title: Intercontinental Exchange

text: In October 2018, ICE announced that it had acquired the remaining equity of Merscorp Holding, Inc., owner of Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS). Merscorp owns and operates the MERS System, a national electronic registry that tracks the changes in servicing rights and beneficial ownership interests in U.S.-based mortgage loans. ICE had owned a majority equity interest in MERS since 2016. Earlier this month, ICE successfully moved the MERS System infrastructure to the ICE Mahwah data center, an integral requirement for completing the final acquisition of the business. The price and terms of the transaction were not disclosed and will not be material to ICE's earnings or have an impact on capital return plans.


title: Intercontinental Exchange

text: In May 2019, ICE announced that it had agreed to acquire Simplifile, LC. Simplifile operates a network connecting agents and jurisdictions involved with residential mortgage records.


title: Intercontinental Exchange

text: ICE will pay $335 million to acquire Simplifile, which is based in Provo, Utah and has no debt. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2019. Upon closing, Simplifile, which has approximately 200 employees, will continue to be based in Provo and operate under the Simplifile name.


title: Intercontinental Exchange

text: In August 2020, ICE announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Ellie Mae, a cloud-based platform provider for the mortgage finance industry. The transaction with Ellie Mae, a portfolio company of Thoma Bravo, a leading private equity investment firm, valued Ellie Mae at approximately $11 billion. The deal, following ICE's taking a majority stake in MERS in 2016, purchasing the remainder in 2018, and acquiring Simplifile in 2019, made ICE and its growing ICE Mortgage Technology a leading provider of end-to-end electronic workflow solutions for the U.S. residential mortgage industry. The transaction completed successfully in September 2020 after regulatory approval.


title: Intercontinental Exchange

text: On December 9, 2021, ICE acquired risQ, a geospatial and climate data modeling start-up company, after announcing partnerships with the company to develop climate risk and ESG analytics models for municipal bond markets in January 2020 and mortgage-backed securities markets in March 2021.


title: Intercontinental Exchange

text: In May 2022, ICE announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Black Knight, Inc., a software, data and analytics company that serves the housing finance continuum. The cash and stock transaction values Black Knight at $85 per share, or a market value of $13.1 billion. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2023, following the receipt of regulatory approvals, Black Knight stockholder approval, and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.


title: Intercontinental Exchange

text: ICE provides exchange trading and clearing services in a number of different markets. Its main products include:


title: Intercontinental Exchange

text: In June 2016 Intercontinental Exchange introduced the expanded ICE Data Services, which combined exchange data, valuations, analytics, and other software used by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), SuperDerivatives and Interactive Data (IDC).


title: Intercontinental Exchange

text: ICE originally formed its ICE Data subsidiary in 2003, recognizing the rising demand for exchange data as markets became increasingly automated. ICE continues to invest in its data services to address evolving customer needs driven by regulatory reform, market fragmentation, passive investing and indexation, along with increased demand for data capacity and security, and independent valuations. Their customers include global financial institutions, asset managers, commercial hedging firms, risk managers, corporate issuers and individual investors.


title: Intercontinental Exchange

text: ICE Data Services has offices in California, New York, Chicago, Bedford MA, London, Rome,Dublin, Tel Aviv, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Hyderabad and Melbourne.


title: Suspended sentence

text: A suspended sentence is a sentence on conviction for a criminal offence, the serving of which the court orders to be deferred in order to allow the defendant to perform a period of probation. If the defendant does not break the law during that period and fulfills the particular conditions of the probation, the sentence is usually considered fulfilled. If the defendant commits another offence or breaks the terms of probation, the court can order the sentence to be served, in addition to any sentence for the new offence.


title: Suspended sentence

text: In Australia, suspended sentences are commonly imposed in order to alleviate the strain on overcrowded prisons. For example, an individual may be sentenced to a six-month jail term, wholly suspended for six months; if they commit any other offence during that year, the original jail term is immediately applied in addition to any other sentence.


title: Suspended sentence

text: As of 1 September, 2014, suspended sentences no longer exist in Victoria, and in its place are community correction orders, which can be for a fixed term to ensure good behaviour.


title: Suspended sentence

text: In the People's Republic of China (excluding Hong Kong and Macau), both suspended sentences and suspended "sentencing" (, also translated as a sentence "with reprieve") are featured in the criminal law. In the first situation, a fixed-term sentence of three years or below can be suspended. In the second situation, sentencing does not immediately follow the guilty verdict, but instead is determined after a period of probation.


title: Suspended sentence

text: Death sentences can also be suspended (called a "death sentence with reprieve"), so that an offender who does not intentionally re-offend during the two-year suspension period of release would have the sentence commuted to a life sentence.


title: Suspended sentence

text: A suspended sentence is called in Finnish, which translates to "conditional imprisonment". When a sentence of imprisonment, which can be at most two years, is imposed conditionally, the enforcement of the sentence is postponed for a probation period. The length of the probation period is at least one and at most three years. The probation period begins at the pronouncement or the issue of the judgment. When conditional imprisonment is imposed, the convicted person shall be notified, in connection with the pronouncement or the issue of the judgment, of the date when the probation period ends and of the grounds on which the sentence may be ordered to be enforced. A sentence of conditional imprisonment may be combined with fines or, if the sentence is longer than eight months, with community service of at least 14 and up to 120 hours. Additional surveillance of the convicted can also be ordered, if it is seen as necessary to reduce recurrent criminal behaviour.


title: Suspended sentence

text: The court may order the enforcement of conditional imprisonment if the convicted person commits an offence during the probation period and the charge has been brought within one year of the end of the probation period. In this event, the conditional sentence to be enforced, the sentence for the offence committed during the probation period and the sentences of imprisonment for the other offences considered in the same trial shall be joined as one unconditional sentence of imprisonment. The court may also order that conditional imprisonment be enforced only in part, in which case the remainder of the sentence shall continue to be conditional, subject to the same probation period.


title: Suspended sentence

text: The "Loi Béranger" (Béranger bill) was introduced in March 26, 1891 in the French penal code. It was ammended in 1958 and 1983. It allows for three types of suspended sentence:


title: Suspended sentence

text: In the law of the Republic of Ireland, the 2006 law by which a suspended sentence is activated was ruled unconstitutional in 2016. The 2006 law required that a court decision on whether to activate the suspended sentence be made as soon as a later conviction was handed down, even if there was an appeal pending for the later conviction. Subsequent legislation introduced in 2017 corrected the deficiencies identified, introducing an effective appeal mechanism.


title: Suspended sentence

text: are common practice in Japan and can be applied in cases where a sentence is for up to 3 years in prison and/or 500,000 yen in fines. Any criminal activity during the period of the suspended sentence will result in the cancellation of the sentence and imprisonment for the prescribed term.


title: Suspended sentence

text: In Russia suspended sentence () is commonplace and its application is stipulated by an Article 73 of the Russian Criminal Code. The suspended sentences may not be applied to child offenders (minors aged 14 or less when the offence was committed), to those who have committed a serious or very serious crime (the definition of which is given by Article 15 of the same Code as of 2019), or in case of crime recurrence. The judge may also impose additional restrictions on how the probation must be served. Initial sentence is enforced in case of convicted failing to fulfill conditions of the probation.


title: Suspended sentence

text: A custodial sentence may, at the discretion of the sentencing judge or magistrates, be suspended for up to two years if the term of imprisonment is under two years and the offender agrees to comply with court requirements, which may include a curfew, performing unpaid work, and/or engaging in an appropriate rehabilitation programme. In 2017, 5% of convictions resulted in a suspended sentence, compared to 7% immediate custodial sentences.


title: Suspended sentence

text: The sentencing guidelines indicate that it is appropriate for a sentence to be suspended if there is strong personal mitigation and/or a realistic prospect of rehabilitation, but suspended sentences should not be used for offenders who pose a risk to the public or who have a history of poor compliance with court orders.


title: Suspended sentence

text: In the United States, it is common practice for judges to hand down suspended sentences to first-time offenders who have committed a minor crime, and for prosecutors to recommend suspended sentences as part of a plea bargain. They are often given to mitigate the effect of penalties.


title: Suspended sentence

text: In some jurisdictions, the criminal record of the guilty party will still carry the offense, even after probation is adequately served. It is important to note about a suspended imposition of a sentence is that it does not completely remove the conviction from a person's record. While it may be hidden from the public, it is not hidden from law enforcement. In other cases, the process of deferred adjudication prevents the conviction from appearing on a person's criminal record, once probation had been completed.


title: Suspended sentence

text: In the federal system, judges' authority to suspend sentences has been abolished by the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, through the United States Sentencing Commission, and upheld by "Mistretta v. United States".


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: Biman Bangladesh Airlines () commonly known as Biman (), pronounced (), is the national flag carrier of Bangladesh. With its main hub at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, the airline also operates flights from its secondary hubs at Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong and as well as Osmani International Airport in Sylhet. The airline provides international passenger and cargo services to multiple destinations and has air service agreements in 42 countries. The headquarters of the airline, "Balaka Bhaban", is located in Kurmitola, in the northern part of Dhaka. Annual Hajj flights,transporting tourists, migrants, and non-resident Bangladeshi workers and the activities of its subsidiaries form an integral part of the corporate business of the airline. Bangladesh's air transport sector, which is experiencing an 8% annual growth rate thanks to a large number of outbound tourists, domestic tourists, and non-resident Bangladeshi travelers, is very competitive with stiff competition among a number of private Bangladeshi airlines as well as Biman.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: Created in February 1972, Biman enjoyed an internal monopoly in the aviation industry of Bangladesh for 24 years, until 1996. In the decades following its founding, the airline expanded its fleet and destinations but it was adversely affected by corruption and mismanagement. At its peak, Biman operated flights to 29 international destinations, extending from New York City in the west to Tokyo in the east. The airline was wholly owned and managed by the government of Bangladesh until 23 July 2007, when it was transformed into the country's largest public limited company by the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh. Since becoming a public limited company in 2007, the airline has reduced staff and begun to modernise its fleet. The airline had signed a deal with Boeing for ten new aircraft along with options for ten more in 2008. After getting delivery of the new planes, Biman expanded its destinations and increased in-flight amenities, especially onboard Internet and WiFi; mobile telephone; and live TV streams. Biman Bangladesh Airlines is certified as safe to fly in Europe by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. In addition, Biman has also successfully passed the IATA Operational Safety Audit and since then, the airline has resumed flights to some of its previous destinations in Asia and Europe. In recent times, Biman Bangladesh Airlines has seen a marked improvement in punctuality, as well as in on-time flight performance, under its new management team.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: Biman Bangladesh Airlines was established on 4 January 1972 as Bangladesh's national airline under the Bangladesh Biman Ordinance (Presidential Order No. 126). The initiative to launch the flag carrier was taken by 2,500 former employees, including ten Boeing 707 commanders and seven other former pilots of Pakistan International Airlines, who submitted a proposal to the government on 31 December 1971 following the independence of Bangladesh. The airline was initially called "Air Bangladesh" but was soon changed to its current name.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: On 4 February 1972, Biman started its domestic services, initially linking Dhaka with Chittagong, Jessore and Sylhet, using a single Douglas DC-3 acquired from India. Following the crash of this DC-3 on 10 February 1972, near Dhaka, during a test flight, two Fokker F27s belonging to Indian Airlines and supplied by the Indian government entered the fleet as a replacement. Shortly afterwards, additional capacity was provided with the incorporation of a Douglas DC-6, loaned by the World Council of Churches, which was in turn replaced with another Douglas DC-6, a DC-6B model leased from Troll-Air, to operate the Dhaka-Calcutta route. On 4 March 1972, Biman started its international operations with a weekly flight to London using a Boeing 707 chartered from British Caledonian. The short haul fleet was supplemented by a Fokker F27 from India on 3 March 1972; the aircraft was employed on a daily scheduled flight between Calcutta and Dhaka on 28 April 1972. Three additional Fokker F27s were acquired during March and September of that year. In the first year of operation, Biman operated 1,079 flights carrying just over 380,000 passengers.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: Four Fokker F27s joined the fleet in 1973, enabling Biman to double the frequency of the Kolkata flight to a twice daily service. A Boeing 707 was added to the fleet in September and the flight to London became twice-weekly, while a Chittagong–Kolkata flight also began operating. In 1974, operations were extended to Kathmandu (February), Bangkok (November) and Dubai (December). In 1976, Biman sold two of its Fokker F27s and bought another Boeing 707 to extend international services to Abu Dhabi, Karachi and Mumbai. Singapore was added to Biman's list of international destinations, when a third Boeing 707 was purchased in February 1977, followed by Jeddah, Doha and Amsterdam the following year, which also saw the purchase of its fourth Boeing 707. In 1977, Biman was converted into a public sector corporation to be governed by a board of directors appointed by the government. The airline broke even for the first time in 1977–78, and made a profit the following year. International destinations expanded to include Kuala Lumpur, Athens, Muscat and Tripoli in 1979, followed by Yangon, Tokyo and Dhahran in 1980. Biman took delivery of its first 85-seater Fokker F28-4000 in 1981. In 1983, three Douglas DC-10s joined the fleet and the airline started to phase out the Boeing 707s. The flight network expanded further to include Baghdad (1983), Paris (1984) and Bahrain (1986). On 5 August 1984, Biman faced its worst accident ever when a Fokker F27 flying in from Chittagong crashed near Dhaka, killing all 49 on board. The long haul fleet was then supplemented by the purchase of two new Airbus A310s in 1996, followed by the addition of two more in 2000, from Singapore Airlines and Air Jamaica, and another in 2003.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: Retired Senior Secretary Sajjadul Hasan replaced Former Chief of Air Staff Muhammad Enamul Bari, who had completed his term, as the Chairman of the airline in January 2020. Zahid Hossain is the chief executive officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD). Previously, Kevin John Steele, who served as MD and CEO of Biman from March 2013 to April 2014, was the first foreign national in the airline's history to be appointed CEO and MD of Biman. He was chosen from a pool of 42 local and foreign candidates after a competitive selection process. Steele was a British citizen who had many years of experience working in management and administrative positions at British Airways and other airlines around the world. Steele resigned from Biman MD and CEO positions in citing health issues. Steele left office on . Kyle Haywood took office as Biman MD and CEO on . A British national, Haywood was the second foreign national to hold the airline CEO position after Kevin Steele.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: The airline was wholly owned by the Bangladeshi government through the Bangladesh Biman Corporation since its inception. In 1977, Biman was converted into a public sector corporation which afforded Biman limited autonomy, led by a government-appointed board of directors. The authorised share capital was increased to BDT 2 billion in 1987, and Biman was transformed into a public limited company, the largest in Bangladesh, in 2007.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: During the late 1980s, Hossain Mohammad Ershad, President of Bangladesh at the time, served as president of Biman. After an early period of expansion and growth, Biman entered an era of nose-diving profits and slow growth, exacerbated by incompetent and corrupt management, who padded purchases, falsified repair bills, and kept unprofitable routes in operation for political reasons. Research conducted in 1996 found that Biman had 5,253 non-flying personnel, 30 percent more than Singapore Airlines, a carrier who operated a fleet almost ten times the size of Biman's. The report described Biman as "poorly managed, overstaffed, undercapitalized, and subject to excessive political interference in its day-to-day management."


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: In the 1992–93 fiscal year, accounts under the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism revealed that BDT 22 million in tax was not paid to the government. The audit carried out in 1999, also showed that Biman was owed BDT 2.2 million by travel agents from the proceeds of ticket sales, most likely with the collusion of Biman officials. Additionally, BDT 2.4 million was overpaid as incentive commissions to the sales agents in violation of Biman policies. In 2007, the caretaker government launched an anti-corruption drive. This was shortly followed by the forced retirement of 35 other employees and officials, some of whom were close aides of Shamim Iskander. In , Iskander, younger brother of former premier Khaleda Zia, was sent to jail over charges of concealing information regarding his wealth and not for his connection with Biman.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: Faced with growing losses from the late 1990s onwards, the government offered 40 percent of Biman to foreign airlines in 2004, hoping a buyer would take over the management of the carrier. However, the proposal demanded that many decision-making rights remain within the Bangladesh government, and the offer was ignored by outside airlines. A similar initiative in 1998 cost Biman $1.6 million in consultancy fees with no positive results.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: In the 2005–06 fiscal year, Biman carried 1.15 million passengers, a growth of 70% over the previous decade. With the rise of private domestic carriers in Bangladesh, however, Biman's market share for domestic passengers dropped by 35% over the previous ten years' average, with only 162,000 passengers travelling with Biman in the domestic sector in the 2005–06 fiscal year. During the same period, Biman reported its biggest annual loss of over US$120 million (BDT 8.3 billion as of 2010), with a US$100 million (BDT 6.9 billion as of 2010) loss reported the following year. Biman also fell behind on millions of dollars in payments to its fuel supplier, the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), with debts that rose to BDT 15.64 billion in late .


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: In , the caretaker government approved plans to turn Biman into a public limited company with shareholdings split between seven public sector organisations. As a part of the restructuring, the government put in place a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) to reduce the man-equipment ratio (MER) of 367:1 (ratio of manpower to aircraft). The industry average at the time was 200:1, and other Asian airlines operated with MERs of about 150:1. The VRS provided compensation based on length of service, at a cost to the government of over BDT 2.97 billion borrowed from the World Bank. Biman management expected to reduce its workforce by 1,600, but 2,162 applications were received, many from employees who expected to be dismissed with little or no severance pay if the quota was not met. Biman accepted between 1,863 and 1877 applications, and affirmed that key personnel would not be allowed to leave the organisation via VRS.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: On 23 July 2007, Biman Bangladesh Airlines became the largest public limited company in Bangladesh. Earlier suggestions that the airline should be renamed Bangladesh Airlines were rejected. The government is the sole shareholder of the 1.5 billion shares, but intends to offer 49 percent to the private sector while retaining majority ownership. The previous managing director, Dr. Abdul Momen, was appointed as the chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director of the new organisation. The six directors were appointed from the ministries of energy, commerce, finance, civil aviation, foreign affairs, and the cabinet division, with the cabinet secretary taking on the role as chairman of the board of directors. The six secretaries and a joint secretary to the civil aviation ministry were made the seven shareholders of the new PLC. In , the government appointed Air Commodore Zahed Kuddus (retd) to replace Dr. Momen as CEO. From 2002 to 2005 Kuddus had been chair of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), before which he had held various posts in the Bangladesh Air Force.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: Following the privatisation, an initiative was launched by ex-Biman employees, who left the organisation via the VRS, to set up a competing airline. Names proposed for the airline included Air Bangla International, Biman Employees Airlines and Balaka. They were joined by previous managing directors of Biman, along with the former president of the Bangladesh Airline Pilots' Association. However, nothing further was heard of regarding the proposed venture.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: The airline made profits in FY 2007–08 (BDT 60 million) and FY 2008–09 (BDT 150 million); In FY 2009–10, however, the carrier incurred in a net loss of BDT 800 million.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: In FY 2010–11 it made losses of BDT 2 billion, despite the government exempting it a debt of about BDT 11.94 billion and BDT 5.73 billion owed to the BPC and the CAAB, respectively. In FY 2011–12 it made a loss of BDT 6.06 billion ( million); in FY 2012–13 unaudited figures show a loss of BDT 2 billion. , Biman owed BDT 15.60 billion to different sources; of which BDT 3676.2 million to CAAB and BDT 8.50 billion to Padma Oil Company, its fuel supplier. Biman made three consecutive profits of BDT3.24 billion, BDT2.76 billion and BDT1.51 billion for FYs 2014–15, 2015–16 and 2016–17, respectively. The net profit for FY 2016–17 was BDT470 million. In the FY 2017–18 Biman had an operating income of but having an expense of , it incurred a loss of . But in the FY 2018–19 its operating income and expenses both decreased to and respectively and Biman earned a net profit of


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: Biman's subsidiaries are associated with aircraft ground handling, aviation engineering, aviation training and flight catering. There are five wholly owned subsidiaries, including:


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: Since 1972, BGH provides ground-handling services for all airports in Bangladesh; the company reported a profit of BDT 4.5 billion for the FY 2011–12. The wholly owned subsidiary BFCC was set up in 1989 to provide in-flight meals. It is one of Biman's profitable operations, supplying food to Saudia, Etihad, Malaysia Airlines, Thai Airways, Emirates, China Southern Airlines and Regent Airways, along with casual orders from other airlines operating into Bangladesh. The BFCC consumes 90% of the eggs and chickens from the BPC, another profit-making subsidiary of Biman formed in 1976 and put into operation in November 1980 to rear poultry at farms in Dhaka. Bird flu was detected at one of the farms in March 2007, and many of the birds were culled. This was the first incident of bird flu in Bangladesh.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: In 2013, Biman signed agreements with SITA and Mercator to provide infrastructure support and revenue accounting services to the airline. In 2014, Biman launched advance seat reservation system on its website. The airline also offers online meal selection option, where the passenger can choose from diabetic meals, vegetarian meals, Asian vegetarian meal, child meal and Muslim meal, that will be served on board. In collaboration with a third-party service provider, Biman allows passengers to request Business Class upgrades as well as adjacent extra seats after booking an economy class fare.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: A two-class service (J and Y) is operated on most of Biman's aircraft. The Business Class cabin on its Boeing 777 are arranged in a 2–3–2 configuration, while economy class cabin is set up in a 3–3–3 configuration. The narrow-body Boeing 737-800s' Business Class is set up in a 2–2 configuration while Economy Class is in a 3–3 arrangement. Business Class passengers of Biman Bangladesh Airlines have exclusive access to airport and hotel lounges around the globe.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: Biman relaunched its inflight magazine re-branded as "Bihanga" in September 2013. The bi-monthly magazine, previously known as "Diganta", and prior to that "Jatri", is published by Subcontinental Media Group. The magazine is available in both Bengali and English, covering topics about Bangladesh and Biman's destinations. English and Bengali language newspapers are also available in Business Class on board the aircraft. Biman launched in-flight duty-free sales in March 2014, branded as Biman Boutique. Duty-free products include perfumes, cosmetics, jewellery, watches, children's gifts, chocolates, tobacco, etc. In 2014, Biman launched amenity kits for children on-board which include colouring books, stationery, dolls and jigsaw puzzle. Biman doesn't usually serve alcoholic beverages on its flights in economy class, however Business Class passengers have exclusive access to lounges around the globe.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: The newer Boeing 777s and 787s are equipped with modern in-flight entertainment systems. Every seat is fitted with personal touch screen displays which are loaded with movies, songs and games. It also has high resolution moving maps and live flight information. All this is available in two languages – English and Bengali.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: Starting with the newly delivered Boeing 787 Dreamliners, Biman Bangladesh Airlines launched onboard Internet, WiFi, mobile telephony, movie streaming and live TV streaming services from September 2018 in most of the new planes in its fleet. Twenty-five satellites were deployed for this purpose. New Panasonic eX3 seat-back monitors with touch screens from Panasonic Avionics offer passengers more than one hundred on-demand movies, music and video games. Onboard touch screen 3D route-maps, the latest addition to the aviation industry, show the various structures of the territories the aircraft flies over. Since March 2017, Biman started to offer exciting new and diverse meal and beverage options in its flights, including diabetic and children's meal packages, which is reviewed and updated every three months. All meals served on-board Biman flights are Halal and in Business Class, à la carte menus are offered.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: Biman launched a frequent-flyer program, named Biman Loyalty Club, in November 2013. It offers rewards such as tiered benefits, mileage bonuses, extra baggage, lounge access and priority check-in at airports. As of July 2014, the frequent-flyer program had 8,000 members.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: An agreement was signed with Amadeus in 2007 to upgrade Biman's ticketing system with an e-ticketing solution to comply with IATA rules, which set out a deadline of 31 December 2007 for all member airlines to switch over their ticketing systems. E-ticketing allowed Biman to reduce costs, while eliminating the stress of lost tickets for passengers. In 2005, Biman had briefly stopped using the Amadeus ticketing system when the government suspended the operation of a local Amadeus subsidiary following a court order, after allegations of money laundering. The suspension, however, lasted only a month, and was lifted after the writ was appealed in the High Court. In 2013, Biman signed an agreement with German e-ticketing company Hahn Air, enabling Biman's tickets to be purchased from anywhere around the world.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: Biman also operates a cargo service using the cargo holds of its passenger aircraft to ship freight to international destinations. It has established a Cargo Village at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka where the cargo is packaged and labelled before being loaded onto its aircraft for shipment overseas. The air cargo industry in Bangladesh grew by 16.5% in the fiscal year 2003–04. Private operators increased their share of the cargo market by 10.6% and were responsible for handling 24% of the total 99,000 tonnes of cargo at the expense of both Biman and foreign airlines which saw a reduction in their shares by 4.6% and 6.0% respectively. Foreign airlines handled 47% of the total cargo with Biman taking on the remaining 29% in the fiscal year 2003–04.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: In March 2018, Biman Bangladesh Airlines received ACC3 and RA-3 (Regulatory Agent for third country) certifications from the European Union allowing direct cargo flights to all destinations in Europe. ACC3 stands for Air Cargo or Mail Carrier operating into Europe from a third country airport. These certifications were successfully obtained after the government of Bangladesh upgraded Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) and improved its security, including setting up of Explosive Detection Systems (EDS), Explosive Detection Dogs (EDD) and Explosive Trace Detection (EDT) machines. Due to the improved security standards, Biman Cargo Village and Dhaka airport (HSIA) also got the ACC3 and RA-3 certifications simultaneously and a RA-3 compliant warehouse was built at HSIA for Europe bound cargo freight where entry is restricted for everyone apart from accredited Biman staff.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: On 28 December 2019, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina launched the "Biman Bangladesh Airlines" Mobile App. She also laid the foundation stone of the third terminal of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka and inaugurated the "Sonar Tari" and "Achin Pakhi", which are two new purchases of Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft to the flag carrier. The app was made available for passengers around the world.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: Biman serves 25 destinations, of which 17 were international. However, the carrier has air service agreements with 43 countries leaving room for further expansion in future. The airline operates flights to several destinations in the Middle East, some destinations in South and South East Asia and London and Manchester in Europe. The airline announced intentions to commence flights to Guangzhou in China, New York and Toronto via Manchester.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: From 1993 to 2006, Biman operated flights to John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City, from Dhaka via Brussels. New York was Biman's farthest and most prestigious destination, and was kept operational, despite heavy financial losses towards the end, to maintain a landing slot in the US which, if cancelled, could be difficult to regain. To curb the losses, Biman reduced the service to one flight per week and re-routed it through Manchester Airport, UK, capitalising on travel demands from the expatriate Bangladeshi community in the north of England. On 8 April 2006, Biman's inaugural flight to Manchester landed at Manchester Airport en route to JFK. However, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had placed the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) into Category 2 (does not meet International Civil Aviation Organization standards) according to its International Aviation Safety Assessment Program, which placed additional restrictions on the country's airlines when flying to the US. For Biman, this meant that it could continue flying to the US, but could not expand or make alterations to its routes, such as changing the transit from Brussels to Manchester. The FAA fined Biman for breaching its rules, and flights to New York were again re-routed through Brussels.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: The FAA had already warned Biman to replace its ageing DC-10s by December 2005. According to experts, these aircraft were inadequately equipped to safely cross the Atlantic. On 13 May 2006, the FAA refused permission for Biman flight BG001 (Dhaka–Brussels–JFK) to enter its airspace, citing safety concerns over the ailing DC–10 aircraft used on the route. The flight was diverted to Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in Canada, where the passengers were provided with alternative airline options to complete their journey. Canadian authorities inspected the aircraft and gave it a clean bill of health after which the aircraft returned to Dhaka without any passengers. The FAA eventually admitted it was mistaken and apologised for the error. The incident put an end to the route, which had been losing per flight, owing to its use of obsolete DC-10s. Biman decided to axe the route along with a number of other regional and domestic routes to curb the huge losses being incurred by the airline each month. However, in October 2007, Biman was directed by the then caretaker government to resume flights to New York. Biman was given until 25 October 2008 (extended from an earlier deadline of 23 March 2008) to resume flights to the airport by the JFK airport authority, after which it would have lost the landing slot permanently.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: Since January 2020, Biman flies thrice a week directly to Manchester from Dhaka, after purchasing two new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: On 4 March 1972, Biman started its first international operations with a weekly flight to London using a Boeing 707. , Biman Bangladesh Airlines flies directly to London Heathrow, from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, four times a week transporting both passengers and cargo, using its newly purchased Boeing 777 aircraft. Under its new management, the airline has seen a marked improvement in punctuality as well as in on-time flight performance in recent times. Back in 2007, Biman faced strong criticism from major international airports including London Heathrow Airport and Dubai International Airport for its failure to maintain flight schedules. Heathrow Airport operator BAA wrote to Biman providing evidence which showed Biman had not achieved the minimum 80% usage of its allocated landing slots at Heathrow, as required by EU and International Air Transport Association (IATA) regulations, during the summer of 2007. Biman should, therefore, not expect slot allocations at Heathrow for the summer of 2008 and should look to Stansted or Gatwick airports if it wished to continue serving London. Following discussions with BAA, however, Biman obtained landing slots for the summer of 2008 on condition that it achieved 80% usage. Delays continued unabated and in September 2008, Biman's Dhaka–London direct flight utilising a DC-10 aircraft was diverted and landed at Gatwick when it did not have sufficient fuel to remain in a holding pattern over Heathrow following arrival over three hours after the scheduled time. In 2008, the United Nations advised its staff not to fly with Biman, citing both safety and security concerns and Biman's unreliable flight schedules. It was made clear that UN staff who flew with Biman did so at their own risk, and would be ineligible to make claims on insurance. Biman's then newly appointed managing director said he was unaware of the UN directive, but admitted that Biman did face problems in managing its flight schedules. He expected the situation to improve with the procurement of aircraft in the coming months.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: In July 2020, Biman announced the introduction of a new route to Toronto which will be flown thrice-weekly beginning in October 2020. The route comes as part of an air agreement between Bangladesh and Canada, and will allow passengers to connect onward to cities across North America with its Air Canada hub at Toronto's Pearson Airport.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: On 26 March 2022, on the occasion of 51st Independence Day of Bangladesh and to observe the birth centenary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Biman operated a special flight, BG-305, from Dhaka and Toronto-Pearson. In April 2022, initially the inaugural commercial flight was scheduled on 11 June 2022, however, Biman decided not to operate a direct flight to Toronto as it would not be commercially viable, rather planned to operate the flight with a stopover in any of the European or Asian destination for refueling and extra passengers. On 22 April, Biman confirmed that it would use Manchester Airport as a stopover for its Toronto flight, to make it more commercially viable. However, later in May, Biman decided that Istanbul Airport will be used for refueling purposes, making it a technical halts only, not being allowed to aboard or deboard passengers from the airport. On 27 July, the first flight left Dhaka at 03:30 with 160 passengers only.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: The annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca for the Hajj is undertaken by thousands of Bangladesh's predominantly Muslim population. Biman has been the sole Bangladeshi airline permitted by the government to provide flights for pilgrims to King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah. Every year, the commencement of these flights is inaugurated by high-ranking government officials, including, at times, the Prime Minister. In 2002, the government opened the service to private tour operators for the first time. The initial private flights were plagued with delays, with both outgoing and return flights postponed for as long as nine days. Biman's handling of Hajj flights has also been beset with troubles. In 2005, the State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism resigned after complaints that he set fares too high. In 2006, Biman took the unprecedented step of removing the business–class seats from its dedicated Hajj flights to accommodate more economy-class passengers. Procedural irregularities by the Hajj agencies delayed the confirmation of pilgrims' visas, and Biman had to cancel 19 flights owing to lack of sufficient passengers. Once the situation was resolved, Biman was then unable to offer the required number of flights to cope with the backlog of passengers.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: In June 2007, the caretaker government approved a three-year Hajj policy aiming to alleviate the problems encountered during the previous two years. Hajj flights would also begin leaving from Bangladesh's two other international airports, Shah Amanat International Airport and Osmani International Airport. Biman put out a tender for the wet lease of two aircraft for additional Hajj flights and reached an agreement with Phuket Air. However, the deal fell through in August 2007 after Phuket Air demanded advance payment of 30% instead of the previously agreed-to 10%. Ausban Aeronautical Services of Australia was selected next, following a re-tender, to fill the gap left by Phuket Air. In 2008, Biman wet-leased a 542-seater Boeing 747-200 from Kabo Air of Nigeria for six months to operate flights to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Another 512-seater Boeing 747-300 was leased from Orient Thai Airlines. , Biman still experienced difficulties in providing their scheduled services, as the carrier gave priority to the transportation of pilgrims to Jeddah during the Hajj season using aircraft that otherwise were flown on its regular flights. Despite this, the airline reported a profit of almost BDT 1 billion from the 2012 Hajj season, the highest results ever since these services were started in 1973.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: A vintage Douglas Dakota and Douglas DC-3 were the first aircraft in Biman's fleet. Domestic operations commenced with the acquisition of four Fokker F27 aircraft flying passengers to Chittagong and Sylhet from its base in Dhaka. Shortly afterwards, a Boeing 707, chartered from British Caledonian, joined the airline's fleet, allowing Biman to begin international flights. In 1983, Biman purchased three McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 aircraft from Singapore Airlines to provide services on its long haul routes. In a deal worth , three British Aerospace ATPs were ordered in late 1989. These ATPs entered the fleet in late 1990, coming to replace the Fokker F27s.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: During the mid-1990s, Biman switched its airliner of choice for long haul routes to the Airbus series of aircraft. In 1995, two PW4000-powered Airbus A310-300s were ordered; the first of them joined the fleet on . It nevertheless retained its elderly DC–10 fleet. For over three decades, the DC–10–30s were Biman's sole widebody aircraft and served the airline consistently well, with no noteworthy mechanical problems – in marked contrast to the record of its domestic operations. These were operated with Fokker F28 and BAe ATPs which were routinely out of service because of technical trouble. In one incident, a government minister disembarked a flight and travelled by road when he learned that the aircraft he was on was a BAe ATP. In January 2003, Biman leased two Boeing 737-300s which were used on domestic and regional routes for eighteen months.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: McDonnell Douglas DC-10s and Airbus A310-300s made up most of Biman's international fleet, before the delivery of the modern Boeing 777-300ERs started in 2011. Fokker F28s made up the remainder of the fleet for the domestic and regional sectors, before they were retired in 2012. Biman's fleet contains the second-to-last Douglas DC–10 to come off the production line (l/n 445), and only three other Airbus A310–300s were produced following Biman's purchase of two new Airbus A310s in 1996. The two Fokker F28–4000s were acquired from PBair in 2004 at a cost of $2.91 million. Both of these aircraft were built in 1977, making Biman's latest acquisitions the oldest aircraft in its fleet. The ageing fleet made it difficult for Biman to maintain its flight schedule, as the aircraft suffered from mechanical problems, leading to flight delays and cancellations. A number of aircraft remained grounded owing to lack of spare parts as they are no longer manufactured and used parts are difficult to source.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: A deal was signed in a three-year contract with a German company for the maintenance of their powerplants, for the DC–10s. The airline operates its own ancillary and maintenance facilities at Shahjalal International Airport, where it carries out all maintenance work and C-Checks on DC–10–30s and A310–300s.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: In 2000, Biman put out a request for proposal for the acquisition of four wide-bodied aircraft to replace the DC–10s, but both the fleet renewal plans and the airline's expected privatisation were shelved by the government. A further attempt was made in 2005 to acquire new aircraft and plans were submitted for the purchase of ten new wide-bodied Airbus and Boeing aircraft at a total cost of $1 billion. Boeing arranged to finance the purchase provided a guarantee was given by the Bangladesh government. After bureaucratic delays and a perceived lack of commitment from the government, Boeing lost interest and the plans were cancelled. A similar attempt to purchase medium-haul aircraft for domestic service was also postponed. In , Biman put out a tender for the dry lease of two Airbus A310-300 and two Airbus A300-600 aircraft for two years. The sole response to the tender came from Star Aviation of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: After Biman became a public limited company, renewed attempts were made to procure new-generation aircraft to replace its ageing fleet. In November 2007, Boeing made an offer to supply Biman with four Boeing 777-200s (with options for two more) to be delivered by 2013 and four Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners (with options for two more) to be delivered by 2017 and provide similar aircraft on lease for the interim period beginning in 2009. The average price of these aircraft was quoted as  million. Airbus also made an offer to supply four Airbus A320 or Airbus A330 series aircraft at a much lower price than that of Boeing. To manage the fleet in the short run, Biman again floated a tender in January 2008 to purchase or dry lease with options to purchase two used Airbus A310-300 aircraft.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: On 10 March 2008, the Biman management unveiled a plan to procure eight next-generation wide-bodied aircraft from Boeing Commercial Airplanes for a total cost of  billion, including four 419-seater Boeing 777-300ER (average price of  million per unit), and four Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners that will seat 294 ( million per unit), to be delivered in 2017. The deal for the acquisition of these eight aircraft was signed with Boeing in April 2008, and also included a memorandum of understanding for the purchase of two Boeing 737-800s to be delivered in 2015, with Biman making an initial instalment of  million. Of the remaining cost, US-based EXIM bank will finance 85%, while a syndication of local banks will finance the balance. In the same year, Biman placed a firm order for two Boeing 737-800s, and took options for two more aircraft of the type. The total order for these ten aircraft was valued at around  billion.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: In 2010, Biman leased two Boeing 777-200ERs from EuroAtlantic Airways. These aircraft were used mainly on routes to European destinations to cover the interim period before the delivery of the first two new Boeing 777-300ERs in 2011. To secure the delivery of these two brand new 777-300ERs the airline used an initial  million loan granted from JPMorgan Chase. Wearing a new livery, the carrier took delivery of its first Boeing 777-300ER in late October 2011. It was the 777-300ER delivered by Boeing. The ever delivered Boeing 777-300ER also went to Biman. The airline took possession of it in late . The Boeing 777-300ER, named "Aakash Pradeep", was handed over to the carrier in . The one, named "Raanga Pravat", joined the fleet in , following the government approving a  million loan, of which  million will be provided by the Ex-Im Bank and the rest by the Standard Chartered Bank.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: Biman retired its entire McDonnell Douglas DC-10 fleet on 20 February 2014, by operating a special Dhaka-Birmingham farewell flight with its last DC-10 with a stopover at Kuwait. The carrier also operated nine separate aviation enthusiasts' scenic flights at Birmingham, from 22 to 24 February, flying three flights a day. The aircraft was then offered for sale as scrap in Dhaka. The Airbus A310-300s were withdrawn from service in October 2016.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: The carrier leased two Boeing 777-200ER aircraft from EgyptAir in March 2014. The airline planned to expand its fleet to 16 aircraft, to allow route expansion. With newly leased Dash 8-Q400 aircraft, the carrier resumed domestic flights in full swing to Cox's Bazar, Jessore, Saidpur, Rajshahi and Barisal in April 2015. The two aircraft, dry leased from Smart Aviation Company for a period of five years, also operated on regional flights to Kolkata and Yangon. Initially it was supposed to resume in November 2013, which Biman failed to as it was unable to find a lessor of aircraft.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: In February 2017, it was announced that the airline would acquire three of their own Dash 8-Q400 which will be used to replace the current aircraft leased from Smart Aviation Company to continue operating domestic and regional flights. Due to reliability issues with its Boeing 777-200ER aircraft leased from EgyptAir, Biman announced in December 2017 that the aircraft would be returned in March and May 2018, one year ahead of the expiration of the lease.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: On 19 August 2018, Biman received its first of four Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners and it was named ""Akash Beena"" in Bengali by the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, who inaugurated it on 5 September 2018 during an inauguration ceremony before its maiden commercial flight. The Dreamliner has this name inscribed on its side, below the cockpit, written in English on the port side and in Bengali on starboard. On 1 December 2018, the second of four Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners was received, increasing the fleet of Biman to fifteen aircraft, and it was named ""Hangsa Balaka"" in Bengali with BG-2112 as its serial number. The last Boeing 787-8 named ""Raj Hangsha"" joined the fleet on 14 September 2019.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: After receiving all four Boeing 787-8, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina showed interest to buy two more Boeing 787-9. As China based Hainan Airlines cancels its 30 dreamliner orders, Boeing approaches Biman and the latter agreed to buy two 787-9 at a negotiated price of 150 million for each aircraft. Both these aircraft joined the fleet on 21 and 24 December 2019 and these two aircraft are named as "Sonar Tori" and "Awchin Pakhi".


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: In January 2020, Biman expressed interest to buy two more Dash-8 Q400NG short bodied aircraft. This proposal is made to increase the frequency of the flights in domestic and regional routes. Besides, discussion is going on for taking four more Boeing 787-9 that was not taken up by Hainan Airlines and later on passed by Vistara. Besides, the airlines announced buying cargo aircraft in future.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: All three Dash-8 Q400NG from the first batch of orders received by March 2021. Another two ordered and will join the fleet by 2022. The number of Dash-8 aircraft will be six by 2022 (including one from lease). By adding Dash-8 Q400NG, Biman Bangladesh Airlines will stop using Boeing 737-800 planes on domestic routes. So Boeing 737-800 will operate on international routes only. Biman will also use Dash-8 aircraft on some short range international routes.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: In modern Bengali, the word বিমান "Biman" refers to "aeroplane", originating from the Sanskrit word "vimāna", a name given to a flying machine mentioned in ancient Vedic literature. The logo, painted on the tail, is a stylised white stork (বলাকা "bôlaka") inside a red circle. The logo was designed by painter Quamrul Hassan. The initial livery was a dark blue line extending across the aircraft along the windows and covering the tail section. This was replaced in the 1980s by dark green and red lines, matching the colours of the Bangladesh flag, and has remained so for over two decades.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: In 2010, Biman went through a rebranding exercise and unveiled a new logo and livery, designed by Teague, which was applied to its leased Boeing 777 and 737 aircraft. However, following change of government, Biman reverted to the original branding as this livery was not deemed appealing or colour appropriate for Biman or reflecting Bengali culture. The carrier has since adopted a new, more modern and revised version of its livery, that was applied to the new Boeing 777-300ERs, Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners, and all other aircraft delivered or leased from 2011 onwards.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: The "bôlaka" has also given its name to the Biman headquarters, the "Balaka Bhaban" (বলাকা ভবন "bôlaka bhôban", Stork Building). A landmark sculpture, named Balaka and depicting storks, is also found in front of Biman's former headquarters, the "Biman Bhaban", in the Motijheel Commercial Area of Dhaka. Eminent Bangladeshi sculptor; and mural, terracotta and landscaping artist, Mrinal Haque, designed and built this sculpture.


title: Biman Bangladesh Airlines

text: , Aviation Safety Network records 12 accidents/incidents for Biman Bangladesh Airlines, with two of them leading to fatalities.


title: Bob cut

text: A bob cut, also known as a bob, is a short to medium length haircut, in which the hair is typically cut straight around the head at approximately jaw level, but no longer than shoulder-length, often with fringe or bangs at the front. The standard bob cut exposes the back of the neck and keeps all of the hair well above the shoulders.


title: Bob cut

text: Historically, women in the West have usually worn their hair long. Although young girls, actresses and a few "advanced" or fashionable women had worn short hair even before World War I—for example in 1910 the French actress Polaire is described as having "a shock of short, dark hair", a cut she adopted in the early 1890s—the style was not considered generally respectable until given impetus by the inconvenience of long hair to girls engaged in war work.


title: Bob cut

text: In 1909, Antoni Cierplikowski, called Antoine de Paris, Polish hairdresser who became the world's first celebrity hairdresser, started a fashion for a short bob cut, which was inspired by Joan of Arc. In the 1920s, he introduced the “shingle cut” which became popular with daring young women—the Bloomsbury set and flappers. Among his clients were world-famous female personalities like Coco Chanel, Queen Marie of Romania, Sarah Bernhardt, Greta Garbo, U.S. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Brigitte Bardot.


title: Bob cut

text: English society beauty Lady Diana Cooper wore bobbed hair from childhood through adulthood. It has been said that renowned dancer and fashion trendsetter Irene Castle introduced her "Castle bob" to a receptive American audience in 1915, and by 1920 the style was rapidly becoming fashionable. However, it was artist and illustrator Clara Tice who was the first public person who used it the United States. Popularized by film star Mary Thurman in the early 1920s and by Colleen Moore and Louise Brooks in the mid to late 1920s, it was still seen as a somewhat shocking statement of independence in young women known as flappers, as older people were used to seeing girls wearing long dresses and heavy Edwardian-style hair. Hairdressers, whose training was mainly in arranging and curling long hair, were slow to realise that short styles for women had arrived to stay, and so barbers in many cities found lines of women outside their shops, waiting to be shorn of hair that had taken many years to grow.


title: Bob cut

text: Although as early as 1922 the fashion correspondent of "The Times" was suggesting that bobbed hair was passé, by the mid-1920s the style (in various versions, often worn with a side-parting, curled or waved, and with the hair at the nape of the neck "shingled" short), was the dominant female hairstyle in the Western world. The style was spreading even beyond the West, as women who rejected traditional roles adopted the bob cut as a sign of modernity. Close-fitting cloche hats had also become very popular, and couldn't be worn with long hair. Well-known bob-wearers were actresses Clara Bow and Joan Crawford, as well as Dutch film star Truus van Aalten.


title: Bob cut

text: As the 1930s approached, women started to grow their hair longer, and the sharp lines of the bob were abandoned.


title: Bob cut

text: In the mid 1960s, Vidal Sassoon made it popular again, using the shape of the early bob and making it more stylish in a simpler cut. Its resurgence coincided with the arrival of the "mop top" Beatle cut for men. Those associated with the bob at that time included the fashion designers Mary Quant and Jean Muir, actresses Nancy Kwan, Carolyn Jones, Barbara Feldon, Georgina Ward and Amanda Barrie, and singers as diverse as Keely Smith, Cilla Black, Billie Davis, Juliette Gréco, Mireille Mathieu and Beverly Bivens of the American group We Five. Valentina, the transgressively erotic heroine of a surreal Italian comic strip series created by Guido Crepax in 1965, sported an iconic bob inspired by Louise Brooks (as well as by Crepax's own wife Luisa). The bob cut was also popular with African-Americans in the mid-to-late 1960s, reflected in groups including Diana Ross & The Supremes and The Marvelettes.


title: Bob cut

text: Many styles and combinations of the "bob" have evolved since. In the late 1980s, Siouxsie Sioux, lead singer of Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Corinne Drewery, singer of "Swing Out Sister", had bob cuts for a short time. Singer Linda Ronstadt sported a very "Louise Brooks" inspired bob on the cover of two Grammy award winning albums in the late 1980s. 1987's "Trio" album with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris and her 1989 release "Cry Like A Rainstorm, Howl Like The Wind". She also wears the cut in the video for her duet with James Ingram, "Somewhere Out There". Annie Potts made an appearance in the supernatural comedy film Ghostbusters II with a bob as she played the character Janine Melnitz. Phoebe Cates’ character Elizabeth in the 1991 black comedy film Drop Dead Fred got a bob haircut after getting a part of her long black hair cut off. Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of American "Vogue" since 1988, apparently had hers trimmed every day ("Times 2", 10 July 2006). In the early 1990s Cyndi Lauper had a bob haircut with very unusual colors; soon afterwards, the cut became identified with Uma Thurman's character of Mia Wallace in Quentin Tarantino's 1994 film "Pulp Fiction". The bob then went into hibernation, but eventually became popular again. Natalie Portman sported a bob haircut in the 1994 English-language French action-thriller film Leon: The Professional for her portrayal of her character Mathilda. T-Boz of TLC also had a bob haircut with very unusual colors that was asymmetrical with bangs. Also, for the first two seasons and the first two episodes of the third season of "", the character of Lois Lane (Teri Hatcher) had a trademark bob haircut. The character of Dr. Laurel Weaver (Linda Fiorentino) from Barry Sonnenfeld's 1997 film "Men in Black" also sported a bob. Julianne Moore had a bob in the 1998 film The Big Lebowski for her portrayal of Maude Lebowski in the movie. Katie Volding, who played Benjamin “Ben” Cooper’s little sister Angie in the 1999 Disney Channel TV movie "Smart House", had a bob haircut.


title: Bob cut

text: In 2006, the bob was adopted by the singer Madonna and, as a move away from boho-chic, by actress Sienna Miller.


title: Bob cut

text: In November 2005, Canadian ice dancer Kristina Lenko was asked to join ITV1's new series, "Dancing on Ice". She went to her stylist in Toronto and told him "Do whatever you like." He cut Lenko's waist length hair into what is referred to as an A-line bob, where the hair is shorter in the back and gradually longer toward the front, with the longest pieces toward the front of the face. Later, ex–Spice Girl Victoria Beckham decided to cut her own hair into such a style, helping to raise its popularity worldwide with girls asking hairdressers for a "Pob"—Beckham's nickname Posh Spice conflated with "bob".


title: Bob cut

text: In 2007, R&B singer Rihanna had a bob haircut in the video for "Umbrella". She has stated that she got her inspiration from Charlize Theron in "Æon Flux".


title: Bob cut

text: Keira Knightley had a bob in her short TV ad for Coco Mademoiselle. Actress Christina Ricci also had a bob for live-action movie version for 60s anime series "Speed Racer" and later onwards. Katie Holmes got a bob cut with bangs in 2007.


title: Bob cut

text: At her third show in Brisbane, Australia, Britney Spears wore the bob throughout her concert. Jenny McCarthy is known for a sporting an A-line bob. Kate Bosworth is said to have popularized the bob in 2008. Shoulder-length bobs became popular after being sported by stars such as Heidi Klum and Jessica Alba. A shaggy version of the bob was popularized by Dianna Agron and Kate Mara.


title: Rikki-Tikki-Tavi

text: "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" is a short story in the 1894 anthology "The Jungle Book" by Rudyard Kipling about adventures of a valiant young Indian grey mongoose. It has often been anthologized and has been published several times as a short book. Book 5 of "Panchatantra", an ancient Indian collection, includes the mongoose and snake story, an inspiration for the "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" story.


title: Rikki-Tikki-Tavi

text: A mongoose named Rikki-Tikki-Tavi (from his chattering vocalizations) becomes the pet of an English family residing in India after they save him from drowning. He becomes friendly with some of the other creatures inhabiting their garden and is warned of the cobras Nag and Nagaina, who are angered by the human family's presence in their territory and fear Rikki as a threat. That same day, a young dust brown snake named Karait threatens to bite the child of the family. This sight infuriates Rikki into challenging it unaware the smaller snake is as venomous as a cobra and faster. Despite the risk, Rikki emerges victorious and kills the snake, saving the child.


title: Rikki-Tikki-Tavi

text: Later that night, Rikki hears Nag and Nagaina plot to kill the family to take over the house for their hatchlings and drive Rikki away. Nag enters the house's bathroom before dawn to make his ambush. Rikki, however, ambushes Nag from behind in the darkness. The ensuing struggle awakens the family, and the father appears to have killed Nag with a shotgun blast while Rikki bites down on the hood of the struggling male cobra.


title: Rikki-Tikki-Tavi

text: The following morning, a grieving Nagaina attempts revenge against the humans, cornering them as they have breakfast on a veranda. She is distracted by Darzee's wife tailor bird, (Darzee is singing Nag's death,) while Rikki destroys the cobra's unhatched brood of eggs, except for one. He carries it to where Nagaina is threatening to bite little Teddy, while his parents watch helplessly. Rikki furiously challenges her and lures the cobra away from the family.


title: Rikki-Tikki-Tavi

text: Nagaina recovers her egg during the battle, but is pursued by Rikki away from the house to the cobra's underground nest, where an unseen final battle takes place. Rikki emerges triumphant from the hole, declaring Nagaina dead. With the immediate threat defeated, Rikki dedicates his life to guarding the garden, resulting in no snake even daring show its head in the garden's walls.


title: Rikki-Tikki-Tavi

text: Director Alexandra Snezhko-Blotskaya shot an animated short film of this story titled "Рикки-Тикки-Тави" ("Rikki-Tikki-Tavi") in 1965 in the Soviet Union, at the film studio Soyuzmultfilm. Ten years later, Chuck Jones adapted it for a half-hour television special in the United States, with Orson Welles narrating. The same year, Aleksandr Juridic and Nan Nashville directed a live-action feature film entitled "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi".


title: Rikki-Tikki-Tavi

text: In the anime television series, "Jungle Book Shōnen Mowgli", Rikki-Tikki-Tavi is a supporting character who is the pet of an Indian family and is a heroic defender of them.


title: Rikki-Tikki-Tavi

text: In the CGI series "The Jungle Book", Rikki-Tikki-Tavi is an occasional character who is a friend of Mowgli.


title: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (film)

text: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk is a 2016 war drama film directed by Ang Lee and written by Jean-Christophe Castelli, based on the 2012 novel of the same name by Ben Fountain. The film stars Joe Alwyn, Garrett Hedlund, Kristen Stewart, Vin Diesel, Steve Martin, and Chris Tucker. Principal photography began in April 2015 in Georgia. The film is a co-production between the United States, the United Kingdom, and China.


title: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (film)

text: The film had its world premiere at the 54th New York Film Festival on October 14, 2016, and was theatrically released in North America on November 11, 2016, by TriStar Pictures. It had high production costs associated with being the first-ever feature film using an extra-high frame rate of 120 frames per second, further complicated by the 3D format, at 4K HD resolution. The film received mixed reviews from critics and underperformed at the box office, grossing $30.9 million worldwide against its $40 million budget.


title: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (film)

text: Billy Lynn, a 19-year-old US Army specialist from Texas, is caught on camera dragging wounded Sergeant Virgil "Shroom" Breem to safety during an intense firefight in Iraq on October 23, 2004. This act of courage earns Lynn the Silver Star and quickly ascends him and his unit, erroneously designated "Bravo Squad" by the media, to celebrity status. They return to the U.S. for Shroom's funeral, then are sent on a publicity tour culminating at the halftime show of the November 25 Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving home game.


title: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (film)

text: Now led by Sgt. David Dime, the members of Bravo Squad are driven in a limousine to the stadium with the Cowboys' PR representative Josh and film producer Albert Brown, who is in the process of securing a film deal for the squad. A flashback reveals that Billy joined the army after destroying the car of his older sister Kathryn's boyfriend, who left her after she was in a car accident that required multiple facial reconstruction procedures. At the stadium, the group is greeted by anxious fans who express gratitude for their actions in the Iraq War. During a press conference, Billy spots a Cowboys Cheerleader, Faison, smiling at him. They strike up a conversation and begin a flirtation. Billy tells her how it feels weird to be honored for the worst day of his life.


title: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (film)

text: As the game starts, Billy recalls his time in Iraq, where Shroom had offered him karmic philosophical insight and advice during their downtime. It is revealed that once the game ends, Bravo Squad will have to return to duty. Billy receives a phone call from a psychiatrist to whom Kathryn had spoken, regarding a plan to get Billy honorably discharged so he doesn't have to return to Iraq, thereby sparing him further suffering.


title: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (film)

text: During the halftime show, featuring Destiny's Child, the loud music and pyrotechnics traumatize an already unstable squad member, Sykes, and he reacts violently against a security guard. Billy experiences a flashback to the battle that made them famous. The squad was called in to rescue soldiers pinned down by insurgents at a school. Shroom is shot while advancing from cover, and Billy rushes to save him, firing on the nearby insurgents with his sidearm. Billy drags Shroom into a trench, but an insurgent attacks Billy at close range. Billy kills him in self-defense, but is traumatized by the incident and, upon returning to help, discovers Shroom has bled to death. Billy's flashback ends when troop members get his attention and point out that the halftime show has been over for a few minutes. Billy had been frozen in place all the while. As they are urged to leave by stage hands and security, the soldiers are diverted from a fight by cheerleaders led by Faison. Billy takes her name and number on his cell phone, learning that her last name is Zorn, meaning 'anger'.


title: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (film)

text: Billy and Dime meet with the owner of the Cowboys, Norm Oglesby, who is considering investing in Albert's movie about the incident in Iraq. However, instead of the $100,000 that Albert was hoping to get for each squad member, Oglesby offers them only $5,500 apiece. Dime angrily rebuffs Oglesby's offer. In private, Oglesby tells Billy that the squad's story is no longer theirs, but instead belongs to the American people. Billy tells Oglesby off, joining Dime. Albert promises Billy that he will find investors one way or another, and that their story deserves to be told "the right way."


title: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (film)

text: As the squad leaves, Billy meets up with Faison briefly before leaving. He says he would run away with her, even though he has to go back. In a clumsy deflection, she reinforces his duty to redeploy, and he accepts with understanding. They share a kiss. As Billy meets back up with his squad, they are attacked by the security guards from earlier, briefly triggering Billy's PTSD, which fills his mind with surreal imagery of war and death. The altercation is halted with a warning gunshot. Kathryn arrives to retrieve Billy and effect his medical discharge. He makes it clear he is redeploying with his squad, more for his sense of belonging than for duty. She is upset, but after Billy explains, they share a tearful hug.


title: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (film)

text: Billy returns to the limo, but hallucinates and sees a Humvee. He gets in, sees Shroom's familiar icon of Ganesha and has a philosophical conversation with Shroom. Billy tells Shroom "I love you," then returns to the reality of the Bravo Squad members in the limo, each of whom responds with "I love you."


title: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (film)

text: "Slumdog Millionaire"s Oscar-winning screenwriter, Simon Beaufoy, was in 2014 adapting the novel for the screen, produced by Film4 in collaboration with a U.S. production company, The Ink Factory, and Sony Pictures' TriStar film studio division. Also involved in the production are China's Bona Film Group and Studio 8, which is backed by the Chinese conglomerate Fosun International. Ang Lee would direct the film.


title: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (film)

text: The cast—Joe Alwyn, Garrett Hedlund, Kristen Stewart, Vin Diesel, Steve Martin, Beau Knapp, Ben Platt, and Chris Tucker—were announced between February 2015 to May 2015.


title: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (film)

text: Alwyn was cast just two days after he left his drama school, London's Royal Central School of Speech & Drama. After putting himself on tape, he received a call a few days later from the producers to meet Lee in New York City. There—even after the screen test—Lee had some trouble casting him or any other people. He then told Alwyn to head to Georgia for additional screen tests. While the studio was initially skeptical about casting an unknown person, Alwyn was able to convince them after days of such testing. In Atlanta, he did four to five days of testings on set and about a week and a half later, at around 1 a.m. he received a call of acceptance. Alwyn won the titular role because of his "ability to communicate the book's paradox of war with just his facial expressions".


title: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (film)

text: The soldiers onscreen endured weeks of Navy SEAL-style boot camp training since they had to look like real soldiers. They were given guns with special springs that would add a recoil when they shot blanks—a feeling that often left them shaking. "They cannot shoot like Rambo with two guns! A real bullet cannot shoot that bravely," Lee stated.


title: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (film)

text: "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk" used an unprecedented shooting and projection frame rate of 120 frames per second in 3D at 4K HD resolution, which Lee terms the "whole shebang". It is the first feature film ever to be shot in such a high frame rate, over twice the previous record (Peter Jackson's 2012 "", shot at 48 fps) and five times the standard speed of 24 fps. Lee undertook such a bold step after reading the book since he wanted the film to be an "immersive" and "realistic" experience of the reality and emotional journey of soldiers.


title: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (film)

text: After working on "Life of Pi" (2012), Lee wanted to up his use of technology in filmmaking, especially in terms of frame rate, since he thought pursuing a higher frame would help him find answers. Initially, while discussing with producer Rothman, Lee wanted to try and shoot the film with at least 60 fps at 2K resolution in 3D as he had experimented with 60 fps before (his first plan was to shoot the Muhammad Ali biopic in 60 fps which he said he will after "Billy Lynn"). He undertook research and found what Jackson was doing with 48 fps (the highest ever at that time), but did not wish to use such a frame rate after Jackson's "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" received polarized critical reception. He visited filmmaker Douglas Trumbull who was doing his own 60 fps tests, and so was James Cameron. He made the first test with 120 fps in October 2014, but the decision to shoot with 120 fps was not finalized until just a few weeks before shooting commenced. "Billy Lynn" was shot with the highest frame rate (HFR) ever until "Flamenco" (2017) which was shot in 120 fps in 3D, as well as in 192 fps in 2D, but was released in standard 24 fps in 3D and 60 fps in 2D.


title: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (film)

text: Principal photography began in the second week of April 2015, in Locust Grove, Georgia. Filming also took place in Atlanta and in Morocco and in downtown Atlanta on April 17, 2015. Shooting took place for 49 days.


title: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (film)

text: Due to the complexity involved in shooting at a very high frame rate, Lee could not afford to do many takes even for a single scene. Every shot was difficult and at the same time precious. He would rehearse every scene beforehand and would conduct regular morning meetings with the key crew members to highlight things they needed to be alert on.


title: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (film)

text: Shooting close-up shots in 3D with such high resolution meant the cast could not wear make-up and could not deliver less-than-authentic performances. Since no make-up was allowed, make-up artist Luisa Abel spent months of preparation on their skin tones. According to Lee, "[Abel] found this silicone-based makeup because we found that it can see through skin." Throughout filming, the production team had to rethink everything, including different approaches to lighting as the camera needed extra lights due to the higher frame rates. To film the war sequences, Lee strayed from the usual practice of moving cameras to create confusion. Instead he did the opposite by shooting mostly from the protagonist's point-of-view to capture the realism and to look more authentic.


title: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (film)

text: Lee's longtime collaborator Tim Squyres, who worked with the director on numerous films including "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (2000), "Brokeback Mountain" (2005), and "Life of Pi" (2012), edited the film and took over a year to complete. It was completed just a day before its world premiere in New York City on October 14.


title: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (film)

text: To accommodate the film's wide release, various additional versions of the film were created. They include 120 fps in 2D and 60 fps in 3D as well as today's current standard of 24 fps. The film also received a Dolby Cinema release, with two high dynamic range versions that can accommodate 2D and 3D, with up to 120 fps in 2K resolution.


title: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (film)

text: In order to present the film at the 54th New York Film Festival, a special installation was required, including two Christie Mirage 4K laser projectors (a first for any cinemas) with 7thSense's Media Server for playback, using festival sponsor RealD's 3D system and 42-foot-by-19-foot Ultimate Screen, the company's latest screen technology. The installation is expected to display 28 foot-lamberts (a measurement of light), per eye, according to RealD chief innovation officer Pete Lude.


title: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (film)

text: Due to the complexity of the film's unprecedented high frame rate and the cost of installing equipment capable of projecting the film in its intended format, only five theaters globally were equipped to show it at its highest resolution and maximum frame rate: two in the United States (one at a theater in New York City's AMC Lincoln Square where the film had its world premiere and the other in Los Angeles's the ArcLight Hollywood), and one theater each in Taipei, Beijing, and Shanghai.


title: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (film)

text: The film had its world premiere at the 54th New York Film Festival on October 14, 2016. It was not screened at Alice Tully Hall because the theater is too large to get the correct distance between the dual laser projectors and the screen. Instead, a roughly 300-seat theater at the AMC Lincoln Square on the Upper West Side was chosen. But even at this theater, a few adjustments had to be made: the first three rows were off limits because they would not provide an acceptable 3D viewing experience, and a new screen, the RealD Ultimate Screen, was installed in the theater (expressly for this premiere and the forthcoming run of the film). "Variety" reported that the reaction from that first screening was decidedly mixed, with comments ranging from "it was flat" to "nothing happened."


title: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (film)

text: In the United States it had a limited release on November 11, 2016, before opening wide on November 18, 2016.


title: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (film)

text: "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk" grossed $1.7 million in the United States and Canada and $29.2 million in other countries for a worldwide total of $30.9 million, against a production budget of $40 million.


title: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (film)

text: In the United States and Canada, the film opened to a sold out limited release on November 11, 2016, playing at two theaters, AMC Lincoln Square in New York City and ArcLight Hollywood's Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles, