title: Klaus Iohannis

text: Iohannis criticized Ukraine's 2017 education law, which makes Ukrainian the only language of education in state schools, and cancelled his visit to Kyiv in October 2017. Iohannis said that Ukraine's new education law "will drastically limit the access of minorities to education in their native language. We are deeply hurt by this. We have many Romanians in Ukraine."


title: Klaus Iohannis

text: President Klaus Iohannis is a supporter of the fight against corruption in Romania. Since coming to power in November 2014, has sent several messages of support to prosecutors investigating sensitive cases against politicians accused of corruption. Making one of its important position was on 25 February 2016 at the annual meeting of the National Anticorruption Directorate: "From year to year the work of the National Anticorruption Directorate has become more effective as the number of cases investigated and complexity, as well as final decisions on confiscation and recovery of property from crime. You are a model of functional institution and created a performance standard. Through the work and achievements, you've earned the appreciation of the Romanian citizens who want to live in a just society, in a country without corruption, the institutions, elect to represent them and those who perform public functions are actually serving the people. The results obtained by you in fighting corruption, appreciated and beyond Romania's borders are a guarantee that the process of strengthening democracy and the rule of law in Romania are on track. I am convinced that we will be increasingly more powerful in applying the constitutional principle that nobody is above the law and to align our established practice in countries with democracies that put the citizen at the center of any policy", stated Klaus Iohannis.


title: Klaus Iohannis

text: He has rejected demands for the suspension of the head of Romania's National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA), Laura Codruța Kövesi.


title: Klaus Iohannis

text: In terms of LGBT rights and recognition of same-sex unions in Romania, Iohannis has not stated clearly his opinion:


title: Klaus Iohannis

text: However, he is pleading for the acceptance of differences and diversity: "nobody should be persecuted because they belong to a different group or they are different".


title: Klaus Iohannis

text: Regarding the initiative to amend Article 48 of the Constitution (prohibition of gay marriage) started by the Coalition for Family (), Iohannis reiterated the concepts of tolerance and accepting one another. "It is wrong to give obedience or walk the path of religious fanaticism and ultimatum solicitations. I do not believe in them and do not support them. I believe in tolerance, trust and openness to other", said Iohannis in a press conference. Thus, Iohannis is the first top official in the country to open the discussion about same-sex marriages. His reaction was praised by international media, including "The Washington Post", while religious and conservative organizations in Romania have criticized his position on LGBT rights.


title: Klaus Iohannis

text: Iohannis has said that migration "has to be controlled" and "it affects Romanian habits" and has supported stronger external European borders. Iohannis accepted the migration quota set for his country by the EU, but said he is still opposed to mandatory quotas being set by the commission.


title: Klaus Iohannis

text: In February 2016, the National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF) sent a notice of evacuation of the headquarters of two TV stations owned by Dan Voiculescu, sentenced in August 2014 to 10 years imprisonment in a corruption case with 60 million euros worth of prejudice. In this context, Klaus Iohannis stated that ANAF approach in Antena TV Group case is "hasty", "inappropriate" and that "freedom of expression in media can not be suppressed for trivial administrative reasons". His position was met with a wave of criticism from supporters and public figures. On the same note, Iohannis stated that union with Moldova is "a less serious approach" in the context of the Transnistria conflict, of differences between Romania and Moldova regarding economic stability and fighting corruption, and can be discussed when things are stable in both countries. The statement sparked indignation among unionists who accused him of demagogy, considering that during the electoral campaign of 2014 he expressed a favorable position on the issue. In March 2018, at the 100th anniversary of the Union of Bessarabia with Romania, he was absent from a plenary vote regarding the issue.


title: Klaus Iohannis

text: He is considered the primary responsible for the 2021 Romanian political crisis, to the point that when asked in a CURS opinion poll from November 2021, 35% of respondents said that he is the main culprit for the said crisis. Critics consider him responsible for excluding the USR from the government during late 2021, and thereby allowing the PSD to be brought back to power. This happened on 25 November 2021, when the National Coalition for Romania was founded and the Ciucă Cabinet was sworn in. Two months later, he praised the new coalition, stating that "the Romanian political class has shown democratic maturity". Iohannis has also been criticized given the fact that during the two ruling years of the PSD-ALDE coalition (more specifically between 2017 and 2019), he sharply criticized the PSD. At the 2020 legislative elections, he called the electorate to vote, promising to get rid of the PSD. Some public figures in Romania, who in the past expressed their support for Klaus Iohannis, have criticized him for his double standard and lack of proper governance. These critics include Vladimir Tismăneanu, Tudor Chirilă, , Mircea Cărtărescu, Andrei Oișteanu, , , Cristian Tudor Popescu, and Gabriel Liiceanu. Critics claim that, since 2020, Iohannis' leadership has become increasingly illiberal (claim also supported by Radio Free Europe) and authoritarian, as well as kleptocratic and corrupt. Despite the fact that, officially, the President of Romania is not affiliated with any political party, Iohannis is also regarded as the "de facto" leader of the National Liberal Party.


title: Sludge metal

text: Sludge metal (also known as sludge or sludge doom) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that originated through combining elements of doom metal and hardcore punk. It is typically harsh and abrasive, often featuring shouted vocals, heavily distorted instruments and sharply contrasting tempos. The Melvins from the US state of Washington produced the first sludge metal albums in the mid-late 1980s.


title: Sludge metal

text: The key characteristics of both sludge and doom metal are a slow tempo combined with down-tuned, heavily-distorted guitars to deliver the heaviest feel that is possible. The drummer must be able to lead the band through the slow parts of a piece with an accurate time feel, which is much harder to achieve when compared with playing faster pieces. Sludge metal includes sections of the aggression, shouted vocals and occasional fast tempos of hardcore punk.


title: Sludge metal

text: As "The New York Times" wrote on The Melvins, "The shorthand term for the kind of rock descending from early Black Sabbath and late Black Flag is "sludge", because it's so slow and dense." According to "Metal Hammer", sludge metal "[s]pawned from a messy collision of Black Sabbath's downcast metal, Black Flag's tortured hardcore and the sub/dom grind of early Swans, shaken up with lashings of cheap whisky and bad pharmaceuticals". Mike IX Williams, vocalist for Eyehategod, suggests that "the moniker of sludge apparently has to do with the slowness, the dirtiness, the filth and general feel of decadence the tunes convey".


title: Sludge metal

text: Due to the similarities between sludge and stoner metal, there is often a crossover between the two genres, but sludge metal generally avoids stoner metal's usage of psychedelia.


title: Sludge metal

text: In the early 1980s, the Seattle branch of the indie movement was influenced by punk rock, however it removed its speed and its structure and added elements of metal. The Melvins slowed down punk rock to develop their own slow, heavy, sludgy sound. In 1984, the punk rock band Black Flag went visiting small towns across the US to bring punk to the more remote parts of the country. By this time their music had become slow and sludgy, less like the Sex Pistols and more like Black Sabbath. Krist Novoselic (later the bass player with Nirvana) recalls going along with the Melvins to see one of these shows, after which the Melvins front man Buzz Osborne began writing "slow and heavy riffs" to form a dirge–like music that was the beginning of northwest grunge. In the remoteness of Montesano, Washington, the Melvins were able to experiment without fear of rejection but also to reach an audience and interact with other bands. Initially, the Melvins played fast hardcore punk, and when other bands were doing the same they slowed down as much as they could and added heavy metal into their mix.


title: Sludge metal

text: The Melvins' "Six Songs" (1986) is regarded as the first sludge album, with "Gluey Porch Treatments" (1987) regarded as the first post-punk sludge album. The hardcore punk spasms that the Melvins mixed into the dirge-like songs of "Gluey Porch Treatments" provides one of the key differences that distinguishes sludge from doom metal. At this time, the band was also key in the development of the Washington grunge scene. The Nirvana single "Love Buzz/Big Cheese" (1988) was described by their record label Sub Pop as "heavy pop sludge". The Seattle music author and journalist Gillian G. Gaar writes that Nirvana's first studio album Bleach (1989) "does have its share – some would say more than its share – of dirty sludge".


title: Sludge metal

text: The American music author and journalist Michael Azerrad described the short-lived Seattle band Blood Circus (1988) as a sludge metal band, with rock journalist Ned Raggett writing in AllMusic describing the band's music as "rough and ready, sludgy guitar rock with a bad attitude". Examples of crossover tracks between sludge and grunge include Soundgarden's "Slaves & Bulldozers" (1991) and Alice in Chains' "Sludge Factory" (1995). Soundgarden is described as having demonstrated both the good and bad aspects of fusing punk and sludge metal.


title: Sludge metal

text: Key bands in the development of sludge metal include Acid Bath, Buzzoven, Corrupted, Crowbar, Down, Eyehategod, and Grief in addition to the Melvins. By the late 1990s, small sludge scenes could be found across many countries.


title: Sludge metal

text: By the early 2000s, sludge metal had formed cross-over works with stoner metal. Examples of cross-over tracks between sludge and stoner metal include Bongzilla – "Gateway" (2002) and High on Fire – "The Yeti" (2002).


title: Sludge metal

text: Eyehategod formed in Harvey, Louisiana, in 1988 and is credited with originating a new style - New Orleans hardcore-edged sludge. Another point of view is that New Orleans was the birthplace of the sludgecore movement, with Eyehategod being given the most credit for it. Sludgecore combines sludge metal with hardcore punk, and possesses a slow pace, a low guitar tuning, and a grinding dirge-like feel. Bands regarded as sludgecore include Acid Bath, Eyehategod, and Soilent Green, and all three formed in Louisiana. Crowbar formed in 1991 and mixed "detuned, lethargic sludged-out metal with hardcore and southern elements". According to rock journalist Steve Huey writing in AllMusic, Eyehategod was a sludge metal band that became part of the "Southern sludgecore scene". This scene also included Crowbar and Down, with all three bands being influenced by Black Flag, Black Sabbath, and the Melvins. Some of these bands incorporated Southern rock influences.


