text: The is the joint service military unit mandated to ensure the immediate security of the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and his First Family and for the performance of public duties in the most important places in the country. The most distant antecedents of the Presidential Honor Guard go back to the "Hussars Troop" of Bolivar, of the Venezuelan War of Independence and of the larger Spanish American wars of independence, raised in June 1815 and part of a more bigger guards brigade targeted for the immediate security of the Liberator, and the early 20th century 1st Cavalry Regiment "Ambrosio Plaza" that until the 1950s, albeit reduced to squadron size, provided the ceremonial security of the President and was modeled on the Prussian practices of the late 19th century. The Presidential Honor Guard Brigade is composed today by the personnel from both the five service components of the National Armed Forces and the civil security services, and is commanded by a brigadier general or colonel or equivalent. At the moment, it is a unit of Brigade size. The Brigade provides the honor guard to the President in State Arrival Ceremonies at the Miraflores Palace and to the President in every activity held in the grounds and at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Carabobo Field, Valencia Municipality, Carabobo, in honor of its participation in one of the final two battles of the Venezuelan War of Independence, the Battle of Carabobo on 24 June 1821, fought at the very grounds where the tomb is located, where a Guard Mounting ceremony is held daily in the midday hours. And from 2013 onward the Brigade is also charged with mounting the guard at the tomb of the late President Hugo Chávez at Fort Montana in Caracas plus in Bolivar's renovated mausoleum in the National Pantheon of Venezuela complex, also in Caracas, with guard mounting duties done daily, with all of them open to the public.


title: National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela

text: The dress uniform used by the Presidential Honor Guards mirrors the uniform of Bolivar's Hussar Troop during the Venezuelan War of Independence: red short jacket polo with black trousers or pants with sabre and scabbard, long black belt, black boots and a busby hat. The Mounted Platoon wears the Sabretache with the dress uniform when mounted in appropriate occasions like military parades. In both cases the brigade personnel carry sabres and lances with the full dress uniform (only the color guard carries rifles). Red berets with the distinctive unit insignia are worn with the service dress green and combat dress uniforms except by personnel from the Venezuelan Air Force who are part of the brigade.


text: The Commanding General of the Presidential Honor Guard Brigade (as of 20 January 2014) is Brigadier General Jesus Rafael Salazar Velasquez.


text: The general directorate of military intelligence ("Dirección General de Inteligencia Militar", DGIM), is the bureau in charge to collect all the strategic intelligence data, and to coordinate the diverse institutions or departments of military intelligence of the service components of National Armed Forces and the National Militia.


text: The chief of the general directorate is Brigadier General Ivan Hernandez Darlan as of 20 January 2014.


text: According to the law of the approved budget for the 2012 Fiscal year, the budget allocated to the defense sector, is US$4.959 billion, which represents 6.5% of Venezuela's gross domestic product (GDP). Another source indicates that the amount is $4.508 billion. This amount does not include the additional credit granted by the Russian Federation of $4 billion, half of which will be used in fiscal year 2012, and the other half in fiscal year 2013, which would bring the official FY2012 total to $6.5 billion. The Bolivarian government increased salaries annually for members of the armed forces with a 505% increase in pay between 1999 and 2014.


text: Venezuela's continued economic collapse has drastically curtailed, among other things, its military spending. According to the Stockholm International Research Institute, a research body whose data is used by the World Bank, Venezuela's military spending has been plummeting rapidly since 2012. Military spending was only $2.3 billion in 2016. This is a minuscule number compared to even Peru's military spending (listed at $2.6 billion), despite Venezuela having several times as many men under arms as Peru.


text: According to the article 76 of the Organic Law of the National Armed Force, the system of military justice consists of


text: Article 77 of the same Act specifies the support logistics and financial of the same: the Ministry of defence will provide the human, financial, material and technical resources for its proper functioning. Likewise, will seek the administrative and financial autonomy of each of the members of the system of military justice.


text: All men and women that are citizens of Venezuela have a constitutional duty to register for military service at the age of 18, which is the age of majority in Venezuela.


text: The military educational system, according to the concept of military strategy of the National Armed Forces, has a mission to educate, train and develop professionals pro-active, responsible, aware of the commitment with the defense in depth and its participated actively in the development of the country, achieving a comprehensive and interdisciplinary training that enable them to interact with the management of public or private; the education system will be geared towards a sound humanistic, scientific, research and spiritual culture that promotes leadership and educational self-management, development of competences, which facilitates the adaptation of their knowledge to the continuous transformation of science and technology, with emphasis on the observance and respect of human rights and international humanitarian law.


text: The Bolivarian Military University of Venezuela ("Universidad Militar Bolivariana de Venezuela", UMBV), was created by initiative of the National Federal Government, through the efforts of the late President Hugo Chávez, with the firm intention to promote a strategic vision for the country and accelerate the thinking and the military national strategy inspired by the ideologies of Simón Bolívar, Simon Rodriguez and Ezequiel Zamora. The university was formally launched by presidential orders on 3 September 2010, 200 years from the day of the founding of the Military Academy of Venezuela, one of the oldest military academies in Latin America, to help understand the issue of safety in a holistic manner and to respond in complex form, thru the complete integration of all 5 service academies of the National Armed Forces. The VBMU promotes the integration and educational interaction of all five service branches. Also, the military civic integration also recognizes both dimensions as a condition sine qua non for the guarantee of the security of the Venezuelan State. This University System has the mission of educating integrally all its cadets, with ethical, moral, spiritual and socialist values, to prepare them for the duties of being an officer in the National Bolivarian Armed Forces' various service arms and the militia, through a process of humanistic, scientific, technical and sporting skills, to fulfill the tasks inherent to all 5 service branches in national defence and security as well as in contributing to national development. Headquartered in Fort Tiuna in Caracas with branches in Catia del Mar and Maracay (with a new branch now fully opened at Fort Guaicaipuro in Charallave, Miranda), Divisional General Alexis Jose Rodriguez Cabello serves as its president as of 2016.


text: The National Experimental University of the Armed Forces (Spanish: "Universidad Nacional Experimental Politécnica de la Fuerza Armada Bolivariana", UNEFA) is a Venezuelan public university associated with the Venezuelan armed forces. Founded in 1974 as the National Armed Forces Higher Polytechnical Institution ("Instituto Universitario Politécnico de las Fuerzas Armadas Nacionales"), it was renamed by the Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez in 1999 to its current name. Its mission is the training of civilian personnel in the NAF and all military personnel, plus civilians in educational skills, and it also offers doctoral programs and post-graduate studies.


text: Its president, as of 2015, is Vice Admiral Elisa Amelia Di Tizio, Deputy Minister of Education for National Defense.


text: Mission Miranda, one of the Bolivarian Missions that were a legacy of the late President Hugo Chávez, was launched in 2004 to prepare all reserve and part-time national servicemen and women of the National Armed Forces for the important tasks of national total defense, security and economic progress.


text: The main goal of the armed forces, under this mission, are to organize, recruit, record, monitor, and re-train the Armed Forces Reserve and National Militia personnel with the aim of defending the integrity of the country through military defense, cooperation in maintaining internal order, and active participation in the national development.


text: Named after the nickname of Venezuelan independence hero Pedro Camejo, this mission, another legacy of the Chávez administration, and now upgraded by President Nicolás Maduro to a Grand Mission, is aimed at upgrading the combat capabilities of all service personnel of the National Armed Forces and to strengthen the performance of the duties of national defense. Part of it is the acquisition of modern weapons and building of modern facilities and upgrading of existing buildings in all military installations.


text: Currently the 4 components that make up the NBAF: the Army, Navy, Air Force and the National Guard, plus the National Militia and the Presidential Honor Guard Brigade as well, have women who choose a military career for their professional development part of their ranks as either enlisted personnel, non-commissioned officers and officers. Within these service branches, the Venezuelan military woman has achieved important positions.


text: Boys and girls also join together as students of the various educational institutions jointly operated by the service branches of the National Armed Forces through their foundations and the Ministry of Education from pre-school to the secondary level.


text: Historical dates of the achievements of the Venezuelan women in the National Bolivarian Armed Forces:


text: During the National Independence Day Armed Forces Promotions ceremony at the Fort Montana Barracks in Caracas on 5 July 2013, also marking 4 months after the sudden death of Hugo Chávez, President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro announcement that Admiral Carmen Teresa Meléndez Rivas, the first-ever Venezuelan female admiral in history and by then the current Presidential Secretary, would be appointed as the first-ever female Minister of Defense in the nation's history as well as in its military history. She was later promoted as the very first female 4-sun flag officer of the Venezuelan Navy and of the National Armed Forces as a whole before officially taking over her ministerial duties.


text: The most important reform in more than one century, was in 2008, with the enactment of the reform of the Organic Law of the National Armed Forces, which established, among many innovations, the transformation of the non-commissioned officer level "technical officer" to commissioned officer status. As part of the same reform, the rank of Major General, intermediate rank that comes after Divisional General and before the rank of General in Chief, was officially created. In the case of the Navy, the rank of Admiral in Chief, created also by the same reforms, is now equivalent to General in Chief. Thus the officer rank system used today is more compatible to those used by most armed forces.


text: Since 2011 the officer corps is divided into Commissioned Candidate, Regular Commissioned, Troop and Command Corps officers, the latter three, alongside the Technical Officers Corps, forming the regular officer corps and the former being composed of civilian commissioned officers.


text: Article 62 of the Organic Law of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces has the full order of ranks of military officers, and their equivalents in the Navy, while Article 63 of the Organic Law lists the full order of ranks for non-commissioned service personnel and Article 69 of the said law provides the military hierarchy of the enlisted personnel and ratings of the National Armed Forces.


