: In April 2009, Kasparek announced that Running Wild had split up. Their intended last show was at Wacken Open Air in July that year. It was recorded for CD and DVD release and appeared as "The Final Jolly Roger" in 2011. The split would prove temporary as they reunited in 2012. Running Wild played live for the Wacken Open Air festival in 2015. As of 2021, the band have released 17 studio albums, with their most recent being "Blood on Blood".


title: Running Wild (band)

text: The band formed in 1976 under the name Granite Heart, but they would change their name in 1979 to Running Wild after the Judas Priest song of the same name. The band recorded their first demo in 1981 and featured the songs "Hallow the Hell", "War Child" and "King of the Midnight Fire". The first two of these tracks appeared on the compilation album "Debüt №1" on the Raubbau Label. In June 1984, the band started work on their debut album "Gates to Purgatory", which was released by Noise Records, featuring satanic lyrics. The album proved to be a success, and the band quickly gained a cult following. Guitarist Gerald "Preacher" Warnecke left the band soon after the album's release. (Gerald "Preacher" Warnecke was studying theology at the time and is now a pastor in Cologne.) The band soon recruited Majk Moti to take his place, and soon recorded their follow up "Branded and Exiled" in 1985. This album would prove to be the final release of the band with satanic imagery in their music.


title: Running Wild (band)

text: For the following release, the band shifted their sound and image and adopted a pirate theme. The band released "Under Jolly Roger" in 1987. This would prove a significant change because the band would be more known as a "pirate metal" band, with lyrics dealing with pirates and historical events. With this album, the band found their identity, and the pirate theme would be prominent on their future releases. Their 1988 follow-up release "Port Royal" featured a more mature style of songwriting and expanded on the pirate theme explored on their previous album. The album featured one of the band's first epics, Calico Jack. In 1989, the release of the band's fifth studio recording "Death or Glory", proved to be the band's most successful album to date. The tour was also a success and a concert during the tour was filmed and was released as "Death or Glory Tour". This album and tour would be the final release to feature guitarist Majk Moti and drummer Ian Finlay.


title: Running Wild (band)

text: Upon the departure of Moti and Finlay, Kasparek recruited guitarist Axel Morgan and drummer Rudiger Dreffein (better known as "AC") to record the band's first album in two years, "Blazon Stone", released in 1991. The album continued the band's trend of writing about historical themes, and according to band leader, Rolf Kasparek, it was to be the band's best-selling album of the 1990s. The album proved to be a slight shift in their overall sound, as the band brought a more speed metal approach to their songs, which would be prevalent throughout their releases during the decade. In 1992, the band began work on "Pile of Skulls" which was regarded by many as one of the band's strongest efforts. Around this time, Kasparek started becoming more interested in conspiracy theories, becoming the basis of the next album, 1994's "Black Hand Inn".


title: Running Wild (band)

text: 1995's "Masquerade" was the first in a trilogy of albums dealing with a specific theme. The album would go on to be one of Running Wild's worst selling albums up to that point. The second album followed with the 1998 album "The Rivalry" under their new label GUN Records with the conclusion of the trilogy culminating with 2000's "Victory". It would be the final album featuring drummer Jörg Michael. With so many line-up changes, Running Wild was considered a solo project due to the fact that guitarist and main songwriter Rolf Kasparek remained the sole constant member of the band. The album "The Brotherhood" was released in 2002. It was to be another three years before Running Wild released another album "Rogues en Vogue" in 2005.


title: Running Wild (band)

text: On 17 April 2009, Rolf Kasparek announced the disbandment of Running Wild. The band performed their final show at Wacken Open Air on 30 July 2009, which would be recorded for a future DVD release. The resulting effort "The Final Jolly Roger" was released on 24 June 2011 on CD and DVD format. In May 2011, Kasparek explained that he did not want the band to return due to other desires of his own. A biography, titled "Death and Glory: The Story of a Heavy Metal Legend", was announced in June 2011 that was tentatively scheduled for release in 2013 or 2014, but no more information was given since then. In October 2011, Running Wild reformed and announced that they would record a new album titled "Shadowmaker", which was released on 20 April 2012 via SPV/Steamhammer. In November 2012, Kasparek and guitarist Peter Jordan formed a side project called Giant X, releasing an album titled "I" in January 2013.


title: Running Wild (band)

text: The next album "Resilient" was released on 4 October 2013. The band made their return appearance at the 2015 edition of Wacken and included a brand new song from an upcoming album.


title: Running Wild (band)

text: On 6 December 2019, an EP titled "Crossing the Blades" was released as an early hint for a new album.


title: Running Wild (band)

text: Running Wild's seventeenth album "Blood on Blood" was released on 29 October 2021. Their song "Diamonds and Pearls" was elected by "Loudwire" as the 31st best metal song of 2021.


