History and architecture.

The "Teen Darwaza" was an egress from Bhadra Fort to the eastward. The gateway has three arches which led into a large enclosure, forming the outer courtyard of the palace called "Maidan Shah" in past, with a fountain and raised terrace in the centre. The roadway in the central opening is 17 feet wide, and that of each side arch is 13 feet wide. It has highly decorated buttresses on the faces of piers between the arches. The height of the arches is twenty-five feet. The terrace on the top of the gateway was formerly roofed over. But in 1877 the gateway was repaired, and the terrace thrown open. Here the great feudatories or foreign embassies assembled before approaching the presence, and the sovereign enthroned on the terrace, mustered the troops for martial enterprises and gala-day reviews, or held court in the cool of the evening beside the splashing fountain. Now the area is congested market.  It was built by Ahmad Shah I immediately after the foundation of Ahmedabad and completed in 1415. Through it, in 1459, Mahmud Begada, king for only a few months, and not fifteen years old, quiver on back and bow in hand, with only 300 horsemen, marched to disperse his rebel nobles and their 30,000 followers. Leaving the palace, the young king ordered the roads leading to it to be held by elephants, and, with the royal music playing, marched slowly along the main street. His cool bravery gave some of his faithful nobles time to join, and forming a considerable force, though small compared with the insurgents, attacked them, put them to flight, and destroyed their leaders. Later the newly appointed Maratha governors used to aim five arrows at one of its beams, and augur good or ill to their administration in accordance with their success in striking it.

Maratha Inscription.

Maratha governor Chimnaji Raghunath decreed and inscribed "farman" on Teen Darwaza in 1812 declaring equal right to women in inheritance of ancestral property. Raghunath had appealed to Hindu and Muslims both. This plaque engraved in Devnagari script and dated 10 October 1812 reads, "Let the daughter get her due share of fathers property without any hitch. So is Lord Vishwanath's command. If you defy, the Hindu will have to answer Mahadev and the Mussalman will have to explain to Allah or Rasool."  Years ago, Laxmi, the Goddess of Wealth, came to the gate of the Bhadra Fort to leave the city in the night. Watchman Khwaja Siddique Kotwal stopped her and identified her. He asked her not to leave the fort until he obtained a permission from the king, Ahmad Shah. He went to the king and beheaded himself in order to keep Laxmi in the city. It resulted in the prosperity of the city.

Eternal lamp.

There is a tomb near Bhadra Gate of the fort dedicated to Siddique Kotwal and a temple to Bhadra Kali, representing Laxmi. A lamp in one of the niche of "Teen Darwaza" is burning there for more than six hundred years by a Muslim family in a dedication to the legend.

Teen Darwaza is a historical gateway on the east of Bhadra Fort, Ahmedabad, India. Completed in 1415, it is associated with historical as well as legendary events. The gates are featured in the logo of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation.

Das Teen Darwaza (Gujarati: ત્રણ દરવાજા = „Dreitor“; ) ist ein dreibogiger Torbau beim Bhadra Fort in der Großstadt Ahmedabad im indischen Bundesstaat Gujarat. Es ist eines von mehreren Toren der islamischen Architektur mit einem eindeutig erkennbaren antik-europäischen Triumphbogenschema, aber das erste in Indien. Zusammen mit anderen historischen Bauten der Stadt gehört es zum UNESCO-Weltkulturerbe.


History.

The company was formed in 1995 as a unit of American Radio Systems. In 1998, American Radio Systems merged with CBS Corporation and completed the corporate spin-off of American Tower. Following the merger, American Tower began international expansion by establishing operations in Mexico in 1998 and Brazil in 1999. The company began purchasing numerous AT&T Long Lines microwave telephone relay towers. Upon acquisition of these sites from the now defunct AT&T Communications, Inc., American Tower began repurposing the towers for use as cell towers, and leasing antenna space to various American cell phone providers and private industries. Then, most of the former AT&T Long Lines sites had their horn antennas removed, either by helicopter or by crane, to make room for more antennas. Since AT&T's Long Lines Program was decommissioned in the 1980s, and the company no longer had any use for the towers themselves, American Tower now owns most of these tower structures across the entire continental United States.  In 2005, American Tower acquired SpectraSite Communications, expanding its global portfolio to over 22,000 owned communications sites including over 21,000 wireless towers, 400 broadcast towers and 100 in-building DAS (Distributed Antenna System) sites. The merger further established American Tower's position as one of the largest tower owner and operators in North America.  Between 2007 and 2012, the company expanded internationally with operations in India, Peru, Chile, Colombia, South Africa, Ghana and Uganda.  In 2013, the company acquired Global Tower Partners for $4.8 billion. This acquisition added sites to the U.S. portfolio and added operations in Costa Rica and Panama.

American Tower Corporation (also referred to as American Tower or ATC) is an American real estate investment trust and an owner and operator of wireless and broadcast communications infrastructure in several countries worldwide and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

American Tower ist ein US-amerikanischer Betreiber von Anlagen für die Drahtlos-Kommunikation. Das Unternehmen ist als ein REIT strukturiert und verfügt in 17 Ländern weltweit über mehr als 170.000 Sendeanlagen zur Datenübermittlung und Kommunikation, großteils Sendemasten. Diese Anlagen verleast American Tower an Anbieter von Telekommunikationsdienstleistungen, Radio- und Fernsehsender, Regierungsorganisationen oder andere öffentliche Einrichtungen. Das Unternehmen wurde 1995 als eine Einheit von American Radio Systems gegründet und 1998 ausgegliedert, nachdem American Radio Systems in der CBS Corporation aufgegangen war. Bereits kurz nach der Gründung 1995 begann das Unternehmen mit dem Aufkauf alter Richtfunkmasten von AT&T und bot Mobilfunkanbietern die Sendestandorte an. Im Jahr 2005 fusionierte American Tower mit SpectraSite Communications, wodurch das Unternehmen zu einem der größten Sendemastbetreiber Nordamerikas wurde.


Background.

The photo was originally taken by Serghei Platanov, who then posted it to Shutterstock on 23 June 2015 with the title "eggs isolated on white background".

History.

On 4 January 2019, the @world_record_egg account was created, and posted an image of a bird egg with the caption, "Let's set a world record together and get the most liked post on Instagram. Beating the current world record held by Kylie Jenner (18 million)! We got this." Jenner's previous record, the first photo of her daughter Stormi, had garnered a total of 18.4 million likes.  The post quickly reached 18.4 million likes in just under 10 days, becoming the most-liked Instagram post of all time. It then continued to rise over 45 million likes in the next 48 hours, surpassing the "Despacito" music video and taking the world record for the most liked online post (on any media platform) in history.  After the account became verified on 14 January, the post rose in popularity and 'likes', which snow-balled into coverage in various media outlets.  By 18 March, the post had accumulated over 53.3 million likes, nearly three times the previous record of 18.4 million. It posted frequent updates for a few days in the form of Instagram Stories.  Several individuals tried to claim that they were the account's creator, the claims being dismissed by "the egg" on Instagram direct messages. On 3 February 2019, the creator of the Instagram egg was revealed by Hulu and "The New York Times" to be Chris Godfrey, a British advertising creative. Alissa Khan-Whelan, his colleague, was also outed.  On 18 January 2019, the account posted a second picture of an egg, almost identical to the first one apart from a small crack at the top left. As of 25 February 2019, the post accumulated 11.8 million likes. On 22 January 2019, the account posted a third picture of an egg, this time having two larger cracks. In less than 25 minutes, the post accumulated 1 million likes, and by 25 February it had accumulated 9.5 million likes. On 29 January 2019, a fourth picture of an egg was posted to the account which has another large crack on the right hand side, attracting 7.6 million likes by 25 February. On 1 February 2019, a fifth picture of an egg was posted with stitching like that of a football, referencing the upcoming Super Bowl. That post had accumulated 6.5 million likes by 25 February 2019. The account promised that it would reveal what was inside the egg on 3 February, on the subscription video on demand service Hulu.  The Hulu Instagram egg reveal was used to promote an animation about a mental health campaign. A caption from the clip read, "Recently I've started to crack, the pressure of social media is getting to me. If you're struggling too, talk to someone." The video was later posted on @world_record_egg Instagram account which had received over 33 million views by May 2019.

Reception.

In response to breaking the world record for most-liked Instagram post, the account's owner wrote "This is madness. What a time to be alive." Hours later, Kylie Jenner posted a video on Instagram of her cracking open an egg and pouring its yolk onto the ground, with the caption: "Take that little egg."  Pundits pontificated on the meaning of the egg picture's dominance over social media's "first family". As "Vogue" observed, tapping a heart pictogram is easy, and eggs are "lovable". More pointedly: [T]he attention economy is a scam based on requiring little to no labor from both producer and consumer despite commanding the most space, and therefore value, in our digital lives... but it very well could be: As a metaphor for the fragility of the influencer ecosystem, the egg has broken the Internet.  The significance of the event and its massive republishing are a topic of discussion.  A University of Westminster researcher of internet memes compared it to the movement to name a scientific research vessel in the United Kingdom as Boaty McBoatface. The Instagrammer's success is a rare victory for the unpaid viral campaign on social media. "There is a bit of an anti-celebrity revolt here – 'look what we can do with a simple egg The researcher suggests that the accomplishment of becoming such a widely heralded unpaid viral post may become increasingly rare, as social networks rely more on paid and business promotion.  It has been characterized as a populist backlash against "consumerism". It is seen as a triumph of community over celebrity. However, propelled by their popular success, the creators have promised to cash in to a merchandising opportunity, releasing 'egg-centric' memorabilia; thereby adopting the corporate culture the effort seemed to implicitly reject.  Hundreds of games based on the Instagram egg have appeared on Apple's App Store. The creators of the Instagram egg also reached a deal to promote Hulu.

The Instagram egg is a photo of an egg posted by the account @world_record_egg on the social media platform Instagram, notable for becoming a global phenomenon and an internet meme within days of its creation. It has 54.5 million likes, making it both the most-liked Instagram post and most liked online post on any website in history. The owner of the account was revealed to be Chris Godfrey, an advertising creative, who later worked with his two friends Alissa Khan-Whelan and CJ Brown on a Hulu commercial featuring the egg, intended to raise awareness of mental health.