title: Sludge metal

text: Eyehategod's debut album "In the Name of Suffering" includes slow-paced songs similar to early Melvins, but contains a few fast-tempo hardcore punk passages. The guitars (electric guitar and bass guitar) are often played with large amounts of feedback. Vocals are usually shouted or screamed. The lyrics of Crowbar are generally pessimistic in nature. Buzzoven lyrics concerning drug abuse, and Acid Bath concerning rape, abortion, death, and self-loathing can be found.


title: Gary Player

text: Gary James Player DMS, OIG (born 1 November 1935) is a South African retired professional golfer who is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. During his career, Player won nine major championships on the regular tour and nine major championships on the Champions Tour. At the age of 29, Player won the 1965 U.S. Open and became the only non-American to win all four majors in a career, known as the career Grand Slam. At the time, he was the youngest player to do this, though Jack Nicklaus (26) and Tiger Woods (24) subsequently broke this record. Player became only the third golfer in history to win the Career Grand Slam, following Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen, and only Nicklaus and Woods have performed the feat since. He won over 150 professional tournaments on six continents over seven decades and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974.


title: Gary Player

text: Nicknamed the Black Knight, Mr. Fitness, and the International Ambassador of Golf, he is also a renowned golf course architect with more than 400 design projects on five continents throughout the world.


title: Gary Player

text: Player has also authored or co-written 36 books on golf instruction, design, philosophy, motivation and fitness.


title: Gary Player

text: The Player Group operates The Player Foundation, which has a primary objective of promoting underprivileged education around the world. In 1983, The Player Foundation established the Blair Atholl Schools in Johannesburg, South Africa, which has educational facilities for more than 500 students from kindergarten through eighth grade. In 2013 it celebrated its 30th anniversary with charity golf events in London, Palm Beach, Shanghai and Cape Town, bringing its total of funds raised to over US$60 million.


title: Gary Player

text: On 7 January 2021, Player was awarded, and accepted, the Presidential Medal of Freedom by United States President Donald Trump.


title: Gary Player

text: Player was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, the youngest of Harry and Muriel Player's three children. When he was eight years old his mother died from cancer. Although his father was often away from home working in the gold mines, he did manage to take a loan in order to buy a set of clubs for Gary to begin playing golf. The Virginia Park golf course in Johannesburg is where Player first began his love affair with golf. At the age of 14, Player played his first round of golf and parred the first three holes. At age 16, he announced that he would become number one in the world. At age 17, he became a professional golfer.


title: Gary Player

text: Player married wife Vivienne Verwey (sister of professional golfer Bobby Verwey) on 19 January 1957, four years after turning professional. Together they had six children: Jennifer, Marc, Wayne, Michele, Theresa, and Amanda. He also has 22 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren. During the early days of his career Player would travel from tournament to tournament with his wife, six children, their nanny and a tutor in tow. Vivienne died of cancer in August 2021.


title: Gary Player

text: Player's eldest son, Marc, owns and operates The Player Group, which exclusively represents Player in all his commercial activities, including all endorsements, licensing, merchandising, golf course design, and real estate development.


title: Gary Player

text: Player is the brother of Ian Player, a South African environmental educator, activist and conservationist.


title: Gary Player

text: Player is one of the most successful golfers in history, tied for fourth in major championship victories with nine. Along with Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus he is often referred to as one of "The Big Three" golfers of his era – from the late 1950s through the late 1970s – when golf boomed in the United States and around the world and was greatly encouraged by expanded television coverage. Along with Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods, he is one of only five players to win golf's "career Grand Slam". He completed the Grand Slam in 1965 at the age of twenty-nine. Player was the second multiple majors winner from South Africa, following Bobby Locke, then was followed by Ernie Els, and Retief Goosen.


title: Gary Player

text: Player competed regularly on the U.S. based PGA Tour from the late 1950s. He led the Tour money list in 1961, and went on to accumulate 24 career Tour titles. He also played an exceptionally busy schedule all over the world, and he has been called the world's most traveled athlete. Player has logged more than in air travel – in 2005 it was estimated that he had "probably flown further…than any athlete in history".


title: Gary Player

text: He has more victories than anyone else in the South African Open (13) and the Australian Open (7). He held the record for most victories in the World Match Play Championship, with five wins, from 1973 until 1991 when this feat was equalled by Seve Ballesteros, finally losing his share of the record in 2004, when Ernie Els won the event for the sixth time. Player was in the top ten of Mark McCormack's world golf rankings from their inception in 1968 until 1981; he was ranked second in 1969, 1970 and 1972, each time to Jack Nicklaus.


title: Gary Player

text: He was the only player in the 20th century to win the British Open in three different decades. His first win, as a 23-year-old in 1959 at Muirfield, came after he double-bogeyed the last hole. In 1974, he became one of the few golfers in history to win two major championships in the same season. Player last won the Masters in 1978, when he started seven strokes behind 54-hole leader Hubert Green entering the final round, and won by one shot with birdies at seven of the last 10 holes for a back nine 30 and a final round 64. One week later, Player again came from seven strokes back in the final round to win the Tournament of Champions. In 1984, at the age of 48 Player nearly became the oldest ever major champion, finishing in second place behind Lee Trevino at the PGA Championship. And in gusty winds at the 1998 Masters, he became the oldest golfer ever to make the cut, breaking the 25-year-old record set by Sam Snead. Player credited this feat to his dedication to the concept of diet, health, practice and golf fitness.


title: Gary Player

text: Player has occasionally been accused of cheating, particularly in the 1974 Open; he has strongly denied the accusations. Later, at a skins game in Arizona in 1983, Tom Watson accused him of cheating by moving a leaf from behind his ball.


title: Gary Player

text: Being South African, Player never played in the Ryder Cup in which American and European golfers compete against each other. Regarding the event, Player remarked, "The things I have seen in the Ryder Cup have disappointed me. You are hearing about hatred and war." He was no longer an eligible player when the Presidents Cup was established to give international players the opportunity to compete in a similar event, but he was non-playing captain of the International Team for the Presidents Cup in 2003, which was held on a course he designed, The Links at Fancourt, in George, South Africa. After 2003 ended in a tie, he was reappointed as captain for the 2005 Presidents Cup, and his team lost to the Americans 15.5 to 18.5. Both Player and Jack Nicklaus were appointed to captain their respective teams again in 2007 in Canada; the United States won.


title: Gary Player

text: The green jacket is reserved for Augusta National members and golfers who win the Masters Tournament. Jackets are kept on club grounds, and taking them off the premises is forbidden. The exception is for the winner, who can take it home and return it to the club the following year. Player, who became the tournament's first international winner in 1961, said he did not know that. After winning, he packed the jacket and took it to his home in South Africa. That led to a call from club Chairman Clifford Roberts, who was a stickler for rules. "I didn't know you were supposed to leave it there," Player said. "Next thing you know, there was a call from Mr. Roberts."


title: Gary Player

text: In 2000, Player was voted "Sportsman of the Century" in South Africa. In 1966, he was awarded the Bob Jones Award, the highest honour given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974. The "Gary Player – A Global Journey" exhibition was launched by the Hall of Fame as of March 2006.


title: Gary Player

text: In 2002, Player was voted as the second greatest global golfer of all time by a panel of international media, golf magazines and fellow professionals conducted by the leading Golf Asia Magazine.


title: Gary Player

text: On 10 April 2009, he played for the last time in the Masters, where he was playing for his record 52nd time – every year since 1957 except for 1973, when he was recovering from surgery. After Nicklaus and Palmer, he was the last of the Big Three to retire from this tournament, which is a testament to his longevity.


title: Gary Player

text: At age 73 on 23 July 2009, Player competed in the Senior British Open Championship at Sunningdale Golf Club, 53 years after capturing his maiden European Tour victory at the Berkshire venue.


title: Gary Player

text: Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters announced on 5 July 2011 that Player had been invited to join Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer as an honorary starter. The Big Three were reunited in this capacity starting with the 2012 tournament.


title: Gary Player

text: In July 2013, he became the oldest athlete ever to pose nude in "ESPN The Magazine"'s annual Body Issue to inspire people to keep looking after themselves throughout their lives whatever their age.


title: Gary Player

text: Gary Player's business interests are exclusively represented by Black Knight International, which includes Gary Player Design, Player Real Estate, The Player Foundation, Gary Player Academies, and Black Knight Enterprises, aspects of which include licensing, events, publishing, wine, apparel and memorabilia. The Player Group, which operates The Player Foundation, is owned and managed by Marc Player.


title: Gary Player

text: The Player Foundation was established in 1983 by Marc Player and began as an effort to provide education, nutrition, medical care and athletic activities, for a small community of disadvantaged children living on the outskirts of Johannesburg, South Africa. The Player Foundation has since blossomed into an organisation that circles the globe bringing aid to underprivileged children and impoverished communities. Since its establishment, The Player Foundation has donated over $65 million to the support of children's charities, the betterment of impoverished communities and the expansion of educational opportunities throughout the world.


title: Gary Player

text: The foundation is primarily funded by donations, grants and the four Gary Player Invitational events presented through Black Knight International and staged in the United States, China, Europe and South Africa annually. The Gary Player Invitational is a pro-am tournament that pairs celebrities and professional golfers from the PGA and Champions Tours with businessmen and other local participants. The proceeds of these tournaments and other special events provide funding for an ever-expanding number of institutions around the world, including the Blair Atholl Schools in South Africa, the Pleasant City Elementary School in Palm Beach and the Masizame Children's Shelter in Plettenberg Bay, South Africa.


title: Gary Player

text: Proceeds from the Gary Player Invitational have also been donated to the Lord's Taverners in the UK and the following organisations in South Africa; Wildlands Conservation Trust, Twilight Children and Bana Development Centre.


title: Gary Player

text: The Player Design firm have executed over 400 projects in 41 countries on five continents, including courses such as the Gary Player Country Club, Leopard Creek, Thracian Cliffs, Wentworth and The Links at Fancourt.The company offers three different design brands: Gary Player Design, Player Design, and Black Knight Design.


title: Gary Player

text: With golf accepted back into the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Gary Player Design was selected among the finalists of an official RFP in early December 2011.


