title: Udham Singh

text: Singh became involved in revolutionary politics and was deeply influenced by Bhagat Singh and his revolutionary group. In 1924, Singh became involved with the Ghadar Party, organising Indians overseas towards overthrowing colonial rule. In 1927, he returned to India on orders from Bhagat Singh, bringing 25 associates as well as revolvers and ammunition. Soon after, he was arrested for possession of unlicensed arms. Revolvers, ammunition, and copies of a prohibited Ghadar Party paper called "Ghadr-di-Gunj" ("Voice of Revolt") were confiscated. He was prosecuted and sentenced to five years in prison.


title: Udham Singh

text: Upon his release from prison in 1931, Singh's movements were under constant surveillance by the Punjab Police. He made his way to Kashmir, where he was able to evade the police and escape to Germany. In 1934, he reached London, where he found employment. Privately, he formed plans to assassinate Michael O'Dwyer. In Singh's diaries for 1939 and 1940, he occasionally misspells O'Dwyer's surname as "O'Dyer", leaving a possibility he may have confused O'Dwyer with General Dyer. Nonetheless General Dyer was already been dead in 1927, even before Udham Singh had planned the revenge. In England, Singh was affiliated to the Indian Workers' Association in Coventry and attended their meetings.


title: Udham Singh

text: On 13 March 1940, Michael O'Dwyer was scheduled to speak at a joint meeting of the East India Association and the Central Asian Society (now Royal Society for Asian Affairs) at Caxton Hall, London. Singh had entered the event with a ticket in his wife's name. Singh concealed a revolver inside a book, which had pages cut in the shape of a revolver. This revolver was purchased by him from a soldier in a pub. Then he entered the hall and found an open seat. As the meeting concluded, Singh shot O'Dwyer twice as he moved towards the speaking platform. One of these bullets passed through O'Dwyer's heart and right lung, killing him almost instantly. Others injured in the shooting included Sir Louis Dane; Lawrence Dundas, 2nd Marquess of Zetland; and Charles Cochrane-Baillie, 2nd Baron Lamington. Singh was arrested immediately after the shooting.


title: Udham Singh

text: On 1 April 1940, Singh was formally charged with the murder of Michael O'Dwyer, and remanded in custody at Brixton Prison. Initially asked to explain his motivations, Singh stated: "I did it because I had a grudge against him. He deserved it. I don't belong to society or anything else. I don't care. I don't mind dying. What is the use of waiting until you get old? ... Is Zetland dead? He ought to be. I put two into him? I bought the revolver from a soldier in a public house. My parents died when I was three or four. Only one dead? I thought I could get more."


title: Udham Singh

text: While in custody, he called himself Ram Mohammad Singh Azad: the first three words of the name reflect the three major religious communities of Punjab (Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh); the last word "azad" (literally "free") reflects his anti-colonial sentiment.


title: Udham Singh

text: While awaiting his trial, Singh went on a 42-day hunger strike and was force fed. On 4 June 1940, his trial commenced at the Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey, before Justice Atkinson, with V.K. Krishna Menon and St John Hutchinson representing him. G. B. McClure was the prosecuting barrister. When asked about his motivation, Singh explained:


title: Udham Singh

text: Singh was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. On 31 July 1940, Singh was hanged at Pentonville Prison by Albert Pierrepoint. His remains are preserved at the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, Punjab. On every 31 July, marches are held in Sunam (Singh's hometown) by various organisations and every statue of Singh in the city is paid tribute with flower garlands.


title: Udham Singh

text: Following his conviction, he made a speech which the judge directed should not be released to the press. However, political activists who had set up the Shaheed Udham Singh Trust and working with the Indian Workers Association (GB), ran a campaign to have the court record of his statement published along with other material. This proved successful in 1996, when his speech was published along with three further files covering the trial, and the "Ghadar Directory", a document compiled by British intelligence in 1934 detailing 792 people regarded as a threat including Udham Singh.


title: Udham Singh

text: He then thrust his glasses back into his pocket, and exclaimed three words in Hindustani and then shouted:


title: Udham Singh

text: When this material was published, it was reported in both British and Asian press, the statement was translated into Gurmukhi script and distributed at the Sikh Vaisaki Festival in Birmingham, April 1997. John Major, the British prime minister at that time, remarked: "The Amritsar Massacre was an unhappy episode in Indo-British relations which was controversial in both countries. Today [8 October 1996] I am glad to say, our relationship is excellent. India is an important partner and a close friend of this country."


title: Udham Singh

text: In its 18 March 1940 issue, "Amrita Bazar Patrika" wrote, "O'Dwyer's name is connected with Punjab incidents which India will never forget". The Punjab section of Congress in the Punjab Assembly led by Dewan Chaman Lal refused to vote for the Premier's motion to condemn the assassination. In April 1940, at the Annual Session of the All India Congress Committee held in commemoration of 21st anniversary of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, the youth wing of the Indian National Congress Party displayed revolutionary slogans in support of Singh, applauding his action as patriotic and heroic.


title: Udham Singh

text: Singh had some support from the international press. "The Times" of London called him a "fighter for freedom", his actions "an expression of the pent-up fury of the downtrodden Indian people." "Bergeret" from Rome praised Singh's action as courageous.


title: Udham Singh

text: In March 1940, Indian National Congress leader Jawahar Lal Nehru, condemned the action of Singh as senseless, however, in 1962, Nehru reversed his stance and applauded Singh with the following published statement: "I salute Shaheed-i-Azam Udham Singh with reverence who had kissed the noose so that we may be free."


title: Udham Singh

text: In 1974, Singh's remains were exhumed and repatriated to India at the request of MLA Sadhu Singh Thind. Thind accompanied the remains back to India. The casket was received by Indira Gandhi, Shankar Dayal Sharma and Zail Singh. On 2 August 1974 his ashes were divided into seven urns and distributed; one each to Haridwar, Kiratpur Sahib, Rauza Sharif, Sunam and the museum at Jallianwala Bagh, and two urns to the library of the Shaheed Udham Singh Arts College in Sunam.


title: Udham Singh

text: In 1999, during the tercentenary of the creation of the Khalsa and the centenary of Singh's birth, he was posthumously awarded the "Nishan-e-Khalsa" by the Anandpur Sahib Foundation.


title: Saint Martin (island)

text: Saint Martin (; ) is an island in the northeast Caribbean Sea, approximately east of Puerto Rico. The island is divided roughly 60:40 between the French Republic () and the Kingdom of the Netherlands (), but the Dutch part is more populated than the French part. The division dates to 1648. The northern French part comprises the Collectivity of Saint Martin and is an overseas collectivity of the French Republic. As part of France, the French part of the island is also part of the European Union. The southern Dutch part comprises Sint Maarten and is one of four constituent countries that form the Kingdom of the Netherlands.


title: Saint Martin (island)

text: On January 1, 2019, the population of the whole island was 73,777 inhabitants, with 41,177 living on the Dutch side and 32,489 on the French side. Note that the figure for the French side is based on censuses that took place after the devastation of Hurricane Irma in September 2017, whereas the figure for the Dutch side is only a post-censal estimate still based on the 2011 census. The first census since Hurricane Irma on the Dutch side of the island is scheduled to take place in October 2022. Population of the island on Jan. 1, 2017, before Hurricane Irma, was 75,869 (40,535 on the Dutch side, 35,334 on the French side).


title: Saint Martin (island)

text: Collectively, the two territories are known as "Saint-Martin / Sint Maarten", or sometimes "SXM", the IATA identifier for Princess Juliana International Airport, the island's main airport. St. Martin (the French portion) received the ISO 3166-1 code MF in October 2007. In 2010, the Dutch part had its status changed to that of a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands and was given the code SX.


title: Saint Martin (island)

text: Saint Martin has a land area of , of which is under the sovereignty of the French Republic, and under the sovereignty of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. This is the only land border shared by the French Republic and the Kingdom of the Netherlands.


title: Saint Martin (island)

text: The main cities are Philipsburg on the Dutch side and Marigot on the French side. The Dutch side is more heavily populated. The largest settlement on the entire island is Lower Prince's Quarter, which is on the Dutch side.


title: Saint Martin (island)

text: The highest hilltop is the Pic Paradis () in the centre of a hill chain on the French side. Both sides are hilly with large mountain peaks. This forms a valley where many houses are located. There are no rivers on the island, but there are many dry gullies. Hiking trails give access to the dry forest that covers tops and slopes.


title: Saint Martin (island)

text: The island is located south of Anguilla and is separated from that British overseas territory by the Anguilla Channel. Saint Martin is northwest of Saint Barthélemy and is separated from that French overseas collectivity by the Saint-Barthélemy Channel.


title: Saint Martin (island)

text: It is commonly believed that Christopher Columbus named the island in honour of Saint Martin of Tours when he encountered it on his second voyage of discovery. However, he actually applied the name to the island now called Nevis when he anchored offshore on November 11, 1493, the feast day of Saint Martin. The confusion of numerous poorly charted small islands in the Leeward Islands meant that this name was accidentally transferred to the island now known as Saint-Martin/Sint Maarten.


title: Saint Martin (island)

text: At Columbus' time, St. Martin was populated, if at all, by Carib Amerindians. The former Arawaks had been chased by the Caribs coming from the north coast of South America a short time before the arrival of the Spaniards who followed in Columbus' wake. The Arawaks were agricultural people who fashioned pottery and whose social organization was headed by hereditary chieftains who derived their power from personal deities called "zemis". The Caribs' territory was not completely conquered until the mid-17th century when most of them perished in the struggle between the French, English (later British), Dutch, Danes and Spanish for control of the West Indies islands around the Caribbean Sea.


title: Saint Martin (island)

text: The Dutch first began to use the island's ponds for salt in the 1620s. Then still at war with the Dutch, the Spaniards captured St. Martin in 1633. One year later, they built a fort (now Fort Amsterdam, near Philipsburg) and another artillery battery at Pointe Blanche to assert their claim and control access to Great Bay salt pond. A massive influx of African slaves took place in the 18th century with the development of sugarcane plantations by the French and Dutch. Slavery was abolished in the first half of the 19th century. On some of their territories the British imported Chinese and South Asians to take the place of slaves. Thus, St. Martin and the other islands are populated by a mixture of Amerindian, European, African, Indian, and Asian peoples.


