Early life.

Ross was born in Daytona Beach, Florida, to Jack and Ollie Ross (a carpenter and a waitress, respectively), and raised in Orlando, Florida. As an adolescent, Ross cared for injured animals, including armadillos, snakes, alligators, and squirrels, one of which was later featured in several episodes of his television show. He had a half-brother, Jim, whom he mentioned in passing on his show. Ross dropped out of high school in the 9th grade. While working as a carpenter with his father, he lost part of his left index finger. This minor disability did not affect the way he held his palette while painting.

Military career.

In 1961, 18-year-old Ross enlisted in the United States Air Force and was put into service as a medical records technician. He eventually rose to the rank of master sergeant and served as the first sergeant of the U.S. Air Force Clinic at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska, where he first saw the snow and mountains that later became recurring themes in his artwork. He developed his quick-painting technique to create art for sale during brief daily work breaks. Having held military positions that required him to be, in his own words, "tough" and "mean", "the guy who makes you scrub the latrine, the guy who makes you make your bed, the guy who screams at you for being late to work." Ross decided that if he ever left the military, he would never yell or raise his voice again.

Career as a painter.

During his 20-year tenure with the U.S. Air Force, Ross developed a taste for painting after attending an art class at the Anchorage U.S.O. club. He found himself frequently at odds with many of his painting instructors, who were more interested in abstract painting. In Ross's own words: "They'd tell you what makes a tree, but they wouldn't tell you how to paint a tree."  Ross was working as a part-time bartender when he discovered a TV show called "The Magic of Oil Painting", hosted by German painter Bill Alexander. Alexander touted a 16th-century style of painting called "alla prima" ("Italian for "first attempt""), better known as "wet-on-wet", that allowed him to finish a painting in a little under 30 minutes. Ross studied and became quite good at alla prima through Alexander's show, and began selling Alaskan landscapes painted on the inside of novelty gold-mining pans. Eventually, Ross's income from gold pan sales surpassed his military salary. He retired from the Air Force in 1981 with the rank of Master Sergeant after 20 years of service.  He first went to Florida and studied painting under Alexander, then joined the "Alexander Magic Art Supplies Company" and became a traveling salesman and tutor. Annette Kowalski, who had attended one of his sessions, became convinced that there was a great opportunity for Ross to succeed on his own, and persuaded him to do so. She invested her life savings in the company, as did Ross and his wife. The business struggled at first; his trademark permed hairstyle came about as a cost-cutting measure, when his regular crewcut haircuts became too expensive. Ross later confessed that he disliked the hairstyle, but did not feel he could change it because it was depicted in the company logo.  The origins of the TV show "The Joy of Painting" are unclear. It was filmed at the studio of the PBS station WIPB in Muncie, Indiana.  The show ran from January 11, 1983 to May 17, 1994, but reruns continue to appear in many broadcast areas and countries, including the non-commercial digital subchannel network Create. In the United Kingdom the BBC re-ran them during the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020 while most viewers were in lockdown at home. During each half-hour segment, Ross would instruct viewers in oil painting using a quick-study technique from the imagination that used a limited palette of paints and broke down the process into simple steps. Art critic Mira Schor compared him to Fred Rogers, host of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood", noting that Ross's soft voice and the slow pace of his speech were similar.  With help from Annette and Walt Kowalski, Ross built a $15 million business, Bob Ross Inc., selling his line of art supplies and how-to books, and marketing painting classes taught by instructors trained in the "Bob Ross method". All of his income, he said, was derived from those sources; the show was intended to be a vehicle to promote his classes and products. Following Ross's death, ownership of Bob Ross Inc. was passed to the Kowalskis.  Ross also filmed wildlife, squirrels in particular, usually in his garden, and he would often take in injured or abandoned squirrels and other animals. Small animals often appeared on his "Joy of Painting" canvasses.

Technique.

Ross used the wet-on-wet oil painting technique, in which the painter continues adding paint on top of still-wet paint rather than waiting a lengthy amount of time to allow each layer of paint to dry. From the beginning, the program kept the selection of tools and colors simple so that viewers would not have to make large investments in expensive equipment. Ross frequently recommended odorless paint thinner (aka odorless mineral spirits) for brush cleaning. Combining the wet painting method with the use of large one- and two-inch brushes, as well as painting knives, allowed Ross to paint trees, clouds, mountains, and water in a matter of seconds. Each painting would start with simple strokes that appeared as nothing more than smudges of color. As he added more and more strokes, the blotches would transform into intricate landscapes.  Ross painted three versions of almost every painting featured on his show. The first was painted prior to taping, and sat on an easel, off-camera, during filming, where Ross used it as a reference to create the second copy—the one viewers actually watched him paint. After filming the episode, Ross painted a more detailed version for inclusion in his instructional books. The different versions were marked as follows on the side or back of the canvas: "Kowalski" for the initial version, "tv" for the version painted during the TV show, and "book" for the book version.

Influences.

Ross dedicated the first episode of the second season of "The Joy of Painting" to Bill Alexander, explaining that "years ago, Bill taught me this fantastic [wet-on-wet] technique, and I feel as though he gave me a precious gift, and I'd like to share that gift with you [the viewer]." As Ross's popularity grew, his relationship with Alexander became increasingly strained. "He betrayed me," Alexander told "The New York Times" in 1991. "I invented 'wet on wet,' I trained him, and... he thinks he can do it better." Art historians have pointed out that the "wet-on-wet" (or alla prima) technique actually originated in Flanders during the 15th century, and was used by Frans Hals, Diego Velázquez, Caravaggio, Paul Cézanne, John Singer Sargent, and Claude Monet, among many others.

Style.

Ross was well-known for the catchphrases he used while painting such as "happy little trees". In most episodes of "The Joy of Painting", Ross would note that one of his favorite parts of painting was cleaning the brush. Specifically, he was fond of his method of drying off a brush that he had dipped in odorless thinner by striking it against the can of thinner (then striking a box for early seasons, and a trash can on later seasons). Occasionally he would strike the brush hard on the trash can saying he "hit the bucket" and then on the easel. He would smile and often laugh aloud as he said to "beat the Devil out of it". He also used a palette that had been lightly sanded down, which was necessary to avoid catching the reflections of the strong studio lighting.  Ross wore clothes that he believed would be a "timeless look" (jeans and a button-down shirt). He also used a minimalist set and spoke as if he were only addressing one viewer.  When asked about his laid-back approach, and his calm and contented demeanor, he commented,  The landscapes he painted—typically mountains, lakes, snow, and log cabin scenes—were strongly influenced by his years living in Alaska, where he was stationed for the majority of his Air Force career. He repeatedly stated on the show his belief that everyone had inherent artistic talent and could become an accomplished artist given time, practice, and encouragement, and to this end was often fond of saying, "We don't make mistakes; we just have happy accidents." In 2014, the blog FiveThirtyEight conducted a statistical analysis of the 381 episodes in which Ross painted live, concluding that 91 percent of Ross's paintings contained at least one tree, 44 percent included clouds, 39 percent included mountains and 34 percent included mountain lakes. By his own estimation, Ross completed more than 30,000 paintings in his lifetime. His works rarely contained human subjects or signs of human habitation. On rare occasions he would incorporate a cabin into a landscape, but he typically painted its chimney without any signs of smoke, implying that it was unoccupied.

Other media appearances.

Ross was fond of country music, and in 1987 he was invited on stage by Hank Snow at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee. The audience gave him a huge ovation; he was slightly nervous at first, but felt better after cracking a joke to the crowd. Snow was later given a private painting lesson by Ross.  Ross visited New York City to promote his hardcover book, "The Best of the Joy of Painting with Bob Ross", and painting techniques to a studio audience several times. On one visit in 1989 he appeared on "The Joan Rivers Show". He returned in 1992 for a live show with hosts Regis Philbin and Kathie Lee Gifford. There was one in 1994, when Phil Donahue, who watched his videos and loved his painting technique, invited him to the show to promote his work. Ross took five audience members on-stage to do a painting and even Phil himself did a painting and showed it in that episode.  In the early 1990s, Ross did several MTV promotional spots that, according to the "American City Business Journals", "dovetailed perfectly with Generation X's burgeoning obsession with all things ironic and retro."  In 1995, a visibly ill Ross made his final public television appearance as a guest on the pilot episode of the children’s series "The Adventures of Elmer and Friends". The series premiered in 1996, one year after Ross’s death. The episode included a final message of thanks from Ross to his fans and viewers, and a musical tribute.

Personal life.

Ross had one son, Robert Stephen "Steve" Ross, with his first wife, Vivian Ridge. Steve, also a talented painter, occasionally appeared on "The Joy of Painting" and became a Ross-certified instructor. Steve appeared on camera in the last episode of Season 1, in which he read a series of general "how-to" questions sent in by viewers during the season, and Bob answered them one at a time, technique by technique, until he had completed an entire painting.  Ross and Ridge's marriage ended in divorce in 1977. Ross and his second wife, Jane, had no children together. In 1992, Jane died of cancer. In 1995, two months before his death, Ross married for a third time, to Lynda Brown.  Ross was very secretive about his life and had a great liking for privacy, with only a tight circle of friends. Some of only a few interviews with his close-knit circle of friends and his family can be found in the 2011 PBS documentary "Bob Ross: The Happy Painter".  His company, Bob Ross Inc., is protective of his intellectual property and his privacy to this day.

Death.

Ross died at the age of 52 on July 4, 1995, due to complications from lymphoma, which he had battled for several years. His remains are interred at Woodlawn Memorial Park in Gotha, Florida, under a plaque marked: "Bob Ross; Television Artist". Ross kept his diagnosis a secret from the general public, and his lymphoma was not known outside of his circle of family and friends until after his death.

Legacy.

