title: Supply (economics)

text: In economics, supply is the amount of a resource that firms, producers, labourers, providers of financial assets, or other economic agents are willing and able to provide to the marketplace or to an individual. Supply can be in produced goods, labour time, raw materials, or any other scarce or valuable object. Supply is often plotted graphically as a supply curve, with the price per unit on the vertical axis and quantity supplied as a function of price on the horizontal axis. This reversal of the usual position of the dependent variable and the independent variable is an unfortunate but standard convention.


title: Supply (economics)

text: The supply curve can be either for an individual seller or for the market as a whole, adding up the quantity supplied by all sellers. The quantity supplied is for a particular time period (e.g., the tons of steel a firm would supply in a year), but the units and time are often omitted in theoretical presentations.


title: Supply (economics)

text: In the goods market, supply is the amount of a product per unit of time that producers are willing to sell at various given prices when all other factors are held constant. In the labor market, the supply of labor is the amount of time per week, month, or year that individuals are willing to spend working, as a function of the wage rate.


title: Supply (economics)

text: In financial markets, the money supply is the amount of highly liquid assets available in the money market, which is either determined or influenced by a country's monetary authority. This can vary based on which type of money supply one is discussing. M1 for example is commonly used to refer to narrow money, coins, cash, and other money equivalents that can be converted to currency nearly instantly. M2 by contrast includes all of M1 but also includes short-term deposits and certain types of market funds.


title: Supply (economics)

text: A supply schedule is a table which shows how much one or more firms will be willing to supply at particular prices under the existing circumstances. Some of the more important factors affecting supply are the good's own price, the prices of related goods, production costs, technology, the production function, and expectations of sellers.


title: Supply (economics)

text: Innumerable factors and circumstances could affect a seller's willingness or ability to produce and sell a good. Some of the more common factors are:


title: Supply (economics)

text: This list is not exhaustive. All facts and circumstances that are relevant to a seller's willingness or ability to produce and sell goods can affect supply. For example, if the forecast is for snow retail sellers will respond by increasing their stocks of snow sleds or skis or winter clothing or bread and milk.


title: Supply (economics)

text: Due to their nature of having a short shelf life, immediately after harvest they are offered in the market for sale in large quantities during which prices are usually low.


title: Supply (economics)

text: For example some commodities which depend on the machine set up, in this case at different prices in the market the commodity may be offered in the same quantity.


title: Supply (economics)

text: The senior management/executive positions have high wages but work a few hours as compared to staff members who earn middle wage levels but work for the longest hours.


title: Supply (economics)

text: Supply functions, then, may be classified according to the source from which they come: consumers or firms. Each type of supply function is now considered in turn. In so doing, the following notational conventions are employed: There are I produced goods, each defining a single industry, and J factors. The indices i = 1,…, I and J = 1,…, J run, respectively, over produced goods (industries) and factors. Let n index all goods by first listing produced goods and then factors so that n = 1,…, I, I + 1,…, I + J. The number of firms in industry i is written L i, and these firms are indexed by l = 1,…, L i. There are K consumers enumerated as k = 1,…, K. The variable formula_1represents the quantities of factor j consumed by consumer k. This person can have endowments of good j from formula_2to formula_3. If formula_1 < formula_3then person k is a supplier of j. If the opposite is true, they are a consumer of j.


title: Supply (economics)

text: The supply function is the mathematical expression of the relationship between supply and those factors that affect the willingness and ability of a supplier to offer goods for sale. An example would be the curve implied by formula_6 where formula_7 is the price of the good and formula_8 is the price of a related good. The semicolon means that the variables to the right are held constant when quantity supplied is plotted against the good's own price. The supply equation is the explicit mathematical expression of the functional relationship. A linear example is formula_9 Here formula_10 is the repository of all non-specified factors that affect supply for the product. The coefficient of formula_7 is positive following the general rule that price and quantity supplied are directly related. formula_8 is the price of a related good. Typically, its coefficient is negative because the related good is an input or a source of inputs.


title: Supply (economics)

text: Movements along the curve occur only if there is a change in quantity supplied caused by a change in the good's own price. A shift in the supply curve, referred to as a change in supply, occurs only if a non-price determinant of supply changes. For example, if the price of an ingredient used to produce the good, a related good, were to increase, the supply curve would shift left.


title: Supply (economics)

text: By convention in the context of supply and demand graphs, economists graph the dependent variable (quantity) on the horizontal axis and the independent variable (price) on the vertical axis. The "inverse supply equation" is the equation written with the vertical-axis variable isolated on the left side: formula_13. As an example, if the supply equation is formula_14 then the inverse supply equation would be formula_15.


title: Supply (economics)

text: A firm's short-run supply curve is the marginal cost curve above the shutdown point—the short-run marginal cost curve (SRMC) above the minimum average variable cost. The portion of the SRMC below the shutdown point is not part of the supply curve because the firm is not producing any output. The firm's long-run supply curve is that portion of the long-run marginal cost curve above the minimum of the long run average cost curve.


title: Supply (economics)

text: The Law of Diminishing Marginal Returns (LDMR) shapes the SRMC curve. The LDMR states that as production increases eventually a point (the point of diminishing marginal returns) will be reached after which additional units of output resulting from fixed increments of the labor input will be successively smaller. That is, beyond the point of diminishing marginal returns the marginal product of labor will continually decrease and hence a continually higher selling price would be necessary to induce the firm to produce more and more output.


title: Supply (economics)

text: The market supply curve can be translated into an equation. For a factor j for example the market supply function is


title: Supply (economics)

text: Note: not all assumptions that can be made for individual supply functions translate over to market supply functions directly.


title: Supply (economics)

text: The law of supply dictates that all other things remaining equal, an increase in the price of the good in question results in an increase in quantity supplied. In other words, the supply curve slopes upwards. However, there are exceptions to the law of supply. Not all supply curves slope upwards.


title: Supply (economics)

text: Some heterodox economists, such as Steve Keen and Dirk Ehnts, dispute this theory of the supply curve, arguing that the supply curve for mass produced goods is often downward-sloping: as production increases, unit prices go down, and conversely, if demand is very low, unit prices go up. This corresponds to economies of scale.


title: Supply (economics)

text: The price elasticity of supply (PES) measures the responsiveness of quantity supplied to changes in price, as the percentage change in quantity supplied induced by a one percent change in price. It is calculated for discrete changes as formula_19 and for smooth changes of differentiable supply functions as formula_20. Since supply is usually increasing in price, the price elasticity of supply is usually positive. For example, if the PES for a good is 0.67 a 1% rise in price will induce a two-thirds increase in quantity supplied.


title: Supply (economics)

text: Other elasticities can be calculated for non-price determinants of supply. For example, the percentage change the amount of the good supplied caused by a one percent increase in the price of a related good is an input elasticity of supply if the related good is an input in the production process. An example would be the change in the supply of cookies caused by a one percent increase in the price of sugar.


title: Supply (economics)

text: The slope of a linear supply curve is constant; the elasticity is not. If the linear supply curve intersects the price axis, PES will be infinitely elastic at the point of intersection. The coefficient of elasticity decreases as one moves "up" the curve. However, all points on the supply curve will have a coefficient of elasticity greater than one. If the linear supply curve intersects the quantity axis PES will equal zero at the point of intersection and will increase as one moves up the curve; however, all points on the curve will have a coefficient of elasticity less than 1. If the linear supply curve intersects the origin PES equals one at the point of origin and along the curve.


title: Supply (economics)

text: There is no such thing as a monopoly supply curve. Perfect competition is the only market structure for which a supply function can be derived. In a perfectly competitive market the price is given by the marketplace from the point of view of the supplier; a manager of a competitive firm can state what quantity of goods will be supplied for any price by simply referring to the firm's marginal cost curve. To generate his supply function the seller could simply initially hypothetically set the price equal to zero and then incrementally increase the price; at each price he could calculate the hypothetical quantity supplied using the marginal cost curve. Following this process the manager could trace out the complete supply function. A monopolist cannot replicate this process because price is not imposed by the marketplace and hence is not an independent variable from the point of view of the firm; instead, the firm simultaneously chooses both the price and the quantity subject to the stipulation that together they form a point on the customers' demand curve. A change in demand can result in "changes in price with no changes in output, changes in output with no changes in price or both". There is simply not a one-to-one relationship between price and quantity supplied. There is no single function that relates price to quantity supplied.


title: Ecdysozoa

text: Ecdysozoa () is a group of protostome animals, including Arthropoda (insects, chelicerata, crustaceans, and myriapods), Nematoda, and several smaller phyla. They were first defined by Aguinaldo "et al." in 1997, based mainly on phylogenetic trees constructed using 18S ribosomal RNA genes. A large study in 2008 by Dunn "et al." strongly supported the Ecdysozoa as a clade, that is, a group consisting of a common ancestor and all its descendants.


title: Ecdysozoa

text: The group is also supported by morphological characters, and includes all animals that grow by ecdysis, moulting their cuticle.


title: Ecdysozoa

text: The group was initially contested by a significant minority of biologists. Some argued for groupings based on more traditional taxonomic techniques, while others contested the interpretation of the molecular data.


title: Ecdysozoa

text: The most notable characteristic shared by ecdysozoans is a three-layered cuticle (four in Tardigrada) composed of organic material, which is periodically molted as the animal grows. This process of molting is called ecdysis, and gives the group its name. The ecdysozoans lack locomotory cilia and produce mostly amoeboid sperm, and their embryos do not undergo spiral cleavage as in most other protostomes. Ancestrally, the group exhibited sclerotized teeth within the foregut, and a ring of spines around the mouth opening, though these features have been secondarily lost in certain groups. A respiratory and circulatory system is only present in onychophorans and arthropods (often absent in smaller arthropods like mites); in the rest of the groups, both systems are missing.


title: Ecdysozoa

text: The Ecdysozoa include the following phyla: Arthropoda, Onychophora, Tardigrada, Kinorhyncha, Priapulida, Loricifera, Nematoda, and Nematomorpha. A few other groups, such as the gastrotrichs, have been considered possible members but lack the main characters of the group, and are now placed elsewhere. The Arthropoda, Onychophora, and Tardigrada have been grouped together as the Panarthropoda because they are distinguished by segmented body plans. Dunn "et al." in 2008 suggested that the tardigrada could be grouped along with the nematodes, leaving Onychophora as the sister group to the arthropods. The non-panarthropod members of Ecdysozoa have been grouped as Cycloneuralia but they are more usually considered paraphyletic in representing the primitive condition from which the Panarthropoda evolved.