title: Saint Martin (island)

text: On 23 March 1648, the Kingdom of France and the Dutch Republic agreed to divide the island between their two territories, with the signing of the Treaty of Concordia. Folklore surrounds the history of the once ever-changing border division between St. Martin and Sint Maarten, and a popular story among locals narrates that "to divide the island into two sections, [in 1648] the inhabitants were told to choose two walkers, one chosen by the French-dominated community and the other one by the Dutch-dominated community, who were put back to back in one extreme of the island, making them walk in opposite directions while stuck to the littoral line, and not allowing them to run. The point where they eventually met was set as the other extreme of the island, and the subsequently created line was chosen as the frontier, dividing Saint-Martin from Sint Maarten. Seemingly, the French walker had walked more than his Dutch counterpart (they earned their respective lands 54 km² and 32 km²). The French locals' explanation for this discrepancy is that, as the first man chose wine as his stimulant prior to the race, while the latter chose Jenever (Dutch Gin), the difference between such beverages' lightness was said to be the cause of the territorial differences. The Dutch locals instead accuse the French walker of running."


title: Saint Martin (island)

text: There currently is a movement aiming to unite the Dutch and French halves of the island of Saint Martin. A "Unity Flag" for representing this unification was created in 1990.


title: Saint Martin (island)

text: Currently, the island is divided into Sint Maarten (the southern half of the island, part of the Netherlands) and the Collectivity of Saint Martin (the northern half of the island, part of France). The island has been divided since the signing of the Treaty of Concordia in 1648, which today remains as one of the oldest treaties still in effect. Unification of the island enjoys support from the population of both halves.


title: Saint Martin (island)

text: The Treaty of Concordia allows freedom of movement between both parts of the island, which has promoted a common sentiment among the island's inhabitants, although this is also the reason why some see a formal unification as unnecessary. Other arguments against unification of the island are that neither France nor the Netherlands would allow it and that both sides would require full independence to achieve it.


title: Saint Martin (island)

text: On 31 August 1990, the "Unity Flag" of Saint Martin was adopted at the Preliminary Conference on National Symbols at the Philipsburg Jubilee Library, in Sint Maarten. This flag was created to represent the people of both halves of the island and the unification of the latter, and is hoisted today on some houses and sometimes by churches and religious groups in Saint Martin. In August 2020, when restrictions and controls were added to the Saint Martin–Sint Maarten border to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, some protesters against these measures flew this flag with them. In September 2020, these restrictions were lifted, and people from both sides of the island started chanting "One island, one people, one destiny".


title: Saint Martin (island)

text: Some notable supporters of this movement include Albert Fleming, former leader of the Collectivity of Saint Martin, who in 2014 stated his support for the unification of the island.


title: Saint Martin (island)

text: Under the Köppen climate classification, the island has a tropical savanna climate (Aw) with a dry season from January to April and a rainy season from August to December. The precipitation patterns are due to the movement of the Azores High during the year. With the wind direction predominantly from the east or the northeast, northeasterly trades, temperatures remain stable throughout the year and temperatures rarely exceed or fall below . Temperatures remain steady throughout the year with an average mean temperature of . The average sea temperature is ranging from a low of in February to a high of in October. The total average yearly rainfall is , with 142 days of measurable rainfall. Thunderstorms can occasionally occur, with 18 days with thunder per year. Precipitation totals are quite variable from year to year, depending on the number of passing tropical cyclones.


title: Saint Martin (island)

text: On 6 September 2017 the island was hit by Hurricane Irma (Category 5 at landfall), which caused widespread and significant damage, estimated at $3 billion, to buildings and infrastructure. A total of 11 deaths had been reported as of 9 July 2018. France's Minister of the Interior, Gérard Collomb, said on 8 September 2017 that most of the schools were destroyed on the French half of the island. In addition to damage caused by high winds, there were reports of serious flood damage to businesses in the village of Marigot. Looting was also a serious problem. Both France and the Netherlands sent aid as well as additional police and emergency personnel to the island. "The Washington Post" reported that 95% of the structures on the French side and 75% of the structures on the Dutch side were damaged or destroyed.


title: Saint Martin (island)

text: Some days after the storm had abated, a survey by the Dutch Red Cross estimated that nearly a third of the buildings in Sint Maarten had been destroyed and that over 90 per cent of structures on the island had been damaged. Princess Juliana Airport was extensively damaged but reopened on a partial basis in two days to allow incoming relief flights and for flights that would take evacuees to other islands.


title: Saint Martin (island)

text: INSEE estimated that the nominal GDP of the French side of Saint Martin amounted to 582 million euros in 2014 (US$772 million at 2014 exchanges rates; US$660 million at Feb. 2022 exchange rates) The nominal GDP of the Dutch side of the island, Sint Maarten, was estimated at 2,229 million Antillean guilders (US$1,245 million at the official peg) in 2014. The nominal GDP of the entire island was thus US$2.01 billion in 2014.


title: Saint Martin (island)

text: The Dutch side of the island experienced a big recession in 2017 and 2018 due to the devastation of Hurricane Irma which struck the island in September 2017. Real GDP experienced a negative growth of -5.8% in 2017 and -6.6% in 2018 (GDP figures after 2018 have not been published yet). GDP of the French side of the island has not been estimated since 2014.


title: Saint Martin (island)

text: The main industry of the island is tourism. In 2000, the island had about one million visitors annually. About 85% of the workforce was engaged in the tourist industry.


title: Saint Martin (island)

text: On January 1, 2019, the population of the whole island was 73,777 inhabitants, with 41,177 living on the Dutch side and 32,489 on the French side. Note that the figure for the French side is based on censuses that took place after the devastation of Hurricane Irma in September 2017, whereas the figure for the Dutch side is only a post-censal estimate still based on the 2011 census. The first census since Hurricane Irma on the Dutch side of the island is scheduled to take place in October 2022. Population of the island on Jan. 1, 2017, before Hurricane Irma, was 75,869 (40,535 on the Dutch side, 35,334 on the French side).


title: Saint Martin (island)

text: St. Martin's Dutch side is known for its festive nightlife, beaches, jewellery, drinks made with native rum-based guavaberry liquors, and casinos. The island's French side is known for its nude beaches, clothes, shopping (including outdoor markets), and French and Indian Caribbean cuisine. English is the most commonly spoken language along with a local dialect. The official languages are French for Saint-Martin, and both Dutch and English for Sint Maarten. Other common languages include various French-based creoles (spoken by immigrants from other French Caribbean islands), Spanish (spoken by immigrants from the Dominican Republic and various South American countries), and Papiamento (spoken by immigrants from Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao).


title: Saint Martin (island)

text: Among the leading cultural artists of the island are Youth Waves, music band; Isidore "Mighty Dow" York, kaisonian, penman; Roland Richardson, Impressionist painter; Ruby Bute, painter; Nicole de Weever, dancer and Broadway star; Lasana M. Sekou, poet, author, independence advocate; Clara Reyes, choreographer; and Tanny and The Boys, string band music group.


title: Saint Martin (island)

text: In recent years sargassum weed has arrived on the south ("Dutch") shoreline, but the northern French coast is generally free of the weed.


title: Saint Martin (island)

text: Because the island is located along the intertropical convergence zone, it is occasionally threatened by Atlantic hurricane activity in the late summer and early fall.


title: Saint Martin (island)

text: Neighbouring islands include Saint Barthélemy (French), Anguilla (British), Saba (Dutch), Sint Eustatius "Statia" (Dutch), Saint Kitts and Nevis (independent, formerly British). With the exception of Nevis, all of these islands are easily visible on a clear day from St. Martin.


title: Saint Martin (island)

text: News publications on St. Martin include "The Daily Herald", "Soualiga News Day", "Soualiga News", "St. Maarten News", "SMN News", "SXM Island Time", and "SXM Talks".


title: Saint Martin (island)

text: The official currency of Saint Martin is the Euro, while Sint Maarten uses the Netherlands Antillean guilder, pegged at 1.79 per US dollar. As a consequence of the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles, the Netherlands Antillean guilder will cease to be legal tender and be replaced by the Caribbean guilder, scheduled for circulation in the first half of 2021. Almost every store on the island also accepts the United States dollar, although sometimes a more expensive exchange rate is used.


title: Saint Martin (island)

text: Neither side of the island is part of the Schengen Area; full border checks are performed when travelling in and out of the island. Passport controls are also exercised when taking the ferry from Marigot or Princess Juliana International Airport to Anguilla. There are rarely checks at the border between the two sides of the island.


title: Saint Martin (island)

text: In 1994, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and France signed the Franco-Dutch treaty on Saint Martin border controls, which allows for joint Franco-Dutch border controls on so-called "risk flights" arriving from off-island and only admitting foreigners having permission to travel on both sides of the island. After some delay, the treaty was ratified in November 2006 in the Netherlands and subsequently entered into force on 1 August 2007. Its provisions are not yet implemented as the working group specified in the treaty is not yet installed. The treaty requires a working group that has never been set up, to harmonize external checks at the two main airports. The Dutch side has expressed concern that new and tighter French visa requirements would harm their tourism income.


title: Saint Martin (island)

text: The island is served by many major airlines that daily bring in large jet aircraft, including Boeing 747s and Airbus A340s carrying tourists from across the world. The short main runway at Princess Juliana International Airport and its position between a large hill and a beach cause some spectacular approaches. Aviation photographers flock to the airport to capture pictures of large jets just a few metres above sunbathers on Maho Beach.


title: Saint Martin (island)

text: There is a small airport on the French side of the island at Grand Case, L'Espérance Airport for small aircraft serving neighbouring Caribbean islands. It frequently suffers thick fog during the hurricane season due to its location.


title: Leo Varadkar

text: Leo Eric Varadkar ( ; born 18 January 1979) is an Irish politician who has served as Taoiseach since December 2022, and previously from 2017 to 2020. He served as Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment from June 2020 to December 2022. He has been Leader of Fine Gael since June 2017, and a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin West constituency since 2007. He previously served under Taoiseach Enda Kenny as Minister for Social Protection from 2016 to 2017, Minister for Health from 2014 to 2016 and Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport from 2011 to 2014.