title: Gary Player

text: Player hosted the Nelson Mandela Invitational golf tournament staged by Black Knight International from 2000. In October 2007, media attention arose about his involvement in the 2002 design of a golf course in Burma and as a result, the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund withdrew its support. Both Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu accepted Player's position and statements on Burma. Player refused to withdraw as he and his son Marc personally built the golf event from scratch and issued a statement rebutting these claims via his website. The event continued to be staged annually at the Sun City Resort as the Gary Player Invitational until 2013.


title: Gary Player

text: In 1966, Player espoused support for the apartheid policies of Hendrik Verwoerd in his book "Grand Slam Golf", stating: "I must say now, and clearly, that I am of the South Africa of Verwoerd and apartheid ... a nation which ... is the product of its instinct and ability to maintain civilised values and standards amongst the alien barbarians. The African may well believe in witchcraft and primitive magic, practise ritual murder and polygamy; his wealth is in cattle". Activists publicly demonstrated against Player's espousal of apartheid, including protesting against Player at the 1969 PGA Championship. Australian activists also strongly protested against Player. In 1971 there were several threats to protest against Player at tournaments though they never came to fruition. Years later, in October 1974, Australian activists screamed at Player, "Go home racist", as he was lining up a putt on the 72nd hole in a tournament he had a chance to win.


title: Gary Player

text: However, in a 1987 interview with "The Los Angeles Times", Player disavowed the system of apartheid, stating, "We have a terrible system in apartheid...it's almost a cancerous disease. I'm happy to say it's being eliminated...we've got to get rid of this apartheid." In an interview with Graham Bensinger, Player discussed his early support for apartheid stating that the South African Government had "pulled the wool over our eyes" and that the people were "brainwashed" into supporting these policies.


title: Gary Player

text: In July 2007, Player made statements at The Open Championship golf tournament about the use of performance-enhancing drugs in golf. He alleged that at least ten players were "taking something", citing human growth hormone, steroids and creatine as possible substances. Both the PGA Tour and European Tour were in the process of introducing random testing programmes at the time.


title: Gary Player

text: In June 2016, in an interview with bunkered.co.uk, Player branded as 'laughable' a report released by The R&A and USGA which said that driving distance in golf was only increasing minimally. He warned of a 'tsunami coming' due to the governing bodies' failure to address issues surrounding new golf technology. After the 2017 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, Player reiterated these comments, taking to Twitter to say he was 'sad' to see the Old Course at St Andrews 'brought to her knees' after Ross Fisher broke the course record on a day of very low scoring during the final round.


title: Gary Player

text: Note: Many of these wins were part of a formal "South Africa Tour" or "Sunshine Circuit" (now Sunshine Tour).


title: Gary Player

text: The Senior British Open was retroactively recognised by the PGA Tour Champions as a senior major in 2018.


title: Gary Player

text: The Senior Open Championship was not a Champions Tour major until 2003, though it was on the European Seniors Tour. Player won the event three times prior to this recognition.


title: Uveitis

text: Uveitis () is inflammation of the uvea, the pigmented layer of the eye between the inner retina and the outer fibrous layer composed of the sclera and cornea. The uvea consists of the middle layer of pigmented vascular structures of the eye and includes the iris, ciliary body, and choroid. Uveitis is described anatomically, by the part of the eye affected, as anterior, intermediate or posterior, or panuveitic if all parts are involved. Anterior uveitis (iridocyclytis) is the most common, with the incidence of uveitis overall affecting approximately 1:4500, most commonly those between the ages of 20-60. Symptoms include eye pain, eye redness, floaters and blurred vision, and ophthalmic examination may show dilated ciliary blood vessels and the presence of cells in the anterior chamber. Uveitis may arise spontaneously, have a genetic component, or be associated with an autoimmune disease or infection. While the eye is a relatively protected environment, its immune mechanisms may be overcome resulting in inflammation and tissue destruction associated with T-cell activation.


title: Uveitis

text: Uveitis is an ophthalmic emergency that requires urgent control of the inflammation to prevent vision loss. Treatment typically involves the use of topical eye drop steroids, intravitreal injection, newer biologics, and treating any underlying disease. While initial treatment is usually successful, complications include other ocular disorders, such as uveitic glaucoma, retinal detachment, optic nerve damage, cataracts, and in some cases, a permanent loss of vision. In the United States uveitis accounts for about 10%-20% of cases of blindness.


title: Uveitis

text: Uveitis is classified anatomically into anterior, intermediate, posterior, and panuveitic forms—based on the part of the eye primarily affected. Prior to the twentieth century, uveitis was typically referred to in English as "ophthalmia."


title: Uveitis

text: Uveitis is usually an isolated illness, but can be associated with many other medical conditions. In anterior uveitis, no associated condition or syndrome is found in approximately one-half of cases. However, anterior uveitis is often one of the syndromes associated with HLA-B27. Presence of this type of HLA allele has a relative risk of evolving this disease by approximately 15%.


title: Uveitis

text: The most common form of uveitis is acute anterior uveitis (AAU). It is most commonly associated with HLA-B27, which has important features: HLA-B27 AAU can be associated with ocular inflammation alone or in association with systemic disease. HLA-B27 AAU has characteristic clinical features including male preponderance, unilateral alternating acute onset, a non-granulomatous appearance, and frequent recurrences, whereas HLA-B27 negative AAU has an equivalent male to female onset, bilateral chronic course, and more frequent granulomatous appearance. Rheumatoid arthritis is not uncommon in Asian countries as a significant association of uveitis.


title: Uveitis

text: Uveitis may be an immune response to fight an infection caused by an organism in the eye. They are less common than non-infectious causes, and require antimicrobial/ viral/ parasitic treatment in addition to inflammatory control. Infectious causes in order of global burden include:


title: Uveitis

text: Occasionally, uveitis is not associated with a systemic condition: the inflammation is confined to the eye and has unknown cause. In some of these cases, the presentation in the eye is characteristic of a described syndrome, which are called white dot syndromes, and include the following diagnoses:


title: Uveitis

text: Masquerade syndromes are those conditions that include the presence of intraocular cells but are not due to immune-mediated uveitis entities. These may be divided into neoplastic and non-neoplastic conditions.


title: Uveitis

text: The disease course, anatomy, and laterality can vary widely and are important to consider in diagnosis and treatment. Cases may be acute (sudden onset with < 3 month duration) and monophonic, acute and recurrent, or chronic. The signs and symptoms of uveitis may include the following;


title: Uveitis

text: Onset of uveitis can broadly be described as a failure of the ocular immune system and the disease results from inflammation and tissue destruction. Uveitis is driven by the Th17 T cell sub-population that bear T-cell receptors specific for proteins found in the eye. These are often not deleted centrally whether due to ocular antigen not being presented in the thymus (therefore not negatively selected) or a state of anergy is induced to prevent self targeting.


title: Uveitis

text: Autoreactive T cells must normally be held in check by the suppressive environment produced by microglia and dendritic cells in the eye. These cells produce large amounts of TGF beta and other suppressive cytokines, including IL-10, to prevent damage to the eye by reducing inflammation and causing T cells to differentiate to inducible T reg cells. Innate immune stimulation by bacteria and cellular stress is normally suppressed by myeloid suppression while inducible Treg cells prevent activation and clonal expansion of the autoreactive Th1 and Th17 cells that possess potential to cause damage to the eye.


title: Uveitis

text: Whether through infection or other causes, this balance can be upset and autoreactive T cells allowed to proliferate and migrate to the eye. Upon entry to the eye, these cells may be returned to an inducible Treg state by the presence of IL-10 and TGF-beta from microglia. Failure of this mechanism leads to neutrophil and other leukocyte recruitment from the peripheral blood through IL-17 secretion. Tissue destruction is mediated by non-specific macrophage activation and the resulting cytokine cascades. Serum TNF-α is significantly elevated in cases while IL-6 and IL-8 are present in significantly higher quantities in the aqueous humour in patients with both quiescent and active uveitis. These are inflammatory markers that non-specifically activate local macrophages causing tissue damage.


title: Uveitis

text: The cause of non-infectious uveitis is unknown but there are some strong genetic factors that predispose disease onset including HLA-B27 and the PTPN22 genotype.


title: Uveitis

text: Recent evidence has pointed to reactivation of herpes simplex, varicella zoster and other viruses as important causes of developing what was previously described as idiopathic anterior uveitis. Bacterial infection is another significant contributing factor in developing uveitis.


title: Uveitis

text: Diagnosis includes dilated fundus examination to rule out posterior uveitis, which presents with white spots across the retina along with retinitis and vasculitis.


title: Uveitis

text: Laboratory testing is usually used to diagnose specific underlying diseases, including rheumatologic tests (e.g. antinuclear antibody, rheumatoid factor) and serology for infectious diseases (Syphilis, Toxoplasmosis, Tuberculosis).


title: Uveitis

text: Major histocompatibility antigen testing may be performed to investigate genetic susceptibility to uveitis. The most common antigens include HLA-B27, HLA-A29 (in birdshot chorioretinopathy) and HLA-B51 (in Behçet disease).


title: Uveitis

text: Radiology X-ray may be used to show coexisting arthritis and chest X-ray may be helpful in sarcoidosis.


title: Uveitis

text: Uveitis is typically treated with glucocorticoid steroids, either as topical eye drops (prednisolone acetate) or as oral therapy. Prior to the administration of corticosteroids, corneal ulcers must be ruled out. This is typically done using a fluorescence dye test. In addition to corticosteroids, topical cycloplegics, such as atropine or homatropine, may be used. Successful treatment of active uveitis increases T-regulatory cells in the eye, which likely contributes to disease regression.


title: Uveitis

text: In severe cases an injection of posterior subtenon triamcinolone acetate may also be given to reduce the swelling of the eye.


title: Uveitis

text: Intravitrial injection of steroid has proven to be a newer useful way to control inflammation for longer without the need for daily eyedrops. Dexamethasone and fluocinolone acetonide are two more commonly used options for noninfectious uveitis.