Das Instagram-Ei Eugene ist das Foto eines Vogeleis, das Anfang 2019 auf der Social-Media-Plattform Instagram gepostet wurde und innerhalb weniger Tage den bis dahin geltenden Weltrekord an Likes schlug. Die Jagd nach dem Weltrekord durch ein Ei fand ein breites Echo in den weltweiten Medien.


Electoral system.

The President of Nigeria is elected using a modified two round system, to be elected in the first round, a candidate must receive a majority of the vote and over 25% of the vote in at least 24 of the 36 states. If no candidate passes this threshold, a second round is held.  The 109 members of the Senate were elected from 109 single-seat constituencies (three in each state and one for the Federal Capital Territory) by first-past-the-post voting. The 360 members of the House of Representatives were also elected by first-past-the-post voting in single-member constituencies.

Presidential candidates.

Party primaries.

PDP.

The People's Democratic Party held its presidential primaries on 5 October 2018, at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium, Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Thirteen aspirants contested for the ticket of the PDP, with Atiku Abubakar emerging the winner.

APC.

Though some party members aspired for office of the president, notably, Dr. SKC Ogbonnia, Chief Charles Udeogaranya, and Alhaji Mumakai-Unagha, the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari was selected as the sole candidate of the All Progressives Congress party primaries held on 29 September 2018 amidst charges of imposition.

Presidential debates.

A presidential and vice-presidential debate was organised by the Nigerian Elections Debate Group (NEDG) and the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), with invitations extended to five of the 78 presidential candidates. The Debate Group explained the exclusion of other candidates as a measure to ensure the effectiveness of the debate and not an endorsement of the candidates chosen.  The vice presidential debate was held on 14 December 2018, at the Transcorp Hilton Hotels in Abuja. All invited vice presidential candidates were present, with candidates discussing health, education, security, economy and foreign affairs policies plans.  The presidential debate occurred on 19 January 2019, and took place at the same venue. The two leading presidential contestants were absent, with Atiku Abubakar leaving the venue upon discovering that Muhammadu Buhari was absent. Fela Durotoye (ANN), Oby Ezekwesili (ACPN) and Kingsley Moghalu (YPN) continued the debate, while criticising the absence of the others. Mark Eddo moderated the debate.

Conduct.

Immediately following the elections there were claims of widespread fraud by the opposition. The claims included accusations of ballot box snatching, vote-trading and impersonation. There were also claims that caches of explosives were found by police. Losing candidate Atiku Abubakar filed a case in the Nigerian supreme court citing widespread irregularities in the polls. However the court dismissed his case, saying that Atiku has failed to prove widespread fraud committed by the electoral team of Buhari. The court also dismissed an allegation which said that Buhari lied about his academic background.  The African Union said the elections were "largely peaceful and conducive for the conducting of credible elections." The electoral commission also described the elections as mostly peaceful. On the contrary, US based organisation freedom house severely criticised the conduct,saying that they were marred by irregularities and intimidation.

Results.

President.

The results of the presidential election were announced in the early hours of 27 February 2019.

Senate.

Senate President Bukola Saraki (PDP) was defeated in Kwara Central by the APC candidate.  Currently, 64 incumbent Senators will not be returning as members of the Ninth Senate, having been defeated during the elections. While the APC will have a simple majority of votes in the Senate, it will not have a supermajority (74 votes), meaning it cannot push through major bills on its own. Three Senate seats have yet to be filled.

Governors.

On 2 March 2019, elections were held for governors of 29 of the 36 states of Nigeria. Elections were suspended on the original date in Rivers State. They were later held on April 3, where the INEC declared that incumbent Wike won re-election.

General elections were held in Nigeria on 23 February 2019 to elect the President, Vice President, House of Representatives and the Senate. The elections had initially been scheduled for 16 February, but the Electoral Commission postponed the vote by a week at 03:00 on the original polling day, citing logistical challenges in getting electoral materials to polling stations on time. In some places, the vote was delayed until 24 February due to electoral violence. Polling in some areas was subsequently delayed until 9 March, when voting was carried out alongside gubernatorial and state assembly elections.

Die Präsidentschafts- und Parlamentswahlen in Nigeria 2019 fanden am 23. Februar statt, teilweise verlängert bis zum 24. Februar. Sie wurden von der "Independent National Electoral Commission" (INEC) organisiert. Die Wahlen waren die sechsten seit dem Ende der Militärregierung im Jahr 1999. Mit über 84 Millionen Registrierten waren es die größten jemals in Afrika abgehaltenen Wahlen. Ursprünglich war der 16. Februar 2019 als Wahltermin vorgesehen. Die für den 2. März vorgesehenen Wahlen der Gouverneure, Parlamente der Bundesstaaten und Gemeinderäte wurden auf den 9. März 2019 verschoben.


Early life and education.

Hagedorn was born in Blue Earth, Minnesota in 1962, the son of former United States Representative Tom Hagedorn and Kathleen Hagedorn (née Mittlestadt). He was raised on his family's farm near Truman, Minnesota and in McLean, Virginia, near Washington, D.C., while his father served in Congress from 1975 to 1983. Hagedorn graduated from Langley High School. He graduated from George Mason University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government and Political Science in 1993.

Government career.

Hagedorn served as a legislative aide to Minnesota Congressman Arlan Stangeland.  Hagedorn worked in the United States Department of the Treasury as Director for Legislative and Public Affairs for the Financial Management Service from 1991 to 1998, and later as Congressional Affairs Officer for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

U.S. House of Representatives.

2014 and 2016 general elections.

He won the Republican nomination for Minnesota's 1st congressional district in the 2014 and 2016 elections, but lost in the general election to Democratic incumbent Tim Walz on both occasions. Hagedorn lost the Republican nomination for Minnesota's 1st congressional district in the 2010 election.  Hagedorn issued a "sincere and heartfelt apology" during his 2014 congressional campaign for blog posts that he wrote between 2002 and 2012 which contained derogatory jokes and references targeting politicians and disabled people. Republican campaign officials were reportedly "shocked" by Hagedorn's "crazy-remarks."

2018 general election.

In the 2018 elections, with Walz giving up the seat to make a successful run for Governor of Minnesota, Hagedorn bested Democratic nominee Daniel Feehan.

Tenure.

According to the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, Hagedorn held a Bipartisan Index Score of -0.0 in the 116th United States Congress for 2019, which placed him 190th out of 435 members. Based on FiveThirtyEight's congressional vote tracker at ABC News, Hagedorn voted with Donald Trump's stated public policy positions 94.4% of the time, which ranked him average in the 116th United States Congress when predictive scoring (district partisanship and voting record) is used.

Personal life.

Hagedorn is married to Jennifer Carnahan, and they reside in Blue Earth, Minnesota. He was diagnosed with stage-4 kidney cancer in 2019.

James Lee Hagedorn (born August 4, 1962) is an American politician from the state of Minnesota. A Republican, he is a member of the United States House of Representatives from. The district covers much of the southern third of the state and includes Rochester, Austin and Mankato.

James Lee „Jim“ Hagedorn (* 4. August 1962 in Blue Earth, Minnesota) ist ein amerikanischer Politiker der Republikanischen Partei. Er ist seit Januar 2019 Mitglied des Repräsentantenhauses für den ersten Kongresswahlbezirk von Minnesota. Vorher war er im US-Finanzministerium tätig.


Career.

Longstaff began his career with the youth team of Newcastle United. He moved on loan to Scottish Premiership club Kilmarnock in January 2017, along with Callum Roberts and Freddie Woodman. He signed on loan for Blackpool in July 2017.  Longstaff impressed manager Rafa Benítez in pre-season and was rewarded with a four-year contract in November 2018. Longstaff's first appearance for the senior team came as a substitute in a 4–0 loss to Liverpool in December 2018. Two weeks later, after getting his first start in the FA Cup, Longstaff made his full Premier League debut away at Chelsea. This was followed up by his first goal in the FA Cup replay against Blackburn Rovers before he put in a memorable performance by winning the penalty that gave Newcastle a 2–1 win over champions Manchester City in January 2019.  On 26 February 2019, Longstaff scored his first Premier League goal for Newcastle in a 2–0 win over Burnley.  In March 2019, Longstaff was ruled out for the rest of the 2018–19 season following a knee ligament injury.

Personal life.

Raised in North Shields, Longstaff's younger brother Matty is also a footballer who plays for Newcastle United. Their father David is a former Great Britain ice hockey player, who featured over 100 times for the national side, and is still active as player-coach for the Whitley Warriors. David Longstaff is also the cousin of former England international Alan Thompson.  Longstaff's father stated that both Sean and Matty are lifelong fans of Newcastle United.

Sean David Longstaff (born 30 October 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays for Premier League club Newcastle United as a midfielder.

Sean David Longstaff (* 30. Oktober 1997 in North Shields) ist ein englischer Fußballspieler, der als Mittelfeldspieler für Newcastle United spielt.


Population.

Nigeria's population has been increasing rapidly for at least the last 5 decades due to very high birth rates, quadrupling its population during this time. Growth was fastest in the 1980s, after child mortality had dropped rapidly, and has slowed slightly since then as the birth rate has declined slightly. According to the 2017 revision of the World Population Prospects the total population was 185,989,640 in 2016, compared to only 37,860,000 in 1950. The proportion of children under the age of 15 in 2010 was 44.0%, 53.2% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 2.7% was 65 years or older. There is a large population momentum, with 3.2 percent growth rate leading to the projected population.  Abuja has not successfully implemented family planning programs to reduce and space births because of a lack of political will, government financing, and the availability and affordability of services and products, as well as a cultural preference for large families. Increased educational attainment, especially among women, and improvements in health care are needed to encourage and to better enable parents to opt for smaller families.  The former Nigeria's Chairman of National Population Commission, Eze Duruiheoma, delivering Nigeria's statement in New York on Sustainable Cities, Human Mobility and International Migration in the 51st Session of Commission on Population and Development, said that "Nigeria remains the most populous in Africa, the seventh globally with an estimated population of over 198 million. The recent World Population Prospects predicts that by 2050, Nigeria will become the third most populated country in the world. Over the last 50 years, the Nigeria's urban population has grown at an average annual growth rate of more than 6.5 per cent without commensurate increase in social amenities and infrastructure." He also stated that the population "grew substantially from 17.3 in 1967 to 49.4 per cent in 2017."