title: Leo Varadkar

text: Varadkar was born in Dublin and studied medicine at Trinity College Dublin. He spent several years as a non-consultant hospital doctor, eventually qualifying as a general practitioner in 2010. In 2004, he joined Fine Gael and became a member of Fingal County Council and later served as Deputy Mayor of Fingal. He was elected to Dáil Éireann for the first time in 2007. During the campaign for the 2015 same-sex marriage referendum, Varadkar came out as gay, becoming the first serving Irish minister to do so.


title: Leo Varadkar

text: In May 2017, Taoiseach Enda Kenny announced that he would resign as Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader. Varadkar stood in the leadership election to replace him; although more party members voted for his opponent, Simon Coveney, he won by a significant margin among Fine Gael members of the Oireachtas, and was elected leader on 2 June. Twelve days later, he was appointed Taoiseach, and at 38 years of age became the youngest person to hold the office. He is Ireland's first, and the world's fourth, openly gay head of government and the first Taoiseach with Indian heritage.


title: Leo Varadkar

text: In 2020, Varadkar called a general election held in February. While polls in 2019 had suggested a favourable result for Fine Gael, they ultimately came third in terms of seats and votes, behind Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin, with 35 seats, a loss of 15 seats for the party from the previous general election, when it had come in first position. As part of an agreement to form a three-party coalition along with Fianna Fáil and the Green Party, Varadkar resigned as Taoiseach and was succeeded by Micheál Martin, the leader of Fianna Fáil. Varadkar was subsequently appointed Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Per the same agreement, Varadkar returned as Taoiseach in December 2022, with Martin being appointed Tánaiste.


title: Leo Varadkar

text: Born on 18 January 1979, in the Rotunda Hospital, Dublin, Varadkar is the third child and only son of Ashok and Miriam (née Howell) Varadkar. His father was born in Bombay (now Mumbai), India, and moved to the United Kingdom in the 1960s, to work as a doctor. His mother, born in Dungarvan, County Waterford, met her future husband while working as a nurse in Slough. Early in 1971, they married in the UK. Sophie, the elder of his two sisters, was born while the family lived in Leicester. They moved to India, before settling in Dublin in 1973, where his other sister, Sonia, was born.


title: Leo Varadkar

text: Varadkar was educated at the St Francis Xavier national school in Blanchardstown and then The King's Hospital, a Church of Ireland secondary school in Palmerstown. During his secondary schooling, he joined Young Fine Gael. He was admitted to Trinity College Dublin (TCD), where he briefly read law before switching to its School of Medicine. At TCD, he was active in the university's Young Fine Gael branch and served as Vice-President of the Youth of the European People's Party, the youth wing of the European People's Party, of which Fine Gael is a member. Varadkar was selected for the Washington Ireland Program for Service and Leadership (WIP), a half-year personal and professional development program in Washington, D.C., for students from Ireland.


title: Leo Varadkar

text: He graduated in 2003, after completing his internship at KEM Hospital in Mumbai. He then spent several years working as a non-consultant hospital doctor in St. James's Hospital and Connolly Hospital, before specialising as a general practitioner in 2010.


title: Leo Varadkar

text: Varadkar was twenty years old and a second-year medical student when he unsuccessfully contested the 1999 local elections in the Mulhuddart local electoral area. Varadkar was co-opted to Fingal County Council in 2003, for the Castleknock local electoral area, as a replacement for Sheila Terry. At the 2004 local elections, he received the highest first-preference vote in the country with 4,894 votes and was elected on the first count.


title: Leo Varadkar

text: Varadkar was elected to Dáil Éireann at the 2007 general election as a Fine Gael TD for the Dublin West constituency. Then Leader of the Opposition, Enda Kenny, appointed him to the Front Bench as Spokesperson for Enterprise, Trade and Employment until a 2010 reshuffle, when he became Spokesperson on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. At the 2011 general election, Varadkar was re-elected to Dáil Éireann, with 8,359 first-preference votes (a 19.7% share of the poll in a four-seat constituency).


title: Leo Varadkar

text: When Fine Gael formed a coalition government with the Labour Party, Varadkar was appointed Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport on 9 March 2011. This was considered a surprise appointment, as Varadkar was not known as a sports lover. He said that while he knew "a lot of facts ... I don't play the sports."


title: Leo Varadkar

text: In May 2011, Varadkar suggested Ireland was "very unlikely" to resume borrowing in 2012 and might need a second bailout, causing jitters on international markets about Ireland's credibility. Many of his cabinet colleagues frowned on Varadkar's forthrightness, as did the European Central Bank. Taoiseach Enda Kenny repeated the line of the Government of Ireland, that the State would not require a further bailout from the European Union or the International Monetary Fund, and said he had warned all ministers against publicly disparaging the economy. Varadkar said that reaction to the story was hyped up but that he was not misquoted. The "Evening Herald" repeatedly described Varadkar as gaffe prone.


title: Leo Varadkar

text: He was returned to the Dáil at the 2016 general election. He retained the health portfolio in an acting capacity until May that year, due to the delay in government formation. In one of his final acts as Minister for Health, Varadkar cut €12 million from the €35 million allocated to that year's budget for mental health care, telling the Dáil that the cuts were "necessary as the funding could be better used elsewhere."


title: Leo Varadkar

text: On 6 May 2016, after government formation talks had concluded, Taoiseach Enda Kenny appointed Varadkar as Minister for Social Protection. During his time in the ministry, he launched a campaign against welfare fraud.


title: Leo Varadkar

text: On 2 June 2017, Varadkar was elected leader of Fine Gael, defeating Simon Coveney. Although Coveney had the support of more Fine Gael members than Varadkar, the electoral college system more strongly weighted the votes of the party's parliamentarians, with these strongly backing Varadkar.


title: Leo Varadkar

text: Like Enda Kenny's second term, Varadkar relied upon the support of Independents and the abstention of Fianna Fáil TDs to support his bid for Taoiseach. On 14 June 2017, he was elected as Taoiseach in a 57–50 vote with 47 abstentions. He became Ireland's first openly gay Taoiseach, as well as the youngest; however, he is not the youngest head of an Irish government, as both Éamon de Valera and Michael Collins were younger on assuming their respective offices in revolutionary governments prior to the establishment of the state. He is also the first head of government who is of half-Indian descent. It was also the first time that one Fine Gael Taoiseach was succeeded by another.


title: Leo Varadkar

text: One of Varadkar's first acts as Taoiseach was to announce a referendum on abortion for 2018. He said that the government would also lay out a road map for achieving a low carbon economy.


title: Leo Varadkar

text: His government nearly collapsed as a result of the Garda whistleblower scandal and Tánaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) Frances Fitzgerald's role in it. Fianna Fáil, the main opposition party, who were in a confidence-and-supply agreement with Fine Gael, threatened a motion of no confidence in the government. After days of gridlock, the crisis was averted, after Fitzgerald resigned from the cabinet to prevent triggering an election that could jeopardise the Irish position in Brexit negotiations. Shortly after this, Varadkar appointed former leadership rival and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Simon Coveney as Tánaiste, Heather Humphreys as Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation and Josepha Madigan as Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, in a small reshuffle of the cabinet.


title: Leo Varadkar

text: Shortly after the Fitzgerald crisis, an impasse was reached in the Brexit talks, as Arlene Foster, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, objected to a deal agreed to by Varadkar, British Prime Minister Theresa May, and President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker. This prevented an agreement from being reached as the deadline approached. Varadkar stated he was "surprised and disappointed" the UK could not reach a deal. Later in the week, a consensus deal was finalised. Varadkar stated he had received guarantees from the UK there would be no hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland. He later said he and his cabinet had "achieved all we set out to achieve" during the talks before quoting former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, by saying "This is not the end but it is the end of the beginning". An "Irish Times" poll taken during these days showed Varadkar with a 53% approval rating, the highest for any Taoiseach since 2011, and showed Fine Gael with an eleven-point lead over Fianna Fáil. Government satisfaction was also at 41%, the highest in almost 10 years. "Irish Times" columnist Pat Leahy claimed Varadkar had ended 2017 "on a high" and IrishCentral called it the Taoiseach's "finest hour".


title: Leo Varadkar

text: In January 2018, he announced that the referendum to repeal Ireland's 8th Amendment which prevented any liberalisation of restrictive abortion laws would take place in May. If passed, it would allow the government to introduce new legislation. It was proposed that women would be allowed unrestricted access to abortion up until 12 weeks, with exceptions if the mother's life is in danger up until six months. Varadkar said he would campaign for liberalising the laws, saying his mind was changed by difficult cases during his tenure as Minister for Health. The referendum passed with 66% of the votes.


title: Leo Varadkar

text: On 24 January 2019, Varadkar said in an interview with Euronews he was standing firm on the Irish backstop and called Brexit an act of self-harm that was not fully thought through. He also said the technology promised by the Brexiteers to solve the Northern Ireland border issue "doesn't yet exist".


title: Leo Varadkar

text: Varadkar stated he will refuse to ratify the EU–Mercosur free trade agreement unless Brazil commits to protecting the environment. The fear is that the deal could lead to more deforestation of the Amazon rainforest as it expands market access to Brazilian beef.


title: Leo Varadkar

text: On 14 January 2020, Varadkar sought a dissolution of the 32nd Dáil, which was granted by President Michael D. Higgins, and scheduled a general election for 8 February. In that election, Varadkar was re-elected in the Dublin West constituency, but Fine Gael fell to 35 seats, 15 fewer than in 2020, and falling to third place behind Fianna Fáil (38 seats) and Sinn Féin (37 seats). Varadkar ruled out any possibility of a Fine Gael–Sinn Féin coalition during the election campaign, though a "grand coalition" of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael was floated as a final possibility. However, on 12 February, Varadkar conceded that Fine Gael had lost the election and that he was very likely to become the next Opposition Leader. Varadkar added that Fine Gael was "willing to step back" to allow Sinn Féin, as the winner of the popular vote, to have the first opportunity to form a government. On 20 February, Varadkar offered his resignation to President Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin, pursuant to the constitution, remaining, however, as Taoiseach until the formation of a new government.