text: Amendments made in 2014 for the Organic Law of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces officially give the following as the highest rank for the following officer corps:


text: The rank of Lieutenant General ("Mayor General" in Spanish), a rank immediately below the General and above Major General, was established in the year 2007 in the aftermath of the Armed Forces Organic Law amendments and in the Navy, Squadron Vice Admiral (three-suns) and Admiral (four-suns) are the equivalents today. These officers are assigned mostly to the leadership of military regions (REDI), Commanders General of the service branches, the Inspector General, deputy ministers in the Ministry of Defense, and temporarily as Chief of the NBAF-OSC, if the Minister of Defence is an official asset, with the officeholder having the rank of General in Chief or Admiral in Chief. Before 2007 the 3 sun rank belonged to Generals in Chief and Admirals, and is equivalent to the rank of lieutenant general or vice admiral in most countries.


text: One must not confuse this rank with the General staff rank of Major General used in most of the armed forces of the world, which is equivalent to the second rank of general officers in most armies and several air forces.


text: Since the age of the independence war in Venezuela, the most senior officer is designated as general-in-chief ("general en jefe"). From its creation, the rank was represented by three mythical suns (equivalent to three-star rank), but with the creation in 2008 of the rank of Lieutenant General, four mythical suns (equivalent to four-star rank) are used. If used in the Navy, it is called as admiral ("almirante en jefe") since 2008 (formerly the 3 sun rank was of an Admiral), uses the same 4 suns in the shoulder board, and the sleeve insignia used mirrors that of a full Admiral of the Fleet in the Royal Navy.


text: The office of the Venezuelan military supreme commander in chief has always been held by the President of Venezuela as per constitutional requirements. However, with the new law sanctioned in 2008, the ""Comandante en Jefe"" rank is not only a function attributed to the executive branch but a full military rank given to the president upon taking office. Upon assumption he receives a saber, epaulette, shoulder knot, shoulder board and sleeve insignia and full military uniform to be used in military events while performing the duties as president. The shoulder insignia mirrors Cuban practice but is derived from the German-styled officer rank insignia.


text: Berets are worn by some units in the National Armed Forces, with distinctive colors for some units or functions. The beret colors are as follows:


text: The Venezuelan government has embarked on a massive military purchase programme. This has included negotiations for German submarines and transport aircraft, several agreements with Russia (outlined below), transport aircraft and naval vessels from Spain, radars from China, home-made and designed armored light vehicles and rocket launchers, studies for Russian main battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, amongst many others. Most if not all European military hardware have not been delivered to Venezuela due to the U.S. embargo.


text: Venezuela in 2005 acquired 3 JYL-1 long range 3D surveillance radars from China at a cost of $150 million. The 3 JYL-1s, which are truck mounted, were all delivered by 2007.


text: Also that year, Venezuela bought 51 military helicopters from Russia, by 2008 all 51 had been delivered to the Venezuelan armed forces, the helicopters acquired were: 40 Mi-17, 3 Mi-26 and 8 Mi-35.


text: Then in 2006 the country purchased 100,000 Russian AK-103 assault rifles, all delivered in that same year. Chávez also claimed to have acquired a license to manufacture Kalashnikovs in Venezuela,


text: In 2006 Venezuela purchased 24 Su-30MK jet fighters also from Russia, all delivered by 2008. In order to equip those fighters the country bought a large assortment of missiles, it is estimated that Venezuela acquired: 200 laser-guided bombs types KAB-500 and KAB-1500, 50 Kh-29 air-to-surface missiles, 50 Kh-31A1 anti-ship missiles, 50 Kh-59ME TV-guided cruise missiles, 100 Vympel R-27 medium-range air-to-air missiles and 150 Vympel R-73 short-range air-to-air missiles.


text: In 2007, the Belarusian military optics industry agreed to supply the Venezuelan army with night vision devices, and install on, as Hugo Chávez described, "every single rifle in the Venezuelan army." The deal is valued at $3–$24 million. Later that year, Chávez announced plans to purchase of 5,000 Dragunov sniper rifles from the Russian Rosoboronexport, adding that Venezuela must ready itself for a "possible U.S. invasion." It is not clear whether that deal was completed. In all, from 2005 to 2007 Venezuela purchased more than $4.4 billion in weapons from Russia.


text: After signing an "initial contract", Venezuela was expected in June 2007 to finalize the acquisition of five diesel Project 636 Kilo class submarines, and at a later date finalize the acquisition of four diesel Project 677 Amur class submarines. In spite of the expectations, Chávez didn't sign the deal. Ten months later in April 2008,


text: Venezuela decided to negotiate with Russia a loan of about $800 million for the acquisition of 4 diesel Project 636 Kilo class submarines. During that time Venezuela was also considering the purchase of 12 Il-76 transport aircraft. The submarines plus the aircraft were going to cost a total of $1.5 billion. However, this acquisition deal wasn't completed either. The negotiations for the purchase of the submarines broke down and 6 submarines that were once planned for Venezuela are now being offered to Vietnam.


text: In September 2008, Russia provided Venezuela with a $1 billion loan to buy Russian weapons. A Kremlin source said "The Russian side has made the decision to extend to Venezuela a $1 billion loan for a military cooperation program." There is a lot of speculation about which weapons will be bought with that loan. Venezuela has shown interest on the following weapons: TOR-M1 SAM systems, T-72 tanks, Su-35 jet fighters and Il-76 military cargo aircraft. Despite of the interest and the Russian credit line, no deal has been finalized. In October 2008 Rosoboronexport informed that Venezuela was close to buying among other things a "large shipment of BMP-3" infantry fighting vehicles. However, that deal too wasn't finalized.


text: Also in September Chávez confirmed that Venezuela purchased 24 K-8 Karakorum trainer jets from China. The deal, which is estimated to be worth between $72–$84 million, was the biggest Venezuelan arms deal of 2008.


text: On 21 July 2010, one K-8W crashed during a training flight. A statement by Venezuelan Air Force commander blamed engine failure. Both pilot and assistant ejected.


text: Venezuela acquired an undisclosed number of "SA-24 Igla-S" man-portable surface to air missiles. The "SA-24 Igla-S" is the most advanced version built in Russia. This acquisition was only confirmed after 50 "SA-24 Igla-S" were paraded by soldiers in Caracas in April 2009. In reaction to the acquisition the US State Department declared: "We are concerned about Venezuelan arms purchases that exceed its needs and are therefore potentially destabilizing."


text: In September 2009 Russia agreed to loan Venezuela over $2 billion to finance the purchase of weapons including tanks and advanced anti-aircraft missiles. It was stated that because of lower crude prices, the country needed to borrow the money for defence spending to avoid cuts in education and health. The deal includes orders for 92 T-72 tanks and the Buk-M2, S-125 Neva/Pechora missile system and S-300 air-defence systems and also the BM-30 Smerch rocket artillery system. President Hugo Chávez stated that "Venezuela has no plans to invade anybody, or to be aggressive towards anybody," and "with these rockets it's going to be very difficult for foreign planes to come and bomb us". Chávez repeated Venezuela's commitment to developing nuclear power for peaceful purposes with the help of Russia and reiterated his strong opposition to nuclear weapons.


text: Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez said in 2012 that his government will buy amphibious tanks from China for its military. Chávez isn't saying how many of the armored vehicles Venezuela intends to buy, but says the deal signed Tuesday calls for a Chinese company to begin delivering the tanks next year. He announced the deal in a speech to troops, saying the $500 million cost will be financed through loans that China has offered Venezuela in exchange for oil shipments.


text: The new armored equipment arrived in the country in 2014 and are now at the service of the Venezuelan Marine Corps.


text: Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez said he was interested in buying Sukhoi Su-35 Flanker-E multirole fighter jets from Russia to enhance his country's defense capabilities. "I have already sent a statement to the government of Russia that we are ready to consider buying in the next few years Su-35 fighters to modernize and enhance our defense powers" Venezuela's national radio quoted Chávez as saying.


text: Russia and Venezuela have signed an agreement on a $4 billion loan for the oil-rich Latin American partner to buy Russian weaponry. "Two billion will be provided next year and another two billion in 2013," Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez said.


text: These acquisitions and other projects have been greeted with criticism from the United States, which opposes the government of President Hugo Chávez. The U.S. accuses Venezuela of starting an arms race, which they claim will destabilize the military equilibrium in South America. Venezuela is also accused of supplying small arms to neighboring Colombian guerrilla organizations including FARC, which is sympathetic to Chávez.


text: United States criticism is met with skepticism by Venezuelan authorities, who claim the weapons are needed to update the basic equipment in the armed forces. In some cases, Venezuelan armaments like the FN FAL have been in service more than 50 years. The government also claims that the U.S. has been the one to initiate arms races and de-stabilize countries by supplying subversive groups in Latin America throughout the past century (referring to the 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état during the Cold War, and the contra affair, among numerous other incidents).Venezuela however has publicly acknowledged its own role in the supplying of thousands of FN Fal rifles, heavy antitank weapons and air support to the Sandinista uprising in Nicaragua during 1978–1979.


text: In the 1990s Venezuela requested a batch of F-16C/Ds to update its F-16 fighter fleet, but the U.S. government blocked the request. In October 1997 the U.S. government approved the sale of the two crash replacement F-16s, but subsequently halted the sale. In 2005 a contract with Israel Aircraft Industries to upgrade Venezuela's F-16s was frozen following U.S. pressure. Chávez subsequently accused the U.S. of delaying the sale of spare parts to maintain Venezuela's F-16s. After remarks by Chávez that he would sell or lend the 'unused' F-16's to any country that wanted them, including Iran, the U.S. Government agreed to supply the spare parts; however, the shipment was detained at the Customs Office in Maiquetia International Airport due to security concerns.


text: In May 2006, the government of the United States announced an embargo of military material and equipment to Venezuela; no American-made weapons or technology can be sold to Venezuela by any country or company. This embargo has harmed several Venezuelan purchases, as not only are U.S. technology goods unavailable, but other nations friendly to the U.S. have been pressured to block sales of arms to Venezuela, as well. This is also considered one of the reasons Venezuela has turned to Russia and China for arms, in a move reminiscent of the Cold War.


text: In 2005 Venezuela signed agreements with Spain to procure 12 naval transport and reconnaissance aircraft and eight naval patrol vessels. The deal is worth $1.5-2 billion dollars to the Spanish defense industry, as well as an estimated 900 new jobs, but was cancelled due to the U.S. embargo. The cancellation does not affect the eight naval patrol vessels.


text: However, the Russian Federation has continued sending arms to Venezuela despite the US embargo. Russia has agreed to sell more than $4 billion (£2 billion) worth of armaments to Venezuela since 2005 and disclosed that Mr Chávez wanted new antiaircraft systems and more fighter jets.


text: The Venezuela President, Hugo Chávez, acknowledged that the joint production between his country and Iran cars, has been affected by the embargo that United States keeps on the Islamic country.


text: The Spanish Minister of Defense, Pedro Morenes, has defended the sale of military equipment to Venezuela, and reported that a delegation from the public company Navantia has traveled to the capital of the country, Caracas, to try to sell new products to the Chávez government. Morenes has made these statements during a speech at the plenary session of the Congress to reply to an interpellation by the spokesman for Izquierda Unida, Jose Luis Centella, on the Ministry of defence plans for the coming years and the Spanish missions abroad.


text: From 1810 up to the 1819 Angostura Congress that created Gran Colombia, and into the era of national independence since 1831, the National Armed Forces helped shaped the political, economical, social and national affairs of Venezuela, with so many military led-governments that led the nation until the late 1950s (with a brief break in the 1940s), several of them under strong military dictators. After Marcos Perez Jimenez left in 1958, the military role in government affairs ended with the framing of the 1961 Constitution and the replacement by civilian leaders of the military anti-Jimenez government that took power after the 1958 coup. However, the years that followed saw 2 coup attempts by military personnel with the help of groups disillusioned by government policies in the 1960s, and military repressions of student and civil rallies and actions from the late 60s onward, all these happening while fighting rebel groups present in the national territory and on the Venezuelan-Colombian border region. All these led up to the events of the 1989 Caracazo, in which National Guardsmen crushed anti-government actions and riots in the capital area with great severity, causing the deaths of hundreds, which in turn resulted in the coup attempts of 1992 and 1993.


text: By the time Hugo Chávez assumed the presidency in 1999, retired armed forces personnel who served with him were appointed to several cabinet posts and were given seats in the National Assembly. Chávez only allowed retired military personnel to run for elective posts at all levels as well as to serve in appointive government positions except for the Ministries of Defense and the Interior, per tradition led by active generals of the armed forces (the latter since the early 21st century).


text: One of the advances achieved in the new Bolivarian Constitution of 1999 was to allow the right to vote in the elections to all service personnel of the armed forces without any limitation whatsoever, thus bringing it in line with other countries that allow the practice. This is the right enshrined in article 64 of the said Constitution.


text: The tragedy of Vargas in December 1999, brought with it several lessons, that the Government knew how to assimilate, one of them was the quick action of the FANB to assist populations in danger, and the reconstruction of devastated areas. Since then, Venezuela through the FANB, participated in numerous actions of humanitarian assistance, in several countries of the world.


text: It is a unit created in order to attend immediately to populations affected by natural calamities, both nationally and internationally. Task forces of this unit have provided support to countries like Nicaragua, Bolivia, Ecuador, Cuba, among others.


text: It is a unit of civilian and military doctors who assists medical in remote areas of national and international geography.


text: Venezuela currently shows an industrial development in the defence sector, that sector still far from compared to countries such as Brazil AND Argentina, if it has meant a noticeable advance respect to the last decade of the 20th-century Venezuelan. In the opinion of Francisco Arias Cardenas (ex – presidential candidate; former member of parliament; and current candidate for the governorship of Zulia State, by the ruling party PSUV): "in the 13 years of management of the current Government there has been an armed forces industry of its own, having the autonomy that lacked in the Fourth Republic, when transnational corporations controlled the military sector of the country. This advance of the Venezuelan military industry gives us a range of greater encouragement, that is what we need, and the possibility of applying our inventiveness to the development of technologies that give us genuine autonomy to defend our territory."


text: It was planned that Venezuela would manufacture all-terrain vehicles, trucks, ammunition, rifles, unmanned aircraft, grenades, assembled ships of small and medium-sized ports among other products, produced by state corporations, however, most of these are unable to operate due to lack of personnel, resources, and even in some cases lack of support from the government, these corporations are:


text: IBIDIFANB (Instituto Bolivariano de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación de la Fuerza Armada Nacional Bolivariana), shall develop all projects that have much impact in what is maintain operational sizing in the FANB, maintain equipment and also has the possibility of supporting the national development with the generation of some research projects, some technological lines can do good for the people of Venezuela


text: CAVIM (C.A. Venezolana de Industrias Militares, Venezuelan Military Industries Company Ltd.) is the national corporation owned by the Ministry of Defense charged with developing a national military industry by producing weapons, ammunition, uniforms and other products to be utilized by the service personnel of the National Armed Forces. It has currently demonstrated capabilities in the development and production of rifles, grenades, shotguns, unmanned aircraft, explosives for industrial use, ammunition, bulletproof vests, kevlar helmets, among other products, weapons, logistics and various utensils for use by the NAF.


text: In January 2011, an explosion of unidentified causes and the subsequent fire scorched five CAVIM arms and ammunition depots in the state of Aragua, leading to one official fatality and nearly 10,000 people being evacuated.


text: On 12 February 2013, the United States Government sanctioned Venezuela's Military Industries Company (CAVIM), as well as other 12 foreign companies, including four Chinese firms, for the sale of arms and military technology to Iran, North Korea or Syria.


text: DIANCA (Diques y Astilleros Nacionales C.A.), is the state shipyard of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. It was created in 1905 in the city of Puerto Cabello, Carabobo state.


text: UCOCAR (Unidad Naval Coordinadora de los Servicios de Carenado de la Armada) is responsible for the repair, maintenance and construction of ships, equipment, systems, helmet and structures up to 1,000 tonnes, in support of the armed forces, public firms and private sector entities. Several boats have been designed, and the company has an agreement with the Dutch shipyard firm Damen, to assemble some ships to be used by the Venezuelan Navy. This firm also produces the Guardian G-25 riverine craft boats being used by both the Navy and the National Guard.


text: CIDAE (Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo Aeronáutico) is a scientific center making helmets for pilots.


text: There have been upgrades of radar, and is involved with CAVIM, in the development of unmanned aircraft among other developments. Also this research center this trying time of short-range, solid fuel rockets. Likewise, the CIDAE has designed and built a Flight Simulator for the T-27 Tucano aircraft, as well as a simulator of flight to aircraft Cessna 208 Caravan, shooting simulators, and the recovery of the test benches of PT6 engines, with 80% of Venezuelan technology, not only in the design but in the software installation and the use of materials. CIDAE participa en el proyecto del satélite Simón Bolívar con China.


text: ASTIMARCA (Astilleros de Maracaibo y el Caribe S.A.). As part of the agreements between the Governments of Cuba and Venezuela, there is this joint venture. It is a shipyard overhaul, for small and medium-size vessels.


text: CENARECA (Centro Nacional de Repotenciación C.A.) is the manufacturer of the vehicle family all-terrain and high mobility (HMMWV) Tiuna, manufactured in serious to the Venezuelan armed forces, and donated in small quantities to Governments of the ALBA as Ecuador, Nicaragua and Bolivia.


text: MAZVEN C.A. makes heavy trucks, under a joint venture with the Belarusian company MAZ. It manufactures five models of trucks including trucks for military use.


text: G&F Tecnología is a Venezuelan company that develops an endogenous model of architecture technology oriented solutions derived from the design, development, implementation and operation of projects of telecommunications, information, aeronautics and electronics with increasing added value of applied knowledge. Specifically is a company manufacturer of unmanned aircraft, as well as communication equipment, and other electronic product.


text: In addition, the Ministry of Defense operates the following nationally owned corporations aside from CAVIM:


title: Eating live animals

text: Eating live animals is the practice of humans eating animals that are still alive. It is a traditional practice in many East Asian food cultures. Animals may also be eaten alive for shock value. Eating live animals, or parts of live animals, may be unlawful in certain jurisdictions under animal cruelty laws. Religious prohibitions on the eating of live animals by humans are also present in various world religions.


title: Eating live animals

text: In October 1963, a case was reported in Vitória de Santo Antão, Pernambuco, Brazil. A man named Antônio Pinto bought a donkey for three thousand cruzeiros. He then galloped with the animal and stopped at every bar he sighted to have a drink. Then, he bit on the animal's ear strongly enough to swallow it. He said that he had eaten the animal's ear as a "snack". Finally, he strangled the donkey with a cord.


title: Eating live animals

text: In 2006, 49-year-old Reggie Paul Fountain ate his pitbull puppy alive. He bit off the animal's ear and carried it around with him as he ran around his neighbourhood in his underwear, covered in blood, before he was restrained by police. He was arrested, and explained that he was on PCP and cocaine.


title: Eating live animals

text: Several television game shows such as "Fear Factor", "Survivor" and "I'm a Celebrity" feature segments where contestants must eat live animals including spiders, cockroaches and grubs. On his show "Man vs. Wild", host Bear Grylls is sometimes shown eating various insects alive. There have been calls to ban eating animals alive on these shows. A YouTube channel called "Food for Louis" shows Louis Cole eating live animals.


title: Eating live animals

text: In Japan, Ikizukuri ("prepared alive") is the preparation of sashimi ("pierced food") made from live seafood. The most popular sea animal used in ikizukuri is fish but octopus is typically the only species that is still moving on the plate.


title: Eating live animals

text: Another fish dish invented by a Taiwanese chef from Chiayi, is called Yin Yang fish (also "dead-and-alive fish") in which the fish's body (but not the head) is rapidly deep-fried and served while the head is still fresh and moving. It is prepared extremely quickly, with care not to damage the internal organs, so that the fish can remain alive for thirty minutes.


title: Eating live animals

text: In an interview, celebrity chef Raymond Blanc stated that in Japan, he had eaten live eels. He was advised to add vinegar and sake, which made them jump around, and then swallowed them whole.


title: Eating live animals

text: In 2012, a video showing a woman in Japan eating a live frog was posted on YouTube and went viral. In the video, a live frog is seen stabbed alive, stripped of its skin, and its inedible innards removed to be served as fresh sashimi on an iced platter.


title: Eating live animals

text: In 2007, a newspaper reported that a man from south east China claimed that eating live frogs for a month cured his intestinal problems. He also eats live mice and rats.


title: Eating live animals

text: Andrew Zimmern of the Travel Channel's "Bizarre Foods" ate frog sashimi in restaurant seafood name Asadachi in Shinjuku. Though most of the frog is served dead (and raw), the meal begins by eating the frog's fresh, still-beating heart.


title: Eating live animals

text: Consuming the beating heart and blood of live snakes has been a reported practice among some locals and tourists in certain parts of Vietnam, particularly Le Mat village in Hanoi. The practice was documented on "Gordon's Great Escape" when celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay swallowed the beating heart of a cobra at a Ho Chi Minh eatery. It was also consumed by celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain in the same city.


title: Eating live animals

text: In Korea, Sannakji is the preparation of live octopus that has been cut into small pieces or prepared whole, and served with its arms still squirming. The octopus from which the tentacles are cut is usually dead by the time of serving; however, the animal's highly innervated limbs continue to writhe due to continuing nerve activity.


title: Eating live animals

text: Sea urchins are prized as a delicacy in many places worldwide (particularly in Japan, France, South Korea, Chile, New Zealand, the Philippines, Italy, Spain, the Mediterranean, and North America) for their briny-flavoured gonads. The gonads are often eaten raw, such as in sushi (typically called uni), and some people prefer to eat them immediately after they are cut open. Scissors are often used to avoid the protective spines whilst cutting the animal open. The gonads do not move, even when taken from the live animal.


title: Eating live animals

text: In China, drunken shrimp is a dish that can be served live, although it can also be prepared with dead shrimp. When served live, the shrimp, usually 10 per serving, are first doused in a strong liquor which makes them less likely to struggle while being swallowed and also creates a flavourful marinade. A plate is typically held over the bowl to prevent the shrimp from leaping out as they are much more active than when served as Odori ebi.


title: Eating live animals

text: Odori ebi ("dancing shrimp") is a type of Japanese sashimi that contains young shrimp, usually only one individual per serving. The shrimp has its shell removed and sometimes its head as well. These can be deep fried and served alongside the rest of the shrimp, which is still moving its legs and antennae while being eaten. The shrimp only dies when chewed.


title: Eating live animals

text: A chain of restaurants, based primarily in Copenhagen, serves a salad crawling with live ants. The ants are chilled so that they move slowly, and are supposed to taste like lemongrass.


title: Eating live animals

text: Live cockroaches were eaten in a competition in Florida in 2012. The winner collapsed and died from asphyxia due to choking and aspiration of gastric contents.


title: Eating live animals

text: One example of eating live larvae is the witchetty grub of Aboriginal Australian cuisine, which can be eaten alive and raw or cooked.


title: Eating live animals

text: Casu marzu is a traditional Sardinian sheep milk cheese, notable for containing live insect larvae. It is found almost exclusively in Sardinia, Italy. Casu marzu goes beyond typical fermentation to a stage most would consider decomposition, brought about by the digestive action of the larvae of the cheese fly "Piophila casei". These larvae are deliberately introduced to the cheese. The cheese received attention on "Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern". Zimmern described the taste of the cheese as "so ammoniated" that "...it scorches your tongue a bit." The cheese is known to leave an aftertaste for a duration of up to several hours. Similar milk cheeses notable for containing living insect larvae are produced in several Italian regions.


title: Eating live animals

text: According to the Talmud, the sixth Noahide Law ( "Sheva mitzvot B'nei Noach", lit. "Seven Laws [of the] Children [of] Noah") sets out a moral and religious imperative not to eat of a live animal. The Tosefta contains more explicit language on the subject, stating not to eat "a limb torn from a living animal".


title: Eating live animals

text: As a Noahide Law, this law is said to apply to all the "children of Noah"—that is, all of humanity—as a requirement to ensure a place in the World to Come ("Olam Ha-Ba"). The laws of Kashrut, on the other hand, set out additional regulations which are binding upon Jews only.


title: Climate of Texas

text: Texas' weather varies widely, from arid in the west to humid in the east. The huge expanse of Texas encompasses several regions with distinctly different climates: Northern Plains, Trans-Pecos Region, Texas Hill Country, Piney Woods, and South Texas. Generally speaking, the part of Texas that lies to the east of Interstate 35 is subtropical, while the portion that lies to the west of Interstate 35 is arid desert.


title: Climate of Texas

text: Texas ranks first in tornado occurrence with an average of 139 per year. Tropical cyclones can affect the state, either from the Gulf of Mexico or from an overland trajectory originating in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Those originating from the Gulf of Mexico are more likely to strike the upper Texas coast than elsewhere. Significant floods have occurred across the state throughout history, both from tropical cyclones and from stalled weather fronts.


title: Climate of Texas

text: The Northern Plains' climate is semi-arid and is prone to drought, annually receiving between of precipitation, and average annual snowfall ranging between , with the greatest snowfall amounts occurring in the Texas panhandle and areas near the border with New Mexico. During the summer, this area of state sees the most clear days. Winter nights commonly see temperatures fall below the freezing mark, or . The wettest months of the year are April and May. Tornadoes, caused by the convergence of westerly and southerly prevailing winds during the late spring, are common, making the region part of Tornado Alley. Poor land management, drought, and high wind speeds can cause large dust storms, minimized in modern times by improved land-management practices, but most troublesome in the 1930s during the Dust Bowl period. The panhandle region, farthest from the Gulf of Mexico, experiences colder winters than the other regions of Texas, where occasional wintertime Arctic blasts can cause temperatures to plunge to well below freezing and bring snowy conditions.


title: Climate of Texas

text: International areas with comparable climate: Southern China; North Argentina; New South Wales, Australia.


title: Climate of Texas

text: The Trans-Pecos region, also known as Big Bend Country, is in the west-central and western parts of the state, consisting of the Chihuahuan Desert and isolated mountain ranges. During fall, winter, and spring, it experiences the most clear days statewide. It is also the driest receiving an average annual rainfall of only or less. Snowfall is rare at lower elevations, although the highest mountain peaks are prone to heavy snowfalls during winter. The arid climate is the main reason for desertification of the land, but overgrazing is slowly widening the land area of that desert. In the mountain areas one can see coniferous forests in a wetter and more temperate environment. The wettest months in this region occur during the summer. Winds are strengthened as they are forced to push through canyons and valleys. In the flatter areas these winds are harvested into usable electricity.


title: Climate of Texas

text: The Texas Hill Country, or central Texas is shaped by its many rivers and hills. The climate is semi-arid west of Brady through Junction to Rocksprings, but it is sub-humid east and south of that area; both areas have hot summers and mild winters with occasional cold spells. Humidity is high during the warm season, though afternoons especially further northwest can see a wind shift and drier air before Gulf air returns after sunset. The vegetation is both broadleaf evergreen and deciduous in the river valleys, and coniferous where there is greater elevation. Dry savannas, open woodlands, and shorter grasses dominate the northwest, while closed woodlands and moist savannas mix with taller grasses in the east and south. In a single year the region can receive up to of precipitation, and flooding is common near rivers and in low-lying areas, while drier years might receive only of precipitation; average annual precipitation ranges from in western sections up to in southeast. The wettest months of the year are April and May.


title: Climate of Texas

text: The Piney Woods is the eastern region of Texas and is within the humid subtropical climate zone. It receives the most rainfall; more than annually in the far east. This is due to the gulf currents that carry humid air to the region, where it condenses and precipitates out in the vicinity of sea breeze fronts as well as when extratropical cyclones move by. While coastal sections see the most cloudy days statewide and year-round, northern sections see the most clear days during the summer. The wettest months of the year are April and May. The area is prone to severe thunderstorms and tornadoes when the proper conditions exist, generally in the springtime. Hurricanes also strike the region, the most disastrous of which was the Galveston Hurricane of 1900. More recently Hurricane Rita pummeled the Golden Triangle of southeast Texas. The higher humidity of the region amplifies the feeling of heat during the summer. During winter and spring along the immediate coast, temperatures are kept cool by relatively cool gulf waters. Dense advection fog can form when warm air moves over the cool shelf waters during February and March, stopping ship traffic for days.


title: Climate of Texas

text: International areas with comparable climate: Taiwan; Philippines; much of the Southern parts of Queensland, Australia


title: Climate of Texas

text: The region of South Texas includes the semiarid ranch country and the wetter Rio Grande Valley. Considered to be the southernmost tip of the American Great Plains region, the inland region has rainfall that is similar to that of the Northern Plains. The coastal areas are nearly warm most of the year due to currents of the Gulf of Mexico. Summers are hot and humid. Rain in the coastal region is more abundant than in the inland region, and subtropical forests line the Rio Grande. The wettest months of the year are April and May in western areas, but approaching the Gulf Coast, September becomes the year's wettest month on average. This owes to the threat from tropical weather systems, including hurricanes, which can bring torrential rains of in one or two days. The resulting September monthly rainfall maximum prevails, for example, at Corpus Christi, South Padre Island and Brownsville. Inland, where it is drier, ranches dominate the landscape, characterized by thick spiny brush and grasslands. The winters in the inland region are variable, but usually mild. Snow is a rare occurrence due to the lack of humidity in winter, and the summers are for the most part hot and dry, but at times can be humid when winds come off the Gulf of Mexico. Tornadoes can occur in this region, but are less frequent than in other parts of the state.


title: Climate of Texas

text: The southernmost part of the state falls just within the tropical climate classification. Occasional years of above average temperatures result in an abundance of tropical flora in the lower Rio Grande Valley, typical of a Tropical savanna climate.


title: Climate of Texas

text: Northern and western sections of the state average snowfall annually due to their colder average readings each winter. For one week in February 1956, a snow storm of historic proportions struck northern Texas. The maximum amount measured was at Vega with Plainview receiving in one day. El Paso, in Far West Texas, received 22.4 in (57 cm) of snow during a 24-hour period December 13–14, 1987. For central and southern sections, snowfall is considerably more unusual. In February 1895, a large area of southeastern Texas received over of snow, with peak amounts near at Port Arthur. More recently around Christmas of 2004, up to of snow fell along the middle coast, with the maximum occurring at Victoria.


title: Climate of Texas

text: One of the worst cold snaps to occur statewide occurred during the last half of December in 1983. Four stations recorded their longest continuous readings at or below on record. Lubbock saw temperatures at or below freezing for 9 days (207 hours). The Dallas-Fort Worth airport measured temperatures at or below freezing for a total of 296 consecutive hours (12 days). Snow which fell on December 14 and 15 across northern Texas stayed on the ground until New Year's Day of 1984.


title: Climate of Texas

text: February 2021 was another record-setting cold snap. At Austin, the temperature remained at or below freezing for 7 days (168 hours). At Abilene, the period at or below freezing totaled 10 days (252 hours). The Central Texas region, including Waco, Bryan, and Killeen, set a new record with 9 days (205 hours) at or below freezing. San Angelo endured 6 days (152 hours) at or below freezing temperatures.


title: Climate of Texas

text: Thunderstorms are very common in Texas, especially the eastern and northern portion. Texas is part of the Tornado Alley section of the country. The state experiences the most tornadoes in the Union, an average of 139 a year. These strike most frequently in North Texas and the Panhandle. Tornadoes in Texas generally occur in April, May, and June.


title: Climate of Texas

text: Texas's position at the northwestern end of the Gulf of Mexico makes it vulnerable to hurricanes. Some of the most destructive hurricanes in U.S. history have impacted Texas. A hurricane in 1875 killed approximately 400 people in Indianola, followed by another hurricane in 1886 that destroyed the town, which was at the time the most important port city in the state. This allowed Galveston to take over as the chief port city, but it was subsequently devastated by a hurricane in 1900 that killed approximately 8,000 people (possibly as many as 12,000), making it the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history. Other devastating Texan hurricanes include the 1915 Galveston Hurricane, Hurricane Carla in 1961, Hurricane Beulah in 1967, Hurricane Alicia in 1983, Hurricane Rita in 2005, Hurricane Ike in 2008 and Hurricane Harvey in 2017.


title: Climate of Texas

text: The climatology of where tropical cyclone strikes are most likely within the state appears to be changing. In the early 1980s, the most favored region during the previous century was the middle coast. However, that region of the coastline has been rarely impacted since the 1960s, and a recent study indicates that the most vulnerable location to a tropical cyclone strike since 1851 is the upper coast, which has received 56 percent of all tropical cyclone landfalls, of which 66 percent originate from the Gulf of Mexico. This is in contrast with Louisiana and the lower Texan coast, where only 39 percent of the landfalls are from tropical cyclones of Gulf of Mexico origin.


title: Climate of Texas

text: The most serious threat from tropical cyclones for Texans is from flooding. The worst aspect about tropical cyclones is that the weaker they are, the more efficient they can be at producing heavy rains and catastrophic flooding. Systems with sprawling circulations, such as Hurricane Beulah, also tend to make good rainmakers. Slow moving systems, such as Tropical Storm Amelia (1978) and Hurricane Harvey (2017) can produce significant rainfall. Tropical cyclones from the eastern Pacific and Atlantic Basins can impact the Lone Star State. In general, flooding across Texas is more common during the spring and early autumn months, and it can also be due to nearby stationary fronts interacting with strong upper level cyclones. The most likely location for floods statewide is the Balcones Escarpment, an area of steep elevation gradient in central Texas at the boundary between the Edwards Plateau and the coastal plain.


title: Climate of Texas

text: The highest temperature ever measured in Texas was , recorded on August 12, 1936 in Seymour, during the 1936 North American Heatwave, and again on June 28, 1994 in Monahans. The lowest temperature ever measured in Texas was , recorded on February 8, 1933 in Seminole.


title: Climate of Texas

text: The El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle is a huge impact on the weather in Texas. During the El Niño phase, the jet stream is located west-to-east across the southern portion of the United States. Therefore, winters in Texas are colder and receive more snowfall than normal. Texas is less likely to get impacted by hurricanes due to the increased wind shear across the Atlantic. Spring to early summer yields increased rainfall especially where a low pressure system is located over the Four Corners region or northern Mexico which yields monsoon-like climate (which was exacerbated during the 2015 and 2016 spring season where the City of Houston was the hardest hit as if the climate was similar to Mumbai or Kolkata, India with heavy rainfall usually from moisture from the Gulf of Mexico). During the opposite phase, La Niña, the jet stream is much further north, therefore winter is milder and drier than normal. Hurricanes are more likely to impact Texas during La Niña due to decreased wind shear in the Atlantic. Droughts in Texas are much more likely during La Niña. The 2010-11 La Niña is mostly to blame for one of the worst droughts in Texas history.


title: Solitary nucleus

text: In the human brainstem, the solitary nucleus, also called nucleus of the solitary tract, nucleus solitarius, and nucleus tractus solitarii, (SN or NTS) is a series of purely sensory


title: Solitary nucleus

text: nuclei (clusters of nerve cell bodies) forming a vertical column of grey matter embedded in the medulla oblongata. Through the center of the SN runs the solitary tract, a white bundle of nerve fibers, including fibers from the facial, glossopharyngeal and vagus nerves, that innervate the SN. The SN projects to, among other regions, the reticular formation, parasympathetic preganglionic neurons, hypothalamus and thalamus, forming circuits that contribute to autonomic regulation. Cells along the length of the SN are arranged roughly in accordance with function; for instance, cells involved in taste are located in the rostral part, while those receiving information from cardio-respiratory and gastrointestinal processes are found in the caudal part.


title: Solitary nucleus

text: Neurons that innervate the SN mediate the gag reflex, the carotid sinus reflex, the aortic reflex, the cough reflex, the baroreceptor and chemoreceptor reflexes, several respiratory reflexes and reflexes within the gastrointestinal system regulating motility and secretion.


title: Solitary nucleus

text: Information goes from the solitary nucleus to a large number of other regions of the brain including the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus and the central nucleus of the amygdala, as well as to other nuclei in the brainstem (such as the parabrachial area, the locus coeruleus, the dorsal raphe nucleus, and other visceral motor or respiratory networks). The signals projected from the SN to the parabrachial area originate in the oral cavity and gastrointestinal tract. The pathways for gastric and gustatory (taste) processes are believed to terminate in different subdivisions of the parabrachial area, but still interact in the SN. Some neuronal subpopulations in the SN, such as the noradrenergic cell group A2 and the aldosterone-sensitive HSD2 neurons project as far ventral as the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis.


title: Automobile air conditioning

text: A company in New York City in the United States first offered installation of air conditioning for cars in 1933. Most of their customers operated limousines and luxury cars.


title: Automobile air conditioning

text: On 7 October 1935, Ralph Peo of Houde Engineering, Buffalo, New York, applied for a patent for an "Air Cooling Unit for Automobiles". , was granted on 16 November 1937.


title: Automobile air conditioning

text: In 1939, Packard became the first automobile manufacturer to offer an air conditioning unit in its cars. These bulky units were manufactured by Bishop and Babcock (B&B), of Cleveland, Ohio and ordered on approximately 2,000 cars. The "Bishop and Babcock Weather Conditioner" also incorporated a heater. Cars ordered with this option were shipped from Packard's East Grand Boulevard facility to the B&B factory where the conversion was performed. Once complete, the car was shipped to a local dealer for delivery to customers.


title: Automobile air conditioning

text: Packard warranted and supported this conversion. However, it was not commercially successful because:


title: Automobile air conditioning

text: The 1953 Chrysler Imperial was one of the first production cars in twelve years to offer modern automobile air conditioning as an option, following tentative experiments by Packard in 1940 and Cadillac in 1941. Walter Chrysler had seen to the invention of Airtemp air conditioning in the 1930s for the Chrysler Building, and had offered it on cars in 1941-42, and again in 1951-52.


title: Automobile air conditioning

text: The Airtemp was more advanced than rival automobile air conditioners by 1953. It was operated by a single switch on the dashboard marked with low, medium, and high positions. As the highest capacity unit available at that time, the system was capable of quickly cooling the passenger compartment and also reducing humidity, dust, pollen, and tobacco smoke. The system drew in more outside air than contemporary systems; thus, reducing the staleness associated with automotive air conditioning at the time. Instead of plastic tubes mounted on the rear window package shelf as on GM cars, small ducts directed cool air toward the ceiling of the car where it filtered down around the passengers instead of blowing directly on them, a feature that modern cars have lost.


title: Automobile air conditioning

text: Cadillac, Buick, and Oldsmobile added air conditioning as an option on some of their models in the 1953 model year. All of these Frigidaire systems used separate engine and trunk mounted components.


title: Automobile air conditioning

text: In 1954, the Nash Ambassador was the first American automobile to have a front-end, fully integrated heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning system. The Nash-Kelvinator corporation used its experience in refrigeration to introduce the automobile industry's first compact and affordable, single-unit heating and air conditioning system optional for its Nash models. This was the first mass market system with controls on the dash and an electric clutch. This system was also compact and serviceable with all of its components installed under the hood or in the cowl area.


title: Automobile air conditioning

text: Combining heating, cooling, and ventilating, the new air conditioning system for the Nash cars was called the "All-Weather Eye". This followed the marketing name of "Weather Eye" for Nash's fresh-air automotive heating and ventilating system that was first used in 1938. With a single thermostatic control, the Nash passenger compartment air cooling option was "a good and remarkably inexpensive" system. The system had cold air for passengers enter through dash-mounted vents. Nash's exclusive "remarkable advance" was not only the "sophisticated" unified system, but also its $345 price that beat all other systems.


title: Automobile air conditioning

text: Most competing systems used a separate heating system and an engine-mounted compressor, driven by the engine crankshaft via a belt, with an evaporator in the car's trunk to deliver cold air through the rear parcel shelf and overhead vents. General Motors offered a front-mounted air conditioning system made by its Harrison Division on 1954 Pontiacs with a straight-eight engine. It was very expensive and not a fully integrated system with separate controls and ducts for air distribution. The heater core continued to be a separate "Venti-Seat" or under the front seat system with its own controls. The unified alternative layout pioneered by Nash "became established practice and continues to form the basis of the modern and more sophisticated automatic climate control systems."


title: Automobile air conditioning

text: Air-conditioning for automobiles came into widespread use from the 1980s. Although air conditioners use significant power, the drag of a car with closed windows is less than if the windows are open to cool the occupants. There has been much debate on the effect of air conditioning on the fuel efficiency of a vehicle. Factors such as wind resistance, aerodynamics, engine power, and weight must be considered, to find the true difference between using the air conditioning system and not using it, when estimating the actual fuel mileage. Other factors can affect the engine, and an overall engine heat increase can affect the cooling system of the vehicle.


title: Automobile air conditioning

text: The innovation was adopted quickly and new features to air conditioning like the Cadillac Comfort Control which was a completely automatic heating and cooling system set by dial thermostat was introduced as an industry first in the 1964 model year. By 1960 about 20% of all cars in the U.S. had air-conditioning, with the percentage increasing to 80% in the warm areas of the Southwest. American Motors Corporation (AMC) made air conditioning standard equipment on all AMC Ambassadors starting with the 1968 model year, a first in the mass market, with a base price starting at $2,671. By 1969, 54% of domestic automobiles were equipped with air conditioning, with the feature needed not only for passenger comfort, but also to increase the car's resale value.


title: Automobile air conditioning

text: A car cooler is an automobile evaporative cooler, sometimes referred to as a swamp cooler. Most are aftermarket relatively inexpensive accessories consisting of an external window-mounted metal cylinder without moving parts, but internal under dashboard or center floor units with an electric fan are available. It was an early type of automobile air conditioner and is not used in modern cars relying on refrigerative systems to cool the interior.


title: Automobile air conditioning

text: To cool the air it used latent heat (in other words, cooling by water evaporation). Water inside the device evaporates and in the process transfers heat from the surrounding air. The cool moisture-laden air is then directed to the inside of the car. The evaporate "cooling" effect decreases with humidity because the air is already saturated with water. Therefore, the lower the humidity, such as in dry desert regions, the better the system works. Car coolers were popular, especially among summer tourists visiting or crossing the southwestern United States states of California, Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, and Nevada.


title: Automobile air conditioning

text: In the refrigeration cycle, heat is transported from the passenger compartment to the environment. A refrigerator is an example of such a system, as it transports the heat out of the interior and into the ambient environment.


title: Automobile air conditioning

text: Circulating refrigerant gas vapor (which also carries the compressor lubricant oil across the system along with it) from the evaporator enters the gas compressor in the engine bay, usually an axial piston pump compressor, and is compressed to a higher pressure, resulting in a higher temperature as well. The hot, compressed refrigerant vapor is now at a temperature and pressure at which it can be condensed and is routed through a condenser, usually in front of the car's radiator. Here the refrigerant is cooled by air flowing across the condenser coils (originating from the vehicle's movement or from a fan, often the same fan of the cooling radiator if the condenser is mounted on it, automatically turned on when the vehicle is stationary or moving at low speeds) and condensed into a liquid. Thus, the circulating refrigerant rejects heat from the system and the heat is carried away by the air.


title: Automobile air conditioning

text: In a thermal expansion valve air conditioning system, the condensed and pressurized liquid refrigerant is next routed through the receiver-drier, that is, a one-way desiccant and filter cartridge that both dehydrates the refrigerant and compressor lubricant oil mixture to remove any residual water content (which would become ice inside the expansion valve and therefore clog it) that the vacuum done prior to the charging process didn't manage to remove from the system, and filters it to remove any solid particles carried by the mixture, in addition to acting as a storage vessel for any excess liquid refrigerant during low cooling demand periods, and then through the thermal expansion valve where it undergoes an abrupt reduction in pressure. That pressure reduction results in flash evaporation of a part of the liquid refrigerant, lowering its temperature. The cold refrigerant is then routed through the evaporator coil in the passenger compartment.


title: Automobile air conditioning

text: When the expansion device is a simple fixed metering orifice, known as an orifice tube, the receiver-drier is instead located between the evaporator outlet and the compressor, and in this case, it is known as an accumulator. In such an air conditioning system, the accumulator also prevents the liquid refrigerant from reaching the compressor during low cooling demand periods.


title: Automobile air conditioning

text: The air, often after being filtered by a cabin air filter, is blown by an adjustable speed electric powered centrifugal fan across the evaporator, causing the liquid part of the cold refrigerant mixture to evaporate as well, further lowering the temperature. The warm air is therefore cooled, and also deprived of any humidity (which condenses on the evaporator coils and is drained outside of the vehicle) in the process. It is then passed through a heater matrix, inside of which the engine's coolant circulates, where it can be reheated to a certain degree or even a certain temperature selected by the user and then delivered inside the vehicle's cabin through a set of adjustable vents. Another way of adjusting the desired air temperature, this time by working on the system's cooling capacity, is precisely regulating the centrifugal fan speed so that only the strictly required volumetric flow rate of air is cooled by the evaporator. The user is also given the option to close the vehicle's external air flaps, to achieve even faster and stronger cooling by recirculating the already cooled air inside the cabin to the evaporator. Finally, whenever the compressor is able to be commanded to operate in a reduced displacement, the vent temperature can also be controlled by acting upon the compressor's displacement.


title: Automobile air conditioning

text: Evaporator freeze over, which stops air from flowing through the evaporator fins, can be prevented in different ways. A temperature switch or a thermistor can control the evaporator coil surface temperature, and a pressure switch or sensing element can monitor the suction pressure (which is in relationship with the refrigerant's evaporating temperature). Both control means can either act (either directly or by means of a control unit fed by their data) upon the compressor's clutch engagement status or, in the case of a variable displacement compressor, its displacement; additionally, a secondary valve located on the suction side can throttle the refrigerant flow so that the evaporator's outlet pressure doesn't fall below a precise value during system operation.


title: Automobile air conditioning

text: The warmer the air that reaches the evaporator, the higher the pressure of the vapor mixture discharged from it and therefore the higher is the load placed on the compressor and therefore on the engine to keep the refrigerant flowing through the system. Compressor load is also proportional to the condensing temperature.


title: Automobile air conditioning

text: The compressor can be driven by the car's engine (e.g. via a belt, often the serpentine belt, and an electromagnetically actuated clutch; an electronically actuated variable displacement compressor can also be always directly driven by a belt without the need of any clutch and magnet at all) or by an electric motor.


title: Automobile air conditioning

text: There are different methods for the repair and maintenance of the tube connections ensuring the refrigeration cycle. Conventional methods like soldering or welding lead to time and damaging soiling issues. The Lokring connection which is based on compressed fittings is easy to use and thus more time-efficient.


title: Automobile air conditioning

text: In a modern automobile, the A/C system will use around 4 horsepower (3 kW) of the engine's power, thus increasing fuel consumption of the vehicle.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: Temitope Balogun Joshua (12 June 1963 – 5 June 2021), popularly known as T. B. Joshua, was a Nigerian charismatic pastor, televangelist, and philanthropist. He was the leader and founder of Synagogue, Church of All Nations (SCOAN), a Christian megachurch that runs the Emmanuel TV television station from Lagos.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: Joshua was widely known across Africa and Latin America and had a large social media presence with over 6,000,000 fans on Facebook. His YouTube channel, Emmanuel TV, had over 1,000,000 subscribers and was the most-viewed Christian ministry on the platform before the channel was suspended by YouTube in 2021 for alleged homophobic hate speech. Joshua was described by media outlets as the "Oprah of Evangelism" and "YouTube's most popular pastor".


title: T. B. Joshua

text: Joshua was awarded various accolades, notably receiving the Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) by the Nigerian government in 2008 and being voted the Yoruba man of the decade by Pan-Yoruba media outlet Irohin-Odua. He was called one of Africa's 50 most influential people by Pan-African magazines "The Africa Report" and "New African Magazine".


title: T. B. Joshua

text: , according to "Forbes", Joshua was Nigeria's third-richest pastor, although the claim was immediately denied in a statement by the church. He was a controversial figure, and was officially blacklisted by the government of Cameroon in 2010.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: Joshua was born on June 12 of 1963 in Ondo State. According to Joshua, he spent 15 months in his mother's womb and narrowly avoided death after a quarry explosion near his house sent rocks through its roof just seven days after his birth. According to his followers, a prophecy about the birth of a man of God from the poor neighborhoods of Oosin in Arigidi Akoko given 100 years earlier applied to T. B. Joshua.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: Joshua, then known as "Balogun Francis", attended St. Stephen's Anglican Primary School in Arigidi Akoko, Nigeria, between 1971 and 1977, but failed to complete one year of secondary school education. In school, he was known as "small pastor" because of his love for the Bible. He worked in various casual jobs after his schooling had ended, including carrying chicken waste at a poultry farm. He organised Bible studies for local children and attended evening school during this period. Joshua attempted to join the Nigerian military but was thwarted due to a train breakdown that left him stranded en route to the military academy. He died on 5 June 2021 at his home in Lagos shortly after his Saturday night teaching of undisclosed cause.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: Joshua wrote that in a heavenly vision he had received divine anointing and a covenant from God to start his ministry. Following this, Joshua founded the ministry organisation known as Synagogue, Church of All Nations (SCOAN). According to the organisation, more than 15,000 members attend its weekly Sunday service; visitors from outside Nigeria are accommodated in the accommodation blocks constructed at the church.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: "The Guardian" reported that SCOAN attracts more weekly attendees than the combined number of visitors to Buckingham Palace and the Tower of London. SCOAN's popular services have also resulted in an enormous boost for local businesses and hoteliers.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: Despite Joshua's popularity, the church has only one branch, located in Ghana. According to Joshua, "it is not yet time" for him to have branches worldwide as "it will be too much for my character".