Ross's likeness has become part of popular culture, with his image spoofed in shows, films, and video games like "Family Guy", "The Boondocks", "Deadpool 2", and "Smite". Bob Ross was also spoofed in the YouTube series "Epic Rap Battles of History" in the episode "Bob Ross vs. Pablo Picasso".  Google celebrated the 70th anniversary of his birth with a Google Doodle on October 29, 2012. It portrayed Ross painting a depiction of the letter "g" with a landscape in the background. A board game titled "Bob Ross: The Art of Chill" was released and carried by Target stores, while a Chia Pet model in Bob Ross's likeness was also released. At one point Ross was going to have his own video game to be released on Wii, the Nintendo DS, and PC, with development handled by AGFRAG Entertainment Group, although this never came to fruition.  Newfound interest in Ross occurred in 2015. As part of the launch of Twitch Creative, Twitch hosted a nine-day marathon of Bob Ross's "The Joy of Painting" series which started on October 29, 2015, in commemoration of what would have been his 73rd birthday. Twitch reported that 5.6 million viewers watched the marathon and, due to its popularity, created a weekly rebroadcast with one season of "The Joy of Painting" to air on Twitch each Monday. A portion of the advertising revenue has been promised to charities, including St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.  In June 2016, Ross's series "Beauty Is Everywhere" was added to the Netflix lineup. The 30-minute episodes are taken from seasons 20, 21 and 22 of the original "The Joy of Painting" series. The newfound interest surprised the Kowalskis, since they were managing Ross image and "The Joy of Painting" episodes. They created a YouTube channel for Ross which gained over one million subscribers within a year.  The renewed interest in Ross also led to questions of where his paintings were located, given that it was estimated over 1,000 works were created for "The Joy of Painting". In an investigative report by "The New York Times," the Kowalskis affirmed that they still held all of his paintings, though without the proper care generally needed to store art. Prompted by numerous letters from fans of Ross, the Smithsonian American Art Museum contacted the Kowalskis and offered to take a selection of Ross's paintings, along with other items from the show, to place on exhibit at the Museum.

ASMR.

The Twitch streams created a new interest in Bob Ross from the younger generation, and caused his popularity to grow. His videos became popular with devotees of the autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR). ASMR refers to a euphoric feeling, which can be experienced in a variety of ways; triggers can be aural, touch-based or both. "He's sort of the godfather of ASMR," says Joan Kowalski, the president of Bob Ross Inc. "People were into Bob Ross for ASMR reasons before there was ASMR."

Robert Norman Ross (October 29, 1942 – July 4, 1995) was an American painter, art instructor, and television host. He was the creator and host of "The Joy of Painting", an instructional television program that aired from 1983 to 1994 on PBS in the United States, and also aired in Canada, Latin America, and Europe. Ross went from being a public television personality in the 1980s and 1990s to posthumously being an Internet celebrity in the 21st century, with his talent and kindness leading to major popularity with fans on YouTube, Twitch, and other websites years after his death.

Robert Norman Ross (29. října 1942 – 4. července 1995) byl americký malíř, učitel umění a televizní moderátor svého vlastního pořadu "The Joy of Painting". Pořad se vysílal od roku 1983 do roku 1994 na televizní stanici PBS ve Spojených státech, Kanadě, Jižní Americe, ale i v Evropě. Ze známé televizní osobnosti osmdesátých a devadesátých let se stal i po jeho smrti ve 21. století internetovou celebritou a hvězdou YouTube.


Early life.

Mwanza was born in 1997 in Mbuji-Mayi, the third of six siblings, and spent her early childhood in Kasai Province. Her father dispatched her mother and siblings to Kinshasa when she was eight years old, promising to rejoin them later. There, the children no longer attended school, and her mother held her responsible for the family's misfortune after a false prophet stated Mwanza was a witch. He charged her mother for attempted exorcisms to rid Mwanza of witchcraft, but eventually she was thrown out on the street.  Mwanza spent several years living as a street child in Kinshasa before being cast in the Canadian film "War Witch (Rebelle)". She also appeared in the 2013 film "Kinshasa Kids" written and directed by Marc-Henri Wajnberg.  She later moved to Montreal, where she attended the high school "École Lucien-Pagé" and lived with the family of Anne-Marie Gélinas, the associate film producer for "War Witch".

Acting career.

Mwanza was cast in "Rebelle" after director Kim Nguyen and producers Pierre Even and Marie-Claude Poulin saw her in a documentary film on the street kids of Kinshasa. Due to her lack of education, she did not know how to read or write when she was first cast in the film; the filmmakers have since made arrangements to pay for her education and housing until she turns 18. In February 2013, she was granted a visa to allow her to attend the Academy Awards, as it was the Canadian entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The visit combined attendance at the awards along with promotion work for "Rebelle" while she was in the United States.  Mwanza's performance in "Rebelle" garnered her awards including the Silver Bear for Best Actress from the Berlin Film Festival, the Tribeca Film Festival and the Vancouver Film Critics Circle in 2012, as well as the award for Best Actress at the 1st Canadian Screen Awards and Québec Cinéma.  Mwanza subsequently wrote a book titled "Survivre pour voir ce jour", describing her childhood and experiences in the hope that it would both inspire young people but also bring attention to the 20,000 children who live on the streets of Kinshasha.

Rachel Mwanza is an actress from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, best known for her performance as Komona in the 2012 film "War Witch (Rebelle)". Prior to being cast in the film, she was homeless and living on the streets of Kinshasa.

Rachel Mwanzaová (* 1997 Mbuji-Mayi) je herečka z Demokratické republiky Kongo. Pochází z provincie Kasai, v dětství se s rodinou přestěhovala do Kinshasy. Po rozvodu rodičů a odchodu matky za prací do Angoly zůstala Rachel se sourozenci v péči babičky, pro nedostatek financí nemohla chodit do školy. Po obvinění z čarodějnictví byla vyhnána z domu a žila čtyři roky mezi bezprizornými dětmi zvanými "chégué".


Ecology.

The jumping spider "Trite planiceps" lives predominantly in the rolled-up leaves of this species. "Phormium tenax" is a coastal cover plant associated with significant habitat such as the breeding habitat for the endangered yellow-eyed penguin.

Cultivation.

"Phormium tenax" had many uses in traditional Māori society. Many of these uses have largely fallen into disuse, though there is an upswing in the use of traditional materials in modern Māori art and craft. The two most common forms for flax in traditional craft are the use of stripped, dried leaves as broad bands, such as in the weaving of "kete" (flax baskets), and the scraping, pounding, and washing of the leaves to create a fibre — "muka" — which is used in "tāniko" (weaving) of soft, durable fabric for clothing. Flax is also used as a decorative and structural element in "tukutuku", panelling found within Mãori "wharenui" (meeting houses). Prior to the Great Depression of the 1930s, which decimated flax as an industry, there were two serious attempts by Europeans to breed for fibre. The first was by Wellington-based Leonard Cockayne about 1908. The second by Massey-based John Stuart Yeates in the late 1920s.  New Zealand Flax was cultivated on Saint Helena from the late 1800s to around 1966 for the production of string and rope and for export. Today the plants remain but the industry has stopped; they are considered an ecological problem.

Ornamental.

In recent times, "P. tenax" and its cousin "P. colensoi" have been widely cultivated as ornamental garden plants, their striking fans of pointed leaves providing a focal point in mixed plantings or at the edge of a lawn. They are easy to grow in a sunny spot, especially in coastal areas with some protection in winter, but require reliably moist soil. They are frequently found in garden centres amongst plants with a similar appearance, notably "Yucca" and "Cordyline". However, these are very different plants with different requirements. "P. tenax" and some cultivars can grow to a substantial size - tall by broad.

Cultivars.

More recently several cultivars have been selected as decorative garden plants, including:  Those marked have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Phormium tenax (called flax in New Zealand English; in Māori; New Zealand flax outside New Zealand; and New Zealand hemp in historical nautical contexts) is an evergreen perennial plant native to New Zealand and Norfolk Island that is an important fibre plant and a popular ornamental plant. The plant grows as a clump of long, straplike leaves, up to two metres long, from which arises a much taller flowering shoot, with dramatic yellow or red flowers.

Lenovník novozélandský ("Phormium tenax") je vytrvalá, trsnatá, stálezelená rostlina s listy dlouhými až tři metry. Je jedním ze dvou druhů úzkého rodu lenovník a jeho původním areálem je Nový Zéland a nepříliš vzdálený ostrov Norfolk, součást vnějšího teritoria Austrálie. Odtud byl lidmi rozšířen na pevninskou Austrálie, do Asie, Severní a Jižní Ameriky i na jih Afriky, občas roste i v Evropě. Důvodem k tomuto rozšíření bylo jak jeho využívání pro výrobu pevných textilních vláken, tak i estetická hodnota okrasných rostlin v zahradách.


Biography.

He acquired his college education in 1933 in the Těšín Region where he had lived since age 12. He studied medicine in Brno. Having been arrested by the Gestapo in November 1939, he was briefly imprisoned at Brno's Špilberk Castle and subsequently deported to the Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg Nazi concentration camp. As a doctor he was active at the ear, nose and throat (otolaryngology) clinics in Brno, Hradec Králové, and the Central Military Hospital in Prague. He was named associate professor (1951) and full professor (1965) of Charles University in Prague. Professor Černý devoted himself mainly to the surgical treatment of ear, nose and throat health conditions. He delivered hundreds of lectures in and outside his homeland, and published 194 scientific papers, including an Atlas of Ear Surgery and Atlas of Throat Surgery, with his own illustrations. He was the honorary member of many Czechoslovak and international scientific organizations and his many international awards included the Czech Medical Society's Jan Evangelista Purkyně Prize, on the occasion of his 85th birthday.

Historical geography.

Professor Ervín Černý was also a prominent scientist in the field of historical geography. Over 40 years of scientific endeavour in this field he explored a territory of over 600 square kilometres of his native Drahany Upland (Drahanská vrchovina) to discover 62 decayed medieval settlements including their forest areas. He published more than 70 scientific papers in this field, and six of them were released in book form. He dedicated his book of epical poems, Zelený barvínek, to his native region.  He spent many years painstakingly collecting information about the history of his native village. In 1999 he presented Podomí with his detailed Chronicle to mark 650 years of the village.

Barvínek.

In 1997, Professor Černý greeted an initiative of several citizens of the micro-region (comprising the communities of Podomí, Krásensko, Ruprechtov and Senetářov) and helped to establish a civic association for the advancement of extracurricular education of children and young people. He was delighted by the proposal to call the new association “Barvínek” as a token of appreciation by his fellow citizens. “Barvínek” stood in good stead to Professor Černý in the reclamation of a local well, and worked to edit the Podomí Chronicles and to organize an exhibition on his life and scientific as well as artistic endeavours. Together, they published the book “The Drahany Upland” and staked out an educational hiking trail of the same name (with five information desks). Barvínek activists helped Professor Černý in his late years with the archeological research of decayed settlements and organized his lectures and public meetings.  Professor Ervín Černý lived in Prague but visited Podomí several times every year. He died on July 30, 2001 after a traffic accident.

