title: Thor Heyerdahl

text: Based on this and other published documentation, Heyerdahl proposed that Azerbaijan was the site of an ancient advanced civilisation. He believed that natives migrated north through waterways to present-day Scandinavia using ingeniously constructed vessels made of skins that could be folded like cloth. When voyagers travelled upstream, they conveniently folded their skin boats and transported them on pack animals.


title: Thor Heyerdahl

text: On Heyerdahl's visit to Baku in 1999, he lectured at the Academy of Sciences about the history of ancient Nordic Kings. He spoke of a notation made by Snorri Sturluson, a 13th-century historian-mythographer in "Ynglinga Saga", which relates that "Odin (a Scandinavian god who was one of the kings) came to the North with his people from a country called Aser." (see also House of Ynglings and Mythological kings of Sweden). Heyerdahl accepted Snorri's story as literal truth, and believed that a chieftain led his people in a migration from the east, westward and northward through Saxony, to Fyn in Denmark, and eventually settling in Sweden. Heyerdahl claimed that the geographic location of the mythic Aser or Æsir matched the region of contemporary Azerbaijan – "east of the Caucasus mountains and the Black Sea". "We are no longer talking about mythology," Heyerdahl said, "but of the realities of geography and history. Azerbaijanis should be proud of their ancient culture. It is just as rich and ancient as that of China and Mesopotamia."


title: Thor Heyerdahl

text: In September 2000 Heyerdahl returned to Baku for the fourth time and visited the archaeological dig in the area of the Church of Kish.


title: Thor Heyerdahl

text: One of the last projects of his life, "Jakten på Odin", 'The Search for Odin', was a sudden revision of his Odin hypothesis, in furtherance of which he initiated 2001–2002 excavations in Azov, Russia, near the Sea of Azov at the northeast of the Black Sea. He searched for the remains of a civilisation to match the account of Odin in Snorri Sturlusson, significantly further north of his original target of Azerbaijan on the Caspian Sea only two years earlier. This project generated harsh criticism and accusations of pseudoscience from historians, archaeologists and linguists in Norway, who accused Heyerdahl of selective use of sources, and a basic lack of scientific methodology in his work.


title: Thor Heyerdahl

text: His central claims were based on similarities of names in Norse mythology and geographic names in the Black Sea region, e.g. "Azov" and "Æsir", Udi and Odin, Tyr and Turkey. Philologists and historians reject these parallels as mere coincidences, and also anachronisms, for instance the city of Azov did not have that name until over 1,000 years after Heyerdahl claims the Æsir dwelt there. The controversy surrounding the Search for Odin project was in many ways typical of the relationship between Heyerdahl and the academic community. His theories rarely won any scientific acceptance, whereas Heyerdahl himself rejected all scientific criticism and concentrated on publishing his theories in popular books aimed at the general public.


title: Thor Heyerdahl

text: Heyerdahl also investigated the mounds found on the Maldive Islands in the Indian Ocean. There, he found sun-orientated foundations and courtyards, as well as statues with elongated earlobes. Heyerdahl believed that these finds fit with his theory of a seafaring civilisation which originated in what is now Sri Lanka, colonised the Maldives, and influenced or founded the cultures of ancient South America and Easter Island. His discoveries are detailed in his book "The Maldive Mystery".


title: Thor Heyerdahl

text: In 1991 he studied the Pyramids of Güímar on Tenerife and declared that they were not random stone heaps but pyramids. Based on the discovery made by the astrophysicists Aparicio, Belmonte and Esteban, from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias that the "pyramids" were astronomically orientated and being convinced that they were of ancient origin, he claimed that the ancient people who built them were most likely sun worshippers. Heyerdahl advanced a theory according to which the Canaries had been bases of ancient shipping between America and the Mediterranean.


title: Thor Heyerdahl

text: Heyerdahl was also an active figure in Green politics. He was the recipient of numerous medals and awards. He also received 11 honorary doctorates from universities in the Americas and Europe.


title: Thor Heyerdahl

text: In subsequent years, Heyerdahl was involved with many other expeditions and archaeological projects. He remained best known for his boatbuilding, and for his emphasis on cultural diffusionism.


title: Thor Heyerdahl

text: Heyerdahl died on 18 April 2002 in Colla Micheri, Liguria, Italy, where he had gone to spend the Easter holidays with some of his closest family members. He died, aged 87, from a brain tumour. After receiving the diagnosis, he prepared for death, by refusing to eat or take medication.


title: Thor Heyerdahl

text: The Norwegian government honored him with a state funeral in the Oslo Cathedral on 26 April 2002. He is buried in the garden of the family home in Colla Micheri. He was an atheist.


title: Thor Heyerdahl

text: Despite the fact that, for many years, much of his work was not accepted by the scientific community, Heyerdahl, nonetheless, increased public interest in ancient history and anthropology. He also showed that long-distance ocean voyages were possible with ancient designs. As such, he was a major practitioner of experimental archaeology. The Kon-Tiki Museum on the Bygdøy peninsula in Oslo, Norway houses vessels and maps from the Kon-Tiki expedition, as well as a library with about 8,000 books.


title: Thor Heyerdahl

text: The Thor Heyerdahl Institute was established in 2000. Heyerdahl himself agreed to the founding of the institute and it aims to promote and continue to develop Heyerdahl's ideas and principles. The institute is located in Heyerdahl's birth town of Larvik, Norway. In Larvik, the birthplace of Heyerdahl, the municipality began a project in 2007 to attract more visitors. Since then, they have purchased and renovated Heyerdahl's childhood home, arranged a yearly raft regatta in his honour at the end of summer and begun to develop a Heyerdahl centre.


title: Thor Heyerdahl

text: Heyerdahl's grandson, Olav Heyerdahl, retraced his grandfather's "Kon-Tiki" voyage in 2006 as part of a six-member crew. The voyage, organised by Torgeir Higraff and called the Tangaroa Expedition, was intended as a tribute to Heyerdahl, an effort to better understand navigation via centreboards ("guara") as well as a means to monitor the Pacific Ocean's environment.


title: Thor Heyerdahl

text: A book about the Tangaroa Expedition by Torgeir Higraff was published in 2007. The book has numerous photos from the "Kon-Tiki" voyage 60 years earlier and is illustrated with photographs by Tangaroa crew member Anders Berg (Oslo: Bazar Forlag, 2007). "Tangaroa Expedition" has also been produced as a documentary DVD in English, Norwegian, Swedish and Spanish.


title: Thor Heyerdahl

text: Paul Theroux, in his book "The Happy Isles of Oceania", criticises Heyerdahl for trying to link the culture of Polynesian islands with the Peruvian culture. However, recent scientific investigation that compares the DNA of some of the Polynesian islands with natives from Peru suggests that there is some merit to Heyerdahl's ideas and that while Polynesia was colonised from Asia, some contact with South America also existed; several papers have in the last few years confirmed with genetic data some form of contacts with Easter Island.


title: Thor Heyerdahl

text: More recently, some researchers published research confirming a wider impact on genetic and cultural elements in Polynesia due to South American contacts.


title: Thor Heyerdahl

text: Asteroid 2473 Heyerdahl is named after him, as are HNoMS "Thor Heyerdahl", a Norwegian Nansen class frigate, along with "MS Thor Heyerdahl" (now renamed "MS Vana Tallinn"), and "Thor Heyerdahl", a German three-masted sail training vessel originally owned by a participant of the Tigris expedition. Heyerdahl Vallis, a valley on Pluto, and Thor Heyerdahl Upper Secondary School in Larvik, the town of his birth, are also named after him. Google honoured Heyerdahl on his 100th birthday by making a Google Doodle.


title: Lions Clubs International

text: The International Association of Lions Clubs, more commonly known as Lions Clubs International, is an international non-political service organization established originally in 1916 in Chicago, Illinois, by Melvin Jones. It is now headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois. , it had over 46,000 local clubs and more than 1.4 million members (including the youth wing Leo) in more than 200 countries and geographic areas around the world.


title: Lions Clubs International

text: Lions Clubs International was founded in Evansville, Indiana, on 24 October 1916 by William Perry Woods. It subsequently evolved as an international service organization under the guidance and supervision of its secretary, Melvin Jones.


title: Lions Clubs International

text: In 1917, Jones was a 38-year-old Chicago business leader who told members of his local business club they should reach beyond business issues and address the betterment of their communities and the world. Jones' group, the Business Circle of Chicago, agreed. After contacting similar groups around the United States, an organizational meeting was held on June 7, 1917, in Chicago. The Business Circle subsequently joined one of the invited groups, the "International Association of Lions Clubs" and at a national convention held in Dallas, Texas, later that year, those who were assembled: (1) adopted a Constitution, By-Laws, Code of Ethics and an Emblem; (2) established as a main tenet "unselfish service to others", (3) unanimously elected Woods as its first president, effectively securing his leadership for the first two years of the existence of the International Association of Lions, and (4) selected Jones to serve as the organization's secretary-treasurer.


title: Lions Clubs International

text: The Lions motto is "We Serve". Local Lions Club programs include sight conservation, hearing and speech conservation, diabetes awareness, youth outreach, international relations, environmental issues, and many other programs. The discussion of partisan politics and sectarian religion is forbidden. The LIONS acronym also stands for Liberty, Intelligence, Our Nations' Safety.


title: Lions Clubs International

text: Lions Clubs plan and participate in a variety of service projects. Examples include donations to hospices, or community campaigns such as "Message in a bottle", a United Kingdom and Ireland initiative which places a plastic bottle with critical medical information inside the refrigerators of vulnerable people. Money is also raised for international purposes. Some of this is donated in reaction to events such as the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and the 2013 Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda). Other money is used to support international campaigns, coordinated by the Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF), such as Sight First and Lions World Sight Day, which was launched in 1998 to draw world media attention to the plight of sight loss in the developing world. Lions take on all sorts of various fundraisers to fund these projects.