title: T. B. Joshua

text: SCOAN has been described as “Nigeria’s biggest tourist attraction” and “the most visited destination by religious tourists in West Africa,” with thousands of foreigners flocking to attend the church's weekly services. Figures released by the Nigerian Immigration Service indicated that six out of every ten foreign travellers coming into Nigeria are bound for SCOAN, a fact discussed in Zimbabwean parliament when addressing the economic potentials of religious tourism.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: "This Day" newspaper reported that “about two million local and inbound tourists” visit SCOAN annually. The church's popularity has led to an increase in flight routes to Lagos from several African countries in 2013. Joshua's contribution to Nigeria's religious tourism was highlighted when the cleric hinted at the possibility of relocating his ministry to Israel during a Sunday service. Several prominent Nigerians opposed the relocation, urging Joshua to remain in the country, and citing the economic setbacks Nigeria would likely experience as a result of his potential relocation.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: Many people have said they were healed by anointing water that had been prayed over by Joshua and given to those who were unable to physically attend his church in Lagos. Others say they were protected from deadly incidents because they were carrying the water with them.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: In 2013, four people died in a stampede in Joshua's Ghanaian branch when an unadvertised service in which the water was being distributed drew huge crowds that exceeded the church's capacity. The incident nearly brought Ghana's capital city, Accra, to a standstill.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: Joshua also made headlines when he claimed his anointing water could cure people suffering from Ebola. He subsequently sent 4,000 bottles of the water alongside a cash gift of $50,000 to the Ebola-stricken nation of Sierra Leone. This came after Lagos State Health officials visited Joshua and requested that he publicly discourage Ebola victims from visiting his church for prayers. A Sierra Leonean politician later announced that the water helped stop the spread of the disease and cured several Ebola victims.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: SCOAN claims Joshua regularly facilitates miracles at the church. Several hundred people, both Nigerian and international, visit SCOAN each week to participate in prayer lines, in which visitors are prayed over by Joshua. SCOAN has published numerous videos claiming to document the healing of illnesses, disabilities, and injuries, many of which are known to be medically incurable, such as HIV/AIDS, blindness and open wounds.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: Spiritual healing at SCOAN has been the subject of several media reports, including a mention in "Time Magazine", an Associated Press interview and an article by Foreign Policy detailing the tendency of Nigerians to seek spiritual help due to insufficient medical facilities.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: Wide public debate was stirred within Nigeria when the father of abducted school girl Ese Oruru stated his intention to take his daughter to T.B. Joshua for prayers following her release. Similarly, a leaked report stating the intention of Nigeria's embattled former petroleum minister Diezani Alison-Madueke to visit Joshua for spiritual support in her battle against breast cancer elicited controversy.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: SCOAN is also known for the purported deliverance during its services of people allegedly possessed by evil spirits. Strange occurrences have been reported during these deliverance prayers, including the case of a South African girl who allegedly cried blood and a Liberian man who began behaving like a dog. A young man allegedly delivered from a homosexual demon at SCOAN also attracted widespread media attention, as did the purported transformation of a Paraguayan transvestite from a being a woman to a being a man. After deliverance, those involved often confess the atrocities which the evil spirit allegedly pushed them to engage in, such as prostitution, armed robbery, internet fraud and human trafficking.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: Ghanaian human rights lawyer Kwabla Senanu claimed that he was delivered from a spiritual problem. Similarly, Ghanaian musician Denise Williams said she was delivered from a demon that had pushed her to become a drug addict and to suicidal thoughts.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: Veteran Nigerian Nollywood actress Camilla Mberekpe was also reportedly delivered at SCOAN. Popular Nollywood actor Jim Iyke also said he received deliverance at SCOAN, and a video of the event subsequently went viral.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: A video of Kenyan Olympic athlete Mercy Cherono receiving deliverance through Joshua's prayers attracted widespread attention in Kenya. She subsequently testified in the company of her husband how the evil spirit had negatively affected her young marriage and career.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: Joshua travelled to Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Paraguay to hold what he called "crusades." He also visited Israel to receive a humanitarian award from ZAKA and to visit biblical sites. Joshua's "Miracle Crusade" in Cali, Colombia in July 2014 was allegedly attended by 100,000 people and held in the Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero. He travelled to the iconic Estadio Azteca in Mexico, and was allegedly visited by 200,000 people over two days in May 2015. Joshua's two-day visit to Estadio Monumental "U" in Lima, Peru, attracted nearly 100,000 in September 2016, making headlines in local Peruvian media. In August 2017, Joshua held a Crusade in Paraguay at Estadio Defensores del Chaco. His visit caused a media storm when the Paraguayan parliament approved that the cleric be awarded the National Order of Merit, the country's highest honour, which is usually reserved only for Paraguayan citizens. Testimonies from those who alleged they were healed through Joshua's prayers at the crusade made headlines in local media.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: In June 2019, Joshua held a two-day event at the Amphitheatre of Mount Precipice in Nazareth, Israel, the historic hometown of Jesus Christ. The event was the subject of intense media scrutiny. Local religious officials told their followers to boycott the event and several small protests were held calling for the event's cancellation. However, an estimated 15,000 people travelled from over 50 nations to attend the event, significantly boosting local tourism.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: A "Forbes" blogger estimated that Joshua spent $20 million on "education, healthcare and rehabilitation programs for former Niger Delta militants". There is also a rehabilitation programme for militants from Nigeria's volatile Niger Delta region, repentant armed robbers and sex workers who came to the church for 'deliverance'.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: Joshua provided financial aid to several communities in distress, notably providing two electrical transformers to a local community after theirs was burned beyond repair. He donated over N26m to help restore electricity and put an end to over two years of power outage in four councils in the Akoko area of Ondo State. The cleric has additionally made several large donations to police forces in Nigeria, Ghana and Colombia.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: SCOAN has a 'scholarship program' which caters for the academic needs of students in their thousands, ranging from primary to tertiary education. In 2012, Joshua sponsored a Nigerian student doing a PhD in Oxford University, with Nigerian media reporting she received £100,000 from the church. He also gave a scholarship to a young Motswana to study at Harvard Law School in America.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: After the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Joshua sent a team of medical personnel and humanitarian workers to the affected area, establishing a field hospital called 'Clinique Emmanuel'.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: He additionally sent support to nations such as Philippines, India and Ghana in the wake of varying natural disasters. The 'Emmanuel TV Team' also assisted victims of the earthquake that struck the nation of Ecuador in April 2016, providing over $500,000 worth of humanitarian aid.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: Joshua funded the building and running of a school in Lahore, Pakistan named 'Emmanuel School'. He also rebuilt a school in a rural area destroyed by the 2016 Ecuador earthquake, travelling to Ecuador for the opening of the school in June 2017.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: Several groups of Nigerians attempting illegal travel to Europe through Libya have been supported at SCOAN following their deportation from the North African nation with only the clothes on their backs. Stories of the harsh conditions they encountered and Joshua's subsequent assistance made headlines in several local newspapers.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: In 2009, Joshua started a football club, My People FC, as part of efforts to help the youth. Two members of the team played for Nigeria's Golden Eaglets in the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup. Sani Emmanuel, who apparently lived in SCOAN for several years, was Nigeria's top-scorer and the tournament's MVP. Emmanuel and his colleague Ogenyi Onazi signed professional contracts with SS Lazio, Onazi a key player for the Nigerian Senior Team, the Super Eagles.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: WBO International Light Middleweight boxing champion King Davidson Emenogu said that Joshua has financially supported him throughout his career and purportedly prophesied that he would be a world boxing champion.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: Joshua was involved in the meeting of the family of the late president of Liberia, Samuel Doe, with the former warlord Prince Yormie Johnson who was responsible for Doe's death. During this meeting the family publicly forgave Johnson who said it was through Joshua's prayers that he stopped drinking alcohol and turned to Christianity.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: The cleric also played a prominent role in reconciling broken homes and restoring families torn apart by false accusations.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: In recognition of his humanitarian activities, he was awarded a National Honour by the Nigerian government in 2008 as well as receiving a letter of appreciation from the United Nations. He was further honoured as an Ambassador of Peace by the Arewa Youth Forum, a predominantly Muslim organisation, as well as being recognised with an 'award of excellence' by ZAKA, Israel's primary rescue and recovery voluntary service.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: SCOAN claims that Joshua has successfully predicted events in the lives of individuals who attend his church services as well as worldwide events, including a purported prophecy of Michael Jackson's death, and the outcome of two African Cup of Nations (AFCON) final matches, which were won by Zambia and Nigeria respectively. He has been voted by the public among the most famous prophets.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: His prophecy about the impending death of an African president was widely reported in African press. Joshua's followers believe the prophecy concerned the former president of Malawi Bingu wa Mutharika who died in 2012, aged 78.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: False rumors spread using Joshua's name are known to have caused widespread panic in communities, affected sporting events, music concerts and led people to stop using social networks.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: When Hamza Al-Mustapha, the Chief Security Officer of former Nigerian President Sani Abacha, was released after eleven years of imprisonment, his first port of call was to Joshua's church in acknowledgement of a 'prophecy' the cleric allegedly gave him when Abacha was still in power.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: SCOAN released a video claiming that TB Joshua predicted the Malaysia Airlines MH370 event. The prophecy received a lot of attention on social media and its accompanying YouTube video amassed over 1 million views.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: Several terrorist attacks perpetrated by ISIS, Al-Qaeda affiliates and Al-Shabaab militants have allegedly been predicted by Joshua, including the November 2015 Paris attacks, the Garissa University College attack in Kenya, the Ouagadougou hotel siege in Burkina Faso and the 2016 Brussels Bombings. It is also claimed that he predicted the Boston bombing attacks in America.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: Joshua's alleged prophecy in April 2016 that an impending terror attack would befall Ghana made national headlines in the West African nation and led the national police to issue a statement calling for the general public to be calm and vigilant. 600 foreigners reportedly cancelled their visits to Ghana in the wake of the statement. Days later, a captured Malian terrorist confessed that his group had planned to target Ghana.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: Joshua incorrectly predicted that Hillary Clinton would win the 2016 US election. After this prophecy failed to materialise, with Donald Trump winning the election, Joshua stated that he was referring to Clinton's win in the popular vote and any misinterpretation was due to a lack of "spiritual understanding".