Professor Ervín Černý-Křetínský (born 1913 in Podomí - died 30 July 2001) was a Doctor of Medicine and Professor of Charles University in Prague.

Ervín Černý-Křetínský (11. listopadu 1913 Podomí – 30. července 2001 Praha) byl český lékař a profesor Univerzity Karlovy v Praze.


Biography.

Early life and education.

Aravind Adiga was born in Madras (now Chennai) on 23 October 1974 to Dr. K. Madhava Adiga and Usha Adiga, both of whom hailed from Mangalore. His paternal grandfather was the late K. Suryanarayana Adiga, former chairman of Karnataka Bank, and a maternal great-grandfather, U. Rama Rao, a popular medical practitioner and Congress politician from Madras.  Adiga grew up in Mangalore and studied at Canara High School, then at St. Aloysius College, where he completed his SSLC in 1990 and secured the first place in his state in SSLC (his elder brother, Anand, had placed second in SSLC and first in PUC in the state).  After emigrating to Sydney, Australia, with his family, Aravind studied at James Ruse Agricultural High School. He later studied English literature at Columbia College of Columbia University, in New York city, under Simon Schama and graduated as salutatorian in 1997. He also studied at Magdalen College, Oxford, where one of his tutors was Hermione Lee.

Career.

Aravind Adiga began his journalistic career as a financial journalist, interning at the "Financial Times". With pieces published in the "Financial Times" and "Money", he covered the stock market and investment, interviewing, amongst others, Donald Trump. His review of previous Booker Prize winner Peter Carey's book, "Oscar and Lucinda", appeared in "The Second Circle", an online literary review.  He was subsequently hired by "TIME", where he remained a South Asia correspondent for three years before going freelance. During this freelance period, he wrote "The White Tiger". Adiga now lives in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

Booker Prize.

Adiga's debut novel, "The White Tiger", won the 2008 Booker Prize. He is the fourth Indian-born author to win the prize, after Salman Rushdie, Arundhati Roy, and Kiran Desai. (V. S. Naipaul, another winner, is ethnically Indian but was born on the Caribbean island of Trinidad.) The five other authors on the shortlist included one other Indian writer (Amitav Ghosh) and another first-time writer (Steve Toltz). The novel studies the contrast between India's rise as a modern global economy and the lead character, Balram, who comes from crushing rural poverty.  Adiga explained that "criticism by writers like Flaubert, Balzac and Dickens of the 19th century helped England and France become better societies".  Shortly after he won the prize, it was alleged that Adiga had, the previous year, sacked the agent who had secured his contract with Atlantic Books at the 2007 London Book Fair. In April 2009, it was announced that the novel would be adapted into a feature film. Propelled mainly by the Booker Prize win, The White Tiger's Indian hardcover edition sold more than 200,000 copies.

Academic criticism.

According to Ana Cristina Mendes (2010), "The White Tiger" falls prey to "inauthenticity": Adiga a well-read Indian author who writes in English, having been educated at Oxford and Columbia – errs on the side of an unconvincing colloquialism by making his characters speak a language of the Indian underground, which he himself masters only to a certain extent. The novel is described as a first-person "bildungsroman" and placed within the wider context of contemporary Indian writing in English, as a novel about "the Darkness" (which reminds us of Dickens's London) and a fascinating success story about the overnight rise of one character from rags to riches, but also about India’s development as a global market economy. Mendes (2010) notices in this a certain artificiality, cleverly masked by irony, and remarks the “'cardboard cut-out' title character equipped with an inauthentic voice that ultimately undermines issues of class politics" (p. 277). Pakistani blogger Sarmad Iqbal reviewed Adiga's "The White Tiger" for "International Policy Digest", saying: "This novel in multiple ways was an eye opener for me about the rising India as being a Pakistani I grew up listening to and learning nothing good about India. As I got acquainted with all the dark secrets of a rising India divulged by Adiga in this novel, I came across several astonishing similarities between what goes in the 'enemy state' I knew from my childhood and my own country Pakistan."  Other academics find the book to be a fascinating assessment of the ongoing development of India as a nation, written with a manner of direct honesty, humour and frankness few authors can harness when attempting to evaluate their own nations. Adiga provides readers with a broad perspective on the ancient ideas of historic India as they contrast with the last 120 years of rapid societal change and advancement. Readers who have spent significant periods of time in India can glean essential insights from the book while appreciating the author's firsthand knowledge of the subtleties of the diverse and intoxicating cast of people that make India such an interesting place, be it tragic or breathtaking.

Other works.

Adiga's second book, "Between the Assassinations", was released in India in November 2008 and in the US and UK in mid-2009; twelve interlinked short stories comprise this book. His second novel and third published book, "Last Man in Tower", was published in the UK in 2011. His third novel, "Selection Day", was published on 8 September 2016.

Aravind Adiga (born 23 October 1974) is an Indo-Australian writer and journalist. His debut novel, "The White Tiger", won the 2008 Man Booker Prize.

Aravind Adiga (* 23. října 1974 Čennaí) je indicko-australský spisovatel a novinář píšící anglicky. Hned za svou první knihu, román "Bílý tygr" ("The White Tiger"), z roku 2008 získal Man Bookerovu cenu.


1936–1954: Early life.

Marion Barry was born in rural Itta Bena, Mississippi, the third child of Mattie Cummings and Marion Barry. His father died when he was four years old, and a year later his mother moved the family to Memphis, Tennessee, where her employment prospects were better. His mother married David Cummings, a butcher, and together they raised eight children. Growing up on Latham Street near South Parkway, Marion Barry attended Florida Elementary and graduated from Booker T. Washington High.  The first time Barry noticed racial issues was when he had to walk to school while the white students were assigned a school bus to ride. The schools were segregated, as were public facilities. He had a number

1955–1970: Education and civil rights activism.

Undergraduate studies at LeMoyne College.

Barry attended LeMoyne–Owen College, in Memphis, graduating in 1958. In his junior year, the racial injustices he had seen started to come together. He and his friends went to a segregated fairground in Memphis, and went at a time reserved for whites, because they wanted to see the science exhibit. When they were close to the exhibit, a policeman stopped them and asked them to leave. Barry and his friends left without protest. At that time, Barry did not know much about his race, or why they were treated poorly, but he resented the incident. Barry became more active in the NAACP chapter at LeMoyne-Owens, serving as president. It is sometimes said that his ardent support of the civil rights movement earned him the nickname "Shep", in

Master's degree, Nashville Student Movement, SNCC.

Barry earned an M.S. in organic chemistry from Fisk University in 1960. He was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. While in graduate school at Fisk, Barry was arrested several times while participating in the Nashville sit-ins to desegregate lunch counters and other Civil Rights Movement events. After graduating from Fisk, Barry continued to work in the Civil Rights

Doctoral studies.

Barry began doctoral studies at the University of Kansas, but soon quit the program. He contemplated law school to help with his activism, but decided against it, because the delayed admission would mean that he would have to take a year off from school. Had he taken a year off, there was a chance of his being drafted into the military, and he did not want to be drafted.  He decided to go

Working for SNCC.

As head of SNCC, Barry led protests against racial segregation and discrimination. After he left McComb, Barry's lobbied the state legislatures to try to convince them to vote to make the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) the recognized Democratic party of Mississippi in the 1964 Democratic National Convention. In a protest of their continuing disenfranchisement, African Americans had organized this party to prove that blacks wanted to vote and conducted a trial election. Barry slept on the boardwalk in Atlantic

1971–1974: D.C. Board of Education.

In 1971, Barry announced his candidacy for at-large member of the school board, running against the incumbent, Anita L. Allen. Barry said he wanted to steer the school board back to the "issues of education" and away from problems of personalities. Barry defeated Allen, with 58 percent of the vote to Allen's 34 percent.  After Barry was seated in 1972, he was unanimously elected as president of the board. He served as board president for two years, reorganizing the school system's finances and building consensus on the board.  In response to the 1972 blaxploitation film "Super Fly", Barry quickly formed a protest group named Blacks Against

1974–1979: D.C. Council and shooting.

Upon establishment of Washington's home rule in 1974, Barry was elected an at-large member of Washington's first elected city council. In that position, he served as chair of the District of Columbia Committee on Finance and Revenue. He was re-elected in 1976.  While serving on the D.C. City Council, Barry was shot on March 9, 1977, by radical Hanafi Muslims (a breakaway sect of the Nation of Islam) when they overran the District Building. Barry was shot near his heart during the two-day 1977 Hanafi Siege in which hostages were held by the terrorists. This was finally defused by the FBI and Muslim ambassadors. Barry recovered from his injury.

1978 mayoral election.

Having credentials as an activist, legislator, and "hero" in a hostage crisis, as well as an early endorsement from the "Washington Post", Barry was elected as mayor after Walter Washington, the district's first mayor, fell out of political favor in the 1978 election.  In the Democratic primary—the real contest in the heavily Democratic, black-majority

1979–1991: Mayor of the District of Columbia.

First term.

Barry's first four years in office were characterized by increased efficiency in city administration and government services, in particular the sanitation department. Barry also instituted his signature summer jobs program, in which summer employment was made available to every school-age resident. At the same time, Barry straightened the city's chaotic finances and attacked the deficit by introducing spending controls and laying off ten percent of the city's workforce. Each year of his first term saw a budget surplus of at least US$13 million. District of Columbia political reporter Jonetta Rose Barras characterized the first Barry administration as "methodical, competent, and intellectually superior."  However, unemployment

Second term.