Fertility and births.

Total Fertility Rate (TFR)(Wanted TFR) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):  Fertility data as of 2013 (DHS Program):  Source: Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS)

Fertility rate by state.

∗ MICS surveys

Contraceptive prevalence.

Contraceptive prevalence, any methods (% of women ages 15–49)  ∗ UNICEFs State of the Worlds Children and Child info, United Nations Population Divisions World Contraceptive Use, household surveys including Demographic and Health Surveys and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys.

Population projections.

The total population in sub-Saharan Africa is projected to increase to almost one billion people, making it the most populated region outside of South-Central Asia. According to the United Nations, the population of Nigeria will reach 411 million by 2050. Nigeria might then be the 3rd most populous country in the world. In 2100, the population of Nigeria may reach 794 million.While the overall population is expected to increase, the growth rate is estimated to decrease from 1.2 percent per year in 2010 to 0.4 percent per year in 2050. The birth rate is also projected to decrease from 20.7 to 13.7, while the death rate is projected to increase from 8.5 in 2010 to 9.8 in 2050. Life expectancy is all expected to increase from 67.0 years in 2010 to 75.2 years in 2050. By 2050, 69.6% of the population is estimated to be living in urban areas compared to 50.6% in 2010.

Vital statistics.

Registration of vital events in Nigeria is not complete. The Population Department of the United Nations prepared the following estimates.

Life expectancy at birth.

Life expectancy from 1950 to 2015 ("UN World Population Prospects"):

Other demographic statistics.

The following demographic statistics of Nigeria in 2019 are from the World Population Review.  The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Population distribution.

Nigeria is Africa's most populous country. Significant population clusters are scattered throughout the country, with the highest density areas being in the south and southwest.

Net migration rate.

-0.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.) Country comparison to the world: 106th  -0.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2013 est.)

HIV/AIDS.

adult prevalence rate 2.8% (2017 est.)  people living with HIV/AIDS
2.6 million (2007 est.)
3.3 million (2009 est.)

Literacy.

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

Total and percent distribution of population by single year of age (Census 2006).

Structure of the population (DHS 2013) (males 87 034, females 89 529 = 176 574):

Emigration.

Today millions of ethnic Nigerians live abroad, the largest communities can be found in the United Kingdom (500,000–3,000,000) and the United States (600,000–1,000,000 Nigerians), other countries that followed closely are South Africa, Gambia, and Canada respectively. There are also large groups in Ireland, Portugal and many other countries. Inspiration for emigration is based heavily on socio-economical issues such as warfare, insecurity, economical instability and civil unrest. Between 1400–1900, of 1.4 million of 2 million emigrants were slaves sent to the Americas. This is due to the fact that the land now known as Nigeria was a central point for 4 slave trades during the 19th century. Though bondage represented a great deal, an estimated 30,000 Nigerian inhabitants would relocate to Kano City and Gambia to take advantage of financial opportunities afforded by fertile land and available natural resources. What's more, the presence of gold mines and rail lines along the Gold Coast, present-day Ghana, attracted an estimated 6,500 Nigerian citizens to attain financial gain and opportunity. The population of Nigerians in Ghana rose to roughly 149,000 before the 1969 alien expulsion order would displace nearly the entire population to surrounding countries.

Religion.

Nigeria is nearly equally divided between Christianity and Islam. The majority of Nigerian Muslims are Sunni and are concentrated in the northern, central and south-western zones of the country, while Christians dominate in some central states (especially Plateau and Benue states), and the south-east and south-south regions. Other religions practiced in Nigeria include African Traditional Religion, Hinduism, Bahai, Judaism, The Grail Movement, and the Reformed Ògbóni Fraternity, one of the traditional socio-religious institutions of the Yorùbá people and their Òrìṣà religion known as Ẹ̀sìn Òrìṣà Ìbílẹ̀ in the Yorùbá language.  According to a 2009 Pew survey, 45% of Nigeria's population were Muslims. A later Pew study in 2011 calculated that Christians now formed 56.8% of the population in Nigeria, while Muslims comprised 41.1%. Adherents of other religions make up 1.4% of the population.  The shift of population balance between Muslims and Christians is a result of northern and southern Nigeria being in different stages of demographic transition. The Muslim-dominated north is in an earlier stage of the demographic transition with much higher fertility rates than the south, whose split Christian/Muslim population is further along in the transition, and whose fertility rates are declining. Decreasing fertility can be linked to more access to education, use of contraceptives, and differing beliefs regarding family planning.  The 1999 introduction of Sharia Law in twelve northern Nigerian states led to massive violence and unrest and caused an ethnic and religious rift between Sharia and Non-Sharia states, a divide that has deepened with time.

Crime.

Nigeria is home to a substantial network of organized crime, active especially in drug trafficking. Nigerian criminal groups are heavily involved in drug trafficking, shipping heroin from Asian countries to Europe and America; and cocaine from South America to Europe and South Africa. The various Nigerian Confraternities or "campus cults" are active in both organized crime and in political violence as well as providing a network of corruption within Nigeria. As confraternities have extensive connections with political and military figures, they offer excellent alumni networking opportunities. The Supreme Vikings Confraternity, for example, boasts that twelve members of the Rivers State House of Assembly are cult members. On lower levels of society, there are the "area boys", these are organized gangs mostly active in Lagos who specialize in mugging and small-scale drug dealing. According to official statistics, gang violence in Lagos resulted in 273 civilians and 84 policemen killed in the period of August 2000 to May 2001.  "The result of factors such as endemic local corruption, which facilitates illicit trafficking; the Biafra civil war, which contributed to a proliferation of firearms; the oil boom of the 1970s, which led to the embezzlement of public funds; and the economic crisis of the 1980s, which was accompanied by a rise in robberies. The expansion of the Nigerian diaspora and organized crime went hand in hand. Global migration boosted prostitution, drug trafficking and fraud, the three main activities of Nigerian syndicates. The smuggling of Nigerian sex workers became a whole industry that now extends from Switzerland to France and Italy (where black prostitutes are called "fireflies"), and has even reached the Prudish Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, from which 1,000 women are said to be deported every month by the authorities."  The high crime rate among Nigerian migrants also leads to stereotyping Nigerians as criminals; thus, in Cameroon, Nigerian migrants are perceived collectively by the inhabitants of Cameroon as likely to be oil smugglers or dealers in stolen cars. In the Netherlands, the debate on Nigerian crime reached an intensity described as a "moral panic" by one scholar. In Switzerland, the crime rate of Nigerian young males was reported as 620% that of Swiss males in same age group (2009 data), the second highest crime rate of any nationality, just below that of Angolan nationals (at 630%).  Nigeria is also pervaded by political corruption. It is ranked 136 out of 168 countries in Transparency International's 2015 Corruption Perceptions Index.

Nigeria is one of the most densely populated countries in Africa, with approximately 200 million people in an area of, and is also the country with the largest population in Africa and the seventh largest population in the world. Approximately 50% of Nigerians are urban dwellers, with the rate of urbanization being estimated at 4.3%. Nigeria is home to over 250 ethnic groups, with over 500 languages, and the variety of customs, and traditions among them gives the country great cultural diversity. The three largest ethnic groups are the Hausa 27.4% of the population; along with the Yoruba 21% and Igbo 22.1%. The Efik, Ibibio, Annang, and Ijaw constitute other Southeastern populations. The Urhobo-Isoko, Edo and Itsekiri constitute Nigerian's Midwest.

Nigeria gehört zu den am dichtesten besiedeltesten Ländern in Afrika und hat mit ca. 200 Millionen Einwohnern die größte Bevölkerung des Kontinents und die siebt-größte der Welt. Trotz einer relativ hohen Sterblichkeit wächst die Bevölkerung des Landes weiterhin rasant an und könnte bis Mitte des Jahrhunderts bei über 400 Millionen liegen.


History.

KB Home was founded in Detroit in 1957 by Donald Bruce Kaufman and Eli Broad. The company expanded to Arizona in 1962 and into California in 1963 and was the first U.S. homebuilder to expand into France in 1967. It completed an initial public offering in 1986, and from that time was known as Kaufman and Broad Home Corporation until 2001 when its name was shortened to KB Home.  The company has periodically acquired other homebuilders as the company expanded into new markets. These purchases included New Mexico-based Opnel Jenkins in 1995, San Antonio-based Rayco Homes in 1996, Upland, California-based Colony Homes in 2003. It also maintained a division in France, which was sold in 2007.  As part of a promotion, in 1997 the company built a life-sized replica of The Simpsons cartoon home in Henderson, Nevada. It has since engaged in homebuilding promotions with Martha Stewart (2005), Disney (2008) and the Ellen DeGeneres Show (2012).  In 2001 KB Home was sued when homeowners in a subdivision in Arlington, Texas discovered that their homes were built on top of a practice bombing range from the 1940s and 50s which the military had cleared for development. That suit has since been settled. The Army Corps of Engineers was engaged in remediation.  In November 2006, KB Home president, CEO, and chairman Bruce Karatz resigned after an internal accounting probe into his alleged backdating of stock options. KB Home also announced the resignation of its head of human resources, Gary A. Ray, and the resignation of its chief legal officer, Richard B. Hirst. The company determined that Karatz and Ray had picked grant dates under the company's stock option plans. According to the Wall Street Journal, Karatz was one of the most highly paid executives in 2005, earning almost $156 million, primarily from options.  Karatz was succeeded by Jeffrey T. Mezger as CEO.  The company was named "Most Admired Homebuilder" by "Fortune" in 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2011. KB Home was ranked #1 Overall Green Builder by Calvert Investments in 2010.  In fiscal 2012, the company delivered 6,282 homes in the United States and had revenue of over $1.5 billion. This revenue figure is down from 2005 (at the height of the real estate boom), when the company delivered close to 40,000 homes and had more than $9 billion in revenue.