title: Ecdysozoa

text: A modern consensus phylogenetic tree for the protostomes is shown below. It is indicated when approximately clades radiated into newer clades in millions of years ago (Mya); dashed lines show especially uncertain placements.


title: Ecdysozoa

text: The phylogenetic tree is based on Nielsen "et.al." with provisional placement of Loricifera from Hiroshi "et al."


title: Ecdysozoa

text: The grouping proposed by Aguinaldo "et al." is almost universally accepted, replacing an older hypothesis that Panarthropoda should be classified with Annelida in a group called the Articulata, and that Ecdysozoa are polyphyletic. Nielsen has suggested that a possible solution is to regard Ecdysozoa as a sister-group of Annelida, though later considered them unrelated.


title: Ecdysozoa

text: Inclusion of the roundworms within the Ecdysozoa was initially contested but since 2003, a broad consensus has formed supporting the Ecdysozoa and in 2011 the Darwin–Wallace Medal was awarded to James Lake for the discovery of the New Animal Phylogeny consisting of the Ecdysozoa, the Lophotrochozoa, and the Deuterostomia.


title: Ecdysozoa

text: Before Aguinaldo's Ecdysozoa proposal, one of the prevailing theories for the evolution of the bilateral animals was based on the morphology of their body cavities. There were three types, or grades of organization: the Acoelomata (no coelom), the Pseudocoelomata (partial coelom), and the Eucoelomata (true coelom). Adoutte and coworkers were among the first to strongly support the Ecdysozoa. With the introduction of molecular phylogenetics, the coelomate hypothesis was abandoned, although some molecular, phylogenetic support for the Coelomata continued until as late as 2005.


title: Super Castlevania IV

text: Super Castlevania IV is a 1991 platform game developed and published by Konami. Released originally for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it has been re-released multiple times, including for the Super NES Classic Edition.


title: Super Castlevania IV

text: "Super Castlevania IV" features expanded play control, 16-bit graphics featuring Super NES's Mode 7, and a soundtrack featuring new pieces and arrangements based on previous "Castlevania" music. Following the same setting as "Castlevania" on the NES, the game takes place in 1691 Transylvania, where the vampire hunter Simon Belmont must defeat the vampire Dracula. The game received critical acclaim with some calling it one of the greatest video games of all time.


title: Super Castlevania IV

text: "Super Castlevania IV" is a side-scrolling platform game where the player takes control of Simon through eleven levels. Players begin the game with five lives, and it ends in a game over once they have lost them all. The player will lose a life if all of Simon's health gauge is depleted, fall into a hole or if they do not finish the level within the time limit. The health gauge can be restored through food items that can be dropped from candles and breakable blocks, or with the Magic Crystal, which is received after defeating the boss at the end of each level. A password can be entered to continue the game.


title: Super Castlevania IV

text: With Simon's whip, players can attack enemies in eight directions with the use of the control pad. By holding down the attack button, the whip will go limp and can be waved around with the control pad, which can be used to block projectiles. The length and power of the whip can be increased up to two levels by collecting an item called the Morning Star. The whip is used for fighting and for latching onto rings to swing over areas that are too wide or dangerous for the player to jump across. In addition to jumping, the player can control Simon to move while crouching.


title: Super Castlevania IV

text: Like its predecessors, players can use secondary weapons that consume Simon's "Hearts", which are dropped from candles and enemies. The secondary weapons include an axe which can be thrown in an arc, a watch which stops all enemy motion and a dagger that can be thrown across the screen. Collecting the items known as the Double and Triple Shots allows the player to throw secondary weapons up to three times in a row.


title: Super Castlevania IV

text: "Super Castlevania IV" was directed by Masahiro Ueno (credited in the game as Jun Furano since Konami did not allow the use of real names at the time), who was also the main programmer. His first 16-bit game, Ueno's team possibly started development on it during 1989. Ueno liked the original "Castlevania" for the Nintendo Entertainment System the most and wanted to make a pure action game that was similar to it. Ueno only considers "Super Castlevania IV" a remake of the original "Castlevania" to some extent. Early design documents depict the player-character in modern attire, since the setting was not decided at the time. Many features in "Super Castlevania IV" were introduced to make it a less frustrating game for players, such as giving them more control over Simon when he walked up stairs.


title: Super Castlevania IV

text: Due to the team being small, everyone was involved with the design and some ideas came from the creative artists and others by the programmers' experiments. The team drew maps on paper and a lot was changed as the game was worked on. Branching stages, previously seen in "", were once considered but not included in "Super Castlevania IV". Mitsuru Yaida (credited as Yaipon) programmed Simon and also implemented the game's whip system, which was to introduce some new gameplay that was not possible on the NES. This idea was once planned for the original "Castlevania" game. As the enemy and boss programmer, Ueno conceived some rough ideas and additional programmers would implement more detailed boss patterns. Earlier bosses were designed to be easier so that players could discover weak points and effective weapons without retrying. Ueno worked on both the Japanese and English versions of the game, with the latter featuring some instances of censorship. He was asked to alter the color palette in the English version in order to remove some depictions of blood in stage eight.


title: Super Castlevania IV

text: The packaging artwork for the North American and European versions was created by Tom Dubois, who designed the packaging for many other Konami titles outside Japan.


title: Super Castlevania IV

text: The game was released in Japan on October 31, 1991 for the Super Famicom. It was released in North America in December 1991. The game sold a little over 500,000 copies worldwide. Factor 5 created a short demo of the game running on the Mega Drive and presented it to Konami. Konami was impressed but ultimately chose to keep all Mega Drive development in-house, and did not pursue porting the game to the system.


title: Super Castlevania IV

text: The game has been re-released on several platforms over the years. It was re-released on the Virtual Console in 2006 for the Wii, in 2013 for the Wii U, and in 2016 for the New Nintendo 3DS. In September 2017, it was included on Nintendo's Super NES Classic Edition, a miniature replica of the Super NES featuring many built-in games. The game is included in "Castlevania Anniversary Collection", a compilation of past "Castlevania" installments released on May 17, 2019 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Microsoft Windows.


title: Super Castlevania IV

text: The music for "Super Castlevania IV" was composed by Masanori Adachi and Taro Kudo (credited as Masanori Oodachi and Taro respectively). Ueno wanted to make the environment of "Super Castlevania IV" more interactive and was proud of how the game's sound effects and music contributed to the atmosphere. It was released on "Akumajō Dracula Best 2" in a compilation with "" and ""s music. On June 21, 2017, the game's music was released on vinyl by Mondo.


title: Super Castlevania IV

text: Upon "Super Castlevania IV's" North American release, the game was acclaimed by critics. "Nintendo Power" gave the game four overall scores of 4.0, 4.0, 4.5 and 4.5 out of 5. Among several items, the magazine cited the game's graphics, music, and action sequences as positives. In 1994 the game was reviewed by Sandy Petersen in "Dragon" #209's "Eye of the Monitor" column. In 1992, "Entertainment Weekly" wrote, "Vampire noir: dark, earthy colors; ominous, almost subliminal sound effects — and when your hero swings from chandeliers or dispatches monsters with his iron flail, a spine-tingling sense of impending doom."


title: Super Castlevania IV

text: "Super Castlevania IV" has been praised in retrospective reviews as well. In a 1997 "Castlevania" retrospective, "GamePro" said it "is still one of the all-time best games". It was named by "Nintendo Power" in a 2006 issue as the 66th best game made on a Nintendo system. It was ranked 27 in the last issue. "Official Nintendo Magazine" placed the game at 70 on their list of the 100 best Nintendo games ever. "Game Informer" review opined that it "perfect[ed] the classic formula" due to its whip and less stiff gameplay. It also praised its use of Mode 7. In a review for the release on the Wii U's eShop, "Nintendo Life" wrote "Unlike many of the other 16-bit platformers of the era, the game has a mature and distinguished feel to it", and concluded it was the best of the original "Castlevania" installments. In 2018, Complex listed the game 13th on their "The Best Super Nintendo Games of All Time", writing: "Next to "Symphony of the Night", this is the best "Castlevania" game of all time. The control is perfect, the progression is perfect, and even the ramping up of the difficulty is flawless, as it gets difficult in all the right spots. Also, it has the best soundtrack ever." In 1996, GamesMaster ranked the game 55th in its "Top 100 Games of All Time". Several publications have lauded it as one of the greatest video games of all time.


title: Al Rayyan

text: Al Rayyan (; also spelled as "Ar Rayyan") is the third-largest municipality in the state of Qatar. Its primary settlement is the city of the same name, which occupies the entire eastern section and largely surrounds Metropolitan Doha and functions as a suburb. The vast expanse of mostly undeveloped lands in the south-west also falls under the municipality's administration.


title: Al Rayyan

text: Similar to many other names given to Qatari settlements and municipalities, Al Rayyan Municipality was named after a geographic feature present in its namesake, the city of Al Rayyan. The city derives its name from the Arabic term "ray", which translates to "irrigation". This name was bestowed upon it due to its low elevation, allowing it to act as a flood plain and provide a sustained supply of water to the numerous plants that grew within its boundaries.


title: Al Rayyan

text: In March 1893, the Battle of Al Wajbah was fought between the Qataris and Ottomans at the recently built Al Wajbah Fort, located 10 miles west of Old Doha. Although Qatar did not gain full independence from the Ottoman Empire, the result of the battle is seen by Qataris as a defining moment in the establishment of Qatar as a modern state.


title: Al Rayyan

text: Al Rayyan Municipality was created as an independent municipal administration by the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning in 1972.


title: Al Rayyan

text: Since 2004, Al Jemailiya Municipality was merged with Al Rayyan, and Jariyan Al Batnah Municipality was split between Al Rayyan and Al Wakrah Municipality. Doha Industrial Area, also known as Zone 58, was split off from Al Rayyan and integrated into Doha Municipality, becoming an exclave of Doha.