In 1982, Barry faced re-election against a challenge from fellow Democrat Patricia Roberts Harris, an African-American woman who had served in two cabinet positions under President Jimmy Carter, as well as from council members John L. Ray and Charlene Drew Jarvis. In the primary election held September 14, 1982, Barry won by a landslide, with over 58% of the vote. He won 82% of the vote in the November 11 general election against Republican candidate E. Brooke Lee.  Barry's second term was much more troublesome than his first. Though Washington experienced a massive real estate boom that helped alleviate the city's fiscal problems for a time, government spending skyrocketed; the administration posted a fifth straight budget surplus, but the next year struggled with a $110 million deficit. Much of the disparity was caused by Barry's policy of combatting unemployment by creating government jobs; the city government's payrolls swelled so greatly that by 1986, nobody in the administration knew exactly how many employees it had.  Wasteful contract spending also became a problem in the second Barry administration. In his first term Barry had

Third term.

Barry sought a third term as mayor in 1986. By this time, his dominance of city politics was so absolute that he faced only token opposition in the Democratic primary in the form of former school board member Mattie Taylor, whom Barry dispatched rather easily. Barry had expected to face Jesse Jackson, who had been encouraged by colleagues to seek the mayoralty, and who had been relatively popular in stark contrast to Barry's declining reputation. Barry, who knew that most of Jackson's income came from delivering speeches, used his political clout to arbitrarily disqualify Jackson by getting a law passed that said anyone who made more than a certain amount in honoraria was ineligible to run for D.C. office. Council members jokingly called this the "Jesse Jackson law," as it was legislated expressly to keep Jackson out of the mayoral race. As expected, Barry defeated Republican city councilwoman Carol Schwartz fairly handily in the November 4 general election. However, Schwartz managed to win 33 percent of the vote—the first time a Republican had crossed the 30-percent barrier in a general election. For the third time, Barry received the endorsement of "The Washington

1990 arrest and drug conviction.

By late 1989, federal officials had been investigating Barry on suspicion of illegal drug possession and use; that fall, they prosecuted several of Barry's associates for cocaine use, including Charles Lewis, a native of the United States Virgin Islands. He was implicated in a drug investigation involving Barry and a room at Washington's Ramada Inn in December 1988.  On January 18, 1990, Barry was arrested with a former girlfriend, Hazel Diane "Rasheeda" Moore, in a sting operation at the Vista International Hotel by the FBI and D.C. police

1992–1994: Political comeback.

D.C. Council.

Barry was released from prison in 1992, and two months later filed papers to run for the Ward 8 city council seat in that year's election. Barry ran under the

1994 mayoral election.

Despite his earlier statements to the contrary, observers of Barry's council victory expressed beliefs that he was laying ground for a mayoral run in 1994. Indeed, Barry fulfilled expectations when he formally announced his candidacy for mayor on May 21, 1994, and was immediately regarded as a serious challenge to the unpopular incumbent mayor, Sharon Pratt Kelly. Despite much opposition, including an abortive effort to recall his 1992 council election, Barry won a three-way Democratic primary contest for mayor with 48% of the vote on September 13, pushing Kelly into last place. The victory, coming after Barry's videotaped

1995–1999: D.C. Mayor fourth term.

Barry was sworn into office on January 2, 1995, and was almost immediately confronted with a financial crisis. The budgetary problems of his previous administrations had only increased during Kelly's term, with city officials estimating a fiscal 1996 deficit between $700 million and $1 billion. In addition, city services remained extremely dysfunctional due to mismanagement. One month into his term, Barry declared that the city government was "unworkable" in its present state and lobbied Congress to take over the areas of its operation that were analogous to typical state government functions. Wall Street, which Barry had convinced just after his election to continue investing in municipal bonds, reduced the city's credit rating to "junk status." Instead of implementing Barry's proposals, the newly Republican Congress (who had come to power on promises

2000–2014: D.C. Council.

After leaving office, Barry performed consulting work for an investment banking firm. On March 6, 2002, Barry declared his intention to challenge at-large council member Phil Mendelson in the Democratic primary. Within a month, he decided against running, after an incident in which U.S. Park Police found traces of marijuana and cocaine in his car.  On June 12, 2004, Barry announced that he was running in the Democratic primary for the Ward 8 council seat, a position he held before becoming mayor. Barry received 58% of the vote, defeating the incumbent council member, Sandy Allen, on September 14, 2004. Barry received 95% of the vote in the general election, giving him a victory in the race to represent Ward 8 in the Council.  During the 2006 mayoral election, Barry endorsed Adrian Fenty despite Linda Cropp hiring many members of Barry's former political machine. Barry has publicly clashed with Fenty over D.C. United's proposed soccer stadium in Barry's Ward 8. Barry was the stadium's most outspoken supporter on the council, whereas Fenty attempted to distance himself from his initial support for the project.  In July 2007, Marion Barry was chosen as one of fifty wax statues to debut in the Washington D.C. franchise of Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. Barry was chosen by a majority of Washington residents and tourists from Tussauds' "Top 10 Wish List," in a contest that pitted him against Cal Ripken, Jr., Al Gore, Denzel Washington, Carl Bernstein, Halle Berry, Martin Sheen, Marilyn Monroe, Nancy Reagan and Oprah Winfrey.  Barry ran for re-election in 2008 and easily held off all five challengers in the Democratic primary: Ahmad Braxton-Jones, Howard Brown, Chanda McMahan, Sandra Seegars and Charles Wilson. No Republican or Statehood Green candidates filed to run in the Ward 8 council race.

Vote on gay marriage.

In May 2009, Barry voted against a bill committing Washington, D.C. to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. During his 2008 reelection campaign, Barry had told members of the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, the city's largest LGBT political group, "I don't think you should make [supporting the bill] a litmus test. But if a bill like that were to come up, I would vote for it." Following

Legal problems.

Failures to file tax returns and pay taxes.

On October 28, 2005, Barry pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charges stemming from an IRS investigation. The mandatory drug testing for the hearing showed Barry as being positive for cocaine and marijuana. On March 9, 2006, he was sentenced to three years probation for misdemeanor charges of failing to pay federal and local taxes, and underwent drug counseling.  In 2007, federal prosecutors sought to have his probation revoked for failure to file his 2005 tax return. U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah Robinson refused, saying that prosecutors had not proved that the failure was willful, even if Barry was aware he had missed the deadline. According to Judge Robinson, sentencing Barry to jail without proving that he willfully failed to file his taxes would contradict precedent set by the United States Supreme Court. On February 9, 2009, prosecutors filed a motion in federal court to revoke Barry's probation for not filing his 2007 tax return, which violated his probation. According to

Alleged traffic violations.

On September 10, 2006, Barry was stopped by Secret Service Uniformed Division police officers after stopping at a green light and running a red light. According to a Secret Service spokesman, the police officers pulled over his car, smelled alcohol, and administered a field sobriety test. Barry was then taken to the U.S. Capitol Police station for a breathalyzer test. The Secret Service said that the breathalyzer test did not give an accurate reading, but Barry later said that it gave a successful reading of 0.02%, which is less than the legal limit of 0.08%. The police officers asked Barry to give a urine analysis, which Barry refused. The officers gave Barry a ticket for running a red light and failing to submit to a urine analysis. He was also charged

Conflict of interest: personal benefit from contract to girlfriend.

On July 4, 2009, Barry was taken into custody by the Park Police after political consultant Donna Watts-Brighthaupt, his ex-girlfriend, claimed he was stalking her. Barry was arrested and charged with "misdemeanor stalking". Following an interview with authorities, he was released on citation and told he must appear before the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on July 9. However, all charges were dropped on July 8.  An investigative report by a special counsel said that Barry had personally benefited from a contract that he had awarded to his then-girlfriend Donna Watts-Brighthaupt. The report stated that Barry had awarded a contract to Watts-Brighthaupt, who then repaid money owed to Barry with the proceeds of the contract. When interviewed by the special counsel, Watts-Brighthaupt

Asian American racist remarks controversy.

At a party celebrating his primary victory for his D.C. council seat on April 3, 2012, Barry said, "We've got to do something about these Asians coming in, opening up businesses, those dirty shops. They ought to go, I'll just say that right now, you know. But we need African-American businesspeople to be able to take their places, too."  Several other council members, Mayor Vincent

Personal life.

Barry married Effi Slaughter, his third wife, just after announcing his candidacy for mayor in 1978. The couple had one son, Marion Christopher Barry, who died of a drug overdose on August 14, 2016. The Barrys separated in November 1990, soon after he was caught on videotape smoking crack cocaine with an ex-model and

Death.

Barry died at United Medical Center in Washington, D.C., on November 23, 2014, from cardiac arrest, aged 78. Following three days of memorial observances, he was buried December 6 at Washington's Congressional Cemetery.  A private monument to Barry was erected over his grave and

Legacy.

In June 2009, a documentary of Barry's life was released at Silverdocs. The HBO Documentary was released on August 2009, on HBO.  In April 2014, in the midst of a contentious mayoral race in Newark, New Jersey, the future victor Ras Baraka was asked by Rutgers University professor and Newark city historian Clement A. Price to choose his role models as mayor. In response, Baraka named Barry and Chokwe Lumumba of Jackson, Mississippi.

Marion Shepilov Barry (born Marion Barry Jr.; March 6, 1936 – November 23, 2014) was an American politician who served as Mayor of the District of Columbia from 1979 to 1991 and 1995 to 1999. A Democrat, Barry had served three tenures on the Council of the District of Columbia, representing as an at-large member from 1975 to 1979 and in Ward 8 from 1993 to 1995, and again from 2005 to 2014.

Marion Shepilov Barry Jr. (6. března 1936 Itta Bena – 23. listopadu 2014 Washington, D.C.) byl americký politik, člen Demokratické strany a dlouholetý starosta Washingtonu.


Etymology.

The name derives from the Hungarian word for lightning, "villám". Formerly (centuries ago), the settlement was recorded under this form of name.

History.

After the Ottoman occupation until 1918, "VILLÁNY" was part of the Austrian monarchy, province of Hungary; in Transleithania after the compromise of 1867 in the Kingdom of Hungary. A post-office was opened end of 1867 (depending from Oedenburg Post Directorate).

Geography.

The city is located in the encounter of three large geographical regions: the Great Hungarian Plain from the south, Baranya Hills from the north, and finally Villány Mountains border it from the west. On the plain, agricultural activity is common. The mountains and the hills provide a suitable place for wine producing.  A fossil site known as "Villány locality 6" or "Villány-Kalkberg Süd" has yielded many vertebrate fossils from Lower Pleistocene.

Demographics.

The settlement's population, divided to age groups:

Twin towns — sister cities.