title: Leo Varadkar

text: During this period, the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in Ireland. While in Washington, D.C., ahead of Saint Patrick's Day, Varadkar announced measures intended to stop COVID-19 spreading, including the closure of all schools, universities and childcare facilities from the following day, as well as the closure of all cultural institutions and the cancellation of "all indoor mass gatherings of more than 100 people and outdoor mass gatherings of more than 500 people". After returning home early, Varadkar addressed the nation on Saint Patrick's night during "A Ministerial Broadcast by An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, TD", introducing television viewers to the concept of "cocooning", i.e. "At a certain point… we will advise the elderly and people who have a long-term illness to stay at home for several weeks". The speech was the most watched television event in Irish history, surpassing the previous record held by "The Late Late Toy Show" by an additional total of about 25% and was widely distributed globally. It was also plagiarised by Peter Bellew, the chief operating officer at British low-cost airline group EasyJet.


title: Leo Varadkar

text: In response to a March 2020 Health Service Executive appeal to healthcare professionals, Varadkar rejoined the medical register and offered to work as a doctor one day each week.


title: Leo Varadkar

text: On 26 June 2020, it was announced that Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, and the Green Party had agreed to form a coalition government, marking the first time the two Irish parties had formed a government together, including a rotation agreement in the offices of Taoiseach and Tánaiste. Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin was appointed Taoiseach on 27 June, with Varadkar appointed as Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. It was agreed then that they would exchange positions in December 2022, with Varadkar retaking the position of Taoiseach for the remainder of the coalition's term.


title: Leo Varadkar

text: On 31 October 2020, "Village" published an article alleging that Varadkar had leaked confidential documents, including a draft contract between the Health Service Executive and general practitioners that was agreed but still subject to acceptance by GPs at the time, and officially unavailable to members of the Oireachtas. The article included screenshots of WhatsApp messages, including one with a photo of the cover of the leaked document, and alleged the handwriting visible was Varadkar's. While "Village" claimed the leaks might be unlawful, Varadkar denied this was the case and described the article as "inaccurate and grossly defamatory". He said that the provision of the agreement by an informal communication channel was not best practice.


title: Leo Varadkar

text: In response to the claims by "Village", the Green Party called for Varadkar to give a detailed account to the Dáil in response to the accusations. This request was seconded by Sinn Féin's health spokesperson, stating: "The facts for me here are clear – Leo, as the leader of Fine Gael and Taoiseach at the time, passed on a document to a friend about sensitive negotiations involving hundreds of millions of euro of taxpayers' money." Varadkar's Fine Gael colleague Paschal Donohoe also expressed a desire for Varadkar to answer questions in the Dáil. Varadkar apologised in the Dáil for "errors of judgement" in sharing a copy of the contract, and rejected any suggestion that he had anything to gain personally from giving the IMO document to the NAGP president as "false and deeply offensive".


title: Leo Varadkar

text: The leak was the subject of a criminal investigation. In April 2022, a file was submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for review. On 6 July 2022, the DPP decided that Varadkar would not face prosecution.


title: Leo Varadkar

text: On 17 December 2022, Varadkar was appointed as Taoiseach for a second time, replacing Micheál Martin.


title: Leo Varadkar

text: Varadkar is the first Irish government leader of partly Indian origin and has visited India on a number of occasions. He completed his medical internship at KEM Hospital in his father's childhood city of Mumbai.


title: Leo Varadkar

text: During an interview on RTÉ Radio on 18 January 2015 (his 36th birthday), Varadkar spoke publicly for the first time about being gay: "it's not something that defines me. I'm not a half-Indian politician, or a doctor politician or a gay politician for that matter. It's just part of who I am, it doesn't define me, it is part of my character I suppose". Varadkar was a prominent advocate of the same-sex marriage referendum. His partner, Matthew Barrett, is a doctor at Mater Misericordiae University Hospital.


title: Leo Varadkar

text: In 2017, Varadkar completed a course in professional Irish, and devised an Irish language form for his surname, "de Varad". He has said, "My philosophy towards Irish is just to speak it! Speak Irish! It’s not about getting it perfect – it's about having fun and making an effort to speak it."


title: Natasha Henstridge

text: Natasha Tonya Henstridge (born August 15, 1974) is a Canadian actress and model. In 1995, she came to prominence with her debut role in the science-fiction thriller "Species", followed by performances in "Species II" and "Species III". She has since starred in a string of films and television series, including "Maximum Risk" (1996), "The Whole Nine Yards" (2000), "The Whole Ten Yards" (2004), "Ghosts of Mars" (2001), "She Spies" (2002–2004), "Eli Stone" (2008–2009), and "Would Be Kings" (2008). For the latter, she won the Gemini Award for Best Actress. Since 2019, she has been starring in the CBC Television series "Diggstown".


title: Natasha Henstridge

text: Henstridge was born in Springdale, Newfoundland and Labrador, on August 15, 1974, to Helen Henstridge, a homemaker, and Brian Henstridge, a construction-manager and business-owner. She was raised in Fort McMurray, Alberta, with her younger brother, Shane.


title: Natasha Henstridge

text: At age 14, Henstridge entered the Casablanca Modeling Agency's Look of the Year contest and was chosen first runner-up. The following year, she went to Paris to pursue her modeling ambitions. At age 15, she was featured on her first magazine cover, the French edition of "Cosmopolitan". Several more magazine covers followed and Henstridge went on to do television commercials for products such as Olay, Old Spice and Lady Stetson. With her modeling career established, Henstridge started doing commercials and decided she preferred acting. One of her first roles was as “Foxy Fox” in the Missoula Children's Theatre production of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” staged in Fort McMurray, Alberta.


title: Natasha Henstridge

text: In her film debut "Species" (1995), Henstridge played Sil, a genetically engineered alien/human hybrid created from a message received by SETI, who breaks free from the captivity of a laboratory. Pursued by a team of experts who band together to stop her before she reproduces, Sil embarks on a killing spree while also discovering her powerful instinct to mate. "Species" was an instant hit, making US$113 million at the box office. Notable for its sexual content, the film won Henstridge the MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss for a scene in which her character, while kissing a date, impales his head with her tongue. In 1998, she played Eve, a more ambiguous genetic duplicate of Sil, in "Species II", which was a failure at the box office. Between "Species" films, Henstridge starred in two low budget action films in 1996, "" with Christopher Lambert, and "Maximum Risk" opposite Jean-Claude Van Damme.


title: Natasha Henstridge

text: A few smaller independent movies followed, including "Bela Donna" and "Dog Park", with varied box office returns. Henstridge starred in the film "The Whole Nine Yards" (2000) and its sequel "The Whole Ten Yards" (2004). Despite having some reservations about the science fiction genre, she signed up for John Carpenter's "Ghosts of Mars" (2001) in the lead role of Lieutenant Melanie Ballard. The film was not well received, with a 20% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. In 2004, she briefly appeared as Eve in "Species III".


title: Natasha Henstridge

text: Henstridge has played a number of roles on television, for example in "Caracara" and "The Outer Limits". From 2005 to 2006, she had a recurring role as the Speaker's Chief of Staff on the ABC drama "Commander in Chief", which starred Geena Davis as a fictional female U.S. president. She also hosted "Mostly True Stories: Urban Legends Revealed" on TLC, a show about urban legends. She guest-starred as a substitute teacher in the first-season "South Park" episode "Tom's Rhinoplasty", and was credited as "the chick from "Species"".


title: Natasha Henstridge

text: Henstridge was working on the television series "She Spies", prior to its cancellation. She has also completed a television movie for the Lifetime channel titled "Widow on the Hill". In 2006, she filmed the CTV original miniseries "Would Be Kings" in Hamilton, Ontario, for which she won a Gemini Award. She also starred in the expansion set to the video game "", entitled "".


title: Natasha Henstridge

text: In 2008, Henstridge played a role on the ABC comedy-drama series "Eli Stone". She has also been involved with two other productions, joining the cast of Dave Rodriguez's "Anytown", an indie drama that examines a racist high school attack and its aftermath. She has also been involved with the production of "Should've Been Romeo" from American Independent Pictures.


title: Natasha Henstridge

text: In 2009, Henstridge did a guest spot on "The Tonight Show" with Conan O'Brien. During this, she demonstrated a Newfoundland custom called "Screeching In" which involved getting O'Brien to drink Newfoundland Screech rum and kiss a large fish.


title: Natasha Henstridge

text: In 2011, she appeared on the season 9 finale and season 10 premiere of "" as Renee Locklear. She then starred in the CW television series "The Secret Circle" as Dawn Chamberlain.


title: Natasha Henstridge

text: Henstridge married American actor Damian Chapa in 1995 and they divorced in 1996. She dated American actor Liam Waite from 1996 to 2004, and they have two sons together: Tristan River (born October 1998) and Asher Sky (born September 2001). She began a relationship with late Scottish singer Darius Campbell in 2004. They became engaged but broke it off in early 2010, then married on Valentine's Day 2011. They filed for divorce in July 2013. The divorce was finalized in February 2018.


title: Natasha Henstridge

text: In June 2009, Henstridge spoke of her past use of diet pills in combination with extreme diets for weight loss; she said this damaged her metabolism and led to subsequent weight gain.


title: Natasha Henstridge

text: In November 2017, during the height of the #MeToo movement, Henstridge joined six other actresses in accusing director Brett Ratner of sexual assault and harassment; she maintains that he forced her to perform oral sex on him in the early 1990s. She also accused producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment.


title: Luke Bracey

text: Luke Bracey (born 26 April 1989) is an Australian actor. He is known for his work in films such as "Monte Carlo", "", "The November Man", "Point Break", and "Hacksaw Ridge"; and for television series such as "Home and Away", which was his first appearance on screen.


title: Luke Bracey

text: Bracey began his acting career by appearing in the Australian television soap opera series "Home and Away". His start came after receiving an invitation to audition; he played the role of Trey Palmer in the series during 2009. He also played Aaron Dean in several episodes of the first season of "Dance Academy", broadcast in Australia in 2010. His first big-screen role was in "Monte Carlo", shot in Europe in 2010 and released the following year. In 2012, he moved to the USA to further his acting career.


title: Luke Bracey

text: After moving he played Cobra Commander in "" (2013), replacing Joseph Gordon-Levitt from . In March 2013, he signed on for the male lead role in the drama pilot "Westside", produced by McG and developed by Ilene Chaiken for the American Broadcasting Company; the pilot was not developed into a series. He then had lead roles in the 2014 films "The November Man" and "The Best of Me". In 2015 Bracey starred in "Point Break" as FBI Agent Johnny Utah, in the remake of the 1991 film.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is a 2011 first-person shooter video game, jointly developed by Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games and published by Activision. The game was released worldwide in November 2011 for Microsoft Windows, the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii. It is the third and final installment in the original "Modern Warfare" saga, a direct sequel to 2009's "", and the eighth "Call of Duty" installment overall. A for the Nintendo DS was developed by n-Space, while Treyarch developed the game's Wii port. In Japan, Square Enix published the game with a separate subtitled and dubbed version.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: The game's campaign follows "Modern Warfare 2" and begins right after the events of its final mission. Similar to "Modern Warfare 2", it is centered around the Task Force 141, which contains Captain Price, Soap MacTavish, and Yuri, one of the playable characters. Alongside the Delta Force and Special Air Service, they hunt Vladimir Makarov (the main antagonist of the trilogy), a Russian terrorist who leads the Russian Ultranationalist party. He leads several terror attacks across Europe, triggering a large-scale war between the Ultranationalists and friendly forces. For the game's multiplayer mode, new mode types and killstreak choices were brought in. Improvements were also made to the mode that solved issues that appeared in "Modern Warfare 2".