title: Al Rayyan

text: In 2014, the western city of Al-Shahaniya was dissociated from Al Rayyan Municipality to form its own municipality. Integrating approximately 35% of Al Rayyan's area into the new municipality, some of Al Rayyan's western localities such as Al Gharbiam, Al Utouriya, Al Jemailiya, Umm Bab, Rawdat Rashed, Al Nasraniya, Dukhan and Al Khurayb were also included in the new municipality.


title: Al Rayyan

text: Al Rayyan is bordered by four municipalities: Umm Salal to the northeast, Al-Shahaniya to the west, Doha to the east and Al Wakrah to the southeast. It is divided into two main sections; the west consisting of scattered rural settlements, farms and open desert, and the east comprising the city of Al Rayyan, an urban offshoot of Metropolitan Doha's westward growth.


title: Al Rayyan

text: According to the Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME), the municipality accommodates 223 rawdas, 38 wadis, 24 jeris (places where water flows), six plains, six sabkhas, six capes, and six bays. No islands exist off its coasts. The MME recorded 50 hills, one of the most notable being Jebel Nakhsh, which stands 90 meters tall. Furthermore, there is one highland in the municipality, called Alaa Jaow Al Mathlouth Al Janoubi which consists of elevated surface south of an elongated depression and its namesake, Jaow Al Mathlouth.


title: Al Rayyan

text: Al Gharrafa, which is a district of Al Rayyan City and also a part of metropolitan Doha, is being developed as a large-scale commercial hub for residents of northwest Doha, northern Al Rayyan and southern Umm Salal. The district is already a well-established retail center, hosting many major malls and supermarkets. A small amount of residential developments are also planned for the district.


title: Al Rayyan

text: The municipality is divided into 10 zones which are then divided into 1410 blocks. As of 2017, Rashid Hamad Al-Hajri is the mayor of Al Rayyan Municipality.


title: Al Rayyan

text: Due to Al Rayyan's lack of a coastline in its population centers in the eastern section, fishing and pearling did not play a part in building its economy; this is in sharp contrast to Qatar's other urban centers which were largely dependent on maritime activities. Instead, nomadic herding of livestock and small-scale crop cultivation comprised the livelihoods of its past inhabitants.


title: Al Rayyan

text: According to government statistics recorded when Al-Shahaniya was still integrated into Al Rayyan, the municipality accounted for the majority of Qatar's farming activities. In 2015, 36% of Qatar's total farmland was based in Al Rayyan, putting it just ahead of Al Khor with 35% of the country's farmland. There were 499 farms occupying 17,136 hectares, most of which (256) were involved in cultivating crops, 234 of which were mixed operations, 8 of which raised livestock, and 1 categorized as "other". The municipality had a livestock inventory of 108,508, including 52,582 sheep and 27,380 goats. Livestock numbers were surpassed only by Al Khor.


title: Al Rayyan

text: Until 2017, Muaither Yard was the only farmers' market in the municipality. Qatar Foundation established Torba Farmers' Market in Education City in November 2017. Only organically grown produce is sold at this market.


title: Al Rayyan

text: According to the 2015 census conducted by the Ministry of Municipality and Environment, there were a total of 199 schools located in Al Rayyan at that time. State schools were recorded as amounting to 108 in the 2016 education census – 50 were exclusively for girls and 58 were for boys. A slightly higher number of students were male, at 23,558 compared to 23,455 female students.


title: Al Rayyan

text: Several schools have transferred to Al Rayyan from Doha as a result of lower operating costs and closer proximity to students.


title: Al Rayyan

text: Various universities main campuses in Education City, a city-scale project by Qatar Foundation which is spread across the Al Gharrafa, Gharrafat Al Rayyan and Al Shagub districts of Al Rayyan City. Among the universities are:


title: Al Rayyan

text: Healthcare standards in the municipality have been boosted by Sidra Medical and Research Center, which is in the Al Gharrafa district of Al Rayyan. Its initial inpatient hospital was formally opened in January 2018 with 400 beds. At peak operational capacity, it will serve more than 275,000 patients per year. Biomedical research is also conducted at Sidra, with its research facilities becoming operational in 2015.


title: Al Rayyan

text: Aspetar, a specialised orthopaedic and sports medicine hospital, is found in the Aspire Zone in the Baaya district. Commencing operations in 2007, it was the first-ever sports medicine hospital in the Middle East region. It earned accreditation as a FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence in 2009.


title: Al Rayyan

text: Overall, there were twenty-six health care facilities recorded by the 2015 government census. Sixty-four pharmacies were recorded in the municipality in 2013 by Qatar's Supreme Council of Health.


title: Al Rayyan

text: Public transport in the municipality is generally poor and not used by most of its residents due to a lack of facilities at the central station and inconsistent headway.


title: Al Rayyan

text: Doha Metro's Green Line, also called the Education Line, passes through Al Rayyan. There are metro stations in Al Shagub, Education City and Qatar National Library, and Old Al Rayyan. The line was opened to the public on 10 December 2019.


title: Al Rayyan

text: Salwa Road runs from Doha proper to Abu Samra on the Qatar-Saudi border for roughly 95 km. For the most part, the road passes solely through Al Rayyan Municipality, but there is a stretch of highway that serves as the dividing line between Al Rayyan Municipality and Al-Shahaniya Municipality. It is an important commercial artery in the municipality's eastern extremity, hosting car showrooms, superstores and outlet stores. Moreover, many rural areas to the south-west of Metropolitan Doha are connected to the highway network through Salwa Road. It runs through the following districts in Al Rayyan, sorted from east to west and north to south:


title: Al Rayyan

text: Westward travel towards Dukhan and Al-Shahaniya is facilitated by the roughly 66 km-long Dukhan Highway. The road spans from Bani Hajer in the east to Dukhan in the west. It runs through the following districts in Al Rayyan, sorted from east to west and north to south:


title: Al Rayyan

text: The Orbital Highway is Qatar's longest road at 195 km. Created to bypass the traffic congestion in Doha, the highway begins in Mesaieed and ends in the north at Ras Laffan. The most important highway junctions for Al Rayyan is the Orbital Highway/Salwa Road junction and Orbital Highway/Dukhan Highway junction.


title: Al Rayyan

text: On 9 December 2015, the Ministry of Municipality and Environment inaugurated a government services complex in Al Rayyan City. Four days later, the Ministry of Economy and Commerce established a branch at the services complex. Later in May 2016 another government services complex was created in Mesaimeer. Almost all government ministries are represented at the complex.


title: Al Rayyan

text: In the south-west, Abu Samra accommodates Qatar's sole border crossing with Saudi Arabia. The Ministry of Interior maintains an Immigration Department office and Customs Department office near the border crossing. On 5 June 2017, when a quartet composed of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed ties with Qatar, the border crossing was shut down.


title: Al Rayyan

text: Municipal estimates put the number of residential units for workers at 173,550 for 2017. A massive labor camp in the Umm Al Afaei district with a capacity for 21,000 workers was announced in 2013. The project was reported to cost QAR 122 million.


title: Al Rayyan

text: There are a number of historic forts in the municipality, most of which are located within Al Rayyan City. One such fort is Al Wajbah Fort, which was the setting of a battle between the Ottomans and Qataris in the Battle of Al Wajbah in 1892.


title: Al Rayyan

text: Education City, which houses most of Qatar's universities, is spread throughout the Al Gharrafa, Gharrafat Al Rayyan and Al Shagub districts of Al Rayyan City, as is several of Qatar Foundation's institutes such as the Qatar Science & Technology Park and Qatar National Convention Centre.


title: Al Rayyan

text: Several multi-sports clubs are based in the municipality: Al Rayyan SC, Al-Gharafa SC, Muaither SC, Mesaimeer SC and Al Sailiya SC. All of these fall within the boundaries of Al Rayyan City.


title: Al Rayyan

text: Al Rayyan hosts a racing and equestrian club. Aspire Tower and Aspire Park are also nestled in the municipality, specifically on Al Waab Street in Baaya, a district of Al Rayyan City. A large-scale Venetian style mall known as Villaggio Mall is also located in the Baaya district. Doha Zoo is found nearby to these attractions in Al Aziziya. According to the Ministry of Municipality and Environment, the municipality accommodates 20 parks as of 2018.


title: Al Rayyan

text: Al Rayyan's workforce is relatively diversified compared to the other municipalities. It was reported that in 2010, construction accounted for the largest sector of the workforce at 74,00, with manufacturing coming second at 15,500, followed by transportation and storage (7,900) and education (7,800). Many employed residents work outside the municipality, in Doha.


title: Al Rayyan

text: "The following table is a breakdown of registered live births by nationality and sex for Al Rayyan. Places of birth are based on the home municipality of the mother at birth".


title: Dry rot

text: Dry rot is wood decay caused by one of several species of fungi that digest parts of the wood which give the wood strength and stiffness. It was previously used to describe any decay of cured wood in ships and buildings by a fungus which resulted in a darkly colored deteriorated and cracked condition.


title: Dry rot

text: The life-cycle of dry rot can be broken down into four main stages. Dry rot begins as a microscopic spore which, in high enough concentrations, can resemble a fine orange dust. If the spores are subjected to sufficient moisture, they will germinate and begin to grow fine white strands known as hyphae. As the hyphae grow they will eventually form a large mass known as mycelium. The final stage is a fruiting body which pumps new spores out into the surrounding air.


title: Dry rot

text: In other fields, the term has been applied to the decay of crop plants by fungi. In health and safety, the term is used to describe the deterioration of rubber, for example the cracking of rubber hoses.


title: Dry rot

text: "Dry rot" is the term given to brown rot decay caused by certain fungi that deteriorate timber in buildings and other wooden construction without an apparent source of moisture. The term is a misnomer because all wood decaying fungi need a minimum amount of moisture before decay begins. The decayed wood takes on a dark or browner crumbly appearance, with cubical like cracking or checking, that becomes brittle and can eventually crush the wood into powder. Chemically, wood attacked by dry rot fungi is decayed by the same process as other brown rot fungi. An outbreak of dry rot within a building can be an extremely serious infestation that is hard to eradicate, requiring drastic remedies to correct. Significant decay can cause instability and cause the structure to collapse.