Villány is twinned with:

Wine region.

Villány is the most famous red wine region in Hungary. The southernmost wine region has the highest number of sunshine hours. Hungary's climate is continental. However, the Villány wine region is characterized by its sub-Mediterranean climate because of its location. Here's a great, full-bodied Bordeaux-style red wine cuvee. French varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot have a great time here. There is also Portugieser, Kékfrankos but we can also meet Kadarka and Syrah grapes. Of course, white grapes are also cultivated by winemakers such as Italian Riesling, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Green Veltelini.  Híres borászatok:

Villány (,, ) is a town in Baranya county, Hungary that is famous for its wine. Residents are Hungarians, with minority of Serbs.

Villány [viláň] (,,, ) je město v jižním Maďarsku v župě Baranya, nedaleko Chorvatských hranic. Spadá pod okres Siklós a leží asi 26 km jihovýchodně od Pécse. Město se rozkládá na ploše 22,02 km2 a žije zde 6 017 obyvatel. Podle údajů z roku 2011 zde byli 85,3 % Maďaři, 21,2 % Němci, 1,7 % Romové, 0,8 % Chorvati, 0,5 % Srbové a 0,2 % Rumuni.


Meteorological history.

Cyclone Idai originated from an elongated circulation that the Météo-France office on Réunion (MFR) began monitoring on 1 March. At that time, it was in the Mozambique Channel and was moving west-southwest, towards Africa's east coast. The MFR continued to track the system over the next couple of days as it developed strong deep convection. On 4 March, the MFR stated that Tropical Depression 11 had formed off the east coast of Mozambique. The depression slowly moved westward, making landfall in Mozambique later in the day. The system retained its status as a tropical cyclone through its existence over land. Shortly after landfall, the system turned to the north. Over the next several days, Tropical Depression 11 performed a counterclockwise loop near the border of Malawi and Mozambique, before turning eastward and re-emerging into the Mozambique Channel, early on 9 March. On 8 March, at 22:00 UTC, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) issued a tropical cyclone formation alert (TCFA), noting a consolidating low-level circulation center and that the system was in a favourable environment with low wind shear and sea surface temperatures exceeding. On 9 March, after Tropical Depression 11 had re-entered the Mozambique Channel, the JTWC issued its first warning on the system, classifying it as Tropical Cyclone 18S. At 00:00 UTC on 10 March, the MFR upgraded the system to a moderate tropical storm and designated it as "Idai", after an increase in organised convection and the development of banding features. Idai then began a period of rapid intensification, with the MFR upgrading it to tropical cyclone status by 18:00 UTC. At the same time, the JTWC upgraded it to the equivalent of a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale. Additionally, the strengthening of a subtropical ridge to the southwest and the weakening of the Intertropical Convergence Zone to the north resulted in a decrease in the forward motion of the storm. Around 12:00 UTC on 11 March, Idai reached its initial peak intensity as an intense tropical cyclone, the seventh storm of that intensity that season, with 10-minute maximum sustained winds of 175 km/h (110 mph). At that time, the MFR reported that the internal structure of the cyclone had improved, with an eye visible in infrared imagery. Meanwhile, the JTWC estimated 1-minute winds of 195 km/h (120 mph), the equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane.  Soon afterward, Idai began a weakening trend as it entered an eyewall replacement cycle and experienced dry air entanglement. It was also noted that Idai was tracking towards the southwest, under the increasing influence of the subtropical ridge to the north. On 12 March at 06:00 UTC, Idai bottomed out at tropical cyclone status with 10-minute winds of 130 km/h (80 mph). At that time, the MFR noted that Idai had a poorly defined eye, as the eyewall replacement cycle was still underway. Over the next day, Idai's intensity changed very little due to ongoing structural changes within its inner core. At the same time, Idai began to travel in a westerly direction. By 18:00 UTC on 13 March, Idai had developed a large eye and taken on the characteristics of an annular tropical cyclone. Six hours later, Idai reached peak intensity, with 10-minute maximum sustained winds of 195 km/h (120 mph) and a minimum central pressure of 940 hPa (27.76 inHg). At that time, the JTWC also reported that Idai had reached peak intensity, with 1-minute sustained winds of 205 km/h (125 mph). Soon afterward, Idai began to weaken, due to lower sea surface temperatures and vertical wind shear as it neared the coast of Mozambique.  At 00:00 UTC on 15 March, the MFR reported that Idai had made landfall near Beira, Mozambique, with 10-minute sustained winds of 165 km/h (105 mph). Shortly afterward, the JTWC issued its final warning on Idai, stating that the cyclone had diminishing eyewall convection and warming cloud tops. Idai quickly weakened after landfall; at 06:00 UTC that day, the MFR declared that Idai had degenerated into an overland depression, with gale-force winds as it continued to move inland. Six hours later, the MFR issued its last warning on Idai. At that time, it was forecast that Idai's circulation would persist for several more days, and would drop heavy rainfall throughout the region during that time. The MFR continued to monitor Idai for the next few days, with Idai degenerating into a remnant low late on 16 March. On 17 March, the MFR noted that only a wide clockwise circulation remained over eastern Zimbabwe, though rain from Idai's remnant was still affecting the entire region. On the same day, Idai's remnants turned eastward once again, eventually re-emerging into the Mozambique Channel a second time on 19 March. Idai's remnants encountered unfavourable conditions and rapidly weakened thereafter, dissipating late on 21 March over the Mozambique Channel.

Impact.

Idai caused severe flooding throughout Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe resulting in at least 1,297 deaths. More than 3 million people experienced the direct effects of the cyclone, with hundreds of thousands in need of assistance. Infrastructural damage from Idai across these countries totaled at least US$1 billion.

Mozambique.

Throughout Mozambique, Idai killed at least 602 people, injured 1,641 others, and inflicted an estimated US$773 million in damage.

First landfall.

Flooding from the precursor depression began in Mozambique on 6 March, primarily affecting north-central provinces. The Niassa, Tete and Zambezia provinces were affected, the latter being hardest-hit. Flooding from the tropical depression killed 66 people and injured 111 more. It was reported that 5,756 homes were destroyed, while another 15,467 homes were affected. Additionally, eight hospitals and 938 classrooms were destroyed. The floods also ruined of crops.

Second landfall.

During its second landfall, Cyclone Idai wrought catastrophic damage across a large swath of central and western Mozambique. Destructive winds devastated coastal communities and flash floods destroyed inland communities in what the World Meteorological Organization termed "one of the worst weather-related disasters in the southern hemisphere". At least 532 people were killed from the combined effects of flooding and wind. In Beira, airborne debris caused numerous injuries; in some instances, sheet metal from roofs decapitated people. More than 1,500 people were treated for storm-related injuries, primarily from airborne debris, in hospitals across Beira. As of 7 April, assessments indicate the destruction of 111,163 homes, damage to another 112,735 houses, and flooding to a further 15,784 structures. An estimated 1.85 million people were affected by the cyclone. Alongside damage to infrastructure, approximately of crops were damaged or destroyed nationwide. Much of this land near the landfall area was near-harvest, compounding the risk of food shortages and placing the country at high-risk of famine. Making landfall in Mozambique near Beira, Idai produced a storm surge of in the city. Coupled with torrential rains, including earlier rainfall, disastrous flooding ensued in the region. Officials called the extensive flooded areas "an inland ocean" visible even from outer space. More than 500,000 people in the city, the majority of the population, lost power. Rainfall in the city exceeded, while the heaviest totals of more than fell near Chimoio. As of 19 March, 100,000 people were reported as requiring rescue in the Beira area. The IFRC reported that 90% of the area in Beira was totally destroyed. Communications in the city were crippled and all roads out were rendered impassable. All 17 of the city's hospitals and health centers suffered damage. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies described damage in the region as "massive and horrifying" and the President of Mozambique stated that over 1,000 people may have died. Bodies were found floating in floodwaters in Beira days after the storm hit.  A tsunami-like wave of water devastated Nhamatanda, sweeping many people to their deaths and destroying the town. People scrambled to rooftops in order to survive. Days after landfall, the Buzi and Pungwe rivers in central Mozambique overflowed their banks. Unprecedented flooding ensued along the banks of the Buzi River. President Filipe Nyusi stated "whole villages [disappeared]" along the Buzi and Pungwe banks. On 17 March, rivers in the western provinces of Mozambique were hit with floodwaters from rising rivers. The city of Búzi continued to flood as of 20 March, placing its 200,000 residents at high-risk. On 19 March, a section of the Buzi remained flooded. Thousands of people remained trapped on rooftops four days after Idai made landfall. Floodwaters estimated to be submerged entire communities.

Malawi.

Following its first landfall, Idai brought torrential rains to southeastern Malawi as a tropical depression. These areas saw above-average rainfall in January, enhancing the risk for floods. Widespread flooding began on 9 March, washing out bridges, roads, and destroying numerous homes. Fourteen districts experienced direct effects from the storm, with Nsanje and Phalombe being hardest-hit. Rising waters overwhelmed flood mitigating infrastructure, causing dams to collapse. Approximately 1,400 homes were destroyed in Blantyre. After Idai made its second landfall in Mozambique on 15 March, the storm caused even more damage in the region. Two hydroelectric power plants along the Shire River suffered damage and were taken offline, rendering a loss of 270 MW of Malawi's 320 MW hydroelectric power capacity.  The disaster directly affected 922,900 people nationwide–an estimated 460,000 being children–125,382 of whom were displaced or rendered homeless. A total of 60 people were killed and 577 others were reported injured as a result of flooding. A further three people are reported missing.

Madagascar.

While over the Mozambique Channel, the system brought heavy rains to northwestern Madagascar, with localised accumulations of approximately. Flooding and mudslides in Besalampy killed one person, left two missing, and affected 1,100 others, as well as damaging 137 homes. Widespread damage occurred to homes, hospitals and schools. Numerous electricity and telephone wires were damaged or destroyed.

Zimbabwe.