GreenHouse.

KB Home launched the company's first net-zero-energy home in January 2011. The GreenHouse was designed by KB Home and Martha Stewart and was featured as the "Idea Home" at the International Builders Show that year. The house is located in Windermere, FL.

ZeroHouse 2.0.

The successor to the GreenHouse is the ZeroHouse 2.0, which combines energy efficiency measures and solar panels to achieve net-zero energy usage. Introduced in 2011, the first model ZeroHouse 2.0 was built in Tampa, FL, closely followed by models in San Antonio and Austin, TX.  KB Home expanded the ZeroHouse 2.0 to the Mid-Atlantic states in June 2012 with the unveiling of the first of its kind in Waldorf, Maryland. The 4,000-square-foot model home project was completed with the installation of a 40-panel SunPower system by Solar Energy World.

KB Home is a homebuilding company based in the United States, founded in 1957 as Kaufman & Broad in Detroit, Michigan. It was the first company to be traded on the NYSE as a home builder and was a Fortune 500 company from 2000 through 2008. Its headquarters are in Los Angeles, California.

KB Home ist ein US-amerikanisches Bauunternehmen, das sich auf den Bau von privaten Eigenheimen spezialisiert hat. Das börsennotierte Unternehmen KB Home wurde ursprünglich 1957 als "Kaufman & Broad" in Detroit gegründet und unterhält heute seinen Hauptsitz in Los Angeles. KB Home hat laut eigenen Aussagen seit seiner Gründung über 600.000 Häuser errichtet und ausgehändigt. Im Jahr 1967 expandierte das Unternehmen nach Frankreich. Seit 2007 ist die dortige Niederlassung als Kaufman & Broad selbstständig. KB Home unterhält Partnerschaften mit Unternehmen wie AT&T, Carrier, Louisiana Pacific oder Schneider Electric, die mit der Erstausstattung der Gebäude beauftragt werden.


Design and development.

The Convair Model 200 was designed in 1973 as a single-jet fighter, that could be built in both vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) (model 200A) and conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) configurations (Model 201A). For the CTOL, the single Pratt & Whitney JTF22A-26A with tail hook, canard with flap, and CTOL tail cone. For the VTOL operations, the single Pratt & Whitney JTF22A-30A with a jet exhaust pipe tiltable by 90 degrees, and two additional lifting engines with 46.7 kN thrust each were provided behind the cockpit. The lifting engines and the swiveling nozzles were eliminated in the CTOL versions. The top speed was Mach 2. The wingspan was 27 feet 10.5 inches; the length was 51 feet 1.5 inches. The Model 200 had a cruise engine, a swept tail, two ventral fins under the fuselage, delta wings and delta canards directly behind the rectangular air intakes.  The Model 200 was proposed in a US Navy competition for a small VTOL fighter that could be carried by the Sea Control Ship, the small aircraft carriers that the US Navy was planning at the time. Neither the Model 200 nor the SCS were built. However, a competitor of the Model 200, the Rockwell XFV-12 fighter aircraft, was built. The XFV-12 was far from meeting expectations, and the project was canceled before the second XFV-12 was completed. Various models for wind tunnel tests were built for the Convair Model 200. As well as a model for researching the air currents during vertical takeoff and landing. Furthermore, a 1:1 front fuselage model including a complete cockpit layout.

The Convair Model 200 was a design for a supersonic vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) fighter requirement for the United States Navy Sea Control Ship. Further versions were planned for conventional catapult launches and landing using the arresting gear.

Die Convair Model 200 war der Entwurf eines Senkrechtstarters für die US Navy. Weitere Versionen waren für konventionelle Katapultstarts und Fangseillandungen vorgesehen.


Early and personal life.

Worth was born György Woittitz in Budapest, Hungary, and was Jewish. Because of the political climate in Hungary in 1937, Worth sought to emigrate to the United States, but he was unable to do so directly because he was Jewish and spent two years in Cuba.  Worth finally came to the United States, and changed his name to George Worth, and at the age of 22 he was living in Manhattan in New York City. He became a US citizen. Worth served for the US in World War II, and fought in the Battle of the Bulge in 1944 and 1945, winning several Bronze Stars.  He later served as Captain of the South Orangetown, New York Ambulance Corps and Chief Commissioner of the Orangeburg, New York Fire Department.

Fencing career.

Worth began fencing while he was a youth in Hungary, at Salle Santelli, the salle d’armes of Italo Santelli, a sabre coach and the father of Giorgio Santelli, who became a five-time US Olympic coach. During his two years in Cuba, Worth won the Cuban national sabre championship and fenced often with Ramon Fonst, who had won the Olympic championship in both 1900 and 1904.

US Championship.

Worth won the US AFLA national sabre championship in 1954, and was a 5-time medalist. He was a member of 14 national championship teams, representing Salle Santelli his entire career.

Olympics.

Worth competed at four Olympic Games for the US Olympic team—in 1948, 1952, 1956, and 1960.  He won a bronze medal at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London at 33 years of age in the team saber competition, and he reached the finals and placed fifth in the individual saber event.  At the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki at 37 years of age, he reached the quarterfinals in the solo event and advanced to the final in the team saber event, where they finished in fourth place.  At the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne at 41 years of age, he reached the semifinals in the sabre event. In the team event they had a bye into the semifinals, where they were defeated.  His final Olympics was the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome at 45 years of age, where he and his team placed fourth in the sabre competition.

Pan American Games.

Worth was also a member of three Pan-American teams on behalf of the US. He won the individual silver medal in sabre and the team gold medal in sabre and foil at the 1951 Pan American Games in Argentina. He repeated those results at the 1955 Pan American Games in Mexico. At the 1959 Pan American Games in Chicago, he again won a team gold, and came in fifth in the individual competition.  He took the Pan American Games Oath of Participation on behalf of all athletes of the United States during the opening ceremonies of the 1959 Games.  After his fencing career concluded, he was a leading official in the sport.

Hall of Fame.

He was inducted into the USFA Hall of Fame in 1974.

George V. Worth (born György Woittitz; April 1, 1915 – January 15, 2006) was a Hungarian-born American sabre Olympic medalist fencer.

George Worth (* 1. April 1915 in Budapest, Österreich-Ungarn als "György Woittitz"; † 15. Januar 2006 in Orangetown) war ein US-amerikanischer Fechter.


Royal Air Force use.

Bovingdon was built in 1941/42 as a standard Class A RAF bomber airfield. The main NE/SW runway was /4902 feet long and the two secondary runways were /4299 feet long each. Over 30 dispersal hardstandings were built.  On 15 June 1942, No. 7 Group, RAF Bomber Command took up residence at Bovingdon. Operational missions were flown in June and July by the RAF until the field was turned over to the USAAF in August.

United States Army Air Forces use.

USAAF Station Units assigned to RAF Bovingdon were: Regular Army Station Units included:  The primary mission of Bovingdon was to support Eighth Air Force Headquarters and the Air Technical Section, both equipped with a variety of aircraft types. General Eisenhower's personal B-17 was housed on the base. During World War II, several film stars were assigned at one time or another to the base, including Clark Gable, James Stewart and William Holden. Among famous wartime visitors were Bob Hope, Frances Langford, Mrs Eleanor Roosevelt, and Glenn Miller.  A unique mission undertaken at Bovingdon was the training of United States journalists to cover the air war over Occupied Europe. A group of military journalists underwent training in February 1943 to fly high-altitude missions in bombers, to shoot the flexible machine guns (although they did not actually fire them in combat), as well as parachute and life support training as aircrew.  The group of journalists flew on a combat mission over Wilhelmshaven, Germany on 26 February 1943 to attack the German Naval submarine pens there. The mission saw heavy losses for the USAAF, and the aircraft of Andy Rooney of the Stars and Stripes was damaged by flak and Robert Post of the New York Times was killed in action when his B-24 exploded. This ended the training of journalists to fly along with Eighth Air Force bomber crews. Other journalists who underwent this training included Walter Cronkite, James Denton Scott, Homer Bigart, William Wade and Gladwin Hill.

92nd Bombardment Group (Heavy).

The first USAAF tenant at Bovingdon was the 92nd Bombardment Group (Heavy), being deployed from Sarasota AAF, Florida. The group was known as "Fame's Favorite Few", and it was assigned to the 4th Combat Wing at RAF Thurleigh. The group tail code was a "Triangle B". Its operational squadrons were:  The 92nd flew a few two combat missions in September and October 1942, then was assigned the role of a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Combat Crew Replacement Unit (CCRU). In January 1943, the 92nd was transferred to RAF Alconbury where it was reformed as an operational combat group.

11th Combat Crew Replacement Unit.

Although the 92nd Bomb Group departed for Alconbury, the 326th Bomb Squadron of the 92nd remained at Bovingdon to form the core of 11th Combat Crew Replacement Unit. The training was performed on the B-17E aircraft, and most combat crews of 8th Air Force bombing units for the balance of the war received their introduction before moving on to their operational bases. Although based at Bovingdon, the 326th remained under the operational control of the 92nd at Alconbury until May 1943.  In September 1944 the 11th CCRU was disbanded and Bovingdon became the base for the European Air Transport Service (EATS). Many thousands of Americans returned to the States via the air terminal.

Postwar uses.