title: Sheffield Shield

text: The Sheffield Shield (currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Marsh Sheffield Shield) is the domestic first-class cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams from the six states of Australia. Sheffield Shield is named after Lord Sheffield.


title: Sheffield Shield

text: Prior to the Shield being established, a number of intercolonial matches were played. The Shield, donated by Lord Sheffield, was first contested during the 1892–93 season, between New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria. Queensland was admitted for the 1926–27 season, Western Australia for the 1947–48 season, and Tasmania for the 1977–78 season.


title: Sheffield Shield

text: The competition is contested in a double-round-robin format, with each team playing every other team twice, i.e. home and away. Points are awarded based on wins, draws, ties and bonus points for runs and wickets in a team's first 100 batting and bowling overs, with the top two teams playing a final at the end of the season. Regular matches last for four days; the final lasts for five days.


title: Sheffield Shield

text: In 1891–92 the Earl of Sheffield was in Australia as the promoter of the English team led by W. G. Grace. The tour included three Tests played in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide.


title: Sheffield Shield

text: At the conclusion of the tour, Lord Sheffield donated £150 to the New South Wales Cricket Association to fund a trophy for an annual tournament of intercolonial cricket in Australia. The three colonies of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia were already playing each other in ad hoc matches. The new tournament commenced in the summer of 1892–93, mandating home and away fixtures between each colony each season. The three teams competed for the Sheffield Shield, named after its benefactor. A Polish immigrant, Phillip Blashki, won the competition to design the trophy, a silver shield.


title: Sheffield Shield

text: In 1999, the Australian Cricket Board (now Cricket Australia) announced a sponsorship deal which included renaming the Sheffield Shield to the Pura Milk Cup, then to the Pura Cup the following season. "Pura" is a brand name of National Foods, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Philippines-based San Miguel Corporation. The sponsorship increased total annual prize money to A$220,000, with the winners receiving A$75,000 and the runners up A$45,000.


title: Sheffield Shield

text: On 16 July 2008 it was announced that Weet-Bix would take over sponsorship of the competition from the start of the 2008–09 season, and that the name would revert to the "Sheffield Shield" or the "Sheffield Shield presented by Weet-Bix". Weet-bix is a cereal biscuit manufactured by Sanitarium Health Food Company.


title: Sheffield Shield

text: In the 2019–20 season, Marsh took over the sponsorship for the competition. This followed Marsh & McLennan Companies' acquisition of JLT, which had sponsored the competition since 2017.


title: Sheffield Shield

text: Since 1977–78, all six states of Australia have fielded their own team. There is no team for any of the territories. Details of each team are set out below.


title: Sheffield Shield

text: Where the teams played an unequal number of games, their final points were calculated on a pro-rata basis.


title: Sheffield Shield

text: Matches were timeless (i.e. played to an outright result, weather and schedule permitting) up to 1926–27. A 4-day time limit has applied since 1927–28.


title: Sheffield Shield

text: Since 1982–83, the top two teams after the home and away rounds have met in a final, played over five days at the home ground of the top-ranked team. Between 1982-83 and 2017–18, in the event of a draw or tie, the Shield was awarded to the top-ranked team. Since the 2018-19 summer, in the event of a draw or tie, the team which scores more first innings bonus points, based on the system used in regular season matches, wins the Shield. No final was played in 2019–20 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Sheffield Shield

text: A number of different systems have been used over the years. Currently, points are awarded for each match during the home and away season according to the following table.


title: Sheffield Shield

text: Prior to the introduction of a Final in 1982–83, the team with most points after the home and away rounds was declared the winner. With the introduction of the Final, the top team hosts the second placed team in a five-day match. The visiting team must win the Final to win the championship; the home team wins the championship in the event of a tied or drawn Final. Further details including match scorecards are available at Cricinfo and the Cricket Archive.


title: Sheffield Shield

text: The Player of the Year award is announced at the end of each season. Since its inception in 1976 it has been awarded to the best-performed player/s over the season, as determined a panel of judges. Victorian and South Australian batsman Matthew Elliott has won the award the most times, being awarded Player of the Year on three separate occasions.


title: Sheffield Shield

text: Six other players have represented three Australian states in top-level cricket, but without playing Sheffield Shield games for all three – Neil Hawke (SA, Tas, WA); Walter McDonald (Qld, Tas, Vic); Percy McDonnell (NSW, Qld, Vic); Karl Quist (NSW, SA, WA); Greg Rowell (NSW, Qld, Tas); Wal Walmsley (NSW, Qld, Tas), Dan Christian (NSW, SA, Vic).