title: T. B. Joshua

text: A video of Joshua predicting "the military" of an undisclosed Southern African nation embarrassing, killing or capturing "a President or Vice-President ... or the First Lady of that nation‚” surfaced on social media after the statement, which was made and recorded in August 2014, was interpreted as a prophecy of the 2017 Zimbabwean coup d'état against Robert Mugabe.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: A BBC Africa journalist once suggested that Joshua was “the most powerful man in Africa” due to his alleged influence in the African political sphere.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: Days after the late John Atta Mills became President of Ghana in 2009, his first port of call was Joshua's church for a thanksgiving service where he revealed the cleric had accurately ‘prophesied’ his ascension to power and specific details relating to his narrow victory over Nana Akufo-Addo. Joshua was a regular visitor to Ghana during Mills' early presidency and allegedly organised prayer warriors to be praying in Osu Castle.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: Joshua's much-publicised prophecy concerning the death of Malawian President Bingu Mutharika garnered intense media attention and was subsequently the subject of a Malawian government inquiry as his successor, Joyce Banda, is a devotee of the cleric. Banda claimed Joshua's prayers healed her husband after he suffered a stroke and regularly visited Joshua in Nigeria while she was Head of State.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: Joshua played the role of a peacemaker in the aftermath of the Tanzanian elections in 2015, visiting the country to meet and hold reconciliatory talks with President John Magufuli – a member of his church – and opposition leader Edward Lowassa. Commentators acknowledged his visit significantly reduced tensions in the country after the elections which the opposition party alleged were fraught with irregularities.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: Joshua was a key influence in former Liberian warlord Senator Prince Yormie Johnson’s decision to endorse the candidacy of George Weah for president in the 2017 Liberian elections. His endorsement came days after the two were spotted publicly together in SCOAN, a visit that caused a media storm in Liberia. Weah's main opponent and former Vice President, Joseph Boakai, also allegedly requested to visit Joshua in light of the elections. Weah eventually won the election to become Liberia's 25th President.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: In November 2019, Joshua visited South Sudan where he was received by President Salva Kiir Mayardit. He led Mayardit and his cabinet in prayers for peace at the nation’s Presidential Palace in Juba and called on leaders to overcome their differences in a message broadcast on South Sudan’s state television. In February 2020, South Sudan finally formed a unity government with peace brokered between Mayardit and rival leader Riek Machar.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: Emmanuel TV, the SCOAN television station, was founded on 8 March 2006 by Joshua. Its Sunday services are broadcast live. Joshua's programmes also air weekly on a number of local television stations across Africa. It debuted on DStv and GOtv in November 2015, as well as StarTimes in February 2016. In its profile on Joshua, the BBC described him as "Nigeria's best known televangelist".


title: T. B. Joshua

text: Emmanuel TV's motto is 'Changing lives, changing nations, changing the world.' The station is also known for its catch-phrase, ‘Distance Is Not A Barrier’, encouraging viewers to ‘pray along’ with T.B. Joshua by ‘touching the screen’. There are several claims of people receiving miraculous 'healing' through these prayers, including popular Nollywood actress Tonto Dikeh who said Joshua's prayers ended her 14-year smoking addiction.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: Joshua earned a reputation for not focusing on the 'Prosperity Gospel' and Emmanuel TV is known as one of the few Christian channels that does not engage in fundraising on air.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: In April 2021, YouTube suspended Emmanuel TV's channel as a result of alleged hate speech by Joshua in videos on the channel. At the time the channel was suspended, it had over 1,800,000 subscribers and 400 million views. The allegations of hate speech referred to claims made by Joshua in at least seven videos that homosexuality is the result of possession by demonic spirits and that homosexuality can and should be cured via spiritual deliverance. At the time of the channel's suspension, it was the most-viewed Christian ministry on the platform.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: Google ranked one of Emmanuel TV's YouTube videos as the fourth-most viewed clip ever within Nigeria.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: Joshua was publicly condemned by several prominent pastors within Nigeria, his most vocal critic being Pastor Chris Okotie who described him as a 'son of the devil'. The Christian Association of Nigeria and Pentecostal Fellowship Of Nigeria both acknowledged Joshua was not a member of either organisation and denounced him as an 'impostor'. Enoch Adeboye, David Oyedepo, Ayo Oritsejafor, Paul Adefarasin and Matthew Ashimolowo are among the pastors who publicly denounced Joshua, as did disgraced American megachurch leader Ted Haggard.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: He was 'blacklisted' by the government of Cameroon in 2010 and termed a 'son of the devil'. Rumours of a visit by Joshua to Zimbabwe in 2012 led to an intense national debate, culminating with pastors and politicians strongly objecting.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: In 2011, several media houses in UK reported at least three people in London with HIV died after they stopped taking life saving drugs on the advice of their pastors. The HIV prevention charity African Health Policy Network (AHPN) believed that SCOAN "may" be one of those involved in such practices although the three in question have no demonstrable link to SCOAN. The BBC quoted SCOAN as saying "No, we do not ask people to stop taking their medication".


title: T. B. Joshua

text: On 14 September 2015, it was reported that Joshua "secretly purchased a $60 Million Gulfstream G550 Private Jet". These rumors were dismissed as false by a media aide of Joshua.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: A self-confessed member of the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram came to SCOAN in March 2014, allegedly with plans to 'bomb' the church. According to him, it was Joshua's prayers that prevented the plan and later compelled him to confess. The subsequent clip of the confession went viral on YouTube and proved very controversial. A group known as the "Movement for Accountability and Good Governance", has called for the investigation of the incident based on the claims that were made.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: On 12 September 2014, a guesthouse collapsed in SCOAN's premises in Lagos killing at least 115 people, 84 of them South Africans. Controversy has continued to swirl around the circumstances that led to the collapse, with the former Nigerian Minister of Aviation Femi Fani-Kayode alleging Nigeria's intelligence agencies ‘blew up’ the building.


title: T. B. Joshua

text: Nigeria's Premium Times newspaper stated that Joshua incorporated a company called Chillon Consultancy Limited in the British Virgin Islands in June 2006, based on reports stemming from the Panama Papers leak. Joshua immediately denied his involvement, stating on Facebook, "I am not a businessman and have no business whatsoever. What God has given me is more than enough."


title: T. B. Joshua

text: A prominent Nigerian Muslim cleric, Sheikh Hussaini Yusuf Mabera, threatened to drag Joshua to court for "describing Jesus Christ as God".


title: T. B. Joshua

text: Joshua was married to Evelyn Joshua and together they had three children, all girls. He died on 5 June 2021 after one of his evening services in Lagos, Nigeria, just one week prior to his 58th birthday. No cause of death was given.


title: Hilda and the Mountain King

text: Hilda and the Mountain King (marketed as Hilda: The Mountain King) is a 2021 2D-animated adventure fantasy film directed by Andy Coyle and based on the sixth edition of the "Hilda" graphic novel series by Luke Pearson of the same name, and is a continuation from the second-season finale of the "Hilda" animated series. The film features the voices of Bella Ramsey, Ameerah Falzon-Ojo, Oliver Nelson, Daisy Haggard, Rasmus Hardiker, John Hopkins and Lucy Montgomery.


title: Hilda and the Mountain King

text: Production of "Hilda and the Mountain King" started in late 2019, and the film was produced by Silvergate Media and Mercury Filmworks. The opening credits were animated by Giant Ant. A trailer for the movie released on December 2, 2021, and was released as a Netflix film on December 30, 2021.


title: Hilda and the Mountain King

text: This film is dedicated to Kevin Kocvar and Terry O'Reilley, members of the animation department who died before the film's release.


title: Hilda and the Mountain King

text: Picking up from the season 2 finale "The Stone Forest", Hilda, now a troll, runs away from Trylla and is petrified by the sunlight when she leaves the Stone Forest. Meanwhile, in Trolberg, Johanna discovers Baba in Hilda's place, and Tontu deduces Hilda had been the victim of a changeling spell. Realizing what this means, Johanna, Baba, Tontu, Alfur, and Twig go searching for Hilda but are unable to locate the entrance into the Stone Forest.


title: Hilda and the Mountain King

text: Elsewhere, Erik Ahlberg holds a press conference in which he announces a curfew because of the increasing troll activity outside Trolberg. While watching, David's mom becomes intrigued by an advertisement to volunteer for the Trolberg Safety Patrol. Later, the students of Edmund Ahlberg Elementary School are shown a safety video about trolls, but Frida and David protest the inaccurate information portrayed in the video.


title: Hilda and the Mountain King

text: As evening approaches and with still no sign of Hilda, Johanna runs into a group of Safety Patrol officers, and reluctantly returns home. After sunset, Hilda unpetrifies, and finds herself unable to return to Trolberg because of the belltowers. As she retreats, Hilda stumbles upon a huge cave with dozens of bells hanging from the top of the entrance. Inside, she finds a gigantic troll, who calls himself Trundle. He tells Hilda he will help her become human again if she completes some tasks for him. He also assures her that Trylla means no harm, and Hilda reluctantly returns to Trylla. They retreat into the Stone Forest to escape the rising sun. When the two arrive outside the mountains, Hilda "feels" a strange sound, which Trylla explains is something that all trolls hear, calling them to the city of Trolberg, and that the call has been growing stronger lately.


title: Hilda and the Mountain King

text: Frida and David discover Hilda's predicament when Baba escapes from Tontu's care and so Frida, against the advice of Kaisa, unsuccessfully attempts a body swap spell. Night falls again, and Hilda secretly brings a cup of troll mead to Trundle, the first task, who then instructs her to remove the bells that trap him in the cave.