At the end of the war, Bovingdon was returned to RAF control on 15 April 1947. The British Ministry of Civil Aviation obtained the airfield for civilian airline use. On 15 September 1949, Bovingdon was the start point for a successful record air speed attempt by a de Havilland Hornet to and from Gibraltar.  Because of its elevation, Bovingdon was often clear when Heathrow Airport and RAF Northolt were fog-bound and, during the winter months especially, Bovingdon was used by British European Airways (BEA). British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) used Bovingdon as a maintenance facility and numerous other independent aircraft operators used the former technical site during the postwar years.  During the 1950s both civilian and military organizations used Bovingdon. The proximity of the USAF Third Air Force Headquarters at RAF South Ruislip and HQ RAF Fighter Command at Bentley Priory made Bovingdon the ideal location for service aircraft.  The USAF returned to Bovingdon on 25 May 1951, with the establishment of the 7531st Air Base Squadron. Douglas C-47 Skytrains were assigned to the unit, however many transitory USAF planes used the airfield routinely. In addition, the RAF operated the Fighter Command Communication Squadron RAF on the base. In October 1962, the USAF departed from Bovingdon. During the 60s, RAF Transport Command (Southern Communication Squadron RAF) operated Anson, Devon, Pembroke and latterly Basset aircraft from Bovingdon. In the 1960s the base was home to the last flight of Anson Mk 21 aircraft, descended from a World War II design.  The Air Training Corps 617 Gliding School operated from Bovingdon between 1968 and 1970, the last flight by a military aircraft being Kirby Cadet Mk.3 glider XN246 on 25 oct 1970. The school had moved from RAF Hendon in 1968 but moved on to RAF Manston in 1971. In 1968 the airfield was used to store and dispose of several aircraft used in the making of the film "Battle of Britain". Recently it has been used as the location for the Masked Singer reality Show

Closure and civilian use.

In 1968, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) announced that Bovingdon would be closed for budgetary reasons, and in 1972 the airfield was shut down, although since World War II to present day, the runway, 650m long x 49m wide on Berry Farm has continuously been used for light aircraft activities. Berry Farm is owned separately and is unconnected to the part of the original airfield where the land has been utilised for various other uses including the market. In 2012 Dacorum Borough Council confirmed the Berry Farm stretch of runway 08/26 remains a legal active airfield for light aircraft operation.  In the early 1980s, flying returned to the airfield in the form first of hang-glider tow-launching (using a truck-mounted pay-out winch) and then microlight aircraft, mainly of the 'Trike/hang-glider' type. Some local residents complained on the grounds of "noise" and "danger". After local inquiry, the Ombudsman narrowly decided against allowing flying to continue. At that time the combined control tower and fire-tender garage were in'reasonable structural condition' but deliberately damaged a few years later by earthmoving equipment, thereafter making restoration highly unlikely. The remains of the control tower were demolished in August, 2010.  An area of the former technical site was transferred to HM Prison Service for use as a prison, called 'The Mount' which opened in 1987.  The airfield site still houses a VOR navigational beacon, code BNN. The airspace above the airfield and nearby Chesham is known as the Bovingdon stack and is a holding area for aircraft approaching Heathrow Airport, to the south. Aircraft are requested to join the hold, typically at an altitude of 7000–16000 feet, and then fly a 'race-track' pattern around the Bovingdon VOR beacon, separated at intervals of 1000 feet from other aircraft. Each aircraft is then instructed to descend to a lower available altitude as the lowest aircraft leaves the hold to make its final approach to Heathrow. At busy times, therefore, there may be up to 10 aircraft holding at the available 1000 foot separations between 7000 feet and 16000 feet and these may be seen circling overhead on a clear day.  The remainder of the airfield site is used for a regular Saturday market and there was also a permanent circuit for banger racing which closed in September 2008. The main runway and taxiways which are still intact though in a poor state of repair, but are also used for other events such as autojumbles and classic car shows. Alongside a runway is a Delta Force Paintballing Facility. The ruins of the control tower also remain.

Film and television appearances.

In the 1960s, Bovingdon was used in the production of four World War II films, "The War Lover" (1962); "633 Squadron" (1964) "Battle of Britain" (1969) and "Mosquito Squadron" (1969). Although flying ceased at the airfield in 1969, it was also used to film parts of the flying car scenes in the James Bond film "The Man With the Golden Gun" starring Roger Moore, when the palm trees fold down as it takes off as well as some flying scenes for the film "Hanover Street" which were shot there in 1978. The site was also used in the 2016 "Star Wars" film "Rogue One", representing the planet Scarif.  On television it served as the location for at least one black and white episode of "The Avengers" ""The Hour That Never Was"", starring Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg featuring Gerald Harper and Roy Kinnear as well as the 1980 "Blake's 7" episode "The Harvest of Kairos" as the surface of the planet Kairos. An airstrip at the airfield is also reputed to have been used in the opening credits of the 1967 television series "The Prisoner" in which Patrick McGoohan is seen driving a Lotus Super Seven car past the camera at speed. The control tower and airfield was the filming location for the 1981 movie "Silver Dream Racer" starring David Essex and Beau Bridges. In the movie, the montage scene before the final race shows Essex and Christina Raines training for the forthcoming grand prix. It has continued to be used in various TV shows up to the present day.  Since January 2018, Bovingdon is the filming location of ITV's "Dancing on Ice" where a full-size studio has been built for the series. The airfield has also been used in the production of the film "Bohemian Rhapsody", as the production crew were required to recreate the 1985 Live Aid set.

Royal Air Force Bovingdon or more simply RAF Bovingdon is a former Royal Air Force station located near the village of Bovingdon, south of Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire and southeast of Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England.

Die Royal Air Force Station Bovingdon, kurz RAF Bovingdon (teilweise auch als Hemel Hempstead bezeichnet), ist ein früherer Militärflugplatz und heute nicht mehr fliegerisch genutzter Standort der britischen Royal Air Force nahe dem Ort Bovingdon und vier Kilometer südwestlich der Stadt Hemel Hempstead in der Grafschaft Hertfordshire, England.


Family.

A descendant of an ancient Welsh family, Sir Richard was a landed gentleman of Buckinghamshire, the son of Geoffrey Pole, Esquire of Worrell, Cheshire, and of Wythurn in Medmenham, Buckinghamshire (1431 – 1474 / 4 January 1479, interred in Bisham Abbey). His mother was Edith St John, daughter of Sir Oliver St John of Bletso, Bedfordshire (d. 1437) and the half-sister of Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII. They shared the same mother, Margaret Beauchamp of Bletso, who had married three times; this made Richard a first cousin of the half blood to Henry VII. Sir Richard was thus first cousin of Alice St John, wife of Henry Parker, 10th Baron Morley and mother of Jane Parker, wife of George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford.

Tudor rule.

Henry VII gave him various offices in Wales: he was Constable of Harlech and Montgomery Castles and the High Sheriff of Merionethshire. In 1495 Pole raised men against the rebellion of Perkin Warbeck.  Sir Richard Pole was "a valiant and expert commander" first retained to serve Henry VII in the wars of Scotland in 1497 with five demi-lancers and 200 archers, and shortly afterwards with 600 men-at-arms, 60 demi-lancers, and 540 bows and bills.  King Henry later made him Chief Gentleman of the Privy Chamber to Arthur, Prince of Wales. Pole was invested as a Knight of the Garter on April 1499. After Prince Arthur married Catherine of Aragon in 1501 Pole accompanied them to Ludlow Castle where Arthur took his role as President of the Council of Wales and the Marches. Pole was later given responsibility for the Welsh Marches. He also had the daunting task of meeting with the Council of Wales and the Marches on how best to inform the king of his much-loved eldest son's death on 2 April 1502.

Marriage.

He married Margaret Plantagenet, daughter of George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence and Isabel Neville, Duchess of Clarence, between 1491 and 1494, perhaps on 22 September 1494. However, their eldest son Henry was born in 1492, making 1491 the likely date of marriage. On the topic of the marriage, William Shakespeare wrote "His [The Duke of Clarence's] daughter meanly have I match'd in marriage." and Horace Walpole wrote in his correspondence, "Henry had married her to the insignificant Sir Richard Pole who is called a Welsh Knight". Sir Richard Pole may have been chosen by King Henry VII as husband for his wife's cousin Margaret on the basis that he was "safe" because his mother was a half-sister of Henry's own mother, Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond—that is, one of the St Johns—and her mother in turn was a Beauchamp.  He died before 18 December 1505.

Issue.

He and his wife had five children:

Sir Richard Pole, KG (1462 – before 18 December 1505) was a Welshman who was a supporter and close relation of King Henry VII. He was created a Knight of the Garter and was married to Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, a member of the Plantagenet dynasty: a marriage which reinforced the Tudor alliance between the houses of Lancaster and York.

Sir Richard Pole (* 1462; † 1505) war ein englischer Ritter walisischer Abstammung, der den englischen König Heinrich VII. unterstützte und sehr nahe stand. Er wurde zum Ritter des Hosenbandordens ernannt und war mit Margaret Plantagenet, einem Mitglied der Plantagenet-Dynastie, verheiratet. Diese Heirat stärkte die Allianz zwischen Haus York und Haus Lancaster zum Haus Tudor.


Company history.

Introduction.

After studying marketing in Besançon, Richard Mille (born 13 February 1951, Draguignan, France) started work at Finhor, a local watchmaking company in 1974. The company was bought by Matra in 1981 and Richard Mille rose to manage Matra's watchmaking business, which then included the brands Yema and Cupillard Rième. Matra's watchmaking activities were sold to Seiko, who Mille left in 1992 to start a watchmaking business for jewellery firm Mauboussin.

Development.