title: Uveitis

text: Non-biologic, steroid sparing therapies for noninfectious uveitis in adults are now more available. These include the disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) methotrexate, mycophenolate, cyclosporine, azathioprine, and tacrolimus. In comparing various studies, methotrexate is more efficacious than mycophenolate in inflammatory control for most forms of panuveitis. Methotrexate also had little to no differences in safety outcomes compared to mycophenolate.


title: Uveitis

text: Antimetabolite medications, such as methotrexate are often used for recalcitrant or more aggressive cases of uveitis. Experimental treatments with Infliximab or other anti-TNF infusions may prove helpful.


title: Uveitis

text: The anti-diabetic drug metformin is reported to inhibit the process that causes the inflammation in uveitis.


title: Uveitis

text: In the case of herpetic uveitis, anti-viral medications, such as valaciclovir or aciclovir, may be administered to treat the causative viral infection.


title: Uveitis

text: Uveitis affects approximately 1 in 4500 people and is most common between the ages 20 to 60 with men and women affected equally. In western countries, anterior uveitis accounts for between 50% and 90% of uveitis cases. In Asian countries the proportion is between 28% and 50%. Uveitis is estimated to be responsible for approximately 10%-20% of the blindness in the United States.


title: Uveitis

text: For non-infectious uveitis, women are more likely (57%) to be affected than men, possibly due to their higher prevalence of related autoimmune diseases. Vitamin D deficiency and smoking are risk factors for non-infectious uveitis.


title: Uveitis

text: The prognosis is generally good for those who receive prompt diagnosis and treatment, but serious complication including cataracts, uveitic glaucoma, band keratopathy, macular edema and permanent vision loss may result if left untreated. The type of uveitis, as well as its severity, duration, and responsiveness to treatment or any associated illnesses, all factor into the outlook.


title: Evan Ryan

text: Evan Maureen Ryan (born April 18, 1971) is an American public servant currently serving as White House Cabinet Secretary in the administration of Joe Biden. She previously served as Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) in the Obama Administration (2013–2017) and was assistant for intergovernmental affairs and public liaison for then-Vice President Joe Biden.


title: Evan Ryan

text: Ryan was born in 1971 in Alexandria, Virginia, where she grew up in a middle-class family of Irish Catholic descent. She received Bachelor of Arts (BA) in political science from Boston College. In May 2006, she received her Masters in International Public Policy from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies.


title: Evan Ryan

text: Ryan served under Secretary of State John Kerry as Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs and worked in the Obama-Biden White House as Assistant to the Vice President and Special Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement from September 2013 to January 2017.


title: Evan Ryan

text: Prior to joining the Obama Administration, Ryan served as Deputy Campaign Manager for then Senator Biden's 2008 presidential campaign and also served on the Kerry's 2004 Presidential Campaign and Hillary Clinton's 2000 senatorial campaign. Ryan served in the Clinton White House, as Deputy Director of Scheduling for First Lady Hillary Clinton and as Special Assistant to the First Lady's Chief of Staff.


title: Evan Ryan

text: After leaving the White House in January 2017, she helped launch and lead Axios, and served as its Executive Vice President. She has worked as a consultant for the Education Partnership for Children of Conflict and served as Deputy Chair for the governance track of the Clinton Global Initiative. She is currently a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.


title: Evan Ryan

text: She was a Senior Advisor for the Biden-Harris transition team. In January 2021, she was appointed White House Cabinet Secretary.


title: Evan Ryan

text: In 2002, Antony Blinken and Evan Ryan were married in an interfaith ceremony officiated by a rabbi and a priest at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Washington, D.C.


title: Porsha Williams

text: Porsha Dyanne Guobadia (née Williams, born June 22, 1981) is an American television personality, actress, and author. Williams starred on the television series "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" from 2012 until 2021, when she departed to star in her spin-off series, "Porsha's Family Matters", currently in its first season. She also served as co-host of "Dish Nation" from 2013 until 2021. She later became co-host of "Bravo's Chat Room" in 2020 alongside fellow "Real Housewife" Gizelle Bryant. In 2021, Williams published her memoir, "The Pursuit of Porsha".


title: Porsha Williams

text: Williams was born in Atlanta, Georgia on June 22, 1981. Her parents are self-employed entrepreneurs. She has a younger half sister named Lauren with whom they share a father, and a brother named Hosea. Her grandfather is the late Hosea Williams, a civil rights activist. She attended Southwest Dekalb High School in Decatur, Georgia as a teenager, and later pursued a degree in business information technology at the American InterContinental University.


title: Porsha Williams

text: In 2005, when she was 24 years old, Williams opened a daycare facility, revealing that she was inspired by her parents' careers. Also in 2005, Williams modeled for a "pin-up" calendar for the Atlanta Dymes. Williams met football player Kordell Stewart in 2009. The couple married in May 2011, which was filmed and broadcast for the WE tv television series "Platinum Weddings". Through the marriage, she became the stepmother to his minor-aged son Syre from his previous relationship with Tania Richardson.


title: Porsha Williams

text: In September 2012, it was announced by Bravo that Williams and Kenya Moore were cast for the fifth season of the reality television series "The Real Housewives of Atlanta", alongside returning cast members Cynthia Bailey, Kandi Burruss, NeNe Leakes, Phaedra Parks and Kim Zolciak. Williams made her first appearance of the season during the third episode on November 18, 2012, where she was shown to clash with Moore during a charity event for Feed the Homeless. The remainder of the season documented their ensuing feud, and a later conflict with Bailey after she felt that Williams lacked dedication to a pageant Bailey coordinated for her modeling agency.


title: Porsha Williams

text: She additionally expressed an intent to have children with Stewart, although she later visited a therapist after they began experiencing marital difficulties.


title: Porsha Williams

text: After approximately two years of marriage, Stewart filed for divorce from Williams in March 2013. During the reunion special for the fifth season of "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" the following month, she commented that she was "totally blindsided" by the filing and alleged that she learned of their separation through Twitter. Their divorce was finalized in December 2013; Williams received none of his property or earnings through the settlement.


title: Porsha Williams

text: The sixth season of "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" premiered in November, and documented the deterioration of Williams's relationship with her husband. She was briefly hospitalized during the season, which the series depicted was caused by stress stemming from her then-ongoing divorce.


title: Porsha Williams

text: After an episode of "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" broadcast in December 2013, Williams received criticism after making comments in which she indicated her belief that the Underground Railroad was an actual railroad line. She later commented that "It was a brain lapse. I have Porsha moments that you’ve seen on the show before. For me seeing that I knew that I had to go back and brush up on my history so I’m representing my legacy well." She also joined the cast of Burruss's stage musical "A Mother's Love".


title: Porsha Williams

text: She released her debut single "Flatline" through the iTunes Store on March 17, 2014. Later that month, Williams received media attention after an altercation with Moore while filming the sixth season reunion for "The Real Housewives of Atlanta". While filming the reunion special at the Biltmore Hotel on March 27, Moore implied that Williams was unfaithful during her marriage; after Williams called Moore a "slut from the '90s" and Moore yelled that Williams was "a dumb ho" from a megaphone, Williams assaulted Moore. Moore later threatened to quit the series if Williams was to remain, commenting that "we've become angry with each other, we've threatened each other and gone to the edge. But at the end of the day, we know there's a line." Williams was arrested on December 29, 2014, for speeding with a suspended license, but was released the same day.


title: Porsha Williams

text: In September 2015, Bravo announced that Williams had signed on to return as a main cast member, along with new cast member and actress Kim Fields. On January 28, 2016, it was announced that she is participating as a contestant on "The New Celebrity Apprentice," also known as "The Apprentice 15" and "The Celebrity Apprentice 8". On September 19, 2018, Williams announced her pregnancy. On October 1, it was reported that she was engaged to entrepreneur Dennis McKinley. The proposal was shown on The Real Housewives of Atlanta (S11 Ep15) which aired February 17, 2019. On March 22, 2019, she gave birth to their daughter, Pilar Jhena showcased on her first spin-off "Porsha's Having a Baby". Williams and McKinley briefly split in June, but have reunited as of August.


title: Porsha Williams

text: Williams departed the "Real Housewives of Atlanta" after its thirteenth season in 2021 to star in "Porsha's Family Matters", a spin-off series currently in its first season. Williams' time on the "Real Housewives" earned her a loyal fanbase; her story arc, which documented nearly ten years of Williams' life, is considered one of the franchise's greatest. Williams' departure was met with disappointment from fans and critics. "The Cut" reported in 2021 that "Porsha’s ability to weather the storm, and her personal growth both in front of and away from the cameras, made her one of the most dynamic and likable Housewives in any city."


title: Porsha Williams

text: Since the murder of George Floyd, Williams has worked as an activist and was described by The New York Times as becoming "a crusader against police violence." On July 15, 2020, Williams was among 87 protesters who were arrested outside the home of Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron. She was calling for Cameron to arrest the officers involved in the Shooting of Breonna Taylor. After law enforcement warned that staying on Cameron's property was unlawful, Williams and others in the group were charged with intimidating a participant in a legal process, disorderly conduct and criminal trespass. She was released the next day. In 2021, Williams published her memoir, "The Pursuit of Porsha", which has been met with acclaim from fans.


title: Porsha Williams

text: Williams produced a single and music video titled “Flatline”, and performed another song called “Legs, Hips, Body” featuring Kandi Burruss, and D. Woods, and also featured in many more songs for Burruss’, "A Mother’s Love" musical, that is available to stream on iTunes / Apple Music.


title: Porsha Williams

text: Porsha was married to Kordell Stewart in 2011. During their marriage she suffered a miscarriage. Stewart filed for divorce in 2013. She was briefly engaged to entrepreneur Dennis McKinley, and she gave birth to their first child, Pilar Jhena in March 2019. In May 2021, Porsha confirmed that she is engaged to Simon Guobadia. Porsha and Simon held a traditional Nigerian wedding on November 25th, 2022, followed by a traditional American wedding on November 26th, 2022.


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: The Eurovision Song Contest 2018 was the 63rd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Lisbon, Portugal, following the country's victory at the with the song "Amar pelos dois" by Salvador Sobral. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP), the contest was held at the Lisbon Arena, and consisted of two semi-finals on 8 and 10 May, and a final on 12 May 2018. The three live shows were presented by Portuguese television presenters Filomena Cautela, Sílvia Alberto and Catarina Furtado and Portuguese-American actress Daniela Ruah, marking the first time that the contest was presented by four hosts.