title: Dry rot

text: The term "dry rot", or "true dry rot", refers to the decay of timbers from only certain species of fungi that are thought to provide their own source of moisture and nutrients to cause decay in otherwise relatively dry timber. However, there has been no published experimental evidence to support the phenomenon. In modern texts, the term 'dry rot' is used in reference to damage inflicted by either: "Serpula lacrymans" (formerly "Merulius lacrymans") predominantly in the United Kingdom and northern Europe; and/or "Meruliporia incrassata" (which has a number of synonyms, including "Poria incrassata" and "Serpula incrassata") in North America. Both species of fungi cause brown rot decay, preferentially removing cellulose and hemicellulose from the timber leaving a brittle matrix of modified lignin.


title: Dry rot

text: The term "dry rot" is somewhat misleading, as both species of fungi "Serpula lacrymans" and "Meruliporia incrassata" require an elevated moisture content to initiate an attack on timber (28–30%). Once established, the fungi can remain active in timber with a moisture content of more than 20%. At relative humidities below 86 percent, growth of "Serpula lacrymans" is inhibited, but it can stay dormant at relative humidities down to 76 percent. These relative humidities correspond to equilibrium moisture contents of wood of 19 and 15 percent, respectively. It is to be remembered that most forms of rot cannot be stopped.


title: Dry rot

text: An explanation of the term "dry rot" circles around boatyards periodically. In the age of wooden ships, boats were sometimes hauled for the winter and placed in sheds or dry dock for repair. The boats already had some amount of rot occurring in the wood members, but the wood cellular structure was full of water making it still function structurally. As the wood dried out, the cell walls would crumble. In other words, the wood was already rotten and as the boat dried, the wood collapsed and crumbled, causing the workers in the yard to determine it was "dry rot", when in fact, the wood had been rotten all along.


title: Dry rot

text: Schilling & Jellison note the potential efficiency of these 'dry rot' fungi in growing away from direct moisture sources, although there is no reference for how efficient a brown rot fungus has to be at translocating water in order to be classed as 'dry rot'. Some have suggested the importance of these fungi providing their own source of nutrients as being more significant than providing an adequate source of moisture. Schilling suggests efficient nutrient translocation and utilization, notably nitrogen and iron, may be more distinctive in these species than water translocation. Water translocated in this fashion carries nutrients to the extremities of the organism; not, as is sometimes inferred, to simply render dry timber wet enough to attack. Coggins goes into more detail about water movement in "Serpula lacrymans".


title: Dry rot

text: "Dry rot" would appear to be a paradoxical term seemingly indicating decay of a substance by a fungus without the presence of water. However, its historical usage dates back to the distinction between decay of cured wood in construction, i.e. dry wood, versus decay of wood in living or newly felled trees, i.e. wet wood.


title: Dry rot

text: 'Dry rot' is an 18th-century term that generally described what is now called brown rot. The term was used because the damage was present in cured or dried timber of ships and buildings and was thought to be caused by internal ‘fermentations’ rather than water. This contributes to the Etymological fallacy that dry rot requires less or no water than other species that use the brown rot decay mechanism.


title: Dry rot

text: The (London) Times on Tuesday 12 March 1793 carried an advertisement that informs the reader that the British Colour Company, No. 32, Walbrook, London continues to use, manufacture and sell paints prepared with the Oil of Coal, which is of a very penetrating nature, and hardens wood in an uncommon degree protecting it from weather, dry rot and ice.


title: Dry rot

text: In the early 19th century the rapid increase in instances of timber decay attributed to dry rot (brown rot) in the British naval fleet brought the term into wider usage. Thomas Wade's 'A Treatise on the Dry Rot in Timber' was published posthumously by the Navy Office in 1815 following his investigation of the matter in ships from various countries. The second was launched in 1810 and, when inspected, the timbers of the upper decks were found to be infected with 'the dry rot'. By 1816 the cost of repairs for this vessel had exceeded the ship's original construction cost.


title: Dry rot

text: Texts published in the 19th and early 20th centuries also used the term to describe fungi which produced substantial (white-colored) mycelium, including "Antrodia (Fibroporia) vaillantii".


title: Dry rot

text: Eventually, the term "dry rot" came to apply to only one or two fungi the main one being "Serpula lacrymans", in the majority of texts dealing with the subject, predominantly from the United Kingdom. This type of fungal decay subsequently also became known as 'true dry rot'. It has even been proposed to use the term "water-conducting fungi" in the category of "brown rot" rather than "dry rot". However, although the fungi such as these can transport water, it is disputed that it can use this water to increase the moisture content of otherwise dry wood. Whilst it may be disputed as the citation notes, the epithet 'lacrymans' is derived from the Latin word 'lacrymare', meaning 'to weep' and most surveyors of rotted buildings have noted the tear drops formed by the fungus as water forms on the hyphae. These water droplets are photographed in Rentokil's book "Decay of Timber in Buildings" Figure 24. There is, however, no evidence these small amounts of water on the hypae cause a significant increase in the moisture content of otherwise dry wood.


title: Dry rot

text: Dry rot can be very difficult to remediate unless the timber is dried. In some cases after this is done, decayed areas can be treated with special epoxy formulations that fill-in the channels of the damaged wood, killing the rot and improving structural integrity. However, this type of treatment can actually promote decay in wood in exterior service unless the epoxy application is designed to shed water. Epoxy or other polymers will trap moisture behind the patch, causing more decay in the surrounding previously uninfected zones unless the repaired zone is protected from recurring water events. Commercial ethylene glycol (commonly sold as antifreeze) and many other toxic diffusible compounds can diffuse into the wood to kill the fungus, but they also can diffuse out of wood that is repeated wetted. Diffusion of these toxic compounds out of the wood, and into surrounding soils and plants is not appropriate from a toxicity or environmental standpoint, and these types of treatment are not recommended for wood in-service. Certain copper compounds, such as copper naphthenate, are available as a brushable solution and are frequently used when dry-rot damage is repaired by splicing in new wood; after removal of bulk rotten wood the remaining original surface is saturated with such a compound (typically green in color) before application of the new wood.


title: Dry rot

text: In certain buildings, particularly those with solid 9 inch (or greater) brickwork and those built using lime mortar and flintstone, dry rot has been known to travel through and along the wall surface behind plaster and render. It is therefore recommended, by companies that sell this service, that where dry rot is found, plaster and wall coverings should be stripped back to a metre past the infestation in all directions and the whole area treated. However, given that dry rot attacks only wet timber, common sense should dictate that plaster need not be removed where there is no timber or any timber is dry (outside the zone of wetting that caused the outbreak). Identifying the source of water and allowing the affected timbers to dry will kill dry rot, as it is a fungus and requires water as all fungi do. This will not, however, kill any spores left behind, which will remain viable and cause the rot to return upon wetting.


title: Pag-IBIG Fund

text: The Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF), commonly known as the Pag-IBIG ( Pagtutulungan sa Kinabukasan, Ikaw, Bangko, Industriya at Gobyerno) Fund, is a government-owned and controlled corporation under the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development of the Philippines responsible for the administration of the national savings program and affordable shelter financing for Filipinos.


title: Pag-IBIG Fund

text: Pag-IBIG Fund was founded by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 1530 which was signed by President Ferdinand E. Marcos on June 11, 1978, to answer the national need for savings program and affordable housing financing. Its original purpose was solely as a provident fund to encourage savings among Filipinos. By March 1979, the fund was administered by the National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation (NHMFC), a government corporation mandated to increase availability of housing loans to Filipino workers.


title: Pag-IBIG Fund

text: By June, HDMF was implemented by virtue of Executive Order No. 538. Emily Abinoja, Norma Salud, and Marilou Adea, the vice president of the Shelter Savings Group (SSG), an arm of NHMFC, formed a team to conduct a study of the Central Provident Fund, Singapore's national savings program, with the objective of modeling its fund structure. The team received support from advertising agency J. Romero & Associates that came up with the acronym Pag-IBIG, from actuaries Enrique Zalamea and Leo Tan, from Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) that disseminated information about HDMF across the country, from Technology Resource Center that provided computer facilities, and from Development Bank of the Philippines that offered the initial mortgage lending facilities.


title: Pag-IBIG Fund

text: When the fund was launched in the midst of martial law, it was opposed by the public and across sectors of society. Its functions were decried as a duplicate to the functions of Social Security System and Government Service Insurance System. The required contribution was described by the labor sector as oppressive, by employers that opposed to any additional contribution in behalf of workers, and by the academe as a representation of injustice of the incumbent Marcos regime.


title: Pag-IBIG Fund

text: On December 14, 1980, Presidential Decree No. 1752 was passed that amended the act creating the Home Development Mutual Fund. Specifically, the decree contained the following distinct features:


title: Pag-IBIG Fund

text: In 2009, Republic Act No. 9679, otherwise known as Home Development Mutual Fund Law of 2009, was passed into law. It expanded coverage requiring mandatory membership of all employees regardless of status, which would include self-employed persons, regardless of trade, business or occupation with an income salary of at least}₱1,000. It also included overseas Filipino workers and voluntary membership available to all Filipino immigrants, Filipinos naturalized in other countries, and permanent Filipino residents abroad.


title: Pag-IBIG Fund

text: Membership to the fund is exclusive to all Filipino citizens who are or ought to be covered by the Social Security System (SSS), provided that actual membership in the SSS shall not be a condition precedent to the mandatory coverage in the fund. It shall include, but are not limited to:


title: Pag-IBIG Fund

text: Membership is also extended to individuals of at least 18 years old but not more than 65 years old under their voluntary membership program. However, the said individual shall be required to comply with the set of rules and regulations for Pag-IBIG members including the amount of contribution and schedule of payment. In addition, they shall be subject to the eligibility requirements in the event of availment of loans and other programs/benefits offered by the Fund.


title: Pag-IBIG Fund

text: The most popular program benefit of the Pag-IBIG Fund offers assistance to its members by providing affordable financing for their housing needs. HDMF accomplishes this by working in partnership with the local Real Estate Developers and arranging affordable loans to real estate buyers (Pag-IBIG members).


title: Pag-IBIG Fund

text: The loan had a lower interest rate compared to the prevailing rate in the market and payable in longer terms. Pag-IBIG Fund offers a home loan at a low interest rate of 4.5% (for ₱450,000 loan) with a loan term of up to 30 years. A qualified member can get a maximum loan amount of up to ₱ 6 Million.


title: Pag-IBIG Fund

text: Similar to the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and Social Security System, the HDMF also offers financial assistance to qualified member by granting short term loan. There are two types of loans members are qualified to avail:


title: Pag-IBIG Fund

text: This program aims to provide financial assistance to members for house repair, minor home improvement, home enhancement, tuition or educational expenses, health and wellness, livelihood; or other purposes. To avail the program, a member must made at least twenty-four month membership savings, or the total savings is equivalent to twenty-four membership savings and must have at least one contribution within the last six months as of month prior to date of loan application.


title: Pag-IBIG Fund

text: For members who have withdrawn their contributions due to membership maturity, the reckoning date of the updated 24 contributions shall be the first contribution following the month the member qualified to withdraw his MS due to membership maturity.


title: Pag-IBIG Fund

text: If a member has an existing Pag-IBIG Housing Loan, the account must not be in default as of date of application.


title: Pag-IBIG Fund

text: Should a member have an existing multi-purpose and/or calamity loan, the account/s must not be in default as of date of application.


title: Pag-IBIG Fund

text: For members affected by unforeseen calamity like flood, fire, tropical cyclones/ typhoons, volcanic eruption and other similar cases. Members can borrow up to 80% of their Total Accumulated Value (TAV) subject to the terms and conditions of the program. Calamity Loan Interest rate is 5.95% per annum. The loan is amortized over 24 months, with a grace period of 3 months. Paying period begins on the 4th month following their check date.


title: Pag-IBIG Fund

text: Membership contributions to the Pag-IBIG fund is a member's individual savings, which a member can withdraw at the maturity date. Pag-IBIG Fund makes clear that members' contributions, plus that their employer will earn dividend. All that money, called Total Accumulated Value (contributions plus dividend) can be withdrawn when it reaches maturity or 240 months of contributions for at least 45 years old. Unlike the money in a bank regular savings where the interest rate is given, member's earnings in the fund is not readily foreseen ahead of time. It essentially participating in an investment and membership earnings will depend on the overall performance of that investment.


title: Pag-IBIG Fund

text: Launched In 2010, Pag-IBIG MPII, Modified Pag-IBIG II, or simply MP2 is a government-backed voluntary savings program that provides tax-free annual dividend, which is 50 basis points higher than those given to the mandatory, regular membership. Dividend varies annually and is determined according to the fund's financial performance for the said year. It has a five-year term that requires a minimal requirement of ₱500 and without any maximum capital ceiling. Contributions can be made through various payment channels or via salary deduction through employer arrangement.


title: David Rudisha

text: David Lekuta Rudisha, (born 17 December 1988) is a Kenyan middle-distance runner who specialized in the 800 metres. He is a two-time back-to-back Olympic champion from the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Olympics, a two-time World champion from the 2011 and 2015 World Championships in Athletics, and world record holder at the event with a time of 1:40.91 set at the 2012 London Games on 9 August 2012. Rudisha is the first and only person to ever run 800 metres under 1:41, and he holds the three fastest, six of the eight fastest, and half of the twenty fastest times ever run in this event.


title: David Rudisha

text: Rudisha established his running career at the St. Francis Kimuron High School in Elgeyo-Marakwet County. He won 800 m titles at the 2006 World Junior Championships as well as the 2008 and 2010 African Championships, and earned the 2014 Commonwealth Games silver medal. He also holds the world's best time in the 500 metres and the African best for the 600 metres. He is a two-time Diamond League 800 m winner. Rudisha has won IAAF World Athlete of the Year award in 2010 and three consecutive Track & Field News Athlete of the Year awards.


title: David Rudisha

text: In May 2022, Rudisha announced he would be running for election in his native Kenya as an independent candidate in the Kilgoris Constituency.


title: David Rudisha

text: Born on 17 December 1988 in Kilgoris, Narok County, Rudisha went to Kimuron Secondary School in Iten, Keiyo District. In April 2005, whilst under Brother Colm's tutelage, Japheth Kimutai, who was trained by Colm, recommended Rudisha to James Templeton, and Rudisha joined the group of runners managed by Templeton, which has at various time included Kimutai, Bernard Lagat and Augustine Choge. Initially he was the 400 metres runner, but his coach, Irishman Colm O'Connell, prompted him to try the 800 metres. In 2006, he became the world junior champion over that distance.


title: David Rudisha

text: Rudisha competed at the 2009 World Athletics Championships, reaching the 800 metres semi-finals. In September 2009, he won the IAAF Grand Prix meeting in Rieti, Italy, posting a new African record of 1:42.01, beating the 25-year-old record of 1:42.28 set by compatriot Sammy Koskei. That effort put him in fourth place on the all-time list.


title: David Rudisha

text: In the 2010 Diamond League, he took on Abubaker Kaki at the Bislett Games in June. He defeated Sebastian Coe's 31-year-old meet record with a run of 1:42.04, giving him another place in the top-ten fastest ever 800 m and leaving Kaki the consolation of the fastest ever non-winning time. On 10 July, Rudisha ran the 800 m in 1:41.51 at the KBC Night of Athletics in Heusden, Belgium; this new personal record placed him No. 2 all-time in the world for the 800 m.


title: David Rudisha

text: On 22 August, Rudisha broke Wilson Kipketer's 800 m world record two days before the anniversary of that record with a time of 1:41.09 while racing in the ISTAF Berlin meeting in Germany. Just a week later, he broke the record again at the IAAF World Challenge meeting in Rieti, lowering it to 1:41.01. Rudisha recorded four victories on the Diamond League circuit that year to take his first 800 m Diamond Trophy. In November, at the age of 21, he became the youngest ever athlete to win the IAAF World Athlete of the Year award. He was also crowned Kenyan Sportsman of the Year.


title: David Rudisha

text: Rudisha claimed his first senior global title at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics held in Daegu, South Korea, winning 800 m event with a time 1:43.91. He triumphed also in three Diamond League races that season to secure his second consecutive overall 800 m Diamond Race title.


title: David Rudisha

text: With a time of 1:41.74, Rudisha set the United States all comers 800 m record at the 2012 adidas Grand Prix at Icahn Stadium in New York City. He guaranteed his selection for the Kenyan Olympic team for the first time with a win at the Kenyan trials, running a time of 1:42.12 minutes—the fastest ever recorded at altitude.


title: David Rudisha

text: On 9 August 2012 at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Rudisha led from start to finish to win gold in what was acclaimed "The Greatest 800 Meter Race Ever". In so doing, he became the first and, so far, only runner to break the 1:41 barrier for 800 m. From the start of the final race, Rudisha led and pulled away from the rest of the field after 200 metres, completing the first lap in 49.28 seconds. By 600 metres his lead had grown to several metres. He continued to pull away until the final straight, where second place Nijel Amos was able to slightly gain some ground as Rudisha strained. But the gap was much too great to close, and Rudisha crossed the line in a world-record time of 1:40.91.


title: David Rudisha

text: Rudisha's competitors all ran exceptional times. "Sports Illustrated"'s David Epstein reported that the race "is best told, perhaps, in 16 letters: WR, NR, PB, PB, PB, NR, SB, PB." (That is to say that the participants broke world record, national record, personal bests, national record, season best, personal best) The silver medallist, Amos, had to be carried from the track on a stretcher after setting the world junior record, making him only the fifth man in history to run under 1:42, something Rudisha has now done seven times. "With Rudisha breaking 1:41, two men under 1:42, five under 1:43 and all eight under 1:44," noted the IAAF, "it was the greatest depth 800 m race in history." Every competitor ran the fastest time in history for their placing. It was the first time in international 800 m history where every competitor ran either a personal or season's best. The time set by the eighth-placed Andrew Osagie, a personal best of 1:43.77, would have won gold at the three preceding Olympic games in Beijing, Athens and Sydney.


title: David Rudisha

text: As well as being the first man to go below 1:41, he broke his own world record that was set in 2010. "The splits triggered amazement: 23.4 secs for the first 200 m, 25.88 secs for the second, a critical 25.02 for the third and 26.61 to bring it all home." Rudisha's record was considered especially notable for the absence of pacemakers, which are not permitted at the Olympics or other major championships. The previous person to win an Olympic 800 m final with a world record was Alberto Juantorena, back in 1976. Rudisha also became the first reigning 800 m world champion to win Olympic gold at that distance. Sebastian Coe, of the London Olympics organising committee who himself held the 800 m world record for 17 years, said: "It was the performance of the Games, not just of track and field but of the Games". He added: "Bolt was good, Rudisha was magnificent. That is quite a big call but it was the most extraordinary piece of running I have probably ever seen." Rudisha had been in good shape coming into the race, having "clocked a staggering 1:42.12 minutes at high altitude in Nairobi during the Kenyan Olympic trials. After that he had said 'the race was nice and easy'."


title: David Rudisha

text: Before the race, Rudisha had joked about his father's 1968 400 m relay silver medal: "It would be good for me to win gold, so we can have gold and silver in our family [...] so I can tell him, 'I am better than you. Afterwards, he admitted that it would go down as the greatest 800 m race personally for him as well because he won it in front of Sebastian Coe who held the record for more than 17 years. This race was also touted as a run for his community and tribe. Rudisha was later given the Association of National Olympic Committees Award for Best Male Athlete of London 2012, as well as receiving the honour of Moran of the Order of the Burning Spear (MBS) from the government of Kenya.


title: David Rudisha

text: At the New York IAAF Diamond League meeting in June 2015, Rudisha won the 800 m with a time of 1:43.58.


title: David Rudisha

text: Rudisha claimed his second world 800 m title at the World Championships held in Beijing, China. In a relatively tactical race, after a first lap of only 54.17 he won in a time of 1:45.84


title: David Rudisha

text: Rudisha successfully defended his Olympic title at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, taking gold with a time of 1:42.15. He was the first person since Peter Snell in 1964 to win back-to-back Olympic 800 m titles. The final went out very quickly with fellow Kenyan Alfred Kipketer leading through 200 m in 23.2 sec. Rudisha was tucked in close behind through a 49.3 first 400 m. With just under 300 m to go Rudisha made a strong surge to the front. A large gap was formed that proved too much for fast closing Taoufik Makhloufi of Algeria in the final homestretch. His finishing time was the fastest he has run since the 2012 Olympic final in London, as well as the fastest time in the world for 2016.