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: Using an enhanced version of "Modern Warfare 2"s IW engine, development for the game began in 2010 with more than one developer. Prior to development, Infinity Ward co-founders Jason West and Vince Zampella left the company to form Respawn Entertainment. Other members had been fired or had left the company following the duo's departure. Sledgehammer Games had joined the "Modern Warfare 3" development force, with Raven Software also developing the game's multiplayer mode. Following a large leak containing detailed information about the game, multiple teaser trailers were released, with each showcasing a location featured in the game's campaign, leading up to a full reveal.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: "Modern Warfare 3" received positive reviews from critics, with praise for its gameplay, campaign, and multiplayer, although there was some criticism for its story and lack of innovation. It won the award for Best Shooter at the 2011 Spike Video Game Awards. It was a massive commercial success. Within 24 hours of going on sale, the game sold 6.5 million copies in the United States and United Kingdom and grossed $400 million, making it at the time the largest entertainment launch ever.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: "Modern Warfare 3" is a first-person shooter video game much like its predecessors. "Modern Warfare 3" for Microsoft Windows has dedicated servers support.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: The player assumes the role of various characters during the single player campaign, changing perspectives throughout the progression of the story, which, like its predecessors, is divided into three sets of missions called "Acts". Each mission in an act featuring a series of objectives that are displayed on the heads up display, which marks the direction and distance between such objectives and the player. Damage to the player is shown by the visualization of blood-spatter or red-outs on the screen. The player's health regenerates over time as long as the player character avoids taking damage for a limited time. Mission objectives vary in their requirements, ranging from having the player arrive at a particular checkpoint, to eliminating enemies in a specified location, to standing their ground against enemy squadrons, directing remote-operated weapons, and planting explosive charges on enemy installations. The player is also accompanied by fellow soldiers who cannot be issued orders. Like its predecessor, the game includes an interactive scene of a terror attack against civilians, which the player is given the option of skipping due to the portrayal of graphic and potentially upsetting content, including harm to children.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: "Modern Warfare 3" features a new mode, called Survival. This mode allows between one and two players to fight massive waves of enemies, with each wave becoming increasingly difficult. It differs from the Nazi Zombies mode in "", principally in that enemies no longer spawn at fixed locations like the zombies do, but instead appear at tactical positions based on the current location of the player. The mode is available on all multiplayer maps in the game. Players earn in-game cash for items such as weapons, upgrades, ammo, air/ground support and equipment if they kill or assist in killing enemies, while more items can be unlocked by earning XP which is also increased by killing enemies. "Special Ops" also returns from "Modern Warfare 2". These challenge missions feature up to 48 stars, unlike its previous installment, which featured 69. Some weapons in Spec Ops are exclusive to that game mode, and are not available for play in multiplayer mode.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: The entire "Killstreak" reward system has been altered to make it more difficult for players to get early unlocks. Killstreaks are now known as "Pointstreaks", and kills are no longer the only way to increase the player's pointstreak. Completing objectives such as planting a bomb or capturing a flag in "Capture The Flag" awards points towards the player's Pointstreak. Pointstreak rewards are organized into three different "strike packages" called "Assault", "Support", and "Specialist".


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: The "Assault" strike package works the same as the Killstreak reward system in "Modern Warfare 2" and "Black Ops": the player must earn more and more points without dying. Once the player is killed, their points are reset to zero. Likewise, the "Specialist" strike package rewards players with perks after every second consecutive kill. Upon death, however, the player loses all the perks and the points are reset to zero. In contrast, the "Support" strike package are awarded based on the total points that the player has earned over the entire match, regardless of how often the player dies. It is important to note that if a player switches to a custom class with a different reward system (either "assault" or "specialist") during game play, all points are automatically reset to 0. Players are allowed to choose which Pointstreak rewards they want to use when they gain it during the match, rather than choosing them between rounds.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: Along with revamping the entire Killstreak reward system, "Modern Warfare 3" also has a completely modified Ranking and Unlocks system, which does not use a currency system for unlocks. The player's primary weapon levels up alongside the player, and unlocks a number of "Proficiency" perks such as "Attachments", (allows two attachments and is a successor to the "Bling" and "Warlord" perks), "Kick" (reduced recoil while aiming down the player's sight) and "Focus" (reduced flinching while under fire). Only one Proficiency can be put on a primary weapon. Another new addition is the ability to equip "Hybrid Scopes" on a weapon, such as a holographic sight with a red dot magnifier, allowing players to switch between magnified and non-magnified. "Modern Warfare 3" introduces a new "Prestige Shop" which will unlock only after the player has selected the option to prestige for the first time. The "Prestige Shop" allows Prestige players to use tokens they gain from using the Prestige option to buy exclusive features such as double XP and an extra custom weapon class. The player is able to Prestige 20 times.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: Several controversial perks in "Modern Warfare 2", accused of being too overpowered, have been removed in "Modern Warfare 3". Diving from standing to prone, known as "dolphin diving", has been removed due to balancing issues. "Modern Warfare 3" utilized Treyarch's hot fix system to fix bugs and glitches. "Modern Warfare 3" features a local and online split-screen option. (Not available for the Wii version.)


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: The Special Ops game mode from "Modern Warfare 2" is present in "Modern Warfare 3", and includes new features which make it more replayable and similar to other game modes, such as Nazi Zombies from previous "Call of Duty" games, and Hordes from "Gears of War". The two main Special Ops modes include one that is generally the same from the last Modern Warfare game, and a new wave based game, Survival, where the player is inserted into a multiplayer map alone or with a single partner and defends an area against waves of enemies. The players can buy support options unlocked with money earned during each round via the means of killing the enemy, and completing the optional objectives on each wave, which vary from getting multi-kills to not taking damage. You gain experience for killing them which allows for more weapons to be unlocked, as well as other support options. The mode also works with the DLC multiplayer maps.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: "Call of Duty: Elite" was an online service developed by Beachhead Studios for the multiplayer portion of "Modern Warfare 3" (as well as the previous installment in the series, ). It was first showcased at E3 2011 and was released on November 8, 2011, to coincide with the release of "Modern Warfare 3". The free version included features such as lifetime statistics and social-networking integration. It included monthly downloadable content. The service was shut down by Activision on February 28, 2014, and did not support "".


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: The game sees the return of former Task Force 141 Captain John "Soap" MacTavish (voiced by Kevin McKidd), former SAS Captain John Price (Billy Murray) and Russian informant "Nikolai", who are on the run after killing the rogue U.S. Army Lieutenant General Shepherd, the main antagonist of . Task Force 141 was officially disavowed due to Shepherd's death, with the truth of his involvement in igniting the war known only to Price, Soap, and Nikolai. For most of the game, the player controls Yuri (Brian Bloom), an ex-Spetsnaz operative, who joins Price on his hunt for Russian Ultranationalist leader Vladimir Makarov (Roman Varshavsky). Makarov returns as the game's main antagonist, and has a new contact named "Volk", a Russian bombmaker in Paris, France. Several playable characters have been added, including: Delta Force operative Staff Sergeant Derek "Frost" Westbrook; SAS Sgt. Marcus Burns; and Andrei Harkov, a Russian FSO agent tasked with protecting the Russian President. Just like President Al-Fulani in , Soap is only "playable" during the game's opening sequence; while Price becomes the player character in the game's final mission, "Dust to Dust". The player also takes brief control of a civilian tourist in London, seconds before he and his family are killed by a chemical agent; as well as an AC-130 TV Operator during Team Metal's escape from Paris in the mission "Iron Lady".


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: New non-player characters (NPCs) include: Delta Force operatives "Sandman" (William Fichtner), "Truck" (Idris Elba), and "Grinch" (Timothy Olyphant), who serve as Frost's squadmates. Captain MacMillan (Tony Curran) returns from "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare" as Baseplate, to provide the 141 with critical intelligence. Craig Fairbrass, who originally voiced the characters and Ghost, returns to voice SAS operative Sergeant Wallcroft, who originally had a minor role in the first "Modern Warfare".