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: Forty-three countries participated in the contest, equalling the record of the and editions. returned after their absence from the previous edition, and for the first time since , no country that participated in the previous edition withdrew.


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: The winner was Israel with the song "Toy", performed by Netta and written by Doron Medalie and Stav Beger. Cyprus, Austria, Germany and Italy rounded out the top five, with Cyprus achieving their best result to date. Further down the table, the Czech Republic also achieved their best result to date, finishing sixth. Portugal finished in last place of the final, making it the third time that the host country ranked in the bottom five since . For the first time since the introduction of the semi-finals in , Azerbaijan, Romania, and Russia all failed to qualify for the final. Also, for the first time since , no countries of the Caucasus region (, and Azerbaijan) participated in the final.


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: The EBU reported that the contest had a worldwide audience of around 186 million viewers, surpassing the 2017 edition by over 4 million.


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: The Lisbon Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena built for the Expo '98 and has a capacity of 20,000 attendees, making it the largest indoor venue in Portugal and among the largest in Europe. It is located in the Parque das Nações (Park of Nations) riverside district in the northeast of Lisbon, which was completely renovated to host the 1998 world's fair. It is connected by metro to the nearby international airport and by train (Oriente Station) to the rest of the country and Europe.


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: On the day of the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 final, it was reported that Portuguese broadcaster Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP) would accept the challenge of organising the 2018 contest in case of a victory. Following Sobral's triumph, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU)'s Executive Supervisor for the Eurovision Song Contest, Jon Ola Sand, issued the hosting invitation to RTP during the winner's press conference. The following day, the director-general of RTP, Nuno Artur Silva, confirmed that the broadcaster would organise the contest in 2018 and mentioned the Lisbon Arena as a likely venue to host the contest. On 15 May 2017, RTP appeared to have confirmed Lisbon as the host city, but clarified the following day that no final decision had been taken regarding both the host city and venue.


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: The basic requirements to select a host city were set out in a document presented by the EBU to RTP following their win in Kyiv:


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: Besides Lisbon, other cities signalled their interest in bidding to host the 2018 contest: Braga, Espinho, Faro, Gondomar, Guimarães, and Santa Maria da Feira. The mayor of Porto, Rui Moreira, declared he would not be interested in "spending millions of euros" to host the contest, but he would support a bid from the Metropolitan Area of Porto (Espinho, Gondomar, and Santa Maria da Feira).


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: On 13 June 2017, RTP representatives met with the Eurovision Song Contest Reference Group at the EBU headquarters in Geneva. During the meeting, RTP officials attended a workshop covering several topics related with hosting the Eurovision Song Contest and learned from the experience of the Ukrainian broadcaster . They also had the opportunity to present their first plans for the 2018 contest, including multiple proposals for the host city and venue.


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: On 25 July 2017, the EBU and RTP announced that Lisbon had been selected as the host city, overcoming confirmed bids from Braga, Gondomar, Guimarães, and Santa Maria da Feira. In addition, RTP indicated the Parque das Nações, where the Lisbon Arena is located, as the site for the shows.


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: The Eurovision Village was the official Eurovision Song Contest fan and sponsors area during the event weeks, where it was possible to watch performances by contest participants and local artists, as well as the live shows broadcast from the main venue. It was located in Lisbon's downtown Praça do Comércio (also called "Terreiro do Paço"), a large central square open to the Tagus river.


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: The EuroClub was the venue for the official after-parties and private performances by contest participants. Unlike the Eurovision Village, access to the EuroClub was restricted to accredited fans, delegations, and press. It was located at the "Ministerium" club, next to the Eurovision Village.


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: The "Blue Carpet" event, where all the contestants and their delegations are presented before the accredited press and fans, took place on 6 May 2018 at the Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology (MAAT) in Lisbon's Belém district. This preceded the official Opening Ceremony of the 2018 contest, which took place at the nearby Electricity Museum.


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: The theme for the contest, "All Aboard!", was unveiled on 7 November 2017 in a press conference held at the Lisbon Oceanarium. Its visual design features oceanic motifs that allude to Lisbon and Portugal's location on the Atlantic coast and to the country's seafaring history. Alongside the main emblem, which depicts a stylised seashell, twelve supplemental emblems were designed to symbolise different aspects of the marine ecosystem.


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: The postcards, filmed between March and April 2018, involved the act emerging from a door into Portugal to take part in a themed activity, such as mountain biking, making a salad or "pastel de nata", or visiting popular attractions. The location where the activity took place was written in Portuguese at the start of the postcard. At the end of the postcard, the act posed for the camera, the slogan's hashtag appeared on the bottom corner of the screen, and song information was printed onto the country's flag. All the postcards had the same score, composed by Luis Figueredo.


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: RTP and EBU announced on 8 January 2018, that the contest would be hosted for the first time by four female presenters, consisting of RTP hosts Sílvia Alberto, Filomena Cautela, and Catarina Furtado, together with actress Daniela Ruah. It was the first time since that the contest did not feature a male presenter, and the second consecutive year that the presenters were all the same gender. It was confirmed on 4 May 2018 that Cautela would host the green room.


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: The Blue Carpet opening ceremony was hosted by actress Cláudia Semedo, radio host , actor/TV host Pedro Granger and actor/director Pedro Penim. Granger and Penim moderated the press conferences, as well.


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: The draw to determine the allocation of the participating countries into their respective semi-finals took place on 29 January 2018 at 13:00 CET, at the Lisbon City Hall. The thirty-seven semi-finalists were divided over six pots, based on historical voting patterns as calculated by the contest's official televoting partner Digame. The purpose of drawing from different pots was to reduce the chance of "bloc voting" and to increase suspense in the semi-finals. The draw also determined which semi-final each of the six automatic qualifiers – host country Portugal and "Big Five" countries , , , and the – would broadcast and vote in. The ceremony was hosted by contest presenters Sílvia Alberto and Filomena Cautela, and included the passing of the host city insignia from Vitali Klitschko, mayor of Kyiv (host city of the previous contest) to Fernando Medina, mayor of Lisbon.


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: RTP released the first details regarding the opening and interval acts for the final on 12 March 2018. The opening act featured Portuguese fado singers Ana Moura and Mariza performing "Fado Loucura" and "Barco Negro", respectively, which was followed by a parade of flags introducing the 26 finalist participants, with live music by Portuguese scratching duo Beatbombers. The interval acts included Salvador Sobral, who performed his new single "Mano a mano" and his Eurovision-winning song "Amar pelos dois" (the latter in a duet with Brazilian singer Caetano Veloso), and electronic music performances by Branko featuring Sara Tavares, Mayra Andrade and Dino D'Santiago.


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: It was initially announced on 7 November 2017 that forty-two countries would participate in the contest. confirmed their return after their absence the previous edition, while 's participation was provisionally blocked by the EBU due to unpaid debts by its national broadcaster MRT. However, ten days later, it was announced that Macedonia would be allowed to enter the contest, raising the number of participating countries to forty-three, equaling the highest number of participants with the 2008 and 2011 editions.


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: The contest featured two representatives who also previously performed as lead vocalists for the same countries. Alexander Rybak won for Norway in performing "Fairytale" (and also sang entry No. 1500) and Waylon placed second for the Netherlands in as part of The Common Linnets performing "Calm After the Storm".


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: The contest also featured Jessica Mauboy, representing Australia, after taking part in 2014 as the interval act for the second semi-final, performing "Sea of Flags". In addition, the contest featured four lead singers previously participating as backing vocalists, two of them for the same countries. Lea Sirk backed for Slovenia in 2014 and off-stage in , and Equinox member Vlado Mihailov backed for Bulgaria in 2017. Cesár Sampson, representing Austria, backed for Bulgaria in 2016 (also as a dancer) and off-stage in . SuRie, representing the United Kingdom, backed for Belgium in (also as a dancer) and was the musical director again for Belgium in 2017. Sara Tavares, who performed in the interval act, was the representative from Portugal in the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest, with the song "Chamar a música" reaching 8th place.


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: Nineteen countries participated in the first semi-final. Those countries, plus , , and the voted in this semi-final. The highlighted countries qualified for the final.


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: The second semi-final took place on 10 May 2018 at 20:00 WEST (21:00 CEST). Eighteen countries participated in the second semi-final. Those countries, plus , and voted in this semi-final. The highlighted countries qualified for the final.


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: With the approval from the Reference Group, Italy broadcast and voted in the second semi-final following a request from Italian broadcaster RAI, as the date of the first semi-final coincided with the scheduled final of the fifth season of "The Voice of Italy".


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: The final took place on 12 May 2018 at 20:00 WEST (21:00 CEST). Twenty-six countries participated in the final, with all 43 participating countries eligible to vote. The running order for the final was revealed after the press conference of the second semi-final qualifiers on 10 May.


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: Below is a summary of the maximum 12 points awarded by each country's professional jury and televote in the first semi-final. Countries in bold gave the maximum 24 points (12 points apiece from professional jury and televoting) to the specified entrant.


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: Below is a summary of the maximum 12 points awarded by each country's professional jury and televote in the second semi-final. Countries in bold gave the maximum 24 points (12 points apiece from professional jury and televoting) to the specified entrant.


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: Below is a summary of the maximum 12 points awarded by each country's professional jury and televote in the final. Countries in bold gave the maximum 24 points (12 points apiece from professional jury and televoting) to the specified entrant.


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: The spokespersons announced the 12-point score from their respective country's national jury in the following order:


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: Eligibility for participation in the Eurovision Song Contest requires a national broadcaster with active EBU membership, or a special invitation from the EBU as in the case of Australia.


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: The European Broadcasting Union provided international live streams of both semi-finals and the grand final through their official YouTube channel with no commentary. The live streams were geo-blocked to viewers in Bolivia, Canada, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, United States, Uruguay and Venezuela due to rights limitations.


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: Countries may add commentary from commentators working on-location or remotely at the broadcaster. Commentators can add insight to the participating entries and the provision of voting information.