Heavy rains fell across much of eastern Zimbabwe as the cyclone meandered along the nation's border with Mozambique. The heaviest rains fell in the Chimanimani District, with accumulations reaching. Widespread flash flooding ensued, claiming at least 634 lives, with at least 257 people missing as of 7 April. Of these deaths, at least 169 were in Chimanimani. An unknown number of bodies were swept into neighboring areas of Mozambique, and at least 82 were confirmed to have been buried as far as into that nation. At least 232 people were injured in Chimanimani. An estimated 270,000 people were affected by the storm.  The Chimanimani and Chipinge districts saw extensive damage with widespread flash flooding. The Nyahonde River burst its banks and inundated numerous communities. Destruction of numerous bridges and roads in eastern Chimanimani isolated many residents. In the town of Chipinge, 600 houses have been destroyed and 20,000 damaged. On 19 March, water overflowed the Marowanyati Dam in Murambinda, along the Mwerahari River.

Aftermath.

Local aid and response.

Following the first round of flooding in Mozambique, the government requested MT1.1 billion (US$17.6 million) to provide aid for flood victims. The magnitude of the humanitarian crisis overwhelmed rescuers. In many instances, victims had to be abandoned in fatal conditions in order to save others in more dire need. The National Disasters Management Institute, normally considered capable of handling disasters in Mozambique, could not cope with the scale of the disaster. The agency deployed boats and helicopters to save residents. Inadequate assistance left thousands of victims stranded in trees and on rooftops five days after the cyclone hit. Beira remained largely inaccessible through 20 March with infrastructure devastated and floodwaters yet to recede. The Mozambique Minister of Land and Environment, Celso Correia, stated on 21 March that an estimated 15,000 people still required rescue. A total of 128,941 people were displaced to 143 evacuation centers nationwide, often in extremely poor conditions. Three-fourths of the displaced persons reside in Sofala Province where the cyclone made its second landfall. It was reported on 23 March that many local emergency centers in Mozambique had only recently been supplied with food, and some areas remained cut off.  Malawi President Peter Mutharika declared a state of emergency for affected districts on 8 March prompting mobilisation of the Malawian Defence Force. The government estimated $16.4 million was needed to ease the effects of damage due to flooding. Initial estimates placed the number of people in urgent need of aid at 120,000, primarily in the Chikwawa, Nsanje, Zomba, Mulanje, Phalombe, and Mangochi districts. With the support of the Danish Red Cross, the Malawi Red Cross Society provided K18 million (US$25,000) worth of supplies to displaced persons on 11 March. On 11 March, the Malawi Revenue Authority provided K21 million (US$29,000) worth of supplies–in the form of 7.5 tonnes of maize flour, 500 bales of sugar, and 20 tonnes of salt–and gave a monetary donation of K2 million (US$3,000). Local officials established 187 evacuation camps while churches and schools were utilised as makeshift shelters. However, these lacked adequate capacity and many people were forced to sleep in the open. Through 18 March, large portions of Chikwawa and Nsanje districts remained inaccessible by land; helicopters and boats were utilised to deliver supplies to these areas. Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa declared a state of emergency soon after the storm and deployed the National Army and Air Force. A command center was established in Harare by 17 March to co-ordinate rescue and relief efforts. Persistent heavy rain, continued flooding, and mudslides hampered relief efforts, leaving many residents stranded without assistance. Harare Councilor Jacon Mafume called the event a "serious humanitarian crisis" and called upon the state for "intervention on a massive scale to avoid biblical disaster". The Government of Zimbabwe allocated RTGS$50 million for emergency response and reconstruction. Medical supplies were sent to Mutare; however, damaged infrastructure hampered distribution. Residents established collection centers in Bulawayo and Harare. Some affected areas remain difficult to reach as of 22 March, including Chimanimani. Mnangagwa declared that Zimbabwe would begin two days of mourning for victims of the cyclone on 23 March.  On 4 April 2019, Zimbabwe Cricket announced that all the profits from the third One Day International (ODI) match between Zimbabwe and the United Arab Emirates would go to the relief efforts.

Search for remains.

Efforts to recover bodies of flood victims proved difficult across Mozambique. Scavenger animals—such as crocodiles, hippos, dogs, snakes, and large pigs—posed the risk of bodies being consumed. In areas with violent flooding, only pieces of corpses were recovered. In one instance Stephen Fonseca, the forensic coordinator for Africa with the Red Cross, found a piece of a spine and a few bones of a child. Fonseca found bodies mangled in treetops where the victims attempted to escape rising waters. Small villages quickly buried the dead, likely without reporting to the government, including those washed in from Zimbabwe. Cadaver dogs were utilized to locate remains across flooded farmlands. The exact death toll is not expected to ever be known between the decomposition of bodies, consumption by animals, and unreported burials. Identification of recovered remains is near impossible due to a lack of forensic records.

Sexual exploitation allegations.

On 26 April, the United Nations announced that it would be investigating sexual exploitation allegations in the wake of Idai. According to Human Rights Watch, several females were forced to have sexual intercourse with local Mozambican leaders in order to receive food aid.

United Nations.

In Malawi, UNICEF provided various sanitary supplies to residents in Chikwawa, Mangochi, Nsanje, and Phalombe. These included hygiene kits, filtered water bottles, soap, packets of oral rehydration solution, antibiotics for children, and insecticide-treated bednets. Additional supplies were sent to regional hospitals. The agency assessed a long-term need of $8.3 million to assist women and children.  In the immediate aftermath of Idai, UNICEF estimated that about $10 million was required for the most urgent needs of children in Mozambique. The United Nations and their partners appealed for $40.8 million as an emergency relief to help those people who were affected by Idai in Mozambique. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) scrambled to airdrop high-energy biscuits and easy-to-cook food to isolated villages. On 20 March the WFP airlifted 20 tons of food from Dubai to the region. An Mi-8 transport helicopter contracted through the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service was brought in the same day, with two more expected to be flown in. By 22 March, a total of US$20 million had made available from the UN's emergency fund, and the UN Secretary General appealed for increased international support, citing food insecurity across Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe, as well as the need for reconstruction.  On 23 March, the WFP declared the disaster in Mozambique a "level-three emergency", the highest level of crisis. This puts it in the same category as the civil wars in Yemen, Syria, and South Sudan.

International aid.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) called the disaster one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent history for Mozambique. An estimated 400,000 people were displaced by the storm and resulting floods. The agency appealed for 10 million Swiss francs in emergency funds to aid 75,000 people in dire need of assistance. The French Red Cross transported household items from their warehouse on La Réunion within days of the cyclone. With support and funding from the French Government, the agency provided equipment to the Mozambique Red Cross to support relief operations. Three delegates each from the Emirates Red Crescent would be sent to Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe. The Portuguese Red Cross deployed a medical and disaster management "surge team" ahead of major operations by the IFRC. On 21 March, the Singapore Red Cross announced it would be donating S$121,000 (US$90,000) to aid in relief operations in Mozambique and put a team on standby to assist with disaster response. On 24 March, the IFRC revised their appeal for Mozambique in light of far greater damage than initially anticipated. The agency requested 31 million Swiss francs to support 200,000 victims for 2 years. Additional personnel, monetary, and disaster risk reduction support was provided by the Turkish Red Crescent, Spanish Red Cross, German Red Cross, and Belgian Red Cross.  The South African National Defence Force provided aerial and ground assistance to relief efforts in Malawi and Mozambique starting on 16 March. On 18 March, the Department for International Development of the United Kingdom sent £6 million (US$8 million) to Mozambique and Malawi as a humanitarian relief. The following day, 7,500 shelter kits and 100 family tents arrived in Mozambique to provide temporary housing to displaced persons. A further £12 million (US$16 million) worth of food, water, and shelter kits, was provided on 20 March. The country also assisted the WFP in providing food to 140,000 people through the end of March. On 19 March, the European Union released an emergency aid of €3.5 million (US$4 million) to Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe, The United Arab Emirates sent د.إ 18.3 million (US$5 million) worth of food, water, and shelter supplies. Norway provided kr6 million (US$700,000) to World Food Programme. On 22 March, Portugal contributed an aid of €29,000 (US$33,000) to Manica and Zambézia Province of Mozambique. Ireland will give €1.05 million (US$1.2 million) to the victims of Idai. Canada also distributed C$3.5 million (US$2.6 million) to the humanitarian organizations dealing with damage caused by Idai. IsraAid sent personnel to Mozambique to assist in the recovery. Personnel were readied to offer medical supplies, relief supplies, and psychological care to people affected by the storm. Personnel were also prepared to help restore access to safe water.  Médecins Sans Frontières arrived in Beira on 18 March to assess medical needs and treat victims. With clinics and hospitals across the region severely damaged or destroyed or lacking power and water, efforts to treat injuries were hampered. In conjunction with the Red Cross, The Salvation Army worked to provide two meals a day to 500 families in the city for three weeks beginning on 20 March. CARE Australia started an emergency appeal for funds on 20 March and deployed personnel in the affected nations. Two C-130 aircraft from the Portuguese Air Force carrying soldiers, medical personnel, and a disaster relief team left for Mozambique on 21 March. The Indian Navy diverted three ships to the Port of Beira to provide humanitarian assistance. Indian aid forces reported that relief efforts were made more difficult by strong tides, which gave them only "two-to-three-hour" intervals to act. By 24 March, the Government of Morocco deployed four aircraft from the Royal Armed Forces collectively carrying 39 tons of relief goods.

Disease outbreaks.

Multiple aid agencies have highlighted the urgent need to supply clean water to people in the area, warning of the risk of disease. Cases of cholera (specifically from "Vibrio cholerae"), a disease transmitted via water contaminated with feces and endemic to Mozambique, were reported in Beira on 22 March. An outbreak of cholera subsequently ensued with 517 confirmed cases in the Beira area between 24 and 31 March. The number of confirmed cases exceeded 1,500 by 3 April. By 10 April, 4,072 confirmed cases were recorded with eight fatalities. The crowded and poor neighborhoods of the city were at greatest risk for continued spread of cholera. Médecins Sans Frontières reported at least 200 presumed cases per day. Additional presumed cases occurred in Buzi, Tica, and Nhamathanda; however, the more rural nature of these areas lessened the risk of a widespread outbreak.  An increase in the incidence of malaria was noted, attributed to malarial mosquitoes breeding in the stagnant water. Other potential risks identified include typhoid, another water-borne disease, and diarrheal diseases. At least four people contracted typhoid in Dombe, Manica Province, with reports of other illnesses appearing in the province. Mozambique health officials reported at least 2,700 cases of diarrhoea by 26 March.  The Red Cross described the risk of major outbreaks in the region as a "ticking bomb". The Canadian Red Cross established a field hospital with 53 tonnes of medical supplies and three land cruisers to distribute aid. The Government of China sprayed anti-cholera disinfectant across Beria and sent doctors. On 1 April, the World Health Organization provided 884,953 cholera vaccines and 900,000 bed nets to Mozambique. The agency's vaccination campaign began in earnest on 3 April. Efforts to control the spread of the disease were hampered by the destruction wrought by the cyclone, with 55 health centers destroyed in the region. Beira's main hospital suffered extensive damage, rendering six of its seven operating theaters unusable.

Intense Tropical Cyclone Idai () was one of the worst tropical cyclones on record to affect Africa and the Southern Hemisphere. The long-lived storm caused catastrophic damage, and a humanitarian crisis in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi, leaving more than 1,300 people dead and many more missing. Idai is the deadliest tropical cyclone recorded in the South-West Indian Ocean basin. In the Southern Hemisphere, which includes the Australian, South Pacific, and South Atlantic basins, Idai ranks as the second-deadliest tropical cyclone on record. The only system with a higher death toll is the 1973 Flores cyclone that killed 1,650 off the coast of Indonesia.

Cyklón Idai byla nejsilnější tropická cyklóna, která zasáhla Mosambik od cyklónu Jokwe v roce 2008 a na počet obětí nejničivější tropická cyklóna roku 2019. Idai se zformoval jako tropická deprese u pobřeží Mosambiku 4. března 2019. Ještě stejný den vstoupil nad pobřeží a během celé cesty přes pevninu si udržoval status tropické bouře. Dne 9. března 2019 se systém znovu přesunul nad Mosambický průliv a započal fázi rapidní intenzifikace. 11. března 2019 dosáhl prozatímní maximální intenzity s přetrvávajícími větry o síle 175 km/h. Následně díky strukturálním změnám v jádře zeslábl z tropické cyklóny na tropickou bouři. V tomto stavu zůstal zhruba den, pak opět nastala intenzifikace. Maximální intenzity dosáhl Idai během 14. března 2019 s přetrvávajícími větry o síle 195 km/h a minimálním tlakem o hodnotě 940 hPa. Poté začal slábnout s tím, jak se opět blížil pobřeží Mosambiku. Nad pevninu znovu vstoupil 15. března nedaleko města Beira v centrálním Mosambiku, stále jako tropická cyklóna.


Early life.

Born in Almaty, his father, Kemel Tokayev (1923–1986), was a World War II veteran and a well-known Kazakh writer. His mother, Turar Shabarbayeva (1931–2000), worked at the Alma-Ata Institute of Foreign Languages. He was named after his uncle who was also a Red Army soldier and was killed during the Battle of Rzhev. When describing the impact the war had on his father, Tokayev said that he "did not like to talk about the war" and only shared his feelings upon "his first encounter with the enemy, the courage of the average soldier, and his burning desire to return home". Kemel Tokayev after the war received a medal for his coverage of the development of the Virgin Lands campaign.

Career.

From 1970, Tokayev attended the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. In his fifth year, he was sent to training courses at the Soviet embassy in China for six months. Upon graduation from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations in 1975, Tokayev joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR and was posted to the Soviet Embassy in Singapore. In 1979, he returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR. In 1983, he went to China for training courses at the Beijing Language Institute. In 1984–1985, he served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was then posted to the Soviet embassy in Beijing where he served until 1991 as Second Secretary, First Secretary, and Counsellor. In 1991, he enrolled at the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR in Moscow in a training course for senior diplomats.

Domestic policy.

In 1992, Tokayev was appointed as a Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan. In 1993, he became First Deputy Foreign Minister and in 1994 he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Prime Minister (1999-2002).

In March 1999, he was promoted to the post of Deputy Prime Minister. In October 1999, with the endorsement of the Parliament, he was appointed Prime Minister by Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. In January 2002, he resigned and was subsequently appointed Secretary of State – Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Foreign Ministry.

Tokayev held the post of Foreign Minister for ten years (1994–1999, 2002–2007).  As a Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tokayev played an active role in the field of nuclear non-proliferation. In 1995 and 2005, he participated in the Review Conferences for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in New York City. In 1996, he signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) in New York, and in 2005 the Treaty on a Nuclear-Weapons-Free Zone in Central Asia (CANWFZ) in Semipalatinsk. He was elected Chairman of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent States and of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Tokayev took part in ten sessions of the United Nations General Assembly. He held a diplomatic rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. Tokayev continued to serve as Minister of Foreign Affairs until January 2007 when he was elected as a Chairman of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan.  As Chairman of the Senate of the Parliament of Kazakhstan, Tokayev was elected in 2008 Vice-President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). His view on the political system of Kazakhstan: "Strong President, authoritative Parliament, accountable Government" as he said at the Parliamentarian Conference in Nur-Sultan.

Director-General of the UN Office at Geneva.

In March 2011, the Secretary-General of the United Nations announced the appointment of Tokayev as Under Secretary-General, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva and Personal Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General to the Conference on Disarmament. He served as Secretary-General of the Conference on Disarmament. He was also the Designated Official for safety and security of UN personnel for Switzerland.  Tokayev holds a Doctorate in Political Science. He is the author of nine books and numerous articles on international affairs. He is a Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science, a member of the Panel of Eminent Persons at the Munich Security Conference, an Honorary Professor of Shenzhen University, an Honorary Professor and Doctor of the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, as well as a member of its Board of Trustees. He is also Honorary Dean of the Geneva School of Diplomacy and International Relations. As Director-General of UNOG, he received the "Academicus" award from the University of Geneva. According to the Russian Biographic Institution, Tokayev was admitted as a "Person of the year – 2018".

Presidency.

On 19 March 2019, then-President Nursultan Nazarbayev announced his resignation. According to the Constitution of Kazakhstan, in case of early termination of powers, the Speaker of the Senate becomes President until the next election. On 20 March 2019, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev officially took office as president. Immediately after the inauguration, Tokayev proposed renaming the capital city of Kazakhstan after his predecessor, and the same day the Parliament of Kazakhstan approved the renaming of Astana to Nur-Sultan. Russian President Vladimir Putin was one of the first foreign leaders to congratulate Tokayev, inviting him to visit Moscow in a joint telephone conversation with him and Nazarbayev. The Chinese government also described Tokayev as an "old friend" and "good friend".  On 9 April 2019, Tokayev announced early elections in June 2019. On 23 April, Tokayev became a candidate for president following his nomination by the Nur Otan party. During the campaign, Tokayev was mocked on social media for his use of photo manipulation software to erase his wrinkles and double chin from official photos. Tokayev was elected president of Kazakhstan on 9 June with 71% of the popular vote. He was congratulated by foreign heads of state such as Xi Jinping, Ilham Aliyev, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Emomali Rahmon, and Sooronbay Jeenbekov.

Domestic actions.

In October 2019, it was announced that all potential ministerial candidates needed the approval of Nazarbayev before being appointed, with the exception of Minister of Defence, Interior Minister and Foreign Minister. After the Bek Air Flight 2100 crash, Tokayev declared the following day, 28 December, a national day of mourning and said that "all those responsible will be severely punished in accordance with the law". He also ordered the suspension of the flight authorization of Bek Air, the domestic airline involved.  On 29 February 2020, in an interview to "Informburo" news agency, Tokayev commented on the fate of Mukhtar Dzhakishev: "This issue is exclusively within the competence of the court. Of course, I am aware that Dzhakishev has repeatedly applied for parole on ill-health. The session of the court of first instance will be held on 3 March. Let’s wait for its decision, which I am sure will be fair." On 3 March 2020, the Court of the Semey city upheld the motion to grant parole to Dzhakishev. He served a 14-year prison sentence since 2009.  On 15 March 2020, due to the spread of COVID-19 pandemic, President Tokayev signed a Decree on the introduction of a state of emergency in the country. The state of emergency will remain in effect from 16 March to 15 April. On 16 March 2020, during his televised address to the people of Kazakhstan, President Tokayev stressed that he had signed a special decree on measures to ensure the stability of the state functioning. These documents enable us to increase the efficiency of state bodies, strengthen the vertical of power and make all necessary decisions promptly in a manual mode.  In the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak in Kazakhstan in 2020, Tokayev ordered the cancellations of both the Nowruz celebrations as well as the military parade in honor of the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.  On 2 May 2020, Nazarbayev's daughter Dariga Nazarbayeva was removed from the Senate and her role as the Chair by order of President Tokayev. Many theories arose that this was a sign of either Tokayev was expanding his political influence or a growing feud between the ruling elite.

Foreign policy.

President Tokayev pledged continuity of foreign policy initiated by President Nazarbayev. This means the continuation of measures to attract foreign investments, multi-vector foreign policy and ensuring security in the region. In his first month in office, he had already met 4 world leaders, 2 of them abroad and the other two in Nur-Sultan. Two weeks after taking office, Tokayev visited Moscow in his first foreign state visit on 4 April, meeting with Putin alongside other Russian officials. During the visit, Putin offered Russian assistance to Tokayev in the construction of a proposed nuclear power plant in the country. On 14 April, Tokayev visited neighboring Uzbekistan for talks with President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. He had also received South Korean President Moon Jae In and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban during the month of April. On 16–17 May, Tokayev hosted foreign leaders such as Armen Sarkissian and Mamuka Bakhtadze in the capital for the 12th annual Astana Economic Forum, the first to be hosted by its pioneer, President Nazarbayev. He also hosted the regional leaders of Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, Tajikistan, Armenia and Moldova for the Eurasian Economic Union and Supreme Eurasian Economic Council summit on 29 May. During a visit to Kyrgyzstan in late 2019, he visited the House-Museum of Kyrgyz writer Chingiz Aitmatov in Bishkek, where he met with the late writer's wife and reminisced about his first encounters with Aitmatov in Beijing in 1989. On 4 December, on the eve of a state visit to Germany, he gave an interview to "Deutsche Welle", in which he called Germany a "key European partner for Kazakhstan". In that same interview, he drew controversy by saying that he did not believe the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation was an invasion while also saying that he believed in the "wisdom of the Russian leadership", drawing condemnation from the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who issued a demarche in response.

Personal life.

Now divorced, Tokayev was married to Nadezhda Tokayeva, with whom he had one son. A native speaker of Kazakh, Tokayev is also fluent in Russian, Mandarin and English and has knowledge of French. He was President of the Table Tennis Federation of Kazakhstan for 13 years. He has made it a point not to celebrate his birthday with celebrations, with his press secretary saying in 2020 that he "does not like to celebrate this day because his family has never celebrated the birthdays of either the children and parents".

Kassym-Jomart Kemeluly Tokayev (, "Qasym-Jomart Kemeluly Toqaev",, born 17 May 1953) is a Kazakh politician and diplomat. He took office as the president of Kazakhstan on 20 March 2019, succeeding Nursultan Nazarbayev, who resigned on 19 March 2019 after 29 years in office. Tokayev was elected president of Kazakhstan in a snap election on 9 June 2019 with 71% of the popular vote. According to the OSCE, "significant irregularities were observed on election day, including cases of ballot box stuffing, and a disregard of counting procedures meant that an honest count could not be guaranteed." "There were widespread detentions of peaceful protesters on election day in major cities", said the OSCE in their Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions.

Kasym-Žomart Kemeluly Tokajev (; * 17. května 1953) je kazašský diplomat a politik. Převzal úřad prezidenta Kazachstánu, když vystřídal Nursultana Nazarbajeva, který neočekávaně rezignoval po osmadvaceti letech ve funkci.


History and characteristics.

Japanese heavy metal idol group Babymetal are considered the inventors of the kawaii metal genre. Angelica Wallingford of "City Times" opined that Babymetal's eponymous debut album had pioneered the kawaii metal musical genre. Wallingford also defined the genre, and album, as a "mixture of varying genres including pop, rock, heavy metal, electronic dance music, industrial and symphonic death metal". A guest contributor at "The Independent" believed that the genre was a derivative of J-pop and various extreme metal genres, namely "speed metal, power metal, black metal, and industrial metal". While discussing Babymetal, "The Sydney Morning Herald"'s Rob Nash opined that the genre consisted of "sugary pop melodies over thrash metal": Nash also believed that the group's song, "Awadama Fever" exemplified the genre, saying the song contained "slabs of angry guitar and undanceably fast breakbeats, while the girls [Babymetal] squeak about 'bubble ball fever' and chewing gum". Discussing Ladybeard, and Ladybaby, Jake Cleland of "The Sydney Morning Herald" defined the genre as "saccharine pop with his heavy metal growling". Alex Weiss of "Paper" defined the genre as "hard rock with sugary sweet pop hooks". Weiss also used Babymetal's songs "Karate" and "Road of Resistance" as examples to explain the differing lyrical perspective between the kawaii metal and other metal genres, stating that kawaii metal songs "offer a perspective often missing from the hyper-masculine, aggressive lyrics usually present in most of the [metal] genre's hits". Felix Clay of Cracked.com also believed that the genre had less aggressive lyricism, citing the genre had lyrics about "pop music topics like kittens, chocolate, and fun".

Kawaii metal (also known as idol metal, cute metal, or kawaiicore) is a musical genre that blends elements of heavy metal and J-pop that was pioneered in Japan in the early 2010s. A typical kawaii metal composition combines the instrumentation found in various types of heavy metal music with J-pop melodies and a Japanese idol aesthetic. Kawaii metal's lyrical topics are often less hostile than those of other heavy metal genres.

Kawaii metal (též idol metal, cute metal nebo kawaiicore, japonsky カワイイメタル) je hudební žánr z Japonska, který v sobě kombinuje prvky heavy metalu a J-popu. Zahrnuje i japonské idoly. Název se odvíjí od slova "kawaii," které označuje japonskou roztomilost.


Early life and education.

Duerk was born in Defiance, Ohio, on March 29, 1920, to Albert and Emma Duerk. She had nursing training at Toledo (Ohio) Hospital School of Nursing, from which she received her diploma in 1941.

Career.

On January 23, 1943, she was appointed as an ensign in the Nurse Corps of the U.S. Naval Reserve. After receiving her commission in 1943, she was assigned in March of that year as a Ward Nurse at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, Portsmouth, Virginia. In January 1944, she transferred, in a similar capacity, to the Naval Hospital, Bethesda, Maryland and in May 1945 joined the That vessel, anchored off Eniwetok, received the sick and wounded brought back from Third Fleet operations against Japan and later joined the Third Fleet for its last strikes against the enemy. After the cessation of hostilities, that hospital ship remained in Japanese waters, off Yokosuka, to assist in the processing of liberated Allied prisoners of war. The "Benevolence" returned to the United States with wounded servicemen in late 1945. Assigned in January 1946 to the Naval Hospital, Great Lakes, Illinois, Durek continued duty there until June of that year, when she was released from active naval service.  She attended the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, from which she received the degree of Bachelor of Science in Ward Management and Teaching, Medical and Surgical Nursing, in 1948. Employed as Supervisor and Instructor, Medical Nursing, at Highland Park (Michigan) General Hospital, she remained there until 1951. While there, she joined a ready naval reserve unit in Detroit, Michigan, in 1948.  Ordered to return to active naval service, she reported in June 1951, as a ward nurse at the Naval Hospital, Portsmouth, Virginia. Transferred in September 1951 to the Naval Hospital Corps School, Portsmouth, she was a Nursing Instructor there until October 1956, when she became Interservice Education Coordinatorat the Naval Horpital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. From June 1958 to May 1961 she served as Nurse Programs Officer at the Naval Recruiting Station, Chicago, Illinois, after which she had duty as Charge Nurse at the U. S. Naval Station Hospital, Subic Bay, Republic of the Philippines. In April 1962 she was assigned as Assistant Chief Nurse at the U.S. Naval Hospital, Yokosuka, Japan.  During the period May 1963 to June 1965 she was the Senior Nurse Corps Officer at the Naval Station Dispensary, Long Beach, California. Following an assignment as Chief of the Nursing Branch at the Naval Hospital Corps School, San Diego, California, she reported in May 1966 as Assistant for Nurse Recruitment in the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health and Medical), Washington, D. C. She remained there until May 1967, then had duty until February 1968 as Assistant Head of Medical Placement Liaison (Nurse Corps), Bureau of Naval Personnel, Navy Department. She next returned to the Naval Hospital, Great Lakes, where she became Director of the Navy Nurse Corps, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Navy Department.  Advancing progressively in rank, she attained that of captain on July 1, 1967. She became the first female admiral in the Navy in 1972.  Duerk retired in 1975. She died in Central Florida on July 21, 2018, at the age of 98.  Duerk received the following honorary degrees:

Tributes.

In 2013 the University of Central Florida College of Nursing unveiled a bronze statue of Duerk, and it was put on display there. That university also offers the Rear Admiral Alene Duerk VNA Endowed Nursing Scholarship.

Personal Life and Retirement.

Having heard of her promotion to Rear Admiral on the radio in her car, a toll booth operator was the first person Duerk spoke to about it. But by the time she had gotten home, family was already calling and the press was waiting for her. From that time on, she felt that she was not only an admiral, she was a spokeswoman for all the women in the Navy. In that role, she frequently made appearances and statements in support of her Navy women, fighting for increases in pay, better conditions and recruiting nurses.  After retirement, she joined the board of the Visiting Nurse Association in the early 1990s, which later became the Visiting Nurse Foundation in 1997, serving on the board for nearly 25 years. The board established the Admiral Alene Duerk Endowed Scholarship Fund at University of Central Florida in her honor.  Although she was very close to her family, Duerk never married or had children of her own.

Alene Bertha Duerk (March 29, 1920 – July 21, 2018) became the first female admiral in the U.S. Navy in 1972. She was also the director of the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps from 1970 to 1975. She is a 1974 recipient of a Distinguished Alumni Award of Case Western Reserve University's Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing.

Alene Bertha Duerk (29. března 1920, Defiance, Ohio, USA – 21. července 2018 Lake Mary, Florida, USA) byla první admirálka námořnictva Spojených států amerických.


History.

This was the Stones' first tour in Europe since 1967, and became part of a pattern (not always followed) wherein the group would play North America, continental Europe, and the United Kingdom on a three-year rotating cycle.  Shows were similar to that of the 1969 American Tour, but with the material more familiar to audiences as "Let It Bleed" had now been out for some months. The Stones continued to preview new material, however, as "Brown Sugar", "Dead Flowers", and "You Gotta Move" were set list regulars; they would not appear on record until "Sticky Fingers" was released a half year later. Unlike many of the group's tours of this era, here the group only played one show a night with only one exception (Milan). The band played "Gimme Shelter" only once, in Malmo, Sweden (the first show of the tour). It can be heard on the bootleg "Secrets Travel Fast", and features solos by Keith Richards, Bobby Keys, and Mick Taylor.  Following a tradition set since the band's earliest days, the tour was not without its altercations. The show at Råsunda stadion in Stockholm on 4 September was interrupted by police who feared that fans, provoked by Jagger, would storm the stage. The singer duly responded by pointing the microphone to the police on stage and soon after suggested the audience would sit down for the next song (the slower "Love in Vain"). On 14 September a thousand or so forged tickets were rejected at a show at Ernst-Merck-Halle in Hamburg; two hundred policemen were needed to handle disappointed fans. Two days later at Deutschlandhalle in West Berlin, there were nasty battles between assorted youths and the police before the show, and some 50 arrests were made. Then on 1 October at Milan's Palazzo Dello Sport, two thousand youths tried to crash the gates to get into the show. Police had to use tear gas to quell the riot; there were injuries among both the cops and the crowd, and 63 arrests were made.

Tour set list.

The fairly typical set list for the tour was:

The Rolling Stones' 1970 European Tour was a concert tour of Continental Europe that took place during the late summer and early fall of 1970.

European Tour 1970 bylo koncertní turné britské rockové skupiny The Rolling Stones, které sloužilo jako pokračování amerického turné z roku 1969. Jednalo se o první turné po Evropě od roku 1967. Některé koncerty byly také doprovázeny potyčky mezi fanoušky a policisty. Turné bylo zahájeno koncertem v Malmö ve Švédsku a bylo zakončeno koncertem v Amsterdamu v Nizozemí.