title: Sheffield Shield

text: Many bowlers have taken a hat-trick in the Sheffield Shield. Mitchell Starc is the only bowler to take two hat-tricks in a Sheffield Shield match. In round two of the 2017–18 competition, Starc became the first bowler to take a hat-trick in each innings of a first-class cricket match in Australia. He became the second Australian, and the eighth bowler overall, to take a two hat-tricks in each innings of a first-class match. In a match from 4–7 November 2017, New South Wales played against Western Australia at Hurstville Oval. In Western Australia's first innings, Starc dismissed Jason Behrendorff, David Moody and Simon Mackin in consecutive deliveries; in the second innings he dismissed Behrendorff, Moody and Jonathan Wells in consecutive deliveries.


title: KfW

text: The KfW, which together with its subsidiaries DEG, KfW IPEX-Bank and FuB forms the KfW Bankengruppe ("banking group"), is a German state-owned investment and development bank, based in Frankfurt. As of 2014, it is the world's largest national development bank and as of 2018 Germany’s third largest bank by balance sheet. Its name originally comes from Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau ("Credit Institute for Reconstruction"). It was formed in 1948 after World War II as part of the Marshall Plan.


title: KfW

text: KfW is owned by the Federal Republic of Germany (80 percent) and the States of Germany (20 percent). It is led by a five-member Executive Board headed by CEO , which in turn reports to a 37member Board of Supervisory Directors. The Chair and Deputy Chair of the Board of Supervisory Directors are the German Federal Ministers of Finance and of Economic Affairs, with the positions alternating annually between them. The chairman as of May 2021 is Robert Habeck, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action.


title: KfW

text: In 2009, Caisse des Dépots, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, KfW and European Investment Bank founded the Long-Term Investors Club.


title: KfW

text: KfW banking group covers over 90% of its borrowing needs in the capital markets, mainly through bonds that are guaranteed by the federal government. This allows KfW to raise funds at advantageous conditions. Its exemption from having to pay corporate taxes due to its legal status as a public agency and unremunerated equity provided by its public shareholders allow KfW to provide loans for purposes prescribed by the KfW law at lower rates than commercial banks. KfW is not allowed to compete with commercial banks, but it facilitates their business in areas within its mandate. KfW banking group has three business units with distinct functions, as well as several subsidiaries.


title: KfW

text: Lending by KfW group’s two main business units, accounting for more than 90% of total lending, is in Germany and, to a limited extent, in other European countries. However, its largest subsidiary, KfW IPEX-Bank GmbH, predominantly lends internationally. A smaller subsidiary, the German Investment Corporation (DEG), and one of the group’s smaller business units, KfW Development Bank, are exclusively active in the international arena, each within their particular business areas.


title: KfW

text: KfW Förderbank (KfW promotional Bank), the largest business unit of the group, committed €47.6 billion in 2014, mostly for housing and environmental protection in Germany. It is especially active in promoting energy-efficient housing for owner-occupied houses as well as for landlords, both for new houses and refurbishments. Its energy efficiency standards for houses (KfW-60 and KfW-40) have become accepted standards in Germany. Concerning environmental protection, it promotes, among others, photovoltaic energy (solar cells) which has in turn received massive indirect subsidies through feed-in tariffs under the Renewable Energy Law of 2000. It also invests in municipal infrastructure such as public transport and sanitation through a sub-unit called KfW Kommunalbank (KfW municipal bank). More recently (since 2006), it has also engaged in education where it provides student loans.


title: KfW

text: KfW Mittelstandsbank (which roughly translates as KfW small and medium enterprises bank), the second largest business unit of the group, provides assistance to German small and medium enterprises (SMEs) including individual entrepreneurs and start-ups. In addition to loans it also provides equity and mezzanine financing. Its financing totaled €20.4 billion in 2015.


title: KfW

text: KfW has been very active in securitization before this market collapsed during the subprime mortgage crisis. Through securitization it helped commercial banks to transfer risks from their housing and SME portfolios to the capital market. KfW also provides loans to European commercial banks to help them finance SMEs, housing and infrastructure (so-called global loans).


title: KfW

text: KfW Entwicklungsbank (KfW Development Bank) provides financing to governments, public enterprises and commercial banks engaged in microfinance and SME promotion in developing countries. It does so through loans close to market terms using its own resources ("promotional loans"), soft loans that blend KfW resources with support from the federal government's aid budget ("development loans"), as well as highly subsidized loans and grants, the latter two coming entirely from the federal aid budget. Different country groups are offered different financing conditions depending mainly on their per capita income. All these financing instruments are part of what is officially called development cooperation and is more commonly called "development aid".


title: KfW

text: In German aid, the work of KfW Development Bank is called "financial cooperation" which is complemented by "technical cooperation" by GIZ and other public agencies. The main sectors of financial cooperation are water supply and sanitation, renewable energy and energy efficiency, as well as the development of the financial sector. KfW Development Bank also works, among other sectors, in health, education, agriculture, forestry, solid waste management. It provided €7.4 billion in loans and grants in 2014.