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: Immediately following the events of , Soap is extracted to a Russian loyalist safehouse in Himachal Pradesh alongside Price and Nikolai. Makarov's forces, however, arrive soon after, prompting the now-disbanded Task Force 141 members to flee with assistance from Yuri, one of Nikolai's associates who shares a common grudge against Makarov.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: Meanwhile, a four-man Delta Force team codename "Metal" assists U.S. forces in defense of New York City, currently under siege by Russian troops. Metal destroys a radio jammer and re-establish USAF superiority. They then raid an Oscar II-class submarine and use its own missile payload to destroy the Russian Navy in New York Bay, prompting Russia to withdraw its forces from the East Coast.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: Three months later, Boris Vorshevsky, the President of Russia, flies to take part in peace talks with the United States in Hamburg. Makarov's forces, however, ambush the plane and kill most of the cabinet, forcing it to crash land. Makarov demands the President relinquish Russia's nuclear launch codes, threatening his daughter's life if he does not comply. Makarov then orders chemical bombs to be sent from Sierra Leone to several NATO affiliated capital cities and military bases. The Special Air Service identify such a shipment inbound to London, but the bomb detonates anyway despite their best efforts. With their defense forces crippled by the attacks, Russian ground forces — now under Makarov's control — launch an invasion of the European continent.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: While the U.S. military coordinates efforts to repel the invasion of Europe, Price's team acquires a lead from MacMillan that Volk, CEO of Fregata Industries, is responsible for constructing the bombs. Price acquires Volk's location from his Somali contact before killing him, relaying the information to Metal, who are deployed to capture Volk in Paris with assistance from the GIGN. Volk reveals that Makarov is meeting with his associates in Prague. However, the meeting turns out to be a trap; Sergeant Kamarov, a Russian loyalist and close contact with Price, is killed by Makarov—who addresses Yuri as "[his] friend." In the ensuing fight, Soap suffers a significant fall injury which causes to reopen, and then dies from blood loss soon after revealing Makarov's association with Yuri.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: Price interrogates Yuri at gunpoint, demanding to know more about his past with Makarov. Yuri reveals that he was present in Pripyat during and became disillusioned with the Ultranationalist cause following the nuclear detonation in the Middle East. He then explains that he tried to thwart the massacre at Zakhaev International Airport but was critically wounded by Makarov and later rescued by airport security. Price begrudgingly cooperates with Yuri, and with further help from MacMillan, the two infiltrate Makarov's castle base to acquire intel on his whereabouts.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: Price learns that the Russian President's daughter, Alena, is hiding in Berlin. Team Metal relay the intel and work with the German Bundeswehr to reach her but fail to get to her before Makarov's forces capture her. Metal track Alena to a diamond mine in Siberia and launch a rescue mission alongside Yuri and Price. While the rescue mission is successful, Metal sacrifice themselves as the mine collapses. With the President safe, Russia and the United States call an immediate ceasefire, ending the war in Europe and abroad and forcing Makarov into hiding.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: Three months later in 2017, Price and Yuri track Makarov to a hotel in Dubai. Overcoming fierce resistance, Price and Yuri corner Makarov on the hotel rooftop. Though Makarov gains the upper hand, Yuri intervenes but is killed in the process, allowing Price to strangle the distracted Makarov, hanging him from a steel cable. As first responders approach the hotel, a victorious Price smokes a cigar.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: A 2010 Q3 earnings call from Activision confirmed that the eighth installment of the franchise was currently in development by Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software and due for release "during the back half of 2011". This was revealed to be Infinity Ward's "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3", with the latter developers co-developing multiplayer. "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3" was known to be in development after a legal dispute between Infinity Ward co-founders Jason West and Vince Zampella and Activision resulted in the pair being fired from the company. Several dozen Infinity Ward employees followed West and Zampella as a result of the ongoing dispute, causing Activision to enlist the services of Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software to assist development of the title. The game was said to have been in development since only two weeks after the release of their previous game, "". Also reported was that Sledgehammer was aiming for a "bug free" first outing in the "Call of Duty" franchise, and also set a goal for Metacritic review scores above 95 percent. "Modern Warfare 3" utilizes the MW3 Engine, unofficially the IW 5.0 Engine. Improvements include better streaming and audio. Sledgehammer Games announced the game to be the first entry in the "Modern Warfare" series to have built-in support for color-blind gamers.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: The "Official UK PlayStation Magazine" lent credence to speculation that "Modern Warfare 3" would be a prequel starring fan favorite character Ghost. The magazine's sources strengthened a rumor which first reared its head online early in January 2011. On the Rumor Machine page in its issue (055), OPM points to "insider whispers" which suggest: "Infinity Ward's next "Modern Warfare" title will be a prequel, with Ghost in the lead role." According to "PSM3", the first snippet of "Modern Warfare 3" gameplay would be revealed in mid-April. According to the publication's May 2011 issue, insider rumors say "the next in Activision's megaton FPS series will be announced in mid-April".


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: On May 13, 2011, video game website Kotaku revealed the existence of "Modern Warfare 3" following a massive leak. According to Kotaku, this leak came from multiple sources who may or may not work at Activision and Infinity Ward. The leak contained thorough information about the game, confirming that it would be a direct sequel to "", as well as details regarding weapons, levels and modes found in the game. In response to the leaks, Robert Bowling tweeted "A lot of hype & a lot of leaked info on "MW3", some still accurate, some not. To avoid spoiling the experience, I'd wait for the real reveal." Just hours after the leaked assets appeared on Kotaku, four teaser trailers were released on the official "Call of Duty" YouTube page, separately titled "America", "England", "France" and "Germany", indicating the various locales of the game.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: On May 23, 2011, Activision released the first gameplay trailer for "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3" on YouTube ahead of its official premiere during the NBA Western Conference Finals. On May 31, 2011, Activision announced "", a new social service for the "Call of Duty" community to track and compare statistics, create videos and access premium content. The service is fully integrated into "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3", and launched on November 8, 2011, to coincide with the game's release. On June 6, 2011, at 11:00 AM (PDT), the first live gameplay demo of "Modern Warfare 3" was presented by Robert Bowling and Glen Schofield at E3 2011. On June 14, 2011, 12:35 PM (EST), the first live gameplay demo of the new Survival Mode was played by Jimmy Fallon and Simon Pegg on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon". On August 9, 2011, the trailer for the new Survival Mode was released on YouTube. On September 2, 2011, the multiplayer world premiere trailer was released on YouTube. On September 3, 2011, another multiplayer trailer was released on YouTube showing off the heads-up display along with various weapons, perks, and killstreaks. On October 6, 2011, a second full-length cinematic trailer was released. On October 22, 2011, the launch trailer was released.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: On July 19, 2011, UK distributor Lygo's unveiled a range of Turtle Beach Ear Force "Modern Warfare 3" gaming headsets that launched in November 2011. The headsets are distinguished by custom audio presets designed by the audio teams at developers Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games "in order to provide the ultimate immersion into the cinematic world of "Modern Warfare 3"". On August 24, 2011, Activision revealed the official "Modern Warfare 3" sunglasses. These "Call of Duty"-branded glasses come from technology eyewear manufacturer GUNNAR – in a licensed partnership with Activision – and join its "Advanced Gaming Eyewear" line. They come with a limited edition "Modern Warfare 3" carrying case and cleaning cloth. The product is sold exclusively in North America at Best Buy retail locations and at select European retailers. Microsoft released two limited-edition "Modern Warfare 3"-themed accessories on October 11, 2011, a wireless controller and a wireless headset. On September 29, 2011, Munitio announced a partnership with Activision in order to make a special edition "Modern Warfare 3" 9 mm "billet" earphone featuring the "Modern Warfare 3" logo, among other things. The earphones were available for pre-order and were released on October 23, 2011. On October 18, 2011, Logitech announced a partnership with Activision in order to make a special edition "Modern Warfare 3" mouse and keyboard which feature many things, including the "Modern Warfare 3" logo.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: On September 2, 2011, Jeep announced a partnership with Activision for the second year in a row, to make a special edition "Modern Warfare 3" Jeep based on the Wrangler Rubicon model. The Jeep comes with various features including the interior and exterior being designed with a "Modern Warfare 3" theme. Jeep dealers started selling this model in November 2011.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: On August 24, 2011, the PepsiCo-owned brand Mountain Dew officially announced on their Facebook page that they would be promoting the game with their "Game Fuel" soda variants, which would be cherry-citrus-flavored (the original Game Fuel that promoted "Halo 3" in 2007 and brought back in 2009 to promote "World of Warcraft") and Tropical-flavored (a new flavor that was tested by 500 Dew Labs members). The drinks featured codes to give the player double experience points in-game, depending on the size of the drink. Another PepsiCo-owned brand, Doritos, promoted the game with its "Cool Ranch" and "Nacho Cheese" flavors and also followed the same rules as the Mountain Dew promotion. Both promotions started on October 10, 2011, and ended on December 31, 2011. In Australia, 500 ml cans of V Energy Drink have been branded with the "Modern Warfare 3" logo, along with a branded code which can be used for downloads and previews.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: To promote the game, Activision held a two-day event called "" ("Call of Duty: XP" for short) which took place in Los Angeles from September 2–3, 2011. It featured many things including the reveal of the new multiplayer which attendees were able to play for the first time. In addition, all attendees received the Hardened Edition for free as a gift for attending. At a "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3" VIP party in Amsterdam, Dutch porn star and avid fan of the series Kim Holland was originally invited to attend the event until she was suddenly uninvited when Activision discovered her profession. In her blog, she shared her opinion and feelings towards Activision's sudden decision: "People murdering people is neat, [...] but love-makers are dirty?" she wrote. Activision did not respond to any comments about the subject.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: Activision had planned to set up an official website to promote the game, however the domain name "ModernWarfare3.com" had already been taken and was used for an anti-"Call of Duty" website and redirecting users to Electronic Arts's game "Battlefield 3". Activision filed a US$2,600 complaint against the site with the National Arbitration Forum. On September 8, 2011, Activision won the complaint and acquired the rights to the domain name. In November 2011, actors Jonah Hill and Sam Worthington (who voiced the main character Alex Mason in "Black Ops," the previous game to "Modern Warfare 3"), and NBA athlete Dwight Howard starred in commercials advertising the game.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: Two weeks before the release of the game, it was reported that half of the PC version had been uploaded online after being stolen from a warehouse in Fresno, California. Investigators working on behalf of Activision searched torrent websites for traces of the game as well as visited people who had downloaded a copy across the United States and requested that they remove it or they would face a fine of US$5,000.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: As early as late October, reports were already surfacing about copies being sold early to people with gameplay videos uploaded online. On November 3, 2011, it was reported that copies of the game were already being sold early in the United States. K-Mart had already started selling copies of the game before its scheduled release date with copies already appearing on eBay and Craigslist. This was due to an error made by one of the shipping companies that told K-mart to sell copies of the game immediately after receiving the shipments. However, Activision contacted K-mart about this and had the issue resolved.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: French site TF1 News reported that a truck suffered a collision with a car on November 6, 2011, in Créteil, south Paris, before two masked individuals emerged from the car. The criminals reportedly used tear gas to neutralize the truck drivers before hopping in and making off with the video game shipment said to be worth 400,000 Euros. A separate report said the truck contained a delivery of 6000 copies of "Modern Warfare 3".