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: Following eventual winner Netta Barzilai's performance of her song "Toy", critics of the song accused Barzilai of culturally appropriating Japanese culture, with several users taking to social media to call the performance "offensive". The accusations were made after she wore a kimono and buns, as well as Maneki-nekos being shown during the performance.


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: The topic was debated on British morning show Good Morning Britain on 14 May 2018 in response, with television presenters Trisha Goddard and Piers Morgan defending Barzilai by stating that she was simply implementing elements of Japanese culture due to her own appreciation of it. English journalist Rebecca Reid disagreed, arguing "It's not a beautiful, loving representation of real Japanese culture. It's a costume".


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: On 10 January 2018, it had emerged on Russian social media site VK that Ukrainian singer Alekseev had performed a Russian-language version of his "EuroFest" entry "Forever" (as "Navsegda") in May 2017 in Stavropol – before 1 September 2017, the submission deadline set by the EBU, potentially violating the rules of the contest. Six artists threatened to withdraw from the selection if it were allowed to compete, with Sofi Lapina actually doing so. Alekseev was ultimately allowed to compete by BTRC following a melodic revamp of the song, and went on to win the selection, thus earning the right to represent Belarus in the contest. However, on 23 February 2018, it was reported that the EBU had given Alekseev permission to perform his original English-language version of the song at the contest, and he would opt to sing that version of the song in May. A few weeks after that announcement, on 28 March 2018, Alekseev premiered a new version of his entry with a lighter intro and additional choir at the end of the track. He also confirmed that this version would be the one performed in Lisbon.


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: On 29 April 2018, during the first rehearsal of the Czech Republic's performance, singer Mikolas Josef reportedly sustained injuries to his back while rehearsing and was subsequently taken to hospital. The singer updated his fans on Instagram, stating "I can confirm that I got injured during the rehearsal and the situation got worse after several hours. I can't even walk now. Got back from the first hospital and I am now heading to another one". He stated that he would, however, "perform no matter what". Josef performed in the first semi-final on 8 May with a slightly altered performance, owing to his injuries, and ultimately finished sixth in the final, achieving the Czech Republic's best result to date. He was also the second Czech contestant to qualify for the final, the other being Gabriela Gunčíková in .


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: During the Chinese broadcast of the first semi-final on Mango TV, the performances of Albania and Ireland were edited out of the show, along with their snippets in the recap of all 19 entries. Albania was skipped due to a ban on television performers displaying tattoos that took effect in January 2018, while Ireland was censored due to its representation of a homosexual couple on-stage. In addition, the LGBT flag and tattoos on other performers were also blurred out from the broadcast. As a result, the EBU has terminated its partnership with Mango TV, citing that censorship "is not in line with the EBU's values of universality and inclusivity and its proud tradition of celebrating diversity through music," which led to a ban on televising the second semi-final and the grand final in the country. A spokesperson for the broadcaster's owner Hunan TV said they "weren't aware" of the edits made to the programme. Ireland's representative, Ryan O'Shaughnessy told the BBC in an interview, "they haven't taken this lightly and I think it's a move in the right direction, so I'm happy about it."


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: The performance of SuRie, representing the United Kingdom, in the final was disrupted by a man who rushed onto the stage and grabbed her microphone, reportedly shouting "For the Nazis of the UK media, we demand freedom! War is not peace." The man, later identified as 'Dr ACactivism', a political activist from London, climbed into a camera run to get access to the stage. SuRie was able to complete her performance, and after the song the broadcast cut to an unscheduled interview in the green room. The EBU offered SuRie and her team the opportunity to perform again, but she declined. SuRie later revealed that she had suffered several bruises on her right hand. Shortly after the live broadcast on YouTube, the final was taken down and reuploaded in its entirety, with SuRie's interrupted performance edited out and substituted with her jury show performance from the previous evening. The official reupload also retains the unscheduled green room interview with the Ukrainian delegation that followed the stage invasion. The official DVD release also replaces the interrupted grand final performance with the previous evening's jury show performance. However, the British national broadcaster BBC uploaded the original Saturday performance, including the stage invasion, to their YouTube channel.


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: In addition to the main winner's trophy, the Marcel Bezençon Awards and the Barbara Dex Award were contested during the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest. The OGAE, "General Organisation of Eurovision Fans" voting poll also took place before the contest.


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: The Marcel Bezençon Awards, organised since 2002 by Sweden's then-Head of Delegation and 1992 representative Christer Björkman, and 1984 winner Richard Herrey, honours songs in the contest's final. The awards are divided into three categories: Artistic Award, Composers Award, and Press Award. The winners were revealed shortly before the Eurovision final on 12 May.


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: OGAE, an organisation of over forty Eurovision Song Contest fan clubs across Europe and beyond, conducts an annual voting poll first held in 2002 as the Marcel Bezençon Fan Award. After all votes were cast, the top-ranked entry in the 2018 poll was also the winner of the contest, "Toy" performed by Netta; the top five results are shown below.


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: The Barbara Dex Award is a humorous fan award given to the worst dressed artist each year. Named after Belgium's representative who came last in the 1993 contest, wearing her self-designed dress, the award was handed by the fansite House of Eurovision from 1997 to 2016 and is being carried out by the fansite "Songfestival.be" since 2017.


title: Eurovision Song Contest 2018

text: Eurovision Song Contest: Lisbon 2018 is the official compilation album of the contest, put together by the European Broadcasting Union and released by Universal Music Group digitally on 6 April 2018 and physically on 20 April 2018. The album features all 43 participating entries, including the semi-finalists that failed to qualify for the grand final.


title: Christine Pelosi

text: Christine Paule Pelosi (born May 5, 1966) is an American Democratic Party political strategist from California. She is the daughter of Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and businessman Paul Pelosi and sister of Alexandra Pelosi.


title: Christine Pelosi

text: Christine Pelosi is the daughter of Nancy Pelosi and Paul Pelosi, and was born in California. She has four siblings: Nancy Corinne, Jacqueline, Paul, and Alexandra.


title: Christine Pelosi

text: She holds a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service and a JD from the University of California Hastings College of the Law.


title: Christine Pelosi

text: Her work in public policy and politics includes service as executive director (1998–1999), Platform Chair (1995–2008), and Women's Caucus Chair (2011–2021) of the California Democratic Party; Deputy City Attorney (Construction and Trial Teams) and Assistant District Attorney (Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Unit) for the City of San Francisco; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Special Counsel in the Clinton/Gore Administration (1999–2001); and, Chief of Staff to U.S. Representative John F. Tierney (2001–2005). Pelosi has also served as a board member and the Interim Executive Director of the Young Democrats of America (2011).


title: Christine Pelosi

text: She is the author of "Campaign Boot Camp: Basic Training for Future Leaders" (2007) and "Campaign Boot Camp 2.0" (2012), books used in her leadership trainings for candidates and causes.


title: Christine Pelosi

text: Pelosi has served as volunteer board member for the AIDS Memorial Grove and the New Leaders Council. She has been named a potential successor to her mother's seat in the House by the Los Angeles Times.


title: Christine Pelosi

text: She is seen as a successor to her mother given Nancy's immense influence in the San Francisco district.


title: Christine Pelosi

text: Pelosi was elected to the Democratic National Committee, where she cofounded the Veterans and Military Families Council, and as of 2021 is Vice Chair for Campaigns and Elections.


title: Christine Pelosi

text: Pelosi was a presidential elector for the state of California in the 2016 United States presidential election. Every presidential election year, the 538 members of the Electoral College meet in their state capitals on December 19 to cast the official vote for president. She helped lead the effort to inform the electors and the public about foreign interference in elections.


title: Christine Pelosi

text: Pelosi married Peter Kaufman, son of film director Philip Kaufman, on February 16, 2008. They had a daughter in March 2009. Pelosi is a baseball fan, lives within walking distance of the San Francisco Giants' stadium, and serves on the Giants Community Fund board of directors.


title: Christine Pelosi

text: On March 22, 2020 Pelosi tweeted "Rand Paul's neighbor was right" in reference to an assault on Senator Rand Paul, and the tweet was removed. Sen. Paul later cited the tweet after Pelosi's father was severely injured by a hammer-wielding assailant.


title: Good Luck Chuck

text: Good Luck Chuck is a 2007 comedy film starring Dane Cook and Jessica Alba, with screenplay by Josh Stolberg and directorial debut by long-time film editor Mark Helfrich. In the film, women find their "one true love" after having sex with a dentist named Chuck (Cook). Chuck meets a girl named Cam (Alba) and tries to become her true love. The film opened in theaters on September 21, 2007, and was panned by critics. One of "Good Luck Chuck"s theatrical posters parodied the well-known "Rolling Stone" cover photographed by Annie Leibovitz featuring John Lennon and Yoko Ono in similar poses.


title: Good Luck Chuck

text: While playing spin the bottle / seven minutes in heaven at a party in 1985, 10-year-old Charlie "Chuck" Logan refuses the sexual advances of a goth girl named Anisha Carpenter. In retaliation, Anisha places a hex on Chuck, saying that once a girl has been with him, "to the next she will be true".


title: Good Luck Chuck

text: In the present, Chuck is a successful dentist, running a practice in the office opposite his best friend Stu's plastic surgery business. While being sexually intimate with his girlfriend Carol, Chuck cannot reply that he loves her too, prompting her to immediately break up with him. Stu and Chuck attend the wedding of one of Chuck's ex-girlfriends, Katie. During the reception, Katie toasts Chuck for being her lucky charm, which gains the interest of his female tablemates. Chuck becomes enamored with Cam Wexler, an unusually clumsy, yet attractive and friendly penguin scientist working at a marine mammal park.


title: Good Luck Chuck

text: The next day, Chuck's office is full of women. He asks Stu if anything's different about him; they also find that Carol is engaged thanks to Chuck being a lucky charm. His date that evening wants to have sex with him because of the charm, but he gets an emergency call from Cam, who chipped her tooth in a work accident at the penguin exhibit. He fixes her tooth, but instead of accepting monetary payment, he asks her out for dinner, but Cam declines as she is not emotionally ready. He returns home to find his receptionist Reba coming onto him hoping he will be her lucky charm.


title: Good Luck Chuck

text: Stu encourages Chuck to indulge in more "guilt-free sex", and Chuck does so. However, he still has feelings for Cam, and asks her out. Chuck and Cam's relationship deepens, but when Stu calls Chuck and tells him that every single woman Chuck had slept with has gotten married, Chuck gets cold feet and leaves.


title: Good Luck Chuck

text: Stu and Chuck test the curse on an ugly, obese woman named Eleanor. Meanwhile, Chuck pretends to be sick and maintains a distance relationship with Cam by phone and by computer video. Observing that Eleanor has not seen anyone, Chuck makes Stu ask her out. After Stu confirms he did that and that Eleanor hasn't fallen for him, Chuck rushes to Cam's place and they have sex. The next morning, when Chuck sees Eleanor on TV happily kissing another man, he angrily calls Stu, who admits he only pretended to ask her out. Worried that Cam will now find her true love, Chuck smothers her in increasingly annoying ways, until Cam eventually dumps him. While talking with Reba, Chuck sees a bottle spinning on the ground; he and Stu locate Anisha's home. Chuck asks Anisha to dismiss the curse, but Anisha reveals to Chuck that the curse was not truly real, and that her love back then was just a childhood crush. She encourages him to let go of the girl he is interested in, if he truly loves her.


title: Good Luck Chuck

text: Chuck arranges for Cam to meet Howard Blaine, the penguin expert author that Cam admires. Later, Stu and his new three-breasted fiancée Lara tell Chuck that Cam is heading to Antarctica with Howard. Chuck catches her on the plane and pleads her not to go, but Cam explains that she will be back on Wednesday and she is going with both Howard and his wife. He leaves her with a ring box with a pebble, a reference to a previous discussion about what a penguin would do to court a lifetime mate. Cam calls back for Chuck and they kiss. Meanwhile, Anisha pulls out her old childhood occult keepsake box, and removes a pin from a voodoo doll of Chuck. A year later, Chuck and Cam are in Antarctica together looking at the southern lights while surrounded by penguins.


title: Good Luck Chuck

text: During the closing credits, the housesitting Stu and Lara find a sex tape involving Chuck, Cam, and a stuffed penguin.


title: Good Luck Chuck

text: "Good Luck Chuck" was panned by critics. According to Rotten Tomatoes, only 5% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 114 reviews. The site's consensus states: "A shortage of laughs and an undercurrent of mean-spiritedness undermine "Good Luck Chuck", squandering a decent premise on gross-out humor and shopworn slapstick." On Metacritic, the film had an average score of 19 out of 100, based on 23 reviews, indicating "overwhelming dislike".


title: Good Luck Chuck

text: Roger Ebert awarded the film 1 out of 4 stars, branding it "potty-mouthed and brain-damaged", whilst his reviewing partner, Richard Roeper also rated it poorly.


title: Good Luck Chuck

text: The film was the second-highest-grossing film at the U.S. box office in its opening weekend, grossing $13.6 million in 2,612 theaters. The film went on to have a total box office tally of approximately $35 million U.S. and $24 million foreign.


title: Good Luck Chuck

text: The film earned two Razzie Award nominations including Worst Actress (Jessica Alba) and Worst Screen Couple (Alba and Dane Cook), but lost to Lindsay Lohan for "I Know Who Killed Me".


title: Good Luck Chuck

text: "Good Luck Chuck" was filmed from late-September to mid-November 2006. The film was shot in Vancouver, British Columbia and also partly in Edmonton, Alberta, using the Alberta Film Studio for the aquarium scenes and the neighborhood of Old Strathcona for exterior shots.


title: Avianca

text: Avianca S.A. (acronym in Spanish for "Aerovias del Continente Americano S.A.", "Airways of the American Continent") is a Colombian airline. It has been the flag carrier of Colombia since December 5, 1919, when it was initially registered under the name SCADTA. It is headquartered in Colombia, with its registered office in Barranquilla and its global headquarters in Bogotá and main hub at El Dorado International Airport. Avianca is the flagship of a group of ten Latin American airlines, who operate as one airline using a codesharing system. Avianca is the largest airline in Colombia and second largest in Latin America, after LATAM of Chile. Avianca and its subsidiaries have the most extensive network of destinations in Latin America. Prior to the merger with TACA in 2010, it was wholly owned by Synergy Group, a South American holding company established by Germán Efromovich and specialising in air transport. It is listed on the Colombia Stock Exchange.


title: Avianca

text: Through SCADTA, Avianca is the world's second oldest extant airline after KLM, and celebrated its 100th anniversary in December 2019. It is the oldest airline in the Western Hemisphere. It became an official member of Star Alliance on June 21, 2012, after a process that lasted approximately 18 months from the initial announcement of its invitation to join the alliance. On May 10, 2020, Avianca filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in a court in New York City, and liquidated its subsidiary Avianca Perú, due to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.


title: Avianca

text: The airline traces its history back to December 5, 1919, in the city of Barranquilla, Colombia. Colombians Ernesto Cortissoz Alvarez-Correa (the first President of the airline), Rafael María Palacio, Cristóbal Restrepo, Jacobo Correa and Aristides Noguera and Germans Werner Kämmerer, Stuart Hosie and Albert Tietjen founded the Colombo-German Company, called "Sociedad Colombo-Alemana de Transportes Aéreos" or SCADTA. The company accomplished their first flight on September 5, 1920 between Barranquilla and the nearby town of Puerto Colombia using a Junkers F.13, transporting 57 pieces of mail. The flight was piloted by German Helmuth von Krohn. This and another aircraft of the same type were completely mechanically constructed monoplanes, the engines of which had to be modified to efficiently operate in the climate of the country. There were nine aircraft in the fleet with a total range of which could carry up to four passengers and two crewmen. Due to the topographic characteristics of the country and the lack of airports at the time, floats were adapted for two of the Junkers aircraft to make water landings in the rivers near different towns. Using these floats, Helmuth von Krohn was able to perform the first inland flight over Colombia on October 20, 1920, following the course of the Magdalena River; the flight took eight hours and required four emergency landings in the water.


title: Avianca

text: Soon after the airline was founded, German scientist and philanthropist Peter von Bauer became interested in the airline and contributed general knowledge, capital and a tenth aircraft for the company, as well as obtaining concessions from the Colombian government to operate the country's airmail transportation division using the airline, which began in 1922. This new contract allowed SCADTA to thrive in a new frontier of aviation. By the mid-1920s, SCADTA started its first international routes that initially covered destinations in Venezuela and the United States. In 1924, the aircraft that both Ernesto Cortissoz and Helmuth von Krohn were flying crashed into an area currently known as Bocas de Ceniza in Barranquilla, killing them. In the early 1940s, Peter von Bauer sold his shares in the airline to the US-owned Pan Am.


title: Avianca

text: On June 14, 1940, in the city of Barranquilla, SCADTA, under ownership by United States businessmen, merged with regional Colombian airline SACO, forming the new "Aerovías Nacionales de Colombia S.A." or Avianca. Five Colombians participated in this: Rafael María Palacio, Jacobo A. Corea, Cristobal Restrepo, and Aristides Noguera, as well as German citizens Albert Teitjen, Werner Kaemerer and Stuart Hosie, while the post of first President of Avianca was filled by Martín del Corral. Avianca claims SCADTA's history as its own.


title: Avianca

text: In 1946, Avianca began flights to Quito, Lima, Panama City, Miami, New York City and Europe, using Douglas DC-4s and C-54 Skymasters. In 1951, Avianca acquired Lockheed Constellations and Super Constellations. In 1956, the company transported the Colombian delegation to the Melbourne Olympics on a 61-hour trip, stopping only to refuel.


title: Avianca

text: During the 1960s, the company built the Avianca Building in Bogotá, designed by the architect Germán Samper, which was inaugurated in 1969 on the south side of Santander Park. In 1961, Avianca leased two Boeing 707s to operate its international routes and on November 2, 1961, it acquired its own Boeing 720s. In 1976, Avianca became the first Latin American airline to continuously operate the Boeing 747-100. Three years later, it started operations with more 747s, including two Combi aircraft, mixing cargo and passenger operations.


title: Avianca

text: In 1981, Avianca undertook the construction of a new exclusive terminal called the Terminal Puente Aéreo, which was eventually inaugurated by President Julio César Turbay Ayala. Avianca's original purpose for the terminal was for flights serving Cali, Medellín, Miami and New York.


title: Avianca

text: In 1994, Avianca, the regional carrier SAM and the helicopter operator Helicol merged, beginning Avianca's new system of operations. This arrangement allowed for specialized services in cargo (Avianca Cargo) and postal services, as well as a more modern fleet made up of Boeing 767s, Boeing 757s, MD-83s, Fokker 50s, and Bell helicopters. In 1996, Avianca Postal Services became "Deprisa", which provided various mail services.


title: Avianca

text: On December 10, 1998, Avianca officially opened its new hub in Bogotá, offering around 6,000 possible connections per week, and an increased number of frequencies, schedules and destinations, taking advantage of the privileged geographical location of the country's capital, for the benefit of Colombian and international travelers between South America, Europe and North America.


title: Avianca

text: After the September 11 attacks, Avianca, SAM, and their major rival ACES joined efforts to create the "Alianza Summa", which began merged operations on May 20, 2002 to offer a more efficient service, with concerns to quality, quantity, security and competition in a new struggling marketplace. However, adverse circumstances within the industry and markets, forced the alliance to be disband. In November 2003, the Alianza Summa was disbanded, ACES was liquidated altogether and SAM was acquired to be a regional carrier under Avianca's brand.


title: Avianca

text: On December 10, 2004, Avianca concluded a major reorganization process, undertaken after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, by obtaining confirmation of its reorganization plan, which was financially backed by the Brazilian consortium, Synergy Group and the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia, allowing the airline to obtain funds for US$63 million, in the 13 months following withdrawal from bankruptcy.