title: KfW

text: The largest subsidiary of KfW banking group is KfW IPEX-Bank. KfW IPEX-Bank is active in project finance and corporate finance related to German or European exports. It also promotes foreign investments in Germany. Unlike KfW, it competes directly with commercial banks. Therefore, and in response to concerns voiced by the European Commission concerning unfair competition, KfW IPEX-Bank has become legally and financially independent in 2008. KfW IPEX-Bank's main sectors of activity are ports, airports, toll roads, bridges and tunnels, railways, ships, planes, telecommunications, energy, and manufacturing. In 2014 the balance sheet total of KfW IPEX-Bank amounted to €26.3 billion.


title: KfW

text: Another subsidiary of KfW banking group, the German Investment Corporation (DEG), takes minority equity stakes and provides loans to private companies investing in developing countries. It pursues a business model broadly similar to that of the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group. Its main sectors of activity are banking, agro-business, renewable energy, telecommunications and manufacturing. It lent 1.2 billion in 2008.


title: KfW

text: On behalf of the German state, KfW holds shares in a variety of corporations, including Deutsche Post, Deutsche Telekom, Commerzbank, Lufthansa, and CureVac.


title: KfW

text: In 2013, KfW agreed to help establish a Portuguese financial institution to foster economic growth and boost job creation in the country.


title: KfW

text: The magazine "Global Finance" rated KfW as the safest bank in the world in its "World's 50 Safest Banks 2014" rating. The rating was based on long-term foreign currency ratings from Fitch Ratings and Standard and Poor's and the long-term bank deposit ratings from Moody's Investors Service.


title: KfW

text: In September 2008, as investors were scrambling to get their funds out of Lehman Brothers, KfW accidentally wired 426 million to Lehman; Germany's largest circulation newspaper, "Bild", subsequently called KfW "Germany's Dumbest Bank" at the time. The bank subsequently fired two board members over the transfer.


title: KfW

text: Due to a glitch in the bank’s information technology, KfW again accidentally transferred 7.6 billion euros ($8.2 billion) to four other banks in February 2017 but got the money back, incurring costs of 25,000 euros.


title: F. R. David

text: Elli Robert Fitoussi (born 1 January 1947), better known as F. R. David, is a French musician. He is best known for his 1982 hit single "Words".


title: F. R. David

text: F. R. David was born Elli Robert Fitoussi in Menzel Bourguiba, then in the French protectorate of Tunisia, to a Tunisian Jewish family. In Paris, David began his music career as Robert Fitoussi. He first performed with French garage band Les Trèfles. After one EP, they mutated into Les Boots, but achieved very little commercial success. Adopting his new stage name, he went solo in 1967 and recorded some orchestral pop psych with Michel Colombier, including a version of the Beatles' "Strawberry Fields Forever" (""Il Est Plus Facile""). He enjoyed minor hits with the Éric Charden penned "Symphonie" and a cover of the Bee Gees' "Sir Geoffrey Saved the World", but this success did not last. He then created Aztec Records with Sonopress & Carrer and started producing with Michael Haubrich and they wrote and produced several groups. The first was called Cockpit, followed by David Cast, Doc & Prohibition Group, Ragga, Alain Maria, Freddy Meyer, and DD Daughterdydawn with Vangelis Papathanassiou.


title: F. R. David

text: During the early 1970s, David formed the progressive rock group David Explosion but their one album was not a success. He was a guitarist for Vangelis in the early 1970s. With Vangelis, he also appeared as vocalist on some of his early 1970s albums. David's voice is also heard on the 1974 single "Who" by Vangelis under the name 'Odyssey'. David then joined French rock band Les Variations, appearing on their final album "Café De Paris" (1975), which featured an early rock-disco crossover "Superman, Superman". When the band broke up, he went solo again. His personal "trademarks" are his sunglasses and his guitar (a white Fender Stratocaster).


title: F. R. David

text: His most recognised song was his hit "Words" in 1982, which sold eight million records worldwide, topped various charts around Europe in late 1982, and reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart in spring 1983, surpassing a rival version by 1960s hitmakers the Tremeloes, and going on to becoming the 22nd best-selling single in the UK during 1983. The song appears in the Oscar-nominated film for Best Picture, "Call Me by Your Name". The song is a catchy, slightly plaintive synth-led mid-tempo ballad sung in a slender, high-pitched voice.


title: F. R. David

text: During the 1990s, he took time out from his own music career and focused on writing and composing for other well known artists. David released another album, "Words – '99 Version" in 2000 which contains mostly covers. In 2009, he released the album "Numbers", which was in collaboration with other musicians and featured songs that David himself most preferred.