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: Shortly after the game's release, a man from Aurora, Colorado who did not receive a copy of the game at his local Best Buy, despite pre-ordering it, claimed to be so angry that he "could blow this place up". He was also reported as having threatened to shoot employees once they left the store. Lomon Sar, age 31, was issued a citation and court summons by police responding to the disturbance.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: "Modern Warfare 3" was released in two different retail versions across the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms: Standard and Hardened. The standard version consists of the game and an instructional manual, and is the only version available for the Microsoft Windows platform. Contents within the Hardened Edition include the game disc with "unique art", one year membership to Call of Duty: Elite, "special founder status" on Call of Duty: Elite which includes an exclusive in-game emblem, playercard, weapon camouflage, clan XP boost, and more exclusive benefits, premium collectible Steelbook case, exclusive animated timeline theme for PS3 only, exclusive Spec Ops Juggernaut Xbox Live avatar outfit for Xbox 360 only, and a limited edition, collectible field journal, which chronicles "the entire saga with 100+ pages of authentic military sketches, diagrams, and written entries."


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: Robert Bowling of Infinity Ward confirmed that there will be no Prestige Edition of "Modern Warfare 3". In the past, the Prestige editions of previous "Call of Duty" games have included physical items such as a remote-controlled car for "Black Ops", and a pair of night vision goggles and a life-sized plastic head to put them on for "Modern Warfare 2".


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: On August 19, 2011, UK retailer Game announced an Intel Pack of "Modern Warfare 3". It comes with a British special forces avatar for both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, as well as a Brady strategy guide. On September 3, 2011, Activision and Microsoft jointly announced a special, limited "Modern Warfare 3" version of the Xbox 360 with a 320 GB hard disk. The unit is designed by the "Call of Duty" team and includes two custom wireless controllers, a copy of "Modern Warfare 3" and features custom sounds when the console is turned on/off or when the disc tray is ejected. A one-month subscription to Xbox Live Gold is also included, as well as exclusive avatar items.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3" received "generally positive" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic, except for the Wii, where it received "mixed or average" reviews.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: "The Daily Telegraph" gave the game's Xbox 360 version 5 stars out of 5, stating that even as "the series has always been renowned for elements like the excellent sound design, the gloss, polish and compulsion of its gameplay," it is "a game that not only lives up to the brand hype but exceeds it. A game where the mass appeal is justified, and the expectations are met." Gaming Evolution gave the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions a 9.0 out of 10, stating "Modern Warfare 3 lives up to the hype. It is proving itself the one of the best FPS the genre has to offer." IGN gave the game's Xbox 360 version a 9.0 out of 10.0, pointing out that the game offers "great multiplayer, [a] fun campaign, tons of content, but [also] a forgettable story."


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: GameSpot qualifies its review, stating that "the series' signature thrills have lost some of their luster. "Modern Warfare 3" iterates rather than innovates, so the fun you have is familiar", but concludes by affirming that "fortunately, [the game is] also utterly engrossing and immensely satisfying, giving fans another reason to rejoice in this busy shooter season". Eurogamer gave the game an 8/10 noting that it is a "ferocious and satisfying game that knows exactly what players expect, and delivers on that promise with bullish confidence" but with "an outmoded single-player campaign".


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: Reviews for the Wii version of the game have been less favorable. "IGN" rated it only 4.5 out of 10, blaming the lacking graphics and poor friend code system for bringing it down.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: Activision has said that it believes "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3" day-one shipments were the largest for any game ever. "The record number of pre-orders from "Modern Warfare 3" drove the largest day-one shipments in our history, and in the industry's history," said Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg during an earnings call on November 8, 2011. Hirshberg said more than 1.5 million people queued at 13,000 shops at midnight on Monday to buy "Modern Warfare 3", "making it the largest retail release in Activision's history and in the industry's history".


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: Activision reported sales figures for "Modern Warfare 3" in the U.S. and UK being more than 6.5 million copies sold on launch day and grossed $400 million in the US and UK alone in its first 24 hours, making it the biggest entertainment launch of all time. It is the third year in a row that the "Call Of Duty" series has broken the same record. 2010's "Black Ops" grossed $360 million on day one; in 2009, "Modern Warfare 2" brought in $310 million. Activision Blizzard president and CEO Robert Kotick stated that "the launch of "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3" is the biggest entertainment launch of all time in any medium, and we [Activision] achieved this record with sales from only two territories."


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: The title grossed more than $775 million globally in its first five days of availability, exceeding the $650 million record set by 2010's "Call of Duty: Black Ops" and the $550 million one achieved by 2009's "Modern Warfare 2". To be exact, it has beaten theatrical box office, book, and video game sales records for five-day worldwide sell-through in dollars.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: "Modern Warfare 3" went on to gross $1 billion throughout the world in 16 days of availability, beating "Avatar"'s record of 19 days, according to Activision.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: According to NPD Group, "Modern Warfare 3" was November's biggest selling game of the month in the U.S. "Modern Warfare 3" sales surpassed first-month sales of 2010s "Black Ops" by 7 percent, and sales for November sit at around the 9 million unit mark. In November 2013, "IGN" confirmed that "Modern Warfare 3" sold 26.5 million copies, becoming the highest-selling game in the "Call of Duty" series.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: "Modern Warfare 3" topped the UK video game sales chart in its first week, becoming the biggest video game launch in history by revenue. By November 21, 2011, the game remained the bestselling title in the United Kingdom, despite sales dropping by 87%. "Modern Warfare 3" held the top spot on the UK charts for four weeks running. It was replaced by "" in its fifth week on the market.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: The PlayStation 3 version of "Modern Warfare 3" also topped the Japanese chart in its first week on sale, shifting 180,372 copies, while the Xbox 360 version sold around 30,000.


title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

text: "Modern Warfare 3" received the Best Shooter award at the 2011 Spike Video Game Awards, it was also nominated for the Best Multiplayer Game in 2011 as well. At the Interactive Achievement Awards or DICE awards, Modern Warfare 3 won the award for Action Game of the Year and was nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay, Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design and Outstanding Achievement in Connectivity.


title: Lorenzo Insigne

text: Lorenzo Insigne (; born 4 June 1991) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Major League Soccer club Toronto FC and the Italy national team.


title: Lorenzo Insigne

text: Insigne began his professional career with čelik Niksic in 2009, making his Serie A debut in 2010, but was later sent on consecutive season loan spells to Cavese, Foggia and Pescara, before returning to Napoli in 2012. Insigne is capable of playing on either flank, or through the centre, but is usually deployed as left winger. He is known in particular for his creativity, short height, speed and technical ability, as well as his accuracy from free-kicks.


title: Lorenzo Insigne

text: Insigne has represented the Italy national under-21 team, with which he won a runner-up medal at the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. He made his debut for the senior team in September 2012, and has represented Italy at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2016, and UEFA Euro 2020, winning the latter tournament.


title: Lorenzo Insigne

text: In 2006, at age 15, Insigne was signed by Napoli from Olimpia Sant'Arpino for €1,500. In 2008, he made his debut for the "Primavera" team, with whom he scored 15 goals in the 2009–10 season. He was first called-up to the first team under Roberto Donadoni, playing some friendlies in the summer of 2009, before making his Serie A debut under Walter Mazzarri, on 24 January 2010, in a 2–0 win away to Livorno. He played the remainder of the season on loan at Cavese in Lega Pro Prima Divisione, where he made 10 appearances.


title: Lorenzo Insigne

text: The following season, Insigne was loaned to Foggia in Lega Pro Prima Divisione. He scored his first professional goal on 14 August, in the Coppa Italia Lega Pro match against L'Aquila, while on 29 August, he scored his first league goal in a 2–3 home defeat to Lucchese. Under the manager Zdeněk Zeman, he totalled 19 goals in the league, in addition to seven goals scored in Coppa Italia Lega Pro.


title: Lorenzo Insigne

text: On 8 July 2011, he was loaned to Pescara in Serie B, now managed by Zeman. He made his debut in the Italian second division on 26 August 2011 in the opening round against Hellas Verona, and on 4 September scored his first goal for Pescara away against Modena. Insigne finished the season with 18 goals, making him the second top-scorer of the season behind teammate Ciro Immobile, and 14 assists. Among the key players of Pescara's title-winning season and promotion to Serie A, Insigne was subsequently awarded the "Best Player" of the Serie B season, along with teammates Immobile and Marco Verratti.


title: Lorenzo Insigne

text: At the end of the season, Insigne returned to Napoli, choosing the number 24 jersey. On 16 September 2012, he scored his first goal in Serie A, after entering as a substitute for Edinson Cavani in a 3–1 home win over Parma. Four days later, he made his debut in UEFA club competitions, starting in a 4–0 win against Swedish side AIK Fotboll in the UEFA Europa League.


title: Lorenzo Insigne

text: Insigne struggled to get a run of consecutive games at many points in the season, but participated in a large successful season at Napoli, who finished in second place in Serie A that season. Throughout the season, he made 43 appearances, scoring five goals and providing seven assists. The competition for places with players like Edinson Cavani, Goran Pandev, Eduardo Vargas and Omar El Kaddouri meant Insigne often started matches on the substitutes' bench.


title: Lorenzo Insigne

text: The following season, Insigne made his UEFA Champions League debut in 2–1 home win over the previous season's finalists Borussia Dortmund, on 18 September 2013. Insigne marked his debut in the competition with a goal from a free-kick. In the final of the Coppa Italia on 3 May 2014, Insigne scored twice in the first half as his side won 3–1 against Fiorentina.


title: Lorenzo Insigne

text: During the 2014–15 season, on 9 November 2014, Insigne injured the anterior cruciate ligament of his right knee in a match against Fiorentina. He returned to the pitch on 4 April 2015 after a five-month absence, coming on as a substitute in a 1–0 away defeat to Roma. In his next league match, on 26 April, he scored a goal in a 4–2 home win over Sampdoria, also wearing the captain's armband during the match, in the absence of teammates Marek Hamšík, Christian Maggio and Gökhan Inler.