title: David Rudisha

text: Rudisha finished fourth at the Shanghai Diamond League meet. His time was 1:45.36. The winning time was 1:44.70. He attempted the 1000 metres for the first time at the Golden Spike Ostrava, finishing fourth with a personal best time of 2:19.43.


title: David Rudisha

text: At the 2012 Olympics, Rudisha worked with Caroline Currid, an Irish mental performance coach, on how to maximise performance on competition day.


title: David Rudisha

text: From 2007 until at least 2012, Rudisha trained in the summer months in the university town of Tübingen in southern Germany, a center for many up-and-coming runners from Kenya such as Bernard Lagat.


title: David Rudisha

text: Rudisha is a member of the Maasai ethnic group in Kenya. His father, Daniel Rudisha, was a former runner who won the silver medal at the 1968 Olympics as part of the Kenyan 4 × 400 m relay team, while his mother Naomi is a former 400 m hurdler. He is married to Lizzy Naanyu and has two daughters (as of 2015). Tom Fordyce of the BBC said of him, "He is the greatest 800m runner of all time and he may also be the nicest man in his sport."


title: David Rudisha

text: In 2019, Rudisha's car collided head-on with a bus near Keroka. The collision was frontal, but the athlete was not seriously injured.


title: 2003 Rugby World Cup Final

text: The 2003 Rugby World Cup Final was the final match of the 2003 Rugby World Cup, the fifth edition of the Rugby World Cup competition organised by the International Rugby Board (IRB) for national rugby union teams. The match was played at Stadium Australia in Sydney on 22 November 2003, and was contested by (the tournament hosts) and . The 20-team competition consisted of a group stage, from which eight squads qualified for the knockout stage. En route to the final, Australia finished first in Pool A with four wins and no losses or draws before defeating in the quarter-final and in the semi-final. England finished on top of Pool C and, like Australia, went undefeated with four victories and no draws before beating in the quarter-final and in the semi-final.


title: 2003 Rugby World Cup Final

text: The final was played in front of a Rugby World Cup record crowd of 82,957, with 22 to 30 million television viewers, and was refereed by André Watson of South Africa. Australia scored first when Lote Tuqiri scored a try in the sixth minute, but Elton Flatley failed to score the resulting conversion. England's first points were through a penalty goal scored by Jonny Wilkinson at 11 minutes; Wilkinson scored a second penalty nine minutes later to put his side ahead of Australia. A third Wilkinson penalty goal after 28 minutes and a 38th-minute try by Jason Robinson (which was unable to be converted by Wilkinson) gave England a 14–5 lead at half-time. The second half saw Flatley score three penalty goals in succession; regular time ended with both teams tied 14–14, and the match went into extra time. Wilkinson scored a fourth penalty goal to put England back ahead of Australia in the second minute of extra time before Flatley equalised again with his fourth penalty goal with two minutes of extra time to play. With 28 seconds remaining, Wilkinson scored a drop goal with his right foot to secure a 20–17 victory for England.


title: 2003 Rugby World Cup Final

text: England's win was their first Rugby World Cup title. They were the first Northern Hemisphere team to win the tournament, ending 16 years of dominance by Southern Hemisphere teams. Wilkinson was named man of the match, and the England playing and senior coaching team were appointed to the Order of the British Empire in the 2004 New Year Honours. England failed to defend their trophy at the following 2007 Rugby World Cup (hosted by France), losing 15–6 to in the final. Australia reached the tournament's quarter-final stage, where they were defeated by England.


title: 2003 Rugby World Cup Final

text: The 2003 Rugby World Cup, the fifth edition of the Rugby World Cup (the International Rugby Board's (IRB) leading quadrennial rugby union tournament for national teams), was held in Australia from 10 October to 22 November 2003. In the finals, 20 teams played a total of 48 matches. The eight quarter-finalists in the 1999 Rugby World Cup automatically qualified for the tournament; the remaining twelve spots were decided in qualifying rounds played between 23 September 2000 and 27 April 2003 by teams from a record 81 nations.


title: 2003 Rugby World Cup Final

text: Teams were divided into eight groups of four in the finals, with each team playing each other once in a round-robin format. The two top teams from each group advanced to a knockout stage. Rights to host the final were awarded to Stadium Australia, a purpose-built venue for the 2000 Summer Olympics and the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney Olympic Park (an urban renewal project in the mid-west suburb of Homebush Bay). The stadium played host to six other matches in the World Cup.


title: 2003 Rugby World Cup Final

text: Australia qualified for the tournament as defending champions, and were drawn in Pool A with , , and . Their first match, against Argentina on 10 October at Stadium Australia, was the tournament's opening game. Australia led 11–0 after two Elton Flatley penalties and Wendell Sailor's try at 20 minutes which Flatley failed to convert. Felipe Contepomi scored Argentina's only penalty seven minutes later, before a third Flatley penalty put Australia ahead 13–3 at half-time. Flatley scored his final penalty to extend Australia's lead before Ignacio Corleto scored a 72nd-minute try. A Joe Roff try converted by Flatley two minutes later, however, gave Australia a 24–8 win. Australia's second pool match was against Romania at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on 18 October. They won 90–8, scoring three tries by Mat Rogers, two tries each by Matt Burke, Stephen Larkham and one try each by Flatley, Stirling Mortlock, Roff, Matt Giteau, Lote Tuqiri and George Smith; Flatley adding 11 conversions and a penalty. Romania's eight points came from a Petrișor Toderașc try and a Ionuț Tofan penalty. At 18 seconds, Flatley scored the earliest World Cup try.


title: 2003 Rugby World Cup Final

text: The team's third group fixture was against Namibia at Adelaide Oval on 25 October. Australia won by a World Cup-record margin of 142–0, with a tournament-record 22 tries: five by Chris Latham, three each by Giteau and Tuqiri, two each by Rogers and Morgan Turinui and one each by David Lyons, Mortlock, Jeremy Paul, Nathan Grey, Matt Burke, John Roe. Rogers had one penalty try and 16 conversions. Australia concluded their pool matches against Ireland on 1 November at Melbourne's Docklands Stadium. George Gregan gave Australia the lead with a drop goal, followed with a try by Smith. Ronan O'Gara's penalty put Ireland five points behind before a Flatley penalty restored Australia's eight-point lead. A second penalty goal by O'Gara gave Australia an 11–6 lead at half-time. Four minutes into the second half, Flatley scored a second penalty before a Brian O'Driscoll try (converted by O'Gara) put Ireland one point behind. Australia went four points ahead after Flatley's third penalty and, despite an O'Driscoll drop goal, advanced to the quarter-finals 17–16 as pool winners.


title: 2003 Rugby World Cup Final

text: Their quarter-final was against at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium on 8 November. The sides were tied 9–9 at half-time, after three penalties by Flatley and two penalties and a drop goal by Chris Paterson. Tries by Mortlock, Gregan and Lyons were converted by Flatley, who scored his fourth penalty in the second half to put Australia 24 points ahead of Scotland. A last-minute Robbie Russell try (converted by Paterson) gave Scotland seven extra points, but Australia won the match 33–16 for a place in the semi-final. They returned to Sydney's Stadium Australia to play in their semi-final on 15 November. Australia opened the scoring at nine minutes, when Mortlock scored a try which Flatley converted. Flatley scored two penalties to increase Australia's lead before a try by New Zealand's Reuben Thorne, converted by Leon MacDonald, cut Australia's lead to 13–7 at half-time. Flatley scored three more penalties in the second half and, although MacDonald scored a late penalty for New Zealand, Australia held on to win the match 22–10 and a berth in the final.


title: 2003 Rugby World Cup Final

text: England qualified for the finals by reaching the quarter-finals of the 1999 World Cup, and were placed in Pool C with , , and . Their finals campaign began on 12 October at Subiaco Oval in Perth against Georgia. The team secured a 84–6 victory with one try each by Mike Tindall, Matt Dawson, Steve Thompson, Neil Back, Lawrence Dallaglio, Mark Regan, Dan Luger and Jason Robinson, two tries by Will Greenwood and Ben Cohen, and conversions by Jonny Wilkinson and Paul Grayson; Wilkinson added two penalties. Georgia's six points were penalties by Malkhaz Urjukashvili and Paliko Jimsheladze. Six days later, England played South Africa at Subiaco Oval. Both teams were tied 6–6 at half-time, with two Louis Koen penalties for South Africa and two penalties by England's Wilkinson. Two more penalties by Wilkinson followed, converting a Greenwood try and scoring two drop goals to put England at the top of their pool with a 25–6 win.


title: 2003 Rugby World Cup Final

text: Their third group game was against Samoa at Docklands Stadium in Melbourne on 26 October. Samoa went ten points ahead with a penalty and a converted try by Earl Va'a before England levelled with a Neil Back try (converted by Wilkinson), after which Wilkinson scored a penalty. Two more penalties by Va'a and a second penalty by Wilkinson gave Samoa a 16–13 lead at half-time. England earned a penalty try after Samoa conceded a scrum, and Wilkinson converted it to return England to the lead. Va'a's two subsequent penalties put Samoa back in the lead, but England won 35–22 with tries by Wilkinson, Iain Balshaw and Vickery; Wilkinson converted a second try. England's final group match was against Uruguay at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium on 2 November. They had a team World Cup record victory of 111–13, with a national-record-equalling 17 tries scored by Lewis Moody, Josh Lewsey, Balshaw, Andy Gomarsall, Luger, Grayson, Stuart Abbott and Robinson (converted by Grayson or Mike Catt) to qualify for the quarter-finals as pool winners. Uruguay's points came from two first-half Juan Menchaca penalties and a second-half Pablo Lemoine try converted by Menchaca.


title: 2003 Rugby World Cup Final

text: In the quarter-finals, England faced at Suncorp Stadium on 9 November. England scored the game's first points with a Wilkinson penalty, but Wales led 10–3 at half-time after tries by Stephen Jones and Colin Charvis (which Jones failed to convert). England moved 15 points ahead of Wales with a Greenwood try (converted by Wilkinson), followed by four successive penalties by Wilkinson. Martyn Williams scored a try (converted by Iestyn Harris) to put Wales eight points behind before a last-minute Wilkinson drop goal advanced England to the semi-finals, 28–17. England then faced in the semi-finals in wet, cold conditions at Stadium Australia on 16 November. Wilkinson gave England the lead with a ninth-minute penalty before an England line-out error allowed Serge Betsen to score a try, converted by Frédéric Michalak to give France a 7–3 advantage. England retook the lead when Wilkinson scored two drop goals and two penalties to give them a 12–7 lead at half-time. In the second half, Wilkinson scored a second drop goal and three more penalties to put England through to the final with a 24–7 victory.