title: Lions Clubs International

text: Lions focus on work for the blind and visually impaired began when Helen Keller addressed the international convention at Cedar Point, Ohio, on 30 June 1925 and charged Lions to be "Knights of the Blind".


title: Lions Clubs International

text: Lions also conduct community hearing- and cancer-screening projects. In Perth, Western Australia, they have conducted hearing screening for over 30 years and provided seed funding for the Lions Ear and Hearing Institute established September 9, 2001, a center of excellence in the diagnosis, management, and research of ear and hearing disorders. In Perth, Lions have also assisted in the establishment of the Lions Eye Institute. In Brisbane, Queensland, the Lions Medical Research Foundation provides funding to a number of researchers. Ian Frazer's initial work, leading to the development of a HPV vaccine for the human papillomavirus which could lead to cervical cancer, was funded by the Lions Medical Research Foundation.


title: Lions Clubs International

text: Lions Clubs International has supported the work of the United Nations since that organization's inception in 1945, when it was one of the non-governmental organizations invited to assist in the drafting of the United Nations Charter in San Francisco, California.


title: Lions Clubs International

text: Lions Clubs International Foundation is "Lions helping Lions serve the world". Donations provide funding in the form of grants to financially assist Lions districts with large-scale humanitarian projects that are too expensive and costly for Lions to finance on their own.


title: Lions Clubs International

text: The Foundation aids Lions in making a greater impact in their local communities, as well as around the world. Major initiatives of the foundation include the following:


title: Lions Clubs International

text: Upon endorsing the biggest ever collaborative disease eradication program called the London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases launched on 30 January 2012 in London, the organization has implemented SightFirst program by which it aims to eradicate blindness due to trachoma, one of the neglected tropical diseases. It has allocated over US$11 million in 10 countries for eye surgeries, medical training, distribution of Zithromax and tetracycline, and sanitary services. It has also announced US$6.9 million funding to support the Government of China for the same cause.


title: Lions Clubs International

text: Membership in the Lions Club is by "invitation only" as mandated by its constitution and by-laws. All member applicants need a sponsor who is an active member and of good standing in the club they intend to join. While sponsorship may be obtained by an applicant in order to become a legitimate member, sponsorship is no guarantee of membership. Acceptance of membership is still subject to the approval of the majority of the club's board of directors. A Lions Club chooses its members diligently as it requires time and financial commitments. Prospective applicants must be a person of good moral character in his or her community. Attendance at meetings is encouraged on a monthly or fortnightly basis. Due to the hierarchical nature of Lions Clubs International, members have the opportunity to advance from a local club to an office at the zone, district, multiple district, and international levels.


title: Lions Clubs International

text: In 1987 the constitution of Lions Clubs International was amended to allow for women to become members. Since then many clubs have admitted women, but some all-male clubs still exist. In 2003, 8 out of 17 members at the Lions Club in Worcester, England, resigned when a woman joined the club. Women's membership numbers continue to grow throughout the association.


title: Lions Clubs International

text: Among the famous and noteworthy members of Lions International are former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Her Royal Highness Sophie, Countess of Wessex, a member of the Wokingham Lions Club and Royal Patron of the Lions Clubs of the British Isles, Sir Edmund Hillary, a member of the Remuera Lions Club in New Zealand, and Amelia Earhart, an honorary member of the New York City Lions Clubs.


title: Lions Clubs International

text: The Medal of Merit (MM) is the highest award from "Lions Clubs International" to non-members for outstanding contributions to Lions Clubs International and its goals.


title: Lions Clubs International

text: The District Governor Award (DGA) is one of the highest awards from Lions Clubs International to its members having done exceptional services.


title: Lions Clubs International

text: The President's Appreciation Award (PAA) is the highest award that can be awarded to an outstanding club.


title: Lions Clubs International

text: The Melvin Jones Fellowship (MJF) Award is the highest recognition from the "Lions Clubs International Foundation" being given to members who have rendered outstanding community services.


title: Lions Clubs International

text: The organization became international on 12 March 1920, when the first club in Canada was established in Windsor, Ontario. In 1937, it was founded in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Lions Clubs have since spread across the globe and have a current membership roster of 1.4 million members worldwide.


title: Lions Clubs International

text: In addition to adult Lions Clubs, the Lions family includes Lioness Clubs, Leo Clubs, Campus Lions Clubs and Lion Cubs. These divisions are parts of Lions Clubs International.


title: Lions Clubs International

text: Lioness Club Membership is generally for women, with exceptions of men also becoming Lioness members nowadays. They are formed under a parent Lions Club. The Lions Club thus becomes the Parent Club for the Lioness Club. Naming of the Club is also like that of the Lions Club—e.g., Lions Club of Satara United Dist 323D-1 forming and sponsoring a Lioness Club Satara United District 323D-1. In many areas, particularly the United States, Lioness clubs have disbanded and merged into their parent clubs to make a more effective club as a whole.


title: Lions Clubs International

text: Leo Clubs are an extension of the Lions service organization which aims to encourage community service and involvement from a young age. Much like Lioness Clubs, Leo Clubs are sponsored by a parent Lions Club. Leo Clubs are a common school-based organization with members between the ages of 12 and 18 from the same school, these are commonly referred to as "Alpha Leo Clubs". Community based clubs also exist; these generally cater for 18- to 30-year-olds, and are referred to as "Omega Leo Clubs". Leo Clubs are required to have a Leo Club Advisor, a member of the sponsoring Lions Club who attends meetings and provides general advice to the club. Lions International includes more than 250,000 Leo club members in over 150 countries.


title: Lions Clubs International

text: Many Leos join a Campus Lions Club if they attend a university or college after high school graduation. There are more than 600 Campus Lions clubs in the world including nearly 13,000 members on college and university campuses in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, England, Ethiopia, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Mongolia, Nepal, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Uganda, United States, Venezuela, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Legion Lions Club in University of Ghana, KNUST Campus Lions and the University of KwaZulu-Natal Campus Lions Club which is the only active Campus Lions Club currently operating in the Republic of South Africa.


title: Lions Clubs International

text: These are chartered to focus on a specific need. For instance, Diabetes Clubs, Champion Lions Clubs (Special Olympics), Vision, hearing, homeless/hunger etc. Specialty clubs may also be ethnic based or its members may have similar interests - for instance a gardening Lions Club whose members all have interests in gardening.


title: Lions Clubs International

text: Lion Cubs is a youth service organization for the elementary aged students (ages eight to twelve). The first club was chartered in the Owen J. Roberts School District in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, United States. It was developed for students in 4th through 6th grade, and therefore too young to be a Leo Club member. The clubs (one club in each of five elementary schools) started their meetings and activities in September 2008 and were officially chartered March 24, 2009. The club is sponsored by the Coventry Lions Club of District 14P. The Lion Cubs first year (2008–09) had 179 charter members.


title: Lions Clubs International

text: An international convention is held annually in cities across the globe for members to meet other Lions, elect the coming year's officers, and partake in the many activities planned. At the convention, Lions can participate in elections and parades, display and discuss fundraisers and service projects, and trade pins and other souvenirs. The first convention was held in 1917, the first year of the club's existence, in Dallas, Texas. The 2006 convention was due to be held in New Orleans, but damage sustained during Hurricane Katrina meant that the convention had to be relocated to Boston.


title: Left Behind (2014 film)

text: Left Behind is a 2014 American apocalyptic thriller film directed by Vic Armstrong and written by Paul LaLonde and John Patus. Based on the 1995 novel of the same name written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, the film stars Nicolas Cage, Chad Michael Murray, Cassi Thomson, Nicky Whelan, Jordin Sparks, and Lea Thompson. The second film adaptation of the first "Left Behind" novel but not following the book's chronology, it centers on a worldwide disaster, which is shown from the perspective of one family, a husband (airline pilot Rayford Steele) and wife facing marital difficulties, and their two children.


title: Left Behind (2014 film)

text: "Left Behind" was theatrically released on October 3, 2014, by Freestyle Releasing. It was panned by critics and holds a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film grossed $27 million worldwide against its $16 million production budget. A sequel featuring a new cast, titled "Left Behind: Rise of the Anti-Christ", with Kevin Sorbo starring and directing with LaLonde returning as producer.


title: Left Behind (2014 film)

text: University of Central Arkansas student Chloe Steele has flown home from college to New York to surprise her father, pilot Rayford Steele, for his birthday party. However, her mother, Irene, informs her that her father cannot make it. While at the airport waiting for him, Chloe meets investigative reporter Cameron "Buck" Williams.


title: Left Behind (2014 film)

text: Rayford shows up on his way to a flight and apologizes to Chloe for missing his birthday party, insisting he was called in to pilot a flight to London at the last minute. He also assures Chloe that things are fine between himself and his wife, who recently had become a proselytising Christian, much to Chloe's annoyance. Chloe suspects things are not fine between her parents – she had seen him flirting with flight attendant Hattie Durham and notices he has removed his wedding ring. Her suspicions are soon confirmed when an airport worker hands Chloe a pair of tickets for a concert in London that Rayford had ordered, indicating his trip was planned in advance.


title: Left Behind (2014 film)

text: Chloe brushes off another of her mother's preachings and takes her brother to the mall. As she hugs him, he vanishes, into thin air, leaving his clothes behind. The same has happened to numerous others at the mall. Mayhem breaks loose as shoppers begin looting the stores. A driver-less car plows through the mall windows, and a small plane without a pilot crashes into the parking lot. Chloe sees television reports of children and some adults disappearing, as worldwide panic sets in.