title: Avianca

text: Under this plan, Avianca was bought by Synergy Group, and was consolidated with its subsidiaries OceanAir and VIP. The company's full legal name was changed from "Aerovías Nacionales de Colombia" (National Airways of Colombia) to "Aerovías del Continente Americano" (Airways of the American Continent), retaining the acronym Avianca. On February 28, 2005, Avianca presented its new logo and livery.


title: Avianca

text: In October 2009, it was announced that Avianca would merge with TACA Airlines. This created AviancaTaca Holding, which instantly became one of the region's largest airlines, with 129 aircraft and flights to more than 100 destinations.


title: Avianca

text: In November 2009, the airline's Chief Executive Fabio Villegas announced that the airline was looking to replace its Fokker 50 and Fokker 100 with newer aircraft of 100 seats or less. On January 1, 2011, the airline decided to retire the Fokker 100 in 2011 and replace them with 10 Airbus A318s leased from GECAS. The aircraft were delivered from February to April 2011.


title: Avianca

text: On November 10, 2010, Star Alliance announced that Avianca (and its merger counterpart, TACA) were full members in 2012. Due to Avianca's entry into Star Alliance, it ended its codeshare agreement with Delta Air Lines and began a new codeshare agreement with United Airlines. TACA had been codesharing with United Airlines since 2006. On June 21, 2012, Avianca and TACA were both officially admitted into Star Alliance.


title: Avianca

text: On March 21, 2013, at the annual general meeting, the shareholders approved the change of corporate name from "AviancaTaca Holding" to Avianca Holdings. TACA and all other AviancaTaca airlines changed their brand to Avianca on May 28, 2013.


title: Avianca

text: As of 2017, Avianca operates the second-most daily international flights from Miami with 16, second only to American Airlines.


title: Avianca

text: In August 2018, Avianca had some operational difficulties due to problems with the platform it used to assign crew schedules. This resulted in the cancellation of several flights within Colombia. Likewise, due to the stoppage of ACDAC pilots in 2017, only in October 2018 were all flight itineraries managed by the airline restored.


title: Avianca

text: On March 1, 2019, Avianca launched a subsidiary named Avianca Express, which operates ATR-72s on short regional flights within Colombia.


title: Avianca

text: Avianca had significant financial liabilities in 2019. Because of this, they issued more debt to cover short-term liabilities and concluded a debt exchange on December 31, 2019. In response to the global outbreak of COVID-19, the Colombian government's lockdown suspended Avianca's domestic and international operations; most of the company’s 20,000 employees went without pay throughout this period, and the airline operated no scheduled passenger flights between late March and May outside of repatriation missions. As a result of this temporary cessation of business, the company had seen 80% of its revenue stopped.


title: Avianca

text: Avianca Holdings and 23 affiliated debtors filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on May 10, 2020 as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent global shutdown, and their financial situation prior to and during the crisis. The airline holding liquidated their subsidiary Avianca Perú the same day. The debtors were granted joint administration of the cases under Case No. 20-11133. The airline had accumulated a total debt of USD $7.3 billion at the end of 2019.


title: Avianca

text: Avianca implemented numerous cost-reduction plans during and following their bankruptcy including increasing the passenger capacity and redesigning the cabin of their Airbus A320s, simplifying their fleet to only the A320 family and Boeing 787, the latter of which will also feature an economy class cabin redesign, and introducing new, cheaper, and more competitive fares with increased options for flexibility including checked and carry-on bags, seat selection, and priority boarding.


title: Avianca

text: In November 2021, Avianca Holdings announced they would move their legal address from Panama to the United Kingdom, and that they would change their name to Avianca Group. Their global headquarters remains in Bogotá. On November 2, 2021, Avianca's reorganization plan was approved by the court, and on December 1, 2021, more than a year and a half after filing, Avianca emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time in its history.


title: Avianca

text: On April 29, 2022, Avianca announced plans to acquire low-cost competitor Viva Air Colombia and its subsidiary Viva Air Perú. The merger was rejected by the Colombian Civil Aviation Authority in November 2022.


title: Avianca

text: On May 11, 2022, it was announced that Avianca would merge with Viva Air Colombia, Viva Air Peru, and Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes to form the Abra Group, and that Avianca would be the acquiring company. Avianca has stated the rejection of the Avianca-Viva Air merger would not affect the plans for the Abra Group.


title: Avianca

text: Avianca's headquarters are on Avenida El Dorado and between Carrera 60 and Gobernación de Cundinamarca, located in the Ciudad Salitre area of Bogotá. The building is located next to the Gran Estación. Its previous head office was at Avenida El Dorado No. 93-30.


title: Avianca

text: Avianca's hubs are in Bogotá, San Salvador, Cali, Cartagena and Medellín. Its focus cities are Barranquilla, San José, and Miami, in the latter of which Avianca is the largest foreign carrier by number of passengers.


title: Avianca

text: The frequent-flyer program of Avianca and its subsidiaries is LifeMiles. This program is designed to reward customer loyalty for the airline, travel and retail sectors. LifeMiles members can earn miles every time they fly with Avianca, Star Alliance member airlines, as well as GOL Airlines, Aeromexico and Iberia.


title: Avianca

text: The program was launched in 2011 with the merger of Avianca and TACA, replacing its former "AviancaPlus" program. LifeMiles has been awarded 14 Freddie Awards for its outstanding performance and promotions in the Americas during the last 9 years.


title: Avianca

text: Avianca's first Boeing 787 Dreamliner was delivered on December 17, 2014, and its first service was on January 16, 2015 between Bogotá and New York City.


title: Avianca

text: The airline suffered a few incidents during the 1980s and early 1990s. The deadliest of those incidents was Avianca Flight 011, which crashed in 1983.


title: Danny Ings

text: Daniel William John Ings (born 23 July 1992) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Aston Villa.


title: Danny Ings

text: Ings started his career in the youth team of Southampton but was released as a schoolboy. He subsequently joined AFC Bournemouth, progressing through their youth system, while also spending time at Dorchester Town on loan. In 2011, Ings joined Burnley with whom he won the 2013–14 Championship Player of the Year, and helped them achieve promotion to the Premier League. Following Burnley's relegation, and the expiry of his contract with the club, Ings moved to Liverpool in the summer of 2015, but his first season at Anfield was ended after two months due to injury. His second season with Liverpool was also mired by injury, with Ings only making two League Cup appearances throughout the 2016–17 season. Ings joined Southampton on loan in August 2018, with his move made permanent on 1 July 2019 after Southampton decided to take the option to buy him based on a clause in the loan deal. He moved to Aston Villa in 2021.


title: Danny Ings

text: Ings was born in Winchester, Hampshire and grew up in Netley, Hampshire. As a child he attended Netley Abbey Primary School, Hamble Community Sports College and Brockenhurst College.


title: Danny Ings

text: Ings dreamed of playing for local club Southampton, but was rejected for being too small. He signed for Southampton from Netley Central Sports, before being released as a school boy. After his release, Ings played for Itchen Tyro.


title: Danny Ings

text: He signed a two-year apprentice contract with AFC Bournemouth in May 2008, having progressed through the club's Centre of Excellence while he was still at secondary school at Hamble Community Sports College. He had also previously had experience playing for the reserve team. He made his professional debut for Bournemouth on 6 October 2009, in a 2–1 away defeat to Northampton Town in the Football League Trophy, replacing Jason Tindall in the second half as a substitute. His second season in the youth team was blighted by a long-term abdominal injury, which restricted his playing time. He remained with the youth team until the summer of 2010, when he signed a short-term three-month contract. He extended his contract in September 2010, until the end of the 2010–11 campaign.


title: Danny Ings

text: In September 2010, he was sent on an initial one-month loan to Conference South club Dorchester Town. His debut for the Magpies came on 11 September 2010, scoring the equaliser in a 2–1 home defeat to Ebbsfleet United. His second goal for Dorchester came on 24 September, scoring a penalty in a 4–1 win over Mangotsfield United in the FA Cup. On 6 October, his loan was extended for a further month. His next goal came in a 4–1 defeat to Havant & Waterlooville as the Magpies were knocked out of the FA Cup. On 16 October, he scored the second in a 2–0 league win over Lewes, after coming on as a late substitute for Giuseppe Sole. He got his fifth goal in a 2–1 away win over Staines Town, scoring the opener. His first goal in November came in a 2–1 home defeat to Maidenhead United, which ended an unbeaten run of six matches. On 12 November 2010, his loan was extended for a third time for an additional month. He scored the second in a 3–1 win over Weston-super-Mare in the FA Trophy to help them progress to the next round. On 23 November, his spell at Dorchester was cut short as he was recalled from his loan by Bournemouth due to an injury crisis at the club.


title: Danny Ings

text: On 30 November, he signed a new contract extension which lasted until 2012. He made his league debut and first start for Bournemouth on 28 December 2010, in a 2–0 away defeat to Milton Keynes Dons in League One, where he was substituted off in the first half for Steve Fletcher. He started to become a first-team regular and scored his first professional goal against Swindon Town on 1 February 2011, in a 3–2 win at Dean Court. His form saw him rewarded with a new contract extension, lasting until 2013. On 26 February 2011, he scored a header to equalise in 2–1 win away at Dagenham & Redbridge in the league. On 1 April he added to his tally with a goal against Peterborough United in a 3–3 draw. He went through a rich vein of goalscoring from in April, scoring four goals in three matches. He scored an overhead kick to equalise in the last minute against Tranmere Rovers, however, the Cherries went on to lose the match 2–1. He also scored in a 2–0 away victory over Notts County. He scored his first brace in a 2–2 draw with Yeovil Town, including one penalty. His final goal for Bournemouth came in the last match of the season, in the play-off semi-final defeat to Huddersfield Town, as Bournemouth were knocked out on penalties.


title: Danny Ings

text: In the summer of 2011, he was linked with reported moves away from Bournemouth with Celtic, Liverpool and Newcastle United. Premier League club Fulham also had a £400,000 bid rejected by the club. In July 2011, he was rewarded with his fifth contract in twelve months, improving his deal to be one of the top earners at the club. He remained at the club through pre-season and started in the first match of the season in a 3–0 away defeat to Charlton Athletic. It proved to be his final appearance for the club.