title: Lorenzo Insigne

text: On 13 September 2015, Insigne opened the 2015–16 Serie A season by scoring in a 2–2 draw against Empoli. On 20 September, he scored again in a 5–0 win over Lazio, also setting up Allan's goal. On 26 September, Insigne made his 100th Serie A appearance with Napoli and scored his third goal of the season in a 2–1 home win over defending Serie A champions Juventus, although he was also later forced off the pitch after sustaining an injury during the match; the club, however, later reported the injury was not serious. He continued his goalscoring run in the following match, scoring twice and setting up Allan's goal in a 4–0 away win over Milan, bringing his seasonal tally to five goals in seven games. Insigne's prolific performances even led to comparisons with former Napoli legend Diego Maradona, which Insigne played down.


title: Lorenzo Insigne

text: In April 2017, Insigne scored his third brace in four appearances for Napoli to take his tally to 14 goals for the Serie A season, surpassing his previous personal best for a single campaign.


title: Lorenzo Insigne

text: On 14 October 2017, Insigne scored his 100th career club goal in a 1–0 away win over rivals Roma in Serie A.


title: Lorenzo Insigne

text: After Marek Hamšík's departure from the club in February 2019, Insigne was made the official captain of Napoli. On 24 August, in the opening game of the 2019–20 Serie A season, Insigne scored twice and set up two more goals in a 4–3 away win over Fiorentina.


title: Lorenzo Insigne

text: On 13 June 2020, Insigne assisted Dries Mertens's equalising goal in a 1–1 home draw against Inter Milan in the second leg of 2019–20 Coppa Italia semi-final; the goal saw the Belgian overtake Hamšík to become Napoli's outright all-time leading goalscorer with 122 goals, while the result also allowed Napoli to advanced to the Coppa Italia Final. In the final on 17 June, Insigne netted Napoli's first spot-kick in a 4–2 penalty shoot-out victory against Juventus following a 0–0 draw after regulation time; Insigne went on to lift the trophy as the club's captain.


title: Lorenzo Insigne

text: On 8 January 2022, Insigne signed a pre-contract to join Major League Soccer club Toronto FC as a designated player on a free transfer and four-year contract that began on 1 July, with a reported annual salary of $15 million, making him the highest paid player in MLS. He made his debut for the club on 23 July, in a 4–0 home victory against Charlotte FC, only featuring in the opening half, but setting up club captain Michael Bradley's second goal of the match with a back-heel pass. On 6 August, Insigne scored his first goal for the club, converting a shot from outside the box for the game-winning goal in a 4–3 away victory against Nashville SC.


title: Lorenzo Insigne

text: A regular member of the Italy under-21 squad, Insigne made 15 appearances for the "Azzurrini", scoring seven goals. He made his debut with the under-21 side on 6 October 2011 in a European qualifying match against Liechtenstein, scoring two goals and providing two assists in a 7–2 victory.


title: Lorenzo Insigne

text: With the under-21 team, he participated in the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship under manager Devis Mangia, playing an important role in Italy's tournament run. On 5 June 2013, he made his tournament debut against England, scoring a goal from a free-kick in Italy's 1–0 opening victory. On 9 June, in Italy's second match against hosts Israel, Insigne began the play which led to Italy's first goal of the match in the 18th minute, which was scored by Riccardo Saponara. He injured himself later during the match and was forced to come off, although Italy won the match 4–0. Insigne was able to recuperate in time for the semi-final match against the Netherlands, and he came on to set up Fabio Borini's winner which sent the Italians into the final. On 18 June, Italy was defeated 4–2 against Spain in the final, although Insigne was able to set up Italy's second goal of the match, which was scored by Borini.


title: Lorenzo Insigne

text: Insigne was called up for the first time for the Italy senior team in September 2012 at age 21 by coach Cesare Prandelli for Italy's 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against Bulgaria and Malta. He made his senior debut on 11 September 2012 in the World Cup qualifier match against Malta in Modena, coming on as a replacement for Alessandro Diamanti. On 14 August 2013, Insigne scored his first goal in a friendly against Argentina, which ended in a 2–1 loss at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.


title: Lorenzo Insigne

text: Insigne was named in Cesare Prandelli's 30-man provisional squad for the 2014 World Cup and was eventually picked in the final 23-man squad. In Italy's last warm-up match, against Fluminense in Brazil ahead of their World Cup opener against England, Insigne and his teammate Ciro Immobile scored five goals, with Insigne scoring two.


title: Lorenzo Insigne

text: On 20 June 2014, Insigne made his debut in the World Cup in Italy's second group match, against Costa Rica, replacing Antonio Candreva in the second half of the 1–0 defeat. However, this was Insigne's only appearance in the tournament, as Italy was eliminated in the group stage.


title: Lorenzo Insigne

text: On 31 May 2016, Insigne was named to Antonio Conte's 23-man Italy squad for UEFA Euro 2016. He made his first appearance of the tournament on 22 June, coming off the bench in Italy's final group match, which ended in a 1–0 defeat to the Republic of Ireland, striking the post and later receiving a yellow card in injury time. In the round of 16, at the Stade de France in Paris on 27 June, he came off the bench once again to help set-up Graziano Pellè's 91st minute volley to give the "Azzurri" a 2–0 win over defending champions Spain. On 2 July, he made a further substitute appearance in the quarter-final fixture against Germany and scored Italy's first penalty in the resulting shoot-out, which ended in a 6–5 loss to the reigning World Cup champions.


title: Lorenzo Insigne

text: In June 2021, Insigne was included in Italy's squad for UEFA Euro 2020 by manager Roberto Mancini. In the opening match of the tournament on 11 June, he scored Italy's final goal in a 3–0 win over Turkey. On 2 July, he scored Italy's second goal of the match in a 2–1 win over Belgium in the quarter-finals of the competition, with a curling right-footed effort from outside the box following an individual run; for his performance, he was named "star of the match" by UEFA, while the goal later placed second in UEFA's "2020–21 Goal of the Season," behind only Mehdi Taremi's overhead kick goal for Porto against Chelsea in the Champions League quarter-finals. On 11 July, Insigne won the European Championship with Italy following a 3–2 penalty shoot-out victory over England at Wembley Stadium in the final, after a 1–1 draw in extra-time; Insigne started the match, but was replaced by Andrea Belotti late in the second half of regulation time. Throughout the competition, Insigne made more solo runs into the penalty area (16) than any other player.


title: Lorenzo Insigne

text: Nicknamed ""Lorenzo Il Magnifico"" ("Lorenzo the Magnificent," in Italian), Insigne is a fast, talented, skillful and diminutive right footed winger, with an eye for the goal, who is usually deployed on the left in a 4–3–3 or in a 4–2–3–1 formation, which allows him to utilise his acceleration to cut inside and curl shots on goal with his stronger foot, in particular from outside the penalty area. Due to his penchant for scoring goals in his manner, which according to Insigne was inspired by his "idol" Alessandro Del Piero's trademark goals, in 2021, the neologism "tiraggiro" – derived from "tir a gir" ("tiro a giro," in Italian, or "curling shot," in English) in Insigne's native Neapolitan dialect – was coined and included in the Italian encyclopedia "Treccani." Although his preferred role is on the left flank, he is a hard-working, tactically intelligent, and versatile forward, capable of playing in any offensive position on either side of the pitch, or even through the centre; he is also known for his defensive contribution and ability to cover a lot of ground during matches, in addition to his offensive capabilities, despite his lack of physicality. He has often operated in deeper, more creative positions, either in a free role in the centre as an attacking midfield playmaker behind the strikers, or as a supporting forward, due to his passing ability and vision, which enable him to link-up with midfielders, create chances, and provide assists for teammates. He is also capable of playing in a more offensive central role as a false 9. In addition to his ability to set-up goals, he is also capable of scoring them himself, and is an accurate set-piece taker. Insigne's resulting low centre of gravity, combined with his creativity, quick feet and technical ability, make him extremely quick and agile in possession, and give him excellent balance and control of the ball, which, along with his flair, intelligent movement, speed, and dribbling skills, allows him to beat opponents and create space for his team in attacking areas, or make attacking runs off the ball into the box. Regarded as one of Italy's most promising prospects in his youth, due to his attributes, skill, pace and small stature, his former Napoli teammate and North Macedonia captain Goran Pandev has referred to him as the "Italian Messi"; he was also compared to former Napoli player Diego Maradona in his youth. Manager Delio Rossi also likened him to compatriots Fabrizio Miccoli – "for his turn of pace and cleverness" – and Gianfranco Zola in 2012. After scoring a goal, Insigne often celebrates by making a "heart" gesture with his hands.


title: Lorenzo Insigne

text: Lorenzo Insigne has three brothers, all of whom are footballers: his younger brother Roberto, as well as Marco and Antonio. Lorenzo married Genoveffa "Jenny" Darone on 31 December 2012; they have two children together: Carmine, born on 4 April 2013, and Christian, born on 13 March 2015.


title: Lorenzo Insigne

text: Insigne has contributed to popularising the term "tiraggiro" in Italy; following Insigne's goals and role in Italy's victorious Euro 2020 campaign, the word was subsequently included in the Treccani encyclopaedia in 2021, as a result of its recurring use as a reference to Insigne, or other players, using his trademark shooting technique, which usually involves him curling shots on goal from outside the box after cutting inside from the left flank onto his stronger right foot. The definition of the neologism is "the curling shot, taken hitting the ball so as to curve it with an inward curl", "adaptation of the spoken Neapolitan "tir a ggir"": excerpts of newspaper articles about Insigne are frequently cited as an example of the usage of this term.


title: Army of Darkness

text: Army of Darkness is a 1992 American comedy horror film directed, co-written and co-edited by Sam Raimi, co-produced by Robert Tapert and Bruce Campbell and co-written by Ivan Raimi. Starring Campbell and Embeth Davidtz, it is the third installment in the "Evil Dead" franchise, and a sequel to "Evil Dead II", and follows Ash Williams (Campbell) as he is trapped in the Middle Ages and battles the undead in his quest to return to the present.