title: Left Behind (2014 film)

text: On Rayford's flight, the same strange event has occurred – several people, including his co-pilot Chris Smith, Kimmy, one of the flight attendants, and all the children on board, have simply disappeared. The remaining passengers panic and demand answers. Rayford does his best to reassure the passengers he will pass on information once he has any. He has difficulty getting radio or satellite phone contact with anyone on the ground, until he is finally informed that people have disappeared everywhere and the world is in uproar. Soon a pilot-less jet approaches directly into their flight path, resulting in a midair collision, that damages Rayford's fuel line. He decides his only option is to return to New York and hope his fuel holds out.


title: Left Behind (2014 film)

text: On the ground, Chloe hears her father's mayday call on her cell phone and assumes his plane has crashed. She later finds her mother's jewelry left behind in the still-running shower, as she has also disappeared. Chloe makes her way to her mother's church, where family pastor Bruce Barnes explains that God has taken his believers to heaven and the rest have to face the end of days. The pastor explains he was not taken because he did not really believe what he had preached. Rayford comes to the same conclusion after finding evidence of religious belief in his copilot and stewardess' personal effects. He tells Hattie about his wife. She is upset as she did not know he was married, but Rayford convinces her to be brave and to help calm the passengers down until they can safely land.


title: Left Behind (2014 film)

text: Chloe climbs to the top of a bridge, intending to commit suicide, when she gets a call from Buck, who is in the cockpit with Rayford. Rayford explains to Chloe that all the New York-area airports are closed and the streets full, and he is low on fuel and has nowhere to land. Chloe finds an abandoned truck and uses it to clear away the equipment from a road under construction in order to create a makeshift runway. She uses her compass app and tells Rayford the coordinates of the landing site. Rayford is able to glide to a rough landing, saving the passengers, who leave the plane only to see the world aflame. Buck mentions that it looks like the end of the world, while Chloe informs him that it is just the beginning.


title: Left Behind (2014 film)

text: On August 7, 2008, Cloud Ten Pictures announced that it had entered into a settlement agreement resolving the two lawsuits against it and Namesake Entertainment, which co-produced the original trilogy. The suit was filed by Tim LaHaye. The settlement ended a legal dispute over the "Left Behind" film rights that began in 2000.


title: Left Behind (2014 film)

text: On October 1, 2010, Cloud Ten again reacquired rights to the film. Cloud Ten announced that they were rebooting the "Left Behind" film series. It was in the news that they planned on making the remake of the big-budgeted theatrically released film series based on the novel "Left Behind".


title: Left Behind (2014 film)

text: On October 31, 2011, it was reported that Paul LaLonde and John Patus, who worked on "" together, had written a screenplay for the reboot. On October 19, 2012, it was reported in "The Hollywood Reporter" that stunt artist Vic Armstrong was set to direct the reboot film with the budget around $15 million.


title: Left Behind (2014 film)

text: On October 19, 2012, "The Hollywood Reporter" reported that Nicolas Cage was in talks to join the cast as a lead actor. He portrays the lead role of Rayford Steele in the film. In December 2012, it was reported that Chad Michael Murray was in talks to join the cast, to play the role of journalist Cameron "Buck" Williams. On January 3, 2013, Ashley Tisdale joined to play the role of Chloe Steele in the film. In March 2013, Tia Mowry was in talks to join the cast of the film; later she joined. It was announced on August 9 that Tisdale dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. At that time, it was also announced that Jordin Sparks had signed on to join the cast. Sparks' character is named Shasta. On August 13, Cassi Thomson joined the lead cast, replacing Tisdale as Chloe Steele. On August 19, 2013, Olympic bobsledder and hurdler Lolo Jones was announced as a cast member, portraying an airport gate attendant. On September 9, 2013, Lea Thompson was announced to portray Rayford Steele's wife, Irene.


title: Left Behind (2014 film)

text: The character Nicolae Carpathia, the critical antagonist in the book series and 2000 film, does not appear in the film.


title: Left Behind (2014 film)

text: The film was theatrically released on October 3, 2014 in the United States via Stoney Lake Entertainment.


title: Left Behind (2014 film)

text: "Left Behind" played on 1,825 screens on its opening weekend, taking the number six position at the US box office with $6,300,147. The film gained 62 screens the following weekend, but posted a decline of 55% to end with $2,834,919. The third weekend saw the film dip to 923 screens and posted a 67.5% drop to $922,618. Its fourth weekend was the biggest drop yet for the movie at 71%, but rebounded in the later weeks. The final two weekends of the film's US theatrical release, however, posted a robust 265% increase before ending its run on December 11, 2014.


title: Left Behind (2014 film)

text: It also debuted in Singapore and Russia on the same day as its US run (October 3), with the former grossing $101,585 from 13 screens and the latter grossing $620,636 from 470 screens. The following week, the film opened in three additional countries: Lebanon ($63,585 opening week) on October 8, and Malaysia ($303,833 opening week) and Philippines ($259,303 opening week) on October 9, all having the highest debuts in the top three, with the countries of Lebanon and Philippines had the film ranked second place on their Box Office Chart. The film opened in two more countries the following week. The film ranked eighth place in Taiwan and came in second place in the United Arab Emirates with $336,544 from 47 screens.


title: Left Behind (2014 film)

text: Egypt and Brazil soon followed on October 22 and 23, taking in $24,951 and $633,096, respectively. Brazil was the first country to actually post a second-week increase (but only a scant +0.2% increase) and retained its fifth-place spot, making $634,150 (from 232 screens) for a total of $1,591,847. The film dropped 41% in its third week to end the weekend with $373,034 and a total of $2,221,533.


title: Left Behind (2014 film)

text: The movie opened in Ecuador on April 17, 2015, debuting in 7th place with $15,055 from 11 screens. The movie dropped 6% the second week, earning $14,156 from 12 screens. However, its third week suffered a massive -88% decline, ending the weekend with $1,673 from 6 screens. The film has grossed $45,652.


title: Left Behind (2014 film)

text: The film was released in Italy on July 29, 2015, and took the no. 3 position with $309,832. In its second weekend, the film dropped two spots to number five with $164,047 (a decline of 47%). The third week saw a decline of only 18% but retained its fifth place spot to end the weekend with 134,186. The film fell out of the top 10 beginning in its fourth week, as it ended the week $23,627 (resulting in a steep 82% drop). The film dropped to number 14 in its fifth week with $15,326. The sixth week saw a drop to the 16th position, but saw a steady 32% increase to end the week with $21,026. The seventh and final week saw only a scant 3% fall to end the week with $20,414. Its seven-week cumulative total stands at $1,048,328.


title: Left Behind (2014 film)

text: As of March 4, 2016, the film closed and had grossed $14,019,924 in North America and $13,385,972 in other territories for a worldwide total of $27,405,896, plus $5.2 million with home video sales, against a production budget of $16 million.


title: Left Behind (2014 film)

text: The film was panned by critics. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 0% based on 69 reviews, with an average rating of 2.17/10. On Metacritic, the film has a score of 12 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "overwhelming dislike". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.


title: Left Behind (2014 film)

text: In a review for "Entertainment Weekly", film critic Lindsey Bahr writes, "At best, "Left Behind" is shoddily made sensationalist propaganda—with atrocious acting—that barely registers as entertainment. At worst, it's profoundly moronic. Audiences, Christian or not, deserve better, and it's hard to imagine that the ham-fisted revelations in this schlock could serve any higher purpose."


title: Left Behind (2014 film)

text: Richard Roeper gave the film a grade of D−, stating that "the writing is horrible, the direction is clunky, the special effects are not special [and] the acting is so wooden you could make a basketball court out of it. Everything about this film feels forced and overwrought. With all due respect: Oh. My. God."


title: Left Behind (2014 film)

text: On her ½ star review of the film, Linda Barnard from the "Toronto Star" writes, "The tantalizing prospect that this could have been a camp set-up of the "Snakes on a Plane" or "Sharknado" ilk pops up as "Left Behind" starts to echo 1970s flight deck-driven disaster films—and the parodies that followed. No such luck. Armstrong appears humourlessly earnest about his task. Score one for Satan."


title: Left Behind (2014 film)

text: Christian film critics were critical of "Left Behind". Paul Chambers from MovieChambers.com begins his scathing review with, "There are millions of Christians with average or above-average intelligence. I'd like to think that I'm one of them. So, what possessed the makers of "Left Behind" to produce such an ignorant piece of garbage that's easily one of the worst films of 2014, if not all-time?"


title: Left Behind (2014 film)

text: Evangelical Christian magazine "Christianity Today" criticized the film, saying, ""Left Behind" is not a Christian movie, whatever 'Christian Movie' could even possibly mean. In fact, most Christians within the world of the movie—whether the street-preacher lady at the airport or Rayford Steele's wife—are portrayed as insistent, crazy, delusional, or at the very least just really annoying. They want churches to book whole theaters and take their congregations, want it to be a Youth Group event, want magazines like this one to publish Discussion Questions at the end of their reviews—want the system to churn away, all the while netting them cash, without ever having to have cared a shred about actual Christian belief. They want to trick you into caring about the movie. Don't." They also stated that they "tried to give the film zero stars, but our tech system won't allow it."


title: Left Behind (2014 film)

text: The film was praised by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, the original authors of the "Left Behind" series. Neither liked the 2000 version and LaHaye filed suit against it for breach of contract. After watching an early screening of the film, LaHaye said, "It is the best movie I have ever seen on the rapture", while Jenkins said, "I believe it does justice to the novel and will renew interest in the entire series." When asked if it was good, Jenkins said, "It's better than good."