title: 2003 Rugby World Cup Final

text: André Watson, a 45-year-old retired civil engineer and school rugby fly-half from South Africa, was selected as referee for the final. Watson had refereed two 2003 World Cup matches: the New Zealand–Wales and Argentina–Ireland matches in the group stage. He also refereed the 1999 Rugby World Cup Final and a number of Currie Cup and Super 12 finals. Watson was assisted by Paddy O'Brien and Paul Honiss of New Zealand, who were named as the two touch judges. Joël Jutge and Alain Rolland of France and Ireland were named the fourth and fifth officials, respectively, and South Africa's Jonathan Kaplan was the television-match official. Tickets for the final sold out on 22 August 2003. The IRB returned an additional 2,000 tickets for the match to the Australian Rugby Union which it sold to the public since 13 November. Several Australian and British bookmakers cited England as the favourite to win the match.


title: 2003 Rugby World Cup Final

text: Australia coach Eddie Jones noted that World Cup finals were generally disorganised, and said that it would be good if the match was contested "with a good balance between the important ingredients of rugby, and that is contest versus continuity": "Our responsibility is to play naturally and with freedom and our natural game is to attack, so we'll be keeping our part of the bargain. If we can get England to, and the referee to contribute, we should have a great spectacle. It could be the world's great game of rugby." England coach Clive Woodward was pleased with Australia for their organisation of the tournament and the quality of their players and said about his team's chances for the final, "My only goal when I left my business to take his job six years ago was to make England the best team in the world and win this thing. Now we have a real chance of doing exactly that." Woodward added, "When the tournament began, I would have said this was my dream final. We have one objective and we're now one game away from achieving it. We certainly haven't come out here to finish second."


title: 2003 Rugby World Cup Final

text: A closing ceremony was held before the match. It began with the release of 18 of 20 inflatable cylindrical figures (representing the 20 qualifying teams), placed in a circle outside the pitch. Kate Ceberano performed Cyndi Lauper's "True Colours", the competition's official song, after tournament organisers asked her to replace Kasey Chambers (who had withdrawn). Three young children from the Sydney Children's Choir sang the rugby anthem, "World in Union", as part of the Rugby World Choir. The Australian national anthem, "Advance Australia Fair", was performed by Alice Girle and performing-arts student Akos Miszlai before the English national anthem "God Save the Queen" was played by Rugby World Choir members Belinda Evans and James Laing.


title: 2003 Rugby World Cup Final

text: The match was broadcast live on television by the Seven Network in Australia, Sportsnet in Canada, and on ITV1 and S4C in the United Kingdom. The Theatre Broadcasting System of the Department of Defence carried coverage of the final for Australian troops stationed in Baghdad. Radio coverage was by ABC Radio on the non-commercial programme "ABC Radio Grandstand" and the commercial Macquarie Network in Australia and by BBC Radio 5 Live in the United Kingdom. Live sites were set up across Australia and London, with large screens to enable the public to watch the final. Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer cautioned Australian citizens watching the final abroad to be mindful of their safety after the Istanbul bombings in Turkey. The New South Wales Police adjusted its security measures to stop pitch invasions by spectators during the final. The British government was represented at the match by Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell in lieu of Sports Minister Richard Caborn, who was required to attend a House of Commons vote on foundation hospitals.


title: 2003 Rugby World Cup Final

text: Both nations' coaches released their starting line-ups on 19 November. Australia were without prop Ben Darwin, who sustained a prolapsed disc in his neck (contacting his spinal cord) during a scrum in the team's semi-final with New Zealand. Coach Eddie Jones replaced Darwin with Al Baxter at the tight head prop position. Jones also made Matt Dunning a prop reserve, and utility back Giteau replaced Grey as a substitute after Giteau's recovery from an ankle injury in Australia's quarter-final with Scotland. England coach Clive Woodward made one change to the side which began their semi-final against France; Tindall replaced Catt (who was made a substitute to reduce Mortlock's impact of passing the opposition defence), indicating that England wanted to pass more freely and not rely on Catt and Wilkinson's dual-kicking strategy. The final was the last time that captain Martin Johnson and Back represented England at the international level; both players retired from the team the following year.


title: 2003 Rugby World Cup Final

text: Low cloud cover and sporadic downpours fell in Sydney on the morning of the match; it tapered off to a drizzle, making the pitch damp. The match began before a World Cup record crowd of 82,957 at 20:00 local time with Wilkinson kicking the ball into Australia's right-hand defence, where it was collected by Nathan Sharpe. At two minutes, Rogers threw to Tuqiri; it threatened to overlap, but went into touch. A touch judge noticed that Woodman's right fist went outside at the back of a maul, and he was reprimanded by Watson. A penalty on England's line was awarded to Australia, but the team decided that it was too far for their players and Rogers should kick into touch. Australia earned a free kick when England had too many players in a line-out, but opted for a scrum. Gregan passed the ball to Larkham, whose high shot was directed from right to left. The taller Tuqiri out-jumped Robinson, and gathered the ball to score a try in the corner after a short run. Flatley's attempt to convert the try from the right-hand touchline struck the inside of the left-hand post, preserving Australia's 5–0 lead. Robinson passed some Australian players; Lyons committed an infraction in a tackle, earning England a penalty kick. Wilkinson made it 5–3 after 11 minutes, scoring the penalty from . Australia got a penalty kick two minutes later when Back held the ball too long in a line-out. England gained possession with breaks by Lewsey, but both teams had difficulty handing the ball and were cautioned by Watson.


title: 2003 Rugby World Cup Final

text: At 20 minutes, England got a penalty kick when Cohen was tackled by Larkham without the ball. Larkham sustained a lip injury for which he received medical attention, and Giteau was brought in as a blood replacement. Wilkinson scored the penalty from outside the Australia half to put England ahead, 6–5. At 23 minutes, Wilkinson's long drop-goal attempt with his left foot went wide. Two minutes later, Ben Kay gathered the ball after Richard Hill kicked it through Australia's defence when Giteau dropped it after a Wilkinson tackle; Kay failed to score a try when he was tackled. Wilkinson sustained a minor shoulder injury when he tackled Giteau. In the 28th minute, England got another penalty kick after they won a scrum after a Flatley tackle and moved up the pitch. Wilkinson scored a third penalty goal from a narrow angle to extend England's lead to four points. Woodman was penalised two minutes later for incorrectly binding during a scrum, earning Australia a penalty. Flatley failed to score the penalty goal from the left of England's line. Larkham returned to the pitch after 31 minutes, following medical treatment of his lip. Dallaglio passed Australia's mid-pitch defence seven minutes later and passed the ball to Wilkinson, who briefly ran with it before making a long pass to the approaching Robinson on his left. Robinson passed Sailor, scoring a left-corner try. Wilkinson failed to convert the try almost from the touchline, and the first half ended with England leading 14–5.


title: 2003 Rugby World Cup Final

text: Flatley began the second half of the match by kicking deep into the England half, and England started making errors in a scrum or a line-out. Seven minutes later, England made two errors in succession from consecutive line-outs and Australia earned a penalty kick when Dallaglio was penalised for being offside when he thought it was open play; Watson, however, decided that a ruck was being formed. Flatley successfully scored the penalty from inside Australia's half to put Australia three points behind. Soon afterwards, Australia made a change when David Giffin came on in place of Sharpe. In the 53rd minute, Dawson and Lewsey made an illegal cross that caused an accidental obstruction and gave Australia a penalty kick inside the England line. Flatley kicked for goal from where he could score a try, but failed to score the penalty. After 56 minutes, Australia substituted Larkham for Giteau. The team made a double substitution one minute later, bringing on Paul for Brendan Cannon and Matt Cockbain for Lyons. At 58 minutes, Australia earned a penalty after Vickery incorrectly bound in a scrum; Rogers failed to score the goal. The rain began to increase in intensity, and both sides made more playing errors.


title: 2003 Rugby World Cup Final

text: In the 61st minute, Vickery was informed that he had illegally handled the ball on the floor in a ruck, giving Australia a penalty kick. Flatley took the penalty in front of the posts from the line, scoring to put Australia three points behind England. Watson then called England for three consecutive infractions during scrums. A shot by Tindall spun to the right at 68 minutes, and Greenwood gathered the ball. Greenwood was prevented from scoring a try by a left-footed leg tackle from Rogers, which brought the ball into touch just before the try line. After 71 minutes, Australia substituted Roff for Sailor. After England secured a line-out one minute later, Lewsey got the ball and passed it to Wilkinson (whose second attempt to score a drop goal went wide of the left-hand post). In the 79th minute, Catt was brought on for the injured Tindall. With 90 seconds of regular time remaining, Watson penalised England for collapsing a scrum and Woodman's failure to engage on their line on the right side of the pitch; Woodman felt that Australia engaged too early, but a penalty kick was awarded to Australia. Flatley scored the penalty from out on the right of the England half with ten seconds left, bringing on extra time with the teams tied 14–14.


title: 2003 Rugby World Cup Final

text: One minute into extra time, England substituted Vickery for Leonard. England were awarded a penalty kick a minute later, when a line-out Johnson was pulled down by Justin Harrison. Wilkinson opted to take the penalty, and kicked a shot from out wide on the right which went between the posts and put England back in the lead. Larkham came off the pitch again for Giteau because he was still bleeding, and an injured-looking Lewsey came off for Balshaw. Catt unsuccessfully attempted to score a drop goal on 89 minutes because Phil Waugh stopped him with a knock-on. Wilkinson also tried to score a drop goal a minute later, but his shot went wide. This ended the first half of extra time, with England leading Australia 17–14.


title: 2003 Rugby World Cup Final

text: At 92 minutes, Australia replaced Young with Dunning; England substituted Moody for Hill, who had a cramp, one minute later. Tuqiri was prevented from scoring a try when Cohen and Robinson were tackled from three minutes later; Wilkinson held the ball, giving Australia a line-out. England got a penalty line-out in the 96th minute when Rogers held onto the ball during a tackle. Dallaglio was penalised from coming in on the side and handling the ball in a ruck, giving Australia a penalty kick at 97 minutes. Flatley scored the penalty from outside the England area to level the score 17–17 and, potentially, require a match-ending penalty shootout. With more than one minute remaining, England won a line-out and moved towards Australia's area three times. Dawson passed the ball to Wilkinson, who could not be stopped by Gregan and scored a right-foot drop goal from out with 28 seconds left to put England back in the lead. No further points were scored; Watson blew the final whistle, with England winning the match 20–17 for their first Rugby World Cup.


title: 2003 Rugby World Cup Final

text: England was the first Northern Hemisphere nation to win the Rugby World Cup, ending 16 years of Southern Hemisphere dominance. IRB chairman Syd Millar presented the runner-up medals to the Australian side. The victorious England team received their medals from Australian Prime Minister John Howard before Johnson held up the Webb Ellis Cup presented to him by Howard. The England team then took a lap of honour around the stadium. Wilkinson was named man of the match and won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award. Every member of England's playing and senior coaching staff were appointed members of the Order of the British Empire in the 2004 New Year Honours. In May 2004, the England squad received the Laureus World Sports Award for Team of the Year and Woodward was knighted.


title: 2003 Rugby World Cup Final

text: According to Woodward, the victory was "very important and it is just a big thank you to the Premiership clubs and the Rugby Football Union. We have just put the icing on the cake and we want to keep this going." His counterpart, Jones, conceded that the better side won the final: "You slug it out for 100 minutes and get beaten in the 99th – yeah, that would qualify as a photo finish. England were outstanding and are the best team in the world by one minute." Wilkinson explained why he scored a drop final in the last minute of the match: "I didn't want the game to go to a drop-goal competition. I just wanted to win so much for the other guys. I had to make sure I hit the target when the chance came my way." In a 2019 interview with BBC Sport, he described the goal as "not a memory that I treasure because I don't have much memory of it – but just an experience which gave me a glimpse of life a little bit outside the boundaries of what I thought was possible – something bigger." Cannon described the drop goal as "like witnessing a car accident, you know it's about to happen but you don't want it to happen."


title: 2003 Rugby World Cup Final

text: Dawson said the win was "very surreal" after England's comeback from elimination in the quarter-final stage of the 1999 tournament. Greenwood said that during the match and when he received his World Cup winners medal he thought about his son, Freddie, who died shortly after he was born in 2002. Gregan said that although the Australian team were disappointed, they had "a good deal of pride there as well. It was a gutsy effort, coming down to the last play of the game. My team didn't leave anything out so I couldn't ask for anything more." Injured prop Darwin said that he was frustrated to be unable to play in the final. Flatley described the pressure he felt when scoring the two penalty goals which meant that the match would go into extra time: "I had my hands together praying and I didn't see either kick. I had my eyes closed. It was scary pressure. There wasn't a great deal going on in my head ... I just had to knock them over." Although Rogers blamed himself for the loss because he had been unable to clear the ball in the final minute, Flatley told him that he was not to blame: "A million things go on and in a game like that you can't really put it down to one thing. "It wasn't like I was about to slit my wrists or anything, but I was hoping to kick it up a bit further and make it even harder for them to score."


title: 2003 Rugby World Cup Final

text: Watson's refereeing was criticised by the media and rugby-world figures. Woodward's assistant Andy Robinson asked Watson during the post-match celebrations why England were penalised for scrum infringements, and was told to review the video footage. Watson defended his decisions: "I was satisfied with my handling of the match and that includes the scrum infringements ... I ref what I see and nothing else and I was happy with my performance. If there were any problems, they will have been noted by the IRB and I have not had any comebacks from them."


title: 2003 Rugby World Cup Final

text: The team left Sydney on the evening of 24 November, and arrived at Heathrow Airport (greeted by 8,000 to 10,000 people) early the next morning. Johnson, holding the trophy, was the first player to appear, and "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" was sung. A national day of celebration was organised by the Rugby Football Union on 8 December, and was seen by almost a million people. The team paraded in open-top buses from Marble Arch to Trafalgar Square. Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, awarded the squad the freedom of Greater London. The team then met the queen and other senior royal family members at Buckingham Palace, followed by a reception at 10 Downing Street with Prime Minister Tony Blair.


title: 2003 Rugby World Cup Final

text: The match viewership on ITV1 peaked overnight at around 14.5 million (82 percent of the British viewership) between 11:20 and 11:25 am and averaged 12.3 million (a 77 per cent viewing share); it had a final peak rating of 15 million viewers. This was the highest viewership in the United Kingdom of a rugby union match since the 1991 Rugby World Cup Final was watched by an average of 13.6 million. The Seven Network's coverage of the final had a nationwide average of four million viewers in Australia and peaked at a total of 4.3 million viewers, making it the most-watched football game in the history of Australian television. Global audience figures for the 2003 Rugby World Cup final totalled between 22 and 30 million.


title: 2003 Rugby World Cup Final

text: At the next World Cup, hosted by France in 2007, England reached the final for the third time in tournament history before they were defeated by South Africa 15–6. Australia advanced from their group as winners before they were knocked out in the quarter-final stage by England.


title: Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest

text: Italy has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 47 times since making its debut at the first contest in . It was one of the seven countries that competed at the first contest, which took inspiration from the Sanremo Music Festival. Italy competed at the contest without interruption until , discontinuing its participation on a number of occasions during the 1980s and 1990s. After a 13-year absence starting in , the country returned to the contest in . Italy has won the contest three times, along with an additional 15 top-five finishes. Italy hosted the contest in Naples (), Rome () and Turin ().


title: Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest

text: In , Domenico Modugno finished third with the song "Nel blu, dipinto di blu". Renamed "Volare", the song became a huge international hit, topping the US "Billboard" Hot 100 and winning two Grammy Awards at its first edition. Emilio Pericoli also finished third in , before Italy won for the first time in with Gigliola Cinquetti and "Non ho l'età". Cinquetti returned to the contest in and finished second with the song "Sì", losing to ABBA. Italy then finished third in 1975 with Wess and Dori Ghezzi and the song "Era". The country's best result of the 1980s was Umberto Tozzi and Raf finishing third in . Italy's second victory in the contest came in with Toto Cutugno and the song "". Other good 1990s results were Mia Martini in and Jalisse in , who both finished fourth. After 1997, Italy withdrew from the competition.


title: Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest

text: On 31 December 2010, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced that Italy would be returning to the contest as part of the "Big Five", thereby granting the country automatic qualification for the final. Italy's return to the contest has proved to be successful, finishing in the top ten in nine of the last eleven contests (2011–22), including second places for Raphael Gualazzi () and Mahmood (), and third place for Il Volo (). Il Volo won the televote, receiving votes from all countries, but came sixth with the juries. This was the first time since the introduction of the mixed jury–televote system in 2009 that the televote winner did not end up winning the contest. Italy achieved its third victory at the contest in , with the rock band Måneskin and the song "Zitti e buoni".


title: Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest

text: Italy has withdrawn from the Eurovision Song Contest a number of times. The first withdrawal was in , when RAI stated that interest had diminished in the country. This absence continued through , before Italy returned in . Italy again withdrew in when RAI decided not to enter the contest.


title: Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest

text: From to , Italy withdrew again, with RAI citing a lack of interest in participating. Italy returned in , before withdrawing again without explanation, and the country did not participate again until .


title: Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest

text: None of the 20th century Eurovision-winning songs were particularly successful in the Italian charts. "Non ho l'età" by Gigliola Cinquetti was a hit in February 1964 when the song won the 1964 contest, but according to the official "Hit Parade Italia" website, "Waterloo", "Ding-a-dong", "Puppet on a String", "Save Your Kisses for Me" and even Italy's own winning entry of 1990, "", all failed to enter the top ten of the records sales charts. A notable exception to this rule was the 1984 entry "I treni di Tozeur" by Alice and Franco Battiato, which shared 5th place in the final, but still became a #3 hit in Italy and also placed at #20 on the chart of the best-selling Italian singles in 1984.


title: Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest

text: RAI refused to broadcast the because their competing song, sung by Gigliola Cinquetti, coincided with the intense political campaigning for the 1974 Italian divorce referendum which was to be held a month later in May. Despite the Eurovision Song Contest taking place more than a month before the planned vote, Italian censors refused to allow the contest and song to be shown or heard. RAI censors felt that the song, titled "Sì" ("Yes"), and contained lyrics constantly repeating the aforementioned word could be subject to accusation of being subliminal messaging and a form of propaganda to influence the Italian voting public to vote 'yes' in the referendum (thus to repeal the law that allowed divorce). The song thus remained censored on most Italian state TV and radio stations for over a month. At the contest in Brighton, Cinquetti finished second, losing to ABBA. "Sì" went on to be a UK top ten hit, peaking at number eight. It also reached the German top 20.


title: Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest

text: In 2008, two notable Italian musicians, Vince Tempera (who was the conductor for Malta in 1975 and had helped San Marino take part in the ESC in 2008) and Eurovision winner Toto Cutugno expressed their sorrow at Italy's non-participation and called for the country to return to the contest.


title: Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest

text: Contestants from the , starting with the winner Dima Bilan appeared on the Italian show "Carramba! Che fortuna", hosted by Raffaella Carrà on Rai Uno. Whether this was an initiative by Carrà (who presented three shows in TVE concerning the event) to try to bring Eurovision back to Italy is not clear, but Sietse Bakker, then-Manager Communications & PR of the Eurovision Song Contest, reiterated that "Italy is still very much welcome to take part in the competition."


title: Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest

text: Shortly after revealing the list of participants for the , the EBU announced that they would work harder to bring Italy back into the contest, along with former participants Monaco and Austria.


title: Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest

text: At a press conference presenting the fourth edition of the Italian "X Factor", Rai 2 director Massimo Liofredi announced that the winner of the competition might advance to represent Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest, rather than participate in the Sanremo Festival, as in previous years. On 2 December 2010, it was officially announced by the EBU that Italy had applied to compete in the 2011 contest. Their participation was further confirmed on 31 December with the announcement of the official participant list.