Following a disagreement about commercial strategy at Mauboussin, where he was a shareholder, Richard Mille left his position as General Manager of the watchmaking division of the Place Vendôme jeweller and decided to launch his own range of watches. In late 1998, he presented his plans to his friend Dominique Guenat, owner of «Montres Valgine» (Guenat SA - Montres Valgine), whom he met in 1988 while working in Besançon for Compagnie Générale Horlogère (CGH) and with whom he worked on watches for Mauboussin. The professional relationship between the two men soon grew into a great friendship, fuelled in particular by a shared love of cars, aeronautics and mechanics. Then they decided to go into partnership together in order to enhance and launch their plans for a new watch brand with the support of Lucien Tissot, a lawyer specialised in the watchmaking industry.  In early 1999, Richard Mille and Dominique Guenat drew up their plans and the basis for the Richard Mille brand, in partnership with Guenat S.A. Montres Valgine and APR&P (Audemars Piguet, Renaud et Papi). Over the next two years, they defined their brand concept, combining the worlds of cars, aeronautics and sailing with the high-tech aspects of innovation, resistant materials and accuracy. After this, they began designing the future Richard Mille watches and subjected them to reliability and precision testing. Dominique Guenat and Richard Mille then founded Horométrie SA – their operating company for the new Richard Mille brand – as equal partners, registered on in the Swiss registry of commerce (wholesale of watch and jewellery items). They then founded the Richard Mille watchmaking brand in collaboration with Swiss watchmaking Manufacture Audemars Piguet, which became a Richard Mille shareholder in 2007.  After three years of research and prototypes, the Richard Mille brand presented its first watch, the RM 001 Tourbillon at Baselworld in 2001, the world watch and jewellery show held in Basel, Switzerland. This manually wound mechanism was fitted with a ribbed tonneau-shaped case that revealed the mechanism6, the main features of the brand's visual identity, and included a tourbillon calibre, a power-reserve indicator and a torque indicator. The strap was made from leather and the crystal from mineral glass, and it had a water-resistance of up to 50 metres.  Then, in 2002, Richard Mille presented the RM 002, a technological development on the first model and the first watch in the history of watchmaking to feature a titanium baseplate. This was followed later that year by the RM 003, a dual time zone tourbillon, and by the RM 004 flyback chronograph in 2003.  In 2005, the watch brand launched the RM 007, the first ladies' watch in the Richard Mille collection.  Richard Mille soon made a name for itself in the luxury and ultra-luxury watch sectors thanks to its innovative materials and technology, joining the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie in 2007.  In April 2013, Richard Mille and Dominique Guenat acquired a 90% stake in"Prototypes Artisanals SA" (with former director Alain Varrin retaining a 10% share). Founded by Marco Poluzzi, the company became «ProArt» and moved to a 3,000 m2 building in Les Breuleux built for the production of watch cases and prototypes. Following the sale of case supplier Donzé-Baume to Swiss luxury group Richemont in 2007, the Richard Mille company began to invest in machining its own cases and some of its watch components. ProArt thus began to operate as an exclusive subcontractor to the brand.  In 2013, the French luxury world group Kering, controlled by François-Henri Pinault, made a proposal to buy the watch company to acquire 51% of the shares. But the proposal was rejected. Richard Mille remains independent.  On 27 September 2018, Richard Mille announced it would be withdrawing from the Salon international de la haute horlogerie (SIHH) in Geneva after the 2018 edition, like its shareholder Audemars Piguet, as the show no longer corresponded to the brand's distribution strategy.  In October 2018, Richard Mille opened its largest store in the world in New York. It is the brand's sixth store in the United States, with a surface area of 390 m2 and is located on 57th Street, at 432 Park Avenue, in the second highest residential tower in the Western hemisphere. The facade is almost 10m tall, and reveals a glass sculpture formed of 24 individually engraved panels depicting the tourbillon movement of the RM 008. The complete structure weighs 16,700 kg.  At the end of 2018, the brand presented Richard Mille's first creation entirely supervised by a woman, the "RM 71-01 Automatic Tourbillon Talisman" equipped with the new «CRMT1» automatic caliber house.

Geographic location.

Richard Mille is a Swiss brand based in the town of Les Breuleux, in the Canton of Jura at an altitude of 1,038 meters metres above sea level It operates within the Montres Valgine company.

The Richard Mille Group.

The “Richard Mille Group” comprises the following companies: Horométrie SA (distribution), Guenat SA Montres Valgine (conception and assembly), ProArt (components), VMDH (decoration) and Cercle d'Art (publishing).  In 2018, the Group employed 148 people.

Horométrie SA.

Horométrie is the operating company of the «Richard Mille brand» created by Richard Mille and Dominique Guenat in 2001. It also coordinates global distribution via four partners, who operate 38 proprietary Richard Mille stores around the world as joint ventures or franchises, and 45 retailers distributed as follows :

Guenat SA - Montres Valgine.

Dominique Guenat joined the Guenat SA - Montres Valgine (GMV) company in 1986 and took to the helm in 1991. In 1999, he teamed up with Richard Mille to create the “Richard Mille” watch brand.  All Richard Mille watches are developed and produced in Switzerland by the Guenat SA - Montres Valgine (GMV) Manufacture in Les Breuleux. Design and development are carried out in the old 1950s building in Les Breuleux, which was renovated in 1972, while assembly and quality control are performed in the building that was completed in 2007.  In 2018, Cécile Guenat – director of the Richard Mille women's collection, daughter of Dominique Guenat and the fourth generation to work at the Montres Valgine company – presented the first Richard Mille creation to be designed by a woman: the RM 71-01 Automatic Tourbillon Talisman.

ProArt.

Richard Mille watch cases, as well as certain movement components, such as baseplates, bridges, screws and some wheels, are produced in their entirety by ProArt. This machining company belongs to the Richard Mille group and operates in an ultra-modern 3,000 m2 building that was opened in April 2013 in Les Breuleux. Work to extend the ProArt site began in late 2017, with the construction of a second building intended to house the research and development offices as well as new machining workshops.

VMDH.

VMDH (Vital Morel Décalque Horlogère) is located in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, just 25 km from Les Breuleux. It specialises in transfers and the decoration of watch movement components (galvanoplasty, electroplating, etc.). VMDH produces all the dials and flanges used by the Richard Mille brand as well as some of the hands, and is tasked with applying «Super-LumiNova» phosphorescent pigments. VMDH is chaired by Yves Mathys.

The Richard Mille brand.

Visual identity.

The characteristic Richard Mille case shape is now the principal element of the brand's visual identity, ensuring that the watches are clearly recognisable, as are the "spline screws" visible on both the case and the inside of the movement. The movement is always visible in a Richard Mille watch.

Products.

The brand's most famous models are the Tourbillon RM 008 (chronograph tourbillon) and the sapphire split seconds (chronograph tourbillon) RM 056. The RM 008 combines a tourbillon movement with manual winding, a chronograph split-seconds, a torque indicator, and a power reserve indicator. Claimed to be one of the most advanced watches in the world, it is priced from €500,000.  The RM 056 split seconds (chronograph tourbillon) is distinguished by its three-part all-sapphire skeletal case. The RM 056 is completely see-through and is the first watch case to be completely built from sapphire, with a limited edition five pieces of the Richard Mille RM 056 Felipe Massa Sapphire priced at US$1.7 million. The RM 056 was declared best watch of 2012 at the Salon Internacional de Alta Relojería watchmakers' exhibition in Mexico City in October 2012.

Technologies.

A large portion of Richard Mille's inspiration comes from racing cars and the study of shock-resistance, the concrete applications of which have made it possible to improve the rigidity of the baseplate, reduce friction, and give the watches very high shock-resistance. The concepts and materials inspired by Formula 1, which provided the basis for the first Richard Mille watch (RM 001), are one of the cornerstones of the brand's philosophy.  Richard Mille decided to craft extremely lightweight and accurate watches from the best high-tech materials used in aeronautics, Formula 1 and precision surgery, such as grade 5 titanium, LITAL, Carbon TPT and graphene. Thus ARCAP – a material renowned for its physical qualities, including resistance to corrosion and magnetic fields – was used for the first time in watchmaking history in the RM 002.  Richard Mille teamed up with North Thin Ply Technology, the world leader in the production of lightweight pre-impregnated materials used in sailing and Formula 1, to produce the RM 27-02 Rafael Nadal in Carbon NTPT and Quartz TPT, as well as the RM 11-03 McLaren. A Richard Mille Tourbillon can contain up to 1,000 components in a case that measures just 45 millimetres thick.

Movement.

The brand has designed its own manufactured automatic calibres, including a whirlpool movement :

Records.

Accuracy.

The RM 031 is one of the most accurate wristwatches ever created. With a frequency of 36,000 vibrations per hour, it features the most advanced regulation mechanism in existence and has a performance of +/- 20 seconds per month – a real feat in modern watchmaking. Limited to just 10 pieces.

Lightness.

In 2004, Richard Mille launched the RM 006 Felipe Massa Tourbillon, which weighed just 48 grams (excluding the strap).  In 2005, the brand repeated this feat with the RM 009 Felipe Massa Tourbillon, which set a world record of 29 grams (excluding the strap).  In 2007, the record was reduced to 20 grams by the RM 027 Rafael Nadal (strap included)52, whose movement is made from titanium and LITAL, a lithium alloy popular in aeronautics that contains aluminium, copper, magnesium and zirconium.  In 2013, the record was smashed by the manually wound RM 27-01 Rafael Nadal Tourbillon watch (limited to 50 pieces), which pushed the concepts of lightness and resistance to the extreme. Developed with the tennis star, the tourbillon weighs just 18.83 grams (strap included) and holds the record for the lightest tourbillon ever made thanks to its lithium aluminium movement and carbon nanotube case.  In 2017, at the Salon international de la haute horlogerie (SIHH), Richard Mille presented the RM 50-03 McLaren F1, the world's lightest flyback chronograph weighing just 38 grams (strap included).

Shock-resistance.

The RM 27-03 Tourbillon can withstand impacts of 10,000 g – double that of the RM 50-03 McLaren F1 – thanks to its skeletonised unibody baseplate made from Carbon TPT®.  On 25 July 2009, during his Formula 1 accident in the qualifying stages of the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix, Felipe Massa, one of the brand's "partners", was wearing an RM 006, which emerged from the almost 200 km/h crash unscathed.

Projects.

Quebec City Clock.

Called the «Porte-Bonheur Clock», this project was launched in 2008 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Quebec City. The Republic and Canton of Jura and the Richard Mille brand wanted to offer Quebec a symbolic gift symbolizing the friendship that binds the Republic and Canton of Jura to the City of Quebec.  It was officially unveiled on 7 March 2014 in the presence of Richard Mille, Dominique Guenat, Élisabeth Baume-Schneider (President of the Jura government), Régis Labeaume (Mayor of Quebec) and Charles Juillard (Swiss Minister of Finance).  For six years, in partnership with the technical college of Porrentruy (École des métiers techniques in Porrentruy) and the Neuchâtel Haute Ecole Arc, Richard Mille engineers have developed, machined and assembled this monumental clock. Assembled using 16 spline screws, it measures 3.5 metres tall, 2.5 metres wide and 1.3 metres deep and weighs 1,913 kg.  As the first clock to be designed and produced in accordance with the demands and conventions of very fine watchmaking, the Jura Clock required:

Starck and Only Watch.

In 2005, Richard Mille and the French designer Philippe Starck made their first collaboration by presenting the creation of a unique interpretation "RM 005-1 Richard Mille by Philippe Stark". The piece was sold at auction in Monaco for €285,000, for the benefit of the association Only Watch, the highest price ever achieved for an automatic watch at that time.  Two years later, the two men team up again for Only Watch 2007. The RM 011 Starck resulting from this collaboration is extremely complex, it comes in the form of a titanium "bangle" bracelet totally integrated into the case. This coin led to a new auction record on 20 September 2007, raising €320,000 for the same charity.

Planetarium Tellurium.

It took 10 years and 50,000 hours of research and development to create the Richard Mille Planetarium-Tellurium. It was presented on September 4, 2007 at the Tempus Event 'The Hour Glass' in Singapore. The project dates back to 1998, when Richard Mille met Stephen Forsey and Robert Greubel during an assignment for Mauboussin. After founding their company Greubel Forsey in 2004, the men asked Christian Étienne, owner of the Swiss watch clinic in Porrentruy, to assemble the prototype of the Planetarium-Tellurium, while Richard Mille tackled the design and outer casing.  The Planetarium-Tellurium features a perpetual calendar with a rapid corrector that can make the necessary adjustments both forwards and backwards. It combines an extremely precise gear train and barrel for the planetarium with a detent escapement, making it the most accurate in the world today.  Planet Earth (enlarged 109 times) weighs 91 grams and is in solid silver, as is its satellite, the Moon. The Sun is made from yellow gold, Mercury from pink gold, and Venus from natural stone. The planets are covered in different colours of enamel. The Planetarium-Tellurium weighs 44 kg, including its titanium encasing and protective glass. Its encasing was modified after the official presentation, as the original hid the front section.

Sponsorship and endorsements.

The brand sponsors various sports persons, and the company also sponsors sports events including the Le Mans Classic and Grand Prix de Pau auto races and the 'Voiles de Saint Barth' sailing regatta.

Sailing.

In 2006, Richard Mille launched a partnership with Italian yacht manufacturer Perini Navi. The watch brand also became the official timekeeper of the Perini Navi Cup. To mark this collaboration, it launched the RM 014 Tourbillon Perini Navi watch in 2006 and the RM 015 Tourbillon Perini Navi in 2007.  Richard Mille has been the main partner of «Les Voiles de Saint Barth» (since 2010) with the "Richard Mille Maxi Cup".  In 2007, Ian Williams, a British sailor, won the third edition of the Monsoon Cup under the colors Richard Mille, last round of the World Match Racing Tour in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia, and became World Match-Race Champion.

Sport.

Since 2013, Richard Mille has been sponsoring the Lacoste Ladies Open Golf Women's Open.  In May 2011, Richard Mille created the Richard Mille Polo Team composed of Prince Bahar of Brunei, British player Max Routledge and Argentinians Pablo Mac Donough and Alejandro Muzzio.

Cars and racing.

Richard Mille is also Chairman of the Endurance Commission of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA).  From its very beginnings, the brand has invested in events dedicated to the automobile and the competition, becoming in 2002 the partner of the automobile event, now a must-see and a classic of its kind, the Le Mans Classic. In 2014, Richard Mille reiterated his involvement, always in association with Patrick Peter of Peter Auto, and contributed to the creation of an event dedicated to historic automobiles which became, from its first edition, one of the most prestigious automotive elegance competitions in the world : the Chantilly Arts & Elegance Richard Mille.  The Richard Mille brand has teamed up with a number of drivers from Formula 1 teams, such as Alfa Romeo Sauber, Haas F1 Team and McLaren Racing, and from Formula E (Nissan E-dams, Venturi Formula E).  In 2017, Richard Mille and McLaren Automotive signed a 10-year partnership agreement. The RM 11-03 McLaren Automatic Flyback Chronograph – a limited edition of 500 timepieces jointly designed by McLaren design director Rob Melville and Richard Mille engineer Fabrice Namura – is the first product to arise from this union. The RM 11-03 McLaren watch enabled the 500 owners of the McLaren Senna, the first model in the Ultimate Series from the Woking-based manufacturer, to order a watch with a number that matched the chassis number of their supercar. Furthermore, the McLaren Speedtail presented in October 2018 is the first car to incorporate Thin-Ply Technology (TPT) in automotive construction. It is used on the supercar's upper control system, steering wheel base, and gear-change paddles.  Also in 2017, the watch brand became an official partner of the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, and of the Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet in 2018, where the “Tour Chrono” (race display board) was designed by the Richard Mille teams.  In late 2018, just before the first leg of the 2018–19 Formula E season, Richard Mille announced a three-year partnership with Venturi, the team managed by Gildo Pastor in which Felipe Massa, the watch brand's historic partner, competes alongside teammate Edoardo Mortara. In 2019, Tolman Motorsport ran a pair of McLaren 570S GT4s with Richard Mille as a sponsor.  The watch brand is also a partner of:

Art.

In 2014, Horométrie SA acquired « Éditions Cercle d’Art ». The publishing house decided to refocus on prestigious art books. In parallel, it now also publishes books about watchmaking, architecture, photography, design, gastronomy and cars.

Economics.

Watch sales figures.

Sales of Richard Mille watches have grown by 15 % on average per year since the brand was launched, with a total of 32,000 watches sold between 2001 and 2017,

Revenue.

In CHF million.

Richard Mille is a Swiss luxury watchmaking brand founded in 2001 by Dominique Guenat and Richard Mille, and based in Les Breuleux, Switzerland.

Richard Mille ist eine Schweizer Uhrenmanufaktur, die hochwertige Uhren im luxuriösen Preissegment fertigt. Das Unternehmen wurde 1999 vom gleichnamigen Franzosen in Les Breuleux gegründet.


Biography.

Olha Basarab was born Olha Levytska in 1889 into the family of petty gentry (coat-of-arms Rogala) near the town of Rohatyn. In 1914 she married Dmytry Basarab, who died fighting for Austrian on the Italian front in 1915. During World War I Basarab was a member of the first Women's Platoon of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen, a unit of Ukrainian volunteers within the Austrian army. After the war she worked in the years 1918-1923 as an accountant of Embassy of Ukraine in Vienna, she also visited Denmark, Germany, Norway and other states to collect military and political intelligence. She was involved in charity work involving helping wounded soldiers and civilians, and was recognized by the International Red Cross for her efforts. Active in Ukrainian political organizing, she helped organize Ukrainian soldiers and was a member of the Ukrainian Women's Union in Vienna and a member of the Supreme Executive of the Union of Ukrainian Women in Lviv. In 1923 she started working with Ukrainian Military Organization where her liaison was colonel Eugene Konovalets. She was accused by the Polish authorities of working with intelligence from Germany and Bolshevik Ukraine in Poland and belonging to the Ukrainian Military Organization which organised assassinations on Poles and Ukrainians. After her imprisonment, materials concerning cooperation with German intelligence were found (the Ukrainian Military Organization signed an agreement on May 1923 with Weimar Germany's intelligence service according to which UVO would conduct espionage work against Poland while the German side was to provide financial aid and military equipment). She died in prison in unclear circumstances. The Polish government was accused of torturing her to death, although this accusation was never conclusively proven. Martha Bohachevsky-Chomiak from Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies claims the Polish government initially presented her death as a suicide but subsequent exhumation of her body showed that she had been murdered in their custody. Basarab's death resulted in protests from Ukrainians, demands for an inquiry from Ukrainian members of the Polish parliament, and calls from the Jewish members of the Polish parliament to investigate prisoner conditions in Polish jails. Her body was exhumed on February 26 and the Polish forensic expert stated that she had died by hanging. He declined to publicly identify the bruises on her body as being the results of beatings, although his student stated that he had told her during the autopsy that Basarb's body showed traces of having been beaten. Rumors spread in Lviv that police tortured people through the use of electric shocks.

Olha Basarab ( September 1, 1889 - February 12, 1924) was a Ukrainian political activist and member of the Ukrainian Military Organization who conducted both charitable and humanitarian work that was recognized by the International Red Cross, as well as military or intelligence work on behalf of the Ukrainian underground. She was an executive of the Ukrainian Women's Union branch in Lviv Ukraine. She was arrested by the Polish police after being accused of working with the Ukrainian Military Organization and of spying for Germany (with whom the Ukrainian Military Organization had a working relationship). Materials indicating cooperation with Germany's intelligence were found at her home. Different accounts of her death in prison exist range from suicide to murder. Afterwards she was seen as a martyr and source of inspiration within the Ukrainian community.

Olha Mychajliwna Bassarab (, geborene ; * 1. September 1889 in Pidhoroddja, Galizien, Österreich-Ungarn; † 12. Februar 1924 in Lwów, Polen) war eine ukrainische Aktivistin.


Life and career.

Wlaschiha was born in Pirna, Saxony, and studied music at the Musikhochschule in Weimar, after he had been rejected at the Musikhochschule Dresden. He began his operatic career at the Theater Gera, followed by the Sächsisches Landestheater Dresden-Radebeul, the Nationaltheater Weimar from 1966, and the Leipzig Opera from 1970, where he took part in the world premiere of Robert Hanell's "Griechische Hochzeit" on 31 May 1969, and in the world premiere of Fritz Geißler's "Der Schatten" in 1975. He was a member of the Berlin State Opera from 1982. Among his major roles there were Wagner characters: Telramund in "Lohengrin", Amfortas and Klingsor in "Parsifal", Kurwenal in "Tristan und Isolde", Hans Sachs in "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg" and the title role in "Der fliegende Holländer". He also appeared as Don Pizarro in Beethoven's "Fidelio", Kaspar in Weber's "Der Freischütz", Jochanaan in "Salome" by Richard Strauss, Escamillo in Bizet's "Carmen", Amonasro in Verdi's "Aida" and the title role in his "Rigoletto". He was a regular guest at the Dresdner Staatsoper.  Wlaschiha first appeared at the Bayreuth Festival in 1984 as Alberich in "Götterdämmerung". Alberich became his signature role, performed in Bayreuth until 1998, then conducted by James Levine. He appeared there also as Kurwenal in "Tristan und Isolde" in 1986, conducted by Daniel Barenboim, as Telramund in "Lohengrin", as Biterolf in "Tannhäuser" and as Klingsor in "Parsifal". He appeared as Kaspar in Weber's "Der Freischütz" when the Semperoper was reopened on 13 February 1985, staged by and conducted by Wolf-Dieter Hauschild. He was Jochanaan in "Salome" by Richard Strauss at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich in 1987, opposite Hildegard Behrens in the title role. In 1988, he made his debut as Alberich at the Royal Opera House in London. Again as Alberich, he was filmed in the 1989 video broadcast of "Der Ring des Nibelungen" from the Metropolitan Opera, which won him international recognition. He sang alongside James Morris as Wotan, Siegfried Jerusalem as Siegfried and Behrens as Brünnhilde, conducted by Levine. He also appeared at the Met in "Salome", "Parsifal" and "Fidelio". He appeared as Telramund on a DVD from the Bayreuth Festival, conducted by Peter Schneider, with sets and costumes by filmmaker Werner Herzog. He retired from the stage as Pizarro in Beethoven's "Fidelio" at the Semperoper in 1998.  Wlaschiha won two Grammy Awards, in 1990 and 1991, both for recording the role of Alberich with the Metropolitan Opera on DG. His portrayal of the role was described as not a pure villain, but as a person with inner conflicts. His voice, which he described as with "a certain bite, a certain metal" ("Meine Stimme hatte immer einen gewissen Biss, ein gewisses Metall."), was intense, but with a wide scale of expression ("eine breite Skala von Ausdrucksmöglichkeiten"). He is remembered as a singer of powerful vocal presence and the ability to present multi-faceted personalities on stage. He had an unusual ability to maintain a relaxed legato line even when singing music with wide jumps in pitch and sudden changes in volume ("barks") such as the role of Alberich.  Wlaschiha also performed in concert and oratorio. On a 1984 recording of Bach's "St Matthew Passion", conducted by Peter Schreier who also took the part of the Evangelist, he appeared as Pilate.  Wlaschiha died in Bayreuth on 20 February 2019.

Ekkehard Wlaschiha (; 28 May 1938 – 20 February 2019) was a German operatic baritone who specialized in Wagnerian "villains", such as Alberich, Klingsor and Friedrich von Telramund. He performed at the Bayreuth Festival and at the Metropolitan Opera, and left many recordings.

Ekkehard Wlaschiha (* 28. Mai 1938 in Pirna, Sachsen; † 20. Februar 2019 in Bayreuth) war ein deutscher Opernsänger (Bassbariton).


History.

Operations began in the early 1920s at a market stall in Hackney, London, with Maurice and Alfred Matlow selling jellied sweets. They built a small factory in east London in 1928 and became known as Matlow Brothers, producing jellies and chews. In 1933 the firm merged with a rival factory owner, David Dee, who specialised in fizzy compressed tablet sweets (although the company officially became Swizzels Matlow Ltd only in 1975).  In 1940, the Blitz forced their business to relocate northwards to a disused wick factory in New Mills, Derbyshire, where it remains. Parma Violets were introduced in 1946. Love Hearts were introduced in 1954. Drumsticks were introduced in 1957.  Hydrogenated fats were phased out in 2004. Artificial flavourings were discontinued in 2009.

Products.

Refreshers.

Refreshers are one of Swizzels' most popular products. These are flat chewy sweets with sherbet in the middle, available in lemon and strawberry flavours. They are officially named "New" Refreshers, to avoid trademark confusion with Barratt's compressed tablet Refreshers sweet.

Fizzers.

Fizzers are rolled-up tablet candies that fizz and dissolve when put into soda. They are similar to the American candy Smarties (called Rockets in Canada).

Parma Violets.

Parma Violets are disc-shaped sweets similar to Fizzers but without their fizziness. Swizzels Matlow have also released a line of Giant Parma Violets.

Drumstick products.

The Drumstick sweet is a chewy lolly about 2" (5 cm) in length. It features two flavours, milk and raspberry. It has had many special editions, such as the still produced lime and orange flavour.  In 2012, Swizzels Matlow launched "Drumstick Squashies", foam-like chewy sweets with the same flavour as the Drumstick lolly. Several flavour variations, such as bubblegum, have also been released.

Others.

Products include:

Swizzels Matlow, also known as just Swizzels, is a confectionery manufacturer based in New Mills, Derbyshire, near Stockport in the United Kingdom. The company had revenues of £47 million in 2010/11. It employs around 600 people. Swizzels Matlow exports 20 per cent of its sweets to more than 20 countries, mostly in Europe. Their highest selling brands are Love Hearts, Parma Violets and Drumstick lollies. Its biggest sales period is Hallowe'en.

Swizzels Matlow, auch bekannt als Swizzels, ist ein britischer Süßwarenhersteller mit Sitz in New Mills, Derbyshire, nahe Stockport. Das Unternehmen erzielte 2017 einen Umsatz von 73 Millionen Pfund. Sie beschäftigt rund 600 Mitarbeiter. Swizzels Matlow exportiert 20 Prozent seiner Süßwaren in mehr als 20 Länder, hauptsächlich in Europa. Ihre meistverkauften Marken sind Love Hearts, Parma Violets und Drumstick Lollies. Die größte Verkaufsperiode ist Halloween.


History.

The company was founded in 1994 by brothers-in-law Dan Henry and Mike Brown and headquartered in Leawood, Kansas. In 1998, Euronet purchased ARKSYS, a computer software company that specialized in electronic payment and transaction delivery systems. On January 23, 2002, Euronet Worldwide announced the formation of a joint venture with Hong Kong-based First Mobile Group Holdings Limited.  In February 2003, Euronet acquired e-pay Ltd, an electronic payments processor of prepaid mobile airtime top-up services in the U.K. and Australia. This added a prepaid processing division to Euronet that grew with the September 2003 purchase of Austin International Marketing and Investments, Inc. (AIM), a U.S. based company, and the acquisition of the German company transact Elektronische Zahlungssysteme GmbH in November 2003.  In 2007, the company acquired Ria Money Transfer, global money transfer company with a network of agents and company-owned stores in North America, the Caribbean, Europe and Asia. In 2013, Euronet purchased Pure Commerce, giving it access to a suite of SaaS based applications.  In April 2014, Walmart started offering a store-to-store money transfer service, partnering with Euronet's subsidiary Ria Money Transfer. Walmart2Walmart allows shoppers to transfer money to and from 4,000 Walmart stores in the U.S. In 2016, the program was expanded into the global money transfer service market with Walmart2World.  In May 2014, it acquired UK-based international payments provider HiFX giving it access to cross border payment business in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. This acquisition allowed Euronet to offer international payment services between accounts for high-income individuals and small-to-medium-sized businesses.  In June 2015, Euronet's Ria entered the Middle East remittance market with the buyout of money transfer provider, IME. In July 2015, Euronet acquired xe.com, a provider of digital foreign exchange rate information, bringing Euronet a large internet presence and users familiar with foreign currency.  In March 2017, the company announced an unsolicited purchase offer for MoneyGram for $954 million. The acquisition however did not go through.  In April 2018, the company acquired Innova, which allows Euronet to provide VAT refunds to its customers. In December 2018, Euronet signed an agreement with Mozambique to provide software for the nation's financial system. Under the agreement, Euronet supports transaction processing services, connections to major card associations, ATM and Point of Sale device driving, card issuing, mobile recharge, bill payments, and digital wallets, among other services.  In January 2019, the municipality of Amsterdam announced its plans to prevent new Euronet ATMs from opening in shop facades, as Euronet "charges a hefty fee per cash withdrawal and uses unfavorable exchange rates." Advocates for dynamic currency conversion argue that fees, in general, offer visibility of the total costs at the point of transaction.  In January 2020, Euronet partnered with Standard Chartered to allow international ATM users to pay in their own currency rather than the local currency using a dynamic currency conversion (DCC) service. The ATM service will be provided in countries across Asia Pacific and the Middle East. That same month, Euronet began offering a recurring billing service to allow monthly payments for AppleCare products. Euronet also entered an agreement with AMBER Alert Europe in January 2020 to publish active missing child alerts on ATM screens.  In February 2020, Euronet's subsidiary, Ria Money, opened its first retail store in Singapore, allowing customers to transfer money at foreign exchange rates. The same month, Euronet partnered with Amazon India to provide add-on payment services to Amazon’s mobile wallet platform. In April 2020, the company acquired Dolphin Debit, a U.S. based ATM outsourcing company. Euronet operates ATM outsourcing services worldwide, but the 2020 acquisition allows the company to expand its outsourcing services to the U.S. for the first time. In May 2020, Euronet’s subsidiary, Ria Money Transfer, announced an expansion of their money transfer mobile app to European customers.

Company operation.

It operates in three segments: electronic funds transfer (EFT) processing, prepaid processing, and money transfer.

Euronet Worldwide is an American-headquartered worldwide provider of electronic payment services with headquarters in Leawood, Kansas. It offers automated teller machines (ATM), point of sale (POS) services, credit/debit card services, currency exchange and other electronic financial services and payments software. Among others, it provides the prepaid subsidiaries Transact, PaySpot, e-pay, Movilcarga, TeleRecarga and ATX.

Euronet oder Euronet Worldwide ist ein US-amerikanischer Anbieter von elektronischen Zahlungsdiensten mit Hauptsitz in Leawood, Kansas. Er bietet Geldautomaten, POS-Dienste (Point of Sale), Kredit-/Debitkartendienste, Geldwechsel und andere elektronische Finanzdienstleistungen an.