title: Left Behind (2014 film)

text: "Left Behind" was nominated for three Razzies at the 35th Golden Raspberry Awards, for Worst Picture, Worst Screenplay, and Worst Actor for Nicolas Cage. It lost in all three categories to "Saving Christmas", starring Kirk Cameron, who coincidentally starred in the original "Left Behind" film franchise.


title: Left Behind (2014 film)

text: "", a spin-off film based on the spin-off series "" released on September 28, 2016. The film was produced by Tim LaHaye's grandson, Randy LaHaye and was well received by the book author.


title: Left Behind (2014 film)

text: In November 2021, LaLonde announced the beginning of production on "Left Behind: Rise of the Anti-Christ", with Kevin Sorbo directing and replacing Nicolas Cage as Rayford Steele. The film is set six months after the events of the 2014 film and is an adaptation of the third book, "Nicolae: The Rise of Antichrist".


title: 2020 NBA playoffs

text: The 2020 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2019–20 season. The playoffs were originally scheduled to begin on April 18. However, the league suspended the season on March 11, 2020, hours after the COVID-19 outbreak was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization and after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus.


title: 2020 NBA playoffs

text: On June 4, the NBA Board of Governors approved a plan to restart the season on July 31 in the NBA Bubble. This proposal was then approved by members of the National Basketball Players Association on June 5. Under this plan, the 22 top teams in the league at the time of the suspension played eight additional regular season games to determine playoff seeding, with 16 of those teams playing in a conventional postseason tournament. If the ninth seed within a conference would have finished the regular season within four games of the eighth seed, they would have then competed in a play-in series. The last time a play-in game was played to determine a playoff spot was in 1956.


title: 2020 NBA playoffs

text: As part of the bubble, all playoff games were held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex inside Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida.


title: 2020 NBA playoffs

text: All three games that were scheduled to take place on August 26 were postponed by a wildcat strike, in response to the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, with the Milwaukee Bucks being the first team not to take the court prior to their game five matchup against the Orlando Magic. The games on August 27 and 28 were also postponed, with games resuming on August 29.


title: 2020 NBA playoffs

text: The Toronto Raptors were defending champions, but lost in the Eastern Conference Semifinals round to the Boston Celtics. None of the teams that made it to the Conference Finals in the 2019 NBA playoffs made the Conference Finals in 2020. These were the first playoffs since 1997 without the San Antonio Spurs, as they were eliminated from playoff contention on August 14, 2020, ending what was then the longest active playoff streak in the NBA and in the four major sports leagues in North America.


title: 2020 NBA playoffs

text: After the NBA suspended its season on March 11, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the league started to explore implementing a special postseason format just for this year.


title: 2020 NBA playoffs

text: On June 4, the NBA Board of Governors approved a plan to restart the season on July 31 in the NBA Bubble, with 22 of the 30 teams in the league, all clubs within six games of a playoff spot. Under this plan, the 22 teams played eight regular-season "seeding" games. A possible best-of-three play-in series for the final seed in each conference would then be held if the ninth seed finished the regular season within four games of the eighth seed. The eighth seed would start with a "de facto" 1–0 lead, meaning that it would need just one win to advance, while the ninth seed would need two. The NBA's regular playoff format would then proceed as normal. All games were played behind closed doors at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Walt Disney World.


title: 2020 NBA playoffs

text: Under the NBA's regular playoff format, the eight teams with the most wins in each conference qualified for the playoffs. The seedings were based on each team's record. Each conference's bracket was fixed; there was no reseeding. All rounds were best-of-seven series; the series ended when one team won four games, and that team advanced to the next round. All rounds, including the NBA Finals, were in a 2–2–1–1–1 format. In the conference playoffs, home court advantage went to the higher-seeded team (number one being the highest), although since all games were played in the same location, this was merely a designated home court. Seeding was based on each team's regular season record within a conference; if two teams had the same record, standard tiebreaker rules were used. Conference seedings were ignored for the NBA Finals: Home court advantage went to the team with the better regular season record, and, if needed, ties were broken based on head-to-head record, followed by intra-conference record.


title: 2020 NBA playoffs

text: On February 23, 2020, the Milwaukee Bucks became the first team to clinch a playoff spot. The Toronto Raptors, Los Angeles Lakers, and Boston Celtics subsequently clinched playoff berths before the season was suspended on March 11.


title: 2020 NBA playoffs

text: Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in its conference, and the numbers to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions are marked by an asterisk.


title: 2020 NBA playoffs

text: Milwaukee was the first team in the league to refuse to play a game for social justice following the shooting of Jacob Blake.


title: 2020 NBA playoffs

text: This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Nets winning the two previous meetings.


title: 2020 NBA playoffs

text: This was the 22nd playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning 13 of the first 21 meetings.


title: 2020 NBA playoffs

text: This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Heat winning three of the first four meetings.


title: 2020 NBA playoffs

text: Despite a losing effort, LeBron James had the first 20-point, 15 rebound, 15 assist performance in NBA playoff history.


title: 2020 NBA playoffs

text: This was the 12th playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning nine of the first eleven meetings.


title: 2020 NBA playoffs

text: Dončić's 42 points are the most points in a playoff debut. Following the game, many people, including LeBron James and current Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, criticized the officials for controversially ejecting Porziņģis during the 3rd quarter after he received two technical fouls that the critics considered "bogus".


title: 2020 NBA playoffs

text: Down by 1, Luka Dončić hit the game-winning 3 point buzzer-beater at the end of overtime. He becomes the youngest player to hit a buzzer-beater in the playoffs. His winning shot capped an incredible triple-double performance with 43 points, 17 rebounds, and 13 assists.


title: 2020 NBA playoffs

text: The Clippers set 5 franchise records in this game, including: most points scored in a playoff game, as well as most 3-pointers made in a playoff game, as they shot 22-of-35 from long range.


title: 2020 NBA playoffs

text: Kawhi Leonard became the first player since 2000 to have 30+ points, 10+ rebounds, 5+ assists and 5+ steals in a playoff game.


title: 2020 NBA playoffs

text: Denver became the 12th team in NBA history to come back from a 3–1 deficit. Nikola Jokić scored the go-ahead hook shot with 27.8 seconds remaining in regulation. Mike Conley Jr.'s potential series-winning three-pointer at the buzzer rimmed out.


title: 2020 NBA playoffs

text: This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Jazz winning three of the first four meetings.


title: 2020 NBA playoffs

text: This was the ninth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Thunder/SuperSonics winning six of the first eight meetings.


title: 2020 NBA playoffs

text: After being fouled by Giannis Antetokounmpo on a game-winning shot attempt as time expired in regulation, Jimmy Butler won the game for Miami with a pair of walk-off free throws. This marked the first time a playoff game had ended in such a fashion since Game 1 of the 1979 NBA Finals.


title: 2020 NBA playoffs

text: This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Heat winning the previous meeting.


title: 2020 NBA playoffs

text: Both teams discussed a boycott of Game 1, similar to the Milwaukee Bucks, in protest due to the shooting of Jacob Blake. The game was eventually postponed.


title: 2020 NBA playoffs

text: With 0.5 seconds on the clock and Toronto trailing by 2, Kyle Lowry threw a cross-court inbounds pass to OG Anunoby, who made a 3-point shot as the buzzer sounded to win the game for Toronto.


title: 2020 NBA playoffs

text: This was the first playoff meeting between the Raptors and the Celtics. This was also the first best-of-7 playoff series in NBA history where the road team won every game (and the second overall in North American sports history in addition to the 2019 World Series).


title: 2020 NBA playoffs

text: This was the ninth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning five of the first eight meetings.


title: 2020 NBA playoffs

text: This was the first time that an NBA team overcame a 3–1 deficit twice in the same playoffs, and the first time an NBA franchise did so twice in the same decade.


title: 2020 NBA playoffs

text: This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Clippers winning the previous meeting.


title: 2020 NBA playoffs

text: This was the fourth playoff meeting between the two teams, with the Heat winning two of the first three meetings.


title: 2020 NBA playoffs

text: Anthony Davis scored 31 points, including a 3-point shot over Nikola Jokić at the buzzer, to give the Lakers a 2–0 lead in the Western Conference Finals.


title: 2020 NBA playoffs

text: This was the seventh playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning the first six meetings.


title: 2020 NBA playoffs

text: ESPN, ABC, TNT, and NBA TV broadcast the playoffs nationally in the United States. During the first two rounds, games were split between TNT, ESPN, and ABC regardless of conference. With the start of the playoffs delayed to August, some games played during the weekday afternoon, and games postponed by the wildcat strike, the TV schedule for the first two rounds differed from previous seasons due to scheduling conflicts. For instance, TNT aired some Friday games instead of its usual Sunday through Thursday schedule. Likewise ESPN broadcast games on some of those days when TNT would normally air them. And ABC aired a rare Tuesday night first-round game on September 1. NBA TV also televised selected games in the first round. Regional sports networks affiliated with the teams also broadcast the games, except for games televised on ABC.


title: 2020 NBA playoffs

text: The NBA Western Conference Finals aired exclusively on TNT, while ESPN televised the NBA Eastern Conference Finals. ABC owned the exclusive television rights to the 2020 NBA Finals, which was the 18th consecutive year for the network.


title: 2020 NBA playoffs

text: In Canada, the home market of the Toronto Raptors, national broadcast rights were split approximately equally between the Sportsnet and TSN groups of channels. Separate Canadian broadcasts were produced for all games involving the Raptors regardless of round or U.S. broadcaster.


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: The Diversity Immigrant Visa program, also known as the green card lottery, is a United States government lottery program for receiving a United States Permanent Resident Card. The Immigration Act of 1990 established the current and permanent Diversity Visa (DV) program.


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: The lottery is administered by the Department of State and conducted under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). It makes available 55,000 immigrant visas annually and aims to diversify the immigrant population in the United States, by selecting applicants from countries with low numbers of immigrants in the previous five years. Around 13 million people applied for the lottery in 2020.


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: Many deceptive agencies charge fees from applicants or falsely claim to increase their winning chances, but in fact the only way to apply for the lottery is to complete the entry form on the Department of State website, free of charge. Only applicants selected in the lottery must pay a fee to continue the process.


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: Starting in 1986, the United States established several temporary immigrant visa programs outside of the usual immigration preferences (family members or by employment). The first program was NP-5, run from 1987 to 1989, where a limited number of visas was issued on a first-come, first-served basis. The second program was OP-1, run through a lottery from 1989 to 1991 and available for natives of countries with low levels of recent immigration to the United States. The third program, AA-1, from 1992 to 1994, was available for natives from a select group of countries that had been "adversely affected" by earlier immigration laws. Intentionally and in practice, people from Ireland and Northern Ireland benefited disproportionately from these programs. They were also known as the Donnelly, Berman and Morrison visas, respectively, after the sponsoring congressmen. The Government of Ireland has actively supported the various lottery bills and similar legislation since their inception.


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: The Donnelly visa benefited "several thousand Irish" (almost 4,000) and the Berman visa had some 500 Irish beneficiaries. Under the three-year Morrison program (1992–94), by far the largest in size, those born in Ireland or Northern Ireland received a set-aside of 40% of all diversity visas, for a total of 48,000 set aside visas out of 120,000. Natives or citizens of Poland, via the sheer volume of applicants, received the second largest number of visas. The United Kingdom came in a distant third with some 6,000 visas in the Morrison program, the last in which natives of the United Kingdom or its territories (except Northern Ireland and Hong Kong) were eligible to participate.


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: The Immigration Act of 1990 was passed with bipartisan support and signed by President George H. W. Bush. The legislation established the current and permanent Diversity Visa (DV) program, where 55,000 immigrant visas are available in an annual lottery. The lottery aims to diversify the immigrant population in the United States, by selecting applicants mostly from countries with low numbers of immigrants to the United States in the previous five years. From fiscal years 1999 to 2020, 5,000 of the visas from the DV program were reserved for use by the NACARA program, so the number of immigrant visas available in the lottery was reduced to 50,000.


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: The first DV lottery, for fiscal year 1995, was named DV-1. For fiscal years 1996 to 1999, the name was in the format DV-YY, where YY was the last two digits of the year. Since fiscal year 2000 the lotteries have been named in the format DV-YYYY, with the full year number. The year in the name refers to the fiscal year when the immigrant visas will be given, which starts in October of the previous calendar year, and the entry period for the lottery occurs almost a year earlier. Therefore, there is a two-year difference between the lottery name and its entry period. For example, for DV-2017 (fiscal year starting in October 2016), the entry period was in 2015.


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: Initially, the DV lottery was administered entirely by mail, and only winners were notified. The entry form moved to an online system starting in DV-2005, but still only winners were notified, by mail. Starting in DV-2010, all applicants are able to verify online whether they were selected. Notification of winners also by mail continued until DV-2011, but since DV-2012 it is done exclusively online.


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: In 2011, a computer error caused a non-random selection of lottery applicants, leading the Department of State to cancel the initial result. About 22,000 applicants had already been notified and were disappointed to find that their selection was canceled. The Department of State later ran a new selection after correcting the error.


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: Criticism of the program has focused on instances of fraud, racism and the random nature of the lottery, as well as criminal or terrorist actions perpetrated by certain lottery winners.


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: In 2002, Hesham Mohamed Hadayet, an Egyptian immigrant who maintained residency in United States through his wife's diversity visa, killed two people and injured four others at Los Angeles International Airport. This led to criticism of the lottery as a security threat.


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: Several attempts have been made to eliminate the lottery. In December 2005, the United States House of Representatives voted 273–148 to add an amendment to the border enforcement bill H.R. 4437 abolishing the DV. Opponents of the lottery said it was susceptible to fraud and was a way for terrorists to enter the country. The Senate never passed the bill. In March 2007, Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) introduced , which would eliminate the Diversity Visa program. In June 2007, the U.S. House passed to eliminate funding for the program, and the Senate did likewise in September.


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: However, the final version of this bill with amendments, signed into law on December 26, 2007, did not include the removal of funds for the program. Although H.R. 2764 was an appropriation bill and could only cut funds for the lottery during one fiscal year, this was the first time that both the House and the Senate passed a bill to halt the Diversity Visa program.


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: Rep. Goodlatte reintroduced his Security and Fairness Enhancement for America Act (formerly H.R. 1430, now ) on May 7, 2009. The bill would have amended the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate the diversity immigrant program completely, but did not pass. Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX) introduced the Save America Comprehensive Immigration Act of 2009 () on January 7, 2009. The bill would have doubled the number of diversity visas available to 110,000 yearly. This bill did not pass. A comprehensive analysis of DV lottery issues was prepared in 2011 by Congressional Research Service.


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: In 2013, the so-called "Gang of Eight" - a bi-partisan group of eight United States Senators - introduced a bill that would have comprehensively reformed the immigration system. The bill would have repealed the Diversity Immigrant Visa program. The legislation passed the Senate, but was defeated in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives amid Republican opposition.


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: In 2017, Sayfullo Habibullaevich Saipov, who had immigrated from Uzbekistan on a diversity visa in 2010, killed eight and injured eleven when he drove his truck down a bike path in Lower Manhattan. In response, President Donald Trump, who had earlier called for a return to a "merit-based" immigration system, called for an end to the program. Following Trump's call to end the program, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, indicated that diversity visa lottery recipients lack thorough vetting, something Politifact rated as false, noting that all recipients of the visa undergo background checks, security screenings, and interviews by consular officers before arrival in the U.S.


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: To enter the lottery, applicants must have been born in an eligible country, with two exceptions: the applicant may claim the spouse's country of birth instead if desired, or a parent's country of birth if neither parent was born in the applicant's country of birth and did not legally reside there when the applicant was born. The applicant's country of residence or nationality is irrelevant to the lottery.


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: If selected in the lottery, to qualify for the immigrant visa, applicants must have completed at least a high school education or at least two years of work experience in an occupation which requires at least two other years of training or experience. They must also satisfy general requirements applicable to all immigrants, mainly related to health, criminal background and means of support.


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: The visas are distributed among six regions: Africa, Asia, Europe (Turkey, Cyprus and all countries in the former Soviet Union are allocated to Europe, even though some of them are geographically entirely in Asia), Latin America (Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and South America), North America (consisting only of Canada and the Bahamas), and Oceania.


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: Dependent territories are treated as part of their respective sovereign countries, and disputed territories are allocated as recognized by the United States. For example, Bermuda is treated as part of the United Kingdom under Europe, the Gaza Strip is considered part of Egypt under Africa, and the West Bank is considered part of Jordan under Asia. However, there are some exceptions: Northern Ireland and Taiwan are treated as separate countries, and Macau is considered part of Portugal under Europe (even after its sovereignty returned to China in 1999).


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: Each region that sent more than one sixth of the total number of immigrants to the United States in the previous five years is considered a "high-admission region" (currently Latin America and Asia), and each region that sent less than one sixth is a "low-admission region" (currently North America, Europe, Africa and Oceania). The proportion of diversity visas given to the low-admission group is set as the proportion of recent immigrants from the high-admission group (currently about 80%), and vice versa. Among regions of the same group, the diversity visas are allocated proportionally to their population, excluding ineligible countries (those that sent more than 50,000 immigrants in the previous five years).


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: Within each region, the visas are not allocated among individual countries. All applicants from the same region are selected randomly as a whole, for the number of visas allocated for that region, but with the limitation that no single country may receive more than 7% of the total diversity visas (3,850).


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: Although only 55,000 diversity visas are available each year, the lottery selects about 100,000 applicants. The reason for the larger selection is to ensure that all 55,000 diversity visas are eventually given each year, as some applicants are expected to fail general immigration requirements or may decide to withdraw and not to continue the process. As a result, some lottery winners who have received notifications might not obtain visas.


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: It is also possible that some visas remain available after all initially selected applicants are reviewed. In this case, additional applicants are selected later. For this reason, applicants who were not initially selected in the lottery should keep checking their status online periodically, until the end of the respective fiscal year.


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: Those born in any territory that has sent more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States in the previous five years are not eligible to receive a diversity visa. For DV-2024 (the most recent lottery, with entry period in 2022), natives of the following nations are ineligible: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland and Hong Kong), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, Venezuela, and Vietnam.


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: The term 50,000 "immigrants" refers only to people who immigrated via family and employment categories, and does not include other categories such as refugees, asylum seekers, or previous diversity immigrants. For this reason, Cuba, Afghanistan, Guatemala and Ukraine were not on the ineligible list as of 2022, despite sending over 50,000 immigrants in the previous five years. Northern Ireland, due to lobbying by Irish Americans, has a special exemption, despite the United Kingdom being ineligible.


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: The first program was in fiscal year 1995, and the following 12 countries were ineligible from the start: Canada, China (mainland), Dominican Republic, El Salvador, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, United Kingdom and its dependent territories (except Northern Ireland and Hong Kong), and Vietnam. Since then, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Haiti, Honduras, Nigeria, Pakistan and Venezuela have been added to the ineligible list and are currently on it, Taiwan has been removed from it, and Ecuador, Guatemala, Peru, Poland and Russia have been on and off the ineligible list, reflecting shifting levels of immigration from these countries.


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: Macau was ineligible as part of China only for DV-2002, whose entry period (October 2000) was after the transfer of sovereignty of Macau from Portugal to China (December 1999) but before enactment of the Macau Policy Act (December 2000), which specified that U.S. law would treat Macau as it did before the transfer. Hong Kong was considered as a separate country for the lottery and eligible from the start, but became ineligible as part of China from DV-2022.


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: There is no charge to enter the Diversity Visa lottery, and the only way to do so is by completing and sending the electronic form available at the U.S. Department of State website during the registration period. However, there are numerous companies and websites that charge a fee in order to complete the form for the applicant. The Department of State and the Federal Trade Commission have warned that some of these businesses falsely claim to increase someone's chances of winning the lottery, or that they are affiliated with the U.S. government.


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: There have also been numerous cases of fraudulent emails and letters which falsely claim to have been sent by the Department of State and that the recipient has been granted a permanent resident card. These messages prompt the recipients to transfer a "visa processing fee" as a prerequisite for obtaining a "guaranteed" green card. The messages are sometimes sent to people who never participated in the lottery and can look trustworthy as they contain the recipient's exact name and contact details and what appears to be a legal notice.


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: The Department of State has issued a warning against the scammers. It notes that any email claiming the recipient to be a winner of the lottery is fake because the Department has never notified and will not notify winners by email. The Department has urged recipients of such messages to notify the Internet Crime Complaint Center about the scam.


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: The office of inspector general has identified multiple problems with DV lottery in several countries, including Ukraine, Ghana, Albania in embassy inspection reports.


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: According to testimony from Stephen A. Edson before the House Judiciary Committee, "in Bangladesh, for example, one agent is reported to have enrolled an entire phone book so that he could then either extort money from winning applicants who had never entered the program to begin with or sell their winning slots to others."


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: Labor economists and others have credited the Diversity Visa program for providing economic benefits to the United States and enhancing the competitiveness of the U.S. labor force.


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: Research by Lewis and several other economists shows that diverse and low-skilled immigrants lift the wages of native-born workers, as those immigrants are less substitutable to native-born workers.


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: Charles Kenny, an economist at the Center for Global Development, noted that research by Harvard economist Alberto Alesina found that countries with a higher share of foreign-born populations tended to have more innovation and higher incomes.


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: In 2004, the State Department's deputy inspector general warned that there were security risks to granting visas to winners from countries with ties to terrorism. A 2007 Government Accountability Office report however found no evidence that recipients of diversity visas posed a threat.


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: According to PolitiFact, "there is at least one documented example of an individual who migrated through the diversity visa system and was later arrested on terrorism-related charges. But it is unclear that the diversity lottery has historically been used as a strategic entry point for terrorists."


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: The uncle of Akayed Ullah, the man who set off a bomb on a New York City Subway platform in 2017, won a diversity lottery, which enabled him to bring his nephew to the United States under the family reunification provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965.


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: Experts on immigration note that the chances of winning the lottery are low and those who do win the lottery still have to undergo background checks and vetting, which makes the diversity lottery program a poor choice for immigrants considering launching terrorist attacks in the United States.


title: Diversity Immigrant Visa

text: According to the Cato Institute, immigrants from the countries with the highest percentage of diversity visas have vastly lower incarceration rates than native-born Americans.


title: World music

text: World music is an English phrase for styles of music from non-Western countries, including quasi-traditional, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's inclusive nature and elasticity as a musical category pose obstacles to a universal definition, but its ethic of interest in the culturally exotic is encapsulated in "Roots" magazine's description of the genre as "local music from out there".


title: World music

text: This music that does not follow "North American or British pop and folk traditions" was given the term "world music" by music industries in Europe and North America. The term was popularized in the 1980s as a marketing category for non-Western traditional music. It has grown to include subgenres such as ethnic fusion (Clannad, Ry Cooder, Enya, etc.) and worldbeat.


title: World music

text: The term "world music" has been credited to ethnomusicologist Robert E. Brown, who coined it in the early 1960s at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, where he developed undergraduate through doctoral programs in the discipline. To enhance the learning process (John Hill), he invited more than a dozen visiting performers from Africa and Asia and began a world music concert series. The term became current in the 1980s as a marketing/classificatory device in the media and the music industry. There are several conflicting definitions for world music. One is that it consists of "all the music in the world", though such a broad definition renders the term virtually meaningless.


title: World music

text: Examples of popular forms of world music include the various forms of non-European classical music (e.g. Chinese guzheng music, Indian raga music, Tibetan chants), Eastern European folk music (e.g. the village music of the Balkans, The Mystery of the Bulgarian Voices), Nordic folk music, Latin music, Indonesian music, and the many forms of folk and tribal music of the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Oceania, Central and South America.


title: World music

text: The broad category of world music includes isolated forms of ethnic music from diverse geographical regions. These dissimilar strains of ethnic music are commonly categorized together by virtue of their indigenous roots. Over the 20th century, the invention of sound recording, low-cost international air travel, and common access to global communication among artists and the general public have given rise to a related phenomenon called "crossover" music. Musicians from diverse cultures and locations could readily access recorded music from around the world, see and hear visiting musicians from other cultures and visit other countries to play their own music, creating a melting pot of stylistic influences. While communication technology allows greater access to obscure forms of music, the pressures of commercialization also present the risk of increasing musical homogeneity, the blurring of regional identities, and the gradual extinction of traditional local music-making practices.


title: World music

text: Since the music industry established this term, the fuller scope of what an average music consumer defines as "world" music in today's market has grown to include various blends of ethnic music tradition, style and interpretation, and derivative world music genres have been coined to represent these hybrids, such as ethnic fusion and worldbeat. Good examples of hybrid, world fusion are the Irish-West African meld of Afro Celt Sound System, the pan-cultural sound of AO Music and the jazz / Finnish folk music of Värttinä, each of which bear tinges of contemporary, Western influence—an increasingly noticeable element in the expansion genres of world music. Worldbeat and ethnic fusion can also blend specific indigenous sounds with more blatant elements of Western pop. Good examples are Paul Simon's album "Graceland", on which South African mbaqanga music is heard; Peter Gabriel's work with Pakistani Sufi singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan; the Deep Forest project, in which vocal loops from West Africa are blended with Western, contemporary rhythmic textures and harmony structure; and the work of Mango, who combined pop and rock music with world elements.


title: World music

text: Depending on style and context, world music can sometimes share the new-age music genre, a category that often includes ambient music and textural expressions from indigenous roots sources. Good examples are Tibetan bowls, Tuvan throat singing, Gregorian chant or Native American flute music. World music blended with new-age music is a sound loosely classified as the hybrid genre 'ethnic fusion'. Examples of ethnic fusion are Nicholas Gunn's "Face-to-Face" from "Beyond Grand Canyon," featuring authentic Native American flute combined with synthesizers, and "Four Worlds" from "The Music of the Grand Canyon", featuring spoken word from Razor Saltboy of the Navajo Indian Nation.


title: World music

text: The subgenre world fusion is often mistakenly assumed to refer exclusively to a blending of Western jazz fusion elements with world music. Although such a hybrid expression falls easily into the world fusion category, the suffix "fusion" in the term world fusion should not be assumed to mean jazz fusion. Western jazz combined with strong elements of world music is more accurately termed "world fusion jazz", "ethnic jazz" or "non-Western jazz". World fusion and global fusion are nearly synonymous with the genre term "worldbeat", and though these are considered subgenres of popular music, they may also imply universal expressions of the more general term "world music". In the 1970s and 80s, fusion in the jazz music genre implied a blending of jazz and rock music, which is where the misleading assumption is rooted.


title: World music

text: Millie Small released "My Boy Lollipop" in 1964. Small's version was a hit, reaching number 2 both in the UK Singles Chart and in the US "Billboard" Hot 100. In the 1960s, Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masekela had popular hits in the USA. In 1969 Indian musician Ravi Shankar played sitar at the Woodstock festival.


title: World music

text: In the 1970s, Manu Dibango's funky track "Soul Makossa" (1972) became a hit, and Osibisa released "Sunshine Day" (1976). Fela Kuti created Afrobeat and Femi Kuti, Seun Kuti and Tony Allen followed Fela Kuti's funky music. Salsa musicians such as José Alberto "El Canario", Ray Sepúlveda, Johnny Pacheco, Fania All-Stars, Ray Barretto, Rubén Blades, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Roberto Roena, Bobby Valentín, Eddie Palmieri, Héctor Lavoe and Willie Colón developed Latin music.


title: World music

text: The Breton musician Alan Stivell pioneered the connection between traditional folk music, modern rock music and world music with his 1972 album "Renaissance of the Celtic Harp". Around the same time, Stivell's contemporary, Welsh singer-songwriter Meic Stevens popularised Welsh folk music. Neo-traditional Welsh language music featuring a fusion of modern instruments and traditional instruments such as the pibgorn and the Welsh harp has been further developed by Bob Delyn a'r Ebillion. Lebanese musical pioneer Lydia Canaan fused Middle-Eastern quarter notes and microtones with anglophone folk, and is listed in the catalog of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum's Library and Archives as the first rock star of the Middle East.


title: World music

text: Although it primarily describes traditional music, the world music category also includes popular music from non-Western urban communities (e.g. South African "township" music) and non-European music forms that have been influenced by other so-called third-world musics (e.g. Afro-Cuban music).


title: World music

text: The inspiration of Zimbabwe's Thomas Mapfumo in blending the Mbira (finger Piano) style onto the electric guitar, saw a host of other Zimbabwean musicians refining the genre, none more successfully than The Bhundu Boys. The Bhundu Jit music hit Europe with some force in 1986, taking Andy Kershaw and John Peel fully under its spell.


title: World music

text: For many years, Paris has attracted numerous musicians from former colonies in West and North Africa. This scene is aided by the fact that there are many concerts and institutions that help to promote the music.


title: World music

text: Algerian and Moroccan music have an important presence in the French capital. Hundreds of thousands of Algerian and Moroccan immigrants have settled in Paris, bringing the sounds of Amazigh (Berber), raï, and Gnawa music.


title: World music

text: The West African music community is also very large, integrated by people from Senegal, Mali, Ivory Coast, and Guinea.


title: World music

text: Unlike musical styles from other regions of the globe, the American music industry tends to categorize Latin music as its own genre and defines it as any music sung in Spanish from the Spanish-speaking world.


title: World music

text: The most common name for this form of music is also "folk music", but is often called "contemporary folk music" or "folk revival music" to make the distinction. The transition was somewhat centered in the US and is also called the American folk music revival. Fusion genres such as folk rock and others also evolved within this phenomenon.


title: World music

text: On 29 June 1987, a meeting of interested parties gathered to capitalize on the marketing of non-Western folk music. Paul Simon had released the world music-influenced album "Graceland" in 1986. The concept behind the album had been to express his own sensibilities using the sounds he had fallen in love with while listening to artists from Southern Africa, including Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Savuka. This project and the work of Peter Gabriel and Johnny Clegg among others had, to some degree, introduced non-Western music to a wider audience. They saw this as an opportunity.


title: World music

text: In an unprecedented move, all of the world music labels coordinated together and developed a compilation cassette for the cover of the music magazine "NME". The overall running time was 90 minutes, each package containing a mini-catalog showing the other releases on offer.


title: World music

text: By the time of a second meeting it became clear that a successful campaign required its own dedicated press officer. The press officer would be able to juggle various deadlines and sell the music as a concept—not just to national stations, but also regional DJs keen to expand their musical variety. DJs were a key resource as it was important to make "world music" important to people outside London—most regions after all had a similarly heritage to tap into. A cost-effective way of achieving all this would be a leafleting campaign.


title: World music

text: The next step was to develop a world music chart, gathering together selling information from around fifty shops, so that it would finally be possible to see which were big sellers in the genre—so new listeners could see what was particularly popular. It was agreed that the "NME" could again be involved in printing the chart and also "Music Week" and the London listings magazine "City Limits". It was also suggested that Andy Kershaw might be persuaded to do a run down of this chart on his show regularly.


title: World music

text: In most wealthy industrialized countries, large amounts of immigration from other regions has been ongoing for many decades. This has introduced non-Western music to Western audiences not only as "exotic" imports, but also as local music played by fellow citizens. But the process is ongoing and continues to produce new forms. In the 2010s several musicians from immigrant communities in the West rose to global popularity, such as Haitian-American Wyclef Jean, Somali-Canadian K'naan, Tamil-Briton M.I.A., or Colombian Shakira, often blending the music of their heritage with hip-hop or pop. Cuban-born singer-songwriter Addys Mercedes started her international career from Germany mixing traditional elements of Son with pop.


title: World music

text: Once, an established Western artist might collaborate with an established African artist to produce an album or two. Now, new bands and new genres are built from the ground up by young performers. For example, the Punjabi-Irish fusion band Delhi 2 Dublin is from neither India nor Ireland, but Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Country for Syria, an Istanbul based music collective, blends American Country music with the music of Syrian refugees and local Turkish music. Musicians and composers also work collectively to create original compositions for various combinations of western and non western instruments.


title: World music

text: The introduction of non-western music into western culture created a fusion that influenced both parties. (Feld 31) With the quick demand for new music came the technicalities of ownership. As Feld states in page 31: "“This complex traffic in sounds money and media is rooted in the nature of revitalization through appropriation.”" There are collaborations between African and American popular music artists that raise questions on who is benefiting from said collaborations.(Feld 31) Feld mentions the example of “That was your mother”. Alton Rubin and his band the Twisters collaborated with Paul Simon on the song that possessed a zydeco feel, signature of Dopsie's band. Even though Paul Simon wrote and sang the lyrics with them, the whole copyright is attributed to Paul and not to the band as well. (Feld 34) Because of crossovers like this one, where there was a disproportional gain when covering non-western music. Feld states that


title: World music

text: "“...international music scene, where worldwide media contact, amalgamation of the music industry towards world record sales domination by three enormous companies, and extensive copyright controls by a few Western countries are having a riveting effect on the commodification of musical skill and styles, and on the power of musical ownership.”" (Feld 32)


title: World music

text: Immigration also heavily influences world music, providing a variety of options for the wider public. In the 1970s Punjabi music was greatly popular in the UK because of its growing Punjabi diaspora. (Schreffler 347) Bhangra music was also greatly covered by its diaspora in cities like New York and Chicago. (Schreffler 351) For a more mainstream integration, the Punjabi music scene integrated collaborations with rappers and started gaining more recognition. One of these successful attempts was a remix of the song “Mundiān ton Bach ke” called “Beware of the Boys” by Panjabi MC featuring Jay Z. (Schreffler 354) Collaborations between outsider artists provided an integration of their music, even with foreign instrumentation, into the popular music scene.


title: World music

text: Immigration, being a great part of music exportation, plays a big role in cultural identity. Immigrant communities use music to feel as if they are home and future generations it plays the role of educating or giving insight into what their culture is about. In Punjabi culture, music became the carrier of culture around the world. (Schreffler 355)


title: World music

text: World music radio programs today often play African hip hop or reggae artists, crossover Bhangra and Latin American jazz groups, etc. Common media for world music include public radio, webcasting, the BBC, NPR, and the (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). By default, non-region-specific or multi-cultural world music projects are often listed under the generic category of world music.


title: World music

text: Examples of radio shows that feature world music include "The Culture Cafe" on WWUH West Hartford, "World of Music" on Voice of America, "Transpacific Sound Paradise" on WFMU, "The Planet" on Australia's ABC Radio National, DJ Edu presenting "D.N.A: DestiNation Africa" on BBC Radio 1Xtra, Adil Ray on the BBC Asian Network, Andy Kershaw's show on BBC Radio 3 and Charlie Gillett's show on the BBC World Service.


title: World music

text: The BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music was an award given to world music artists between 2002 and 2008, sponsored by BBC Radio 3. The award was thought up by "fRoots" magazine's editor Ian Anderson, inspired by the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. Award categories included: Africa, Asia/Pacific, Americas, Europe, Mid East and North Africa, Newcomer, Culture Crossing, Club Global, Album of the Year, and Audience Award. Initial lists of nominees in each category were selected annually by a panel of several thousand industry experts. Shortlisted nominees were voted on by a twelve-member jury, which selected the winners in every category except for the Audience Award category. These jury members were appointed and presided over by the BBC. The annual awards ceremony was held at the BBC Proms and winners were given an award called a "Planet". In March 2009, the BBC made a decision to axe the BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music.


title: World music

text: In response to the BBC's decision to end its awards program, the British world music magazine "Songlines" launched the Songlines Music Awards in 2009 "to recognise outstanding talent in world music".


title: World music

text: The WOMEX Awards were introduced in 1999 to honor the high points of world music on an international level and to acknowledge musical excellence, social importance, commercial success, political impact and lifetime achievement. Every October at the WOMEX event, the award figurine—an ancient mother goddess statue dating back about 6000 years to the Neolithic age—is presented in an award ceremony to a worthy member of the world music community.


title: World music

text: (Free Electronic Dance Music Festival) was established in (2020) at Busua Beach in the Western Region, by Djsky S K Y M U S I C.


title: Coroner

text: A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within the coroner's jurisdiction.


title: Coroner

text: In medieval times, English coroners were Crown officials who held financial powers and conducted some judicial investigations in order to counterbalance the power of sheriffs or bailiffs.


title: Coroner

text: Depending on the jurisdiction, the coroner may adjudge the cause of death personally, or may act as the presiding officer of a special court (a "coroner's jury"). The term "coroner" derives from the same source as the word "crown".


title: Coroner

text: Responsibilities of the coroner may include overseeing the investigation and certification of deaths related to mass disasters that occur within the coroner's jurisdiction. A coroner's office typically maintains death records of those who have died within the coroner's jurisdiction.


title: Coroner

text: The additional roles that a coroner may oversee in judicial investigations may be subject to the attainment of suitable legal and medical qualifications. The qualifications required of a coroner vary significantly between jurisdictions, and are described under the entry for each jurisdiction. Coroners, medical examiners, and forensic pathologists are different professions. They have different roles and responsibilities.


title: Coroner

text: The office of coroner originated in medieval England and has been adopted in many countries whose legal systems have at some time been subject to English or United Kingdom law. In Middle English, the word "coroner" referred to an officer of the Crown, derived from the French "couronne" and Latin "corona", meaning "crown".


title: Coroner

text: The office of the coroner dates from approximately the 11th century, shortly after the Norman conquest of England in 1066.


title: Coroner

text: The office of coroner was established by "lex scripta" in Richard I's England. In September 1194, it was decreed by Article 20 of the "Articles of Eyre" to establish the office of "custos placitorum coronae" (Latin for "keeper of the pleas of the Crown"), from which the word "coroner" is derived. This role provided a local county official whose primary duty was to protect the financial interest of the Crown in criminal proceedings. The office of coroner is, "in many instances, a necessary substitute: for if the sheriff is interested in a suit, or if he is of affinity with one of the parties to a suit, the coroner must execute and return the process of the courts of justice." This role was qualified in Chapter 24 of Magna Carta in 1215, which states: "No sheriff, constable, coroner or bailiff shall hold pleas of our Crown." "Keeping the pleas" was an administrative task, while "holding the pleas" was a judicial one that was not assigned to the locally resident coroner but left to judges who traveled around the country holding assize courts. The role of custos rotulorum or keeper of the county records became an independent office, which after 1836 was held by the lord-lieutenant of each county.


title: Coroner

text: The person who found a body from a death thought sudden or unnatural was required to raise the "hue and cry" and to notify the coroner. While coronial manuals written for sheriffs, bailiffs, justices of the peace and coroners were published in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, handbooks specifically written for coroners were distributed in England in the eighteenth century.


title: Coroner

text: Coroners were introduced into Wales following its military conquest by Edward I of England in 1282 through the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284.


title: Coroner

text: Going further back in time, we find that the term comes from antiquity, namely when the deceased was entrusted to the "coronator", that is to a necrofore who prepared the corpse according to custom and, among other things, put a small laurel or myrtle wreath (Lat. "corona" or "serta") on his head so that he might be accepted in glory in the afterlife. The use was already of ancient Greece and see e. g. Theophilus Christophorus Harles ("Bionis smyrnaei and Moschi syracusani quae supersunt etc." P. 40. Erlangen, 1780), who quotes Euripides, Clement of Alexandria, Chionus of Heraclea and others in this regard; see also James Claude Upshaw Downs: "The origin of official death investigation is traced to at least 44 B.C. with the Greek Physician Antistius's examination of Julius Caesar" (Fisher 1993; Gawande 2001). "The history of the office of coroner extends well over a millennium and has seen major evolution etc." ("Coroner and Medical Examiner" in "Handbook of Death and Dying" ed. by Clifton D. Bryant. V. 1, p. 909. 2003.)


title: Coroner

text: Australian coroners are responsible for investigating and determining the cause of death for those cases reported to them. In all states and territories, a coroner is a magistrate with legal training, and is attached to a local court. Four states – New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia – also have state coroners and specialised coronial courts. In Tasmania, the Chief Magistrate also acts as the state coroner.


title: Coroner

text: The office of coroner was transplanted to Canada from the British-derived system of government that existed in the land prior to 1867. Because of the grafting of a multi-cultural system especially after the 1982 Charter of Rights and Freedoms, several provinces have found it beneficial to use a de-focused "medical examiner" style of investigative reporter.


title: Coroner

text: In 21st-century Canada the officer responsible for investigating all unnatural and natural unexpected, unexplained, or unattended deaths goes under the title "coroner" or "medical examiner" depending on location. They do not determine civil or criminal responsibility, but instead make and offer recommendations to improve public safety and prevention of death in similar circumstances.


title: Coroner

text: Coroner or Medical Examiner services are under the jurisdiction of provincial or territorial governments, and in modern Canada generally operate within the public safety and security or justice portfolio. These services are headed by a Chief Coroner (or Chief Medical Examiner) and comprise coroners or medical examiners appointed by the executive council.


title: Coroner

text: The provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador now have a Medical Examiner system, meaning that all death investigations are conducted by specialist physicians trained in Forensic Pathology, with the assistance of other medical and law enforcement personnel. All other provinces run on a coroner system. In Prince Edward Island, and Ontario, all coroners are, by law, physicians.


title: Coroner

text: In the other provinces and territories with a coroner system, namely British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Quebec, New Brunswick, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon, coroners are not necessarily physicians but generally have legal, medical, or investigative backgrounds.


title: Coroner

text: The Coroner's Court is responsible to inquire into the causes and circumstances of some deaths. The Coroner is a judicial officer who has the power to:


title: Coroner

text: The Coroners Service is a network of Coroners situated across Ireland, usually covering areas based on Ireland's traditional counties. They are appointed by local authorities as independent experts and must be either qualified doctors or lawyers. Their primary function is to investigate any sudden, unexplained, violent or unnatural death in order to allow a death certificate to be issued. Any death due to unnatural causes will require an inquest to be held.


title: Coroner

text: Two coronial services operate in New Zealand. The older one deals only with deaths before midnight of 30 June 2007 that remain under investigation. The new system operates under the Coroners Act 2006, which:


title: Coroner

text: In Sri Lanka, the Ministry of Justice appoints "Inquirers into Sudden Deaths" under the "Code of Criminal Procedure" to carry out an inquest into the death of a sudden, unexpected and suspicious nature. Some large cities such as Colombo and Kandy have a City Coroners' Court attached to the main city hospital, with a Coroner and Additional Coroner.


title: Coroner

text: In the United Kingdom a coroner is an independent judicial office holder, appointed and paid for by the relevant local authority. The Ministry of Justice, which is headed by the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice has the responsibility for the coronial law and policy only, and no operational responsibility.


title: Coroner

text: There are separate services for England and Wales, and for Northern Ireland. A different system applies in Scotland, which does not have a coroner service.


title: Coroner

text: The majority of deaths are not investigated by the coroner. If the deceased has been under medical care, or has been seen by a doctor within 14 days of death (no time limitation in the United States), then the doctor can issue a death certificate. However, if the deceased died without being seen by a doctor, or if the doctor is unwilling to make a determination, the coroner will investigate the cause and manner of death.


title: Coroner

text: The coroner will also investigate when a death is deemed violent or unnatural, where the cause is unknown, where a death is the result of poisoning or industrial injury, or if it occurred in police custody or prison.


title: Coroner

text: Any person aware of a dead body lying in the district of a coroner has a duty to report it to the coroner; failure to do so is an offence. This can include bodies brought into England or Wales.


title: Coroner

text: The coroner has a team of coroner's officers (previously often ex-police officers, but increasingly from a nursing or other paramedical background) who carry out the investigation on the coroner's behalf. A coroner's investigation may involve a simple review of the circumstances, ordering a post-mortem examination, or they may decide that an inquest is appropriate. When a person dies in the custody of the legal authorities (in police cells, or in prison), an inquest must be held. In England, inquests are usually heard without a jury (unless the coroner wants one). However, a case in which a person has died under the control of central authority must have a jury, as a check on the possible abuse of governmental power.


title: Coroner

text: The coroner's court is a court of law, and accordingly, the coroner may summon witnesses. Those found to be lying are guilty of perjury.


title: Coroner

text: Additional powers of the coroner may include the power of subpoena and attachment, the power of arrest, the power to administer oaths, and sequester juries of six during inquests.


title: Coroner

text: Coroners also have a role in treasure cases. This role arose from the ancient duty of the coroner as a protector of the property of the Crown. It is now contained in the Treasure Act 1996. This jurisdiction is no longer exercised by local coroners, but by specialist "coroners for treasure" appointed by the Chief Coroner.


title: Coroner

text: To become a coroner in England and Wales the applicant must be a qualified solicitor, barrister, or a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx) with at least five years' qualified experience. This reflects the role of a coroner: to determine the cause of death of a deceased in cases where the death was sudden, unexpected, occurred abroad, was suspicious in any way, or happened while the person was under the control of central authority (e.g., in police custody). Until 2013 a qualified medical practitioner could be appointed, but that is no longer possible. Any medical coroner still in office will either have been appointed before 2013, or, exceptionally, will hold both medical and legal qualifications.


title: Coroner

text: Formerly, every justice of the High Court was, "ex officio", a coroner for every district in England and Wales. This is no longer so; there are now no "ex officio" coroners. A senior judge is sometimes appointed "ad hoc" as a deputy coroner to undertake a high-profile inquest, such as those into the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales and the victims of the 2005 London bombings.


title: Coroner

text: The coroner's jurisdiction is limited to determining who the deceased was and how, when and where they came by their death. When the death is suspected to have been either sudden with unknown cause, violent, or unnatural, the coroner decides whether to hold a post-mortem examination and, if necessary, an inquest.


title: Coroner

text: The coroner's former power to name a suspect in the inquest conclusion and commit them for trial has been abolished. The coroner's conclusion sometimes is persuasive for the police and Crown Prosecution Service, but normally proceedings in the coroner's court are suspended until after the outcome of any criminal case is known. More usually, a coroner's conclusion is also relied upon in civil proceedings and insurance claims. The coroner commonly tells the jury which conclusions are lawfully available in a particular case.


title: Coroner

text: Lawful killing includes lawful self-defence. There is no material difference between an accidental death conclusion and one of misadventure.


title: Coroner

text: Neglect cannot be a conclusion by itself. It must be part of another conclusion. A conclusion of neglect requires that there was a need for relevant care (such as nourishment, medical attention, shelter or warmth) identified, and there was an opportunity to offer or provide that care that was not taken.


title: Coroner

text: An open conclusion should only be used as a last resort and is given where the cause of death cannot be identified on the evidence available to the inquest.


title: Coroner

text: A coroner giving a narrative conclusion may choose to refer to the other conclusion. A narrative conclusion may also consist of answers to a set of questions posed by the coroner to himself or to the jury (as appropriate).


title: Coroner

text: The coroner service in England and Wales is supervised by the Chief Coroner, a judge appointed by the Lord Chief Justice after consulting the Lord Chancellor. The Chief Coroner provides advice, guidance and training to coroners and aims to secure uniformity of practice throughout England and Wales. The post is currently part-time. The present Chief Coroner is Judge Thomas Teague.


title: Coroner

text: England and Wales are divided into coroner districts by the Lord Chancellor, each district consisting of the area or areas of one or more local authorities. The relevant local authority, with the consent of the Chief Coroner and the Lord Chancellor, must appoint a senior coroner for the district. It must also appoint area coroners (in effect deputies to the senior coroner) and assistant coroners, to the number that the Lord Chancellor considers necessary in view of the physical character and population of the district. The cost of the coroner service for the district falls upon the local authority or authorities concerned, and thus ultimately upon the local inhabitants.


title: Coroner

text: Coronial services in Northern Ireland are broadly similar to those in England and Wales, including dealing with treasure trove cases under the Treasure Act 1996. Northern Ireland has three coroners, who oversee the province as a whole. They are assisted by coroners liaison officers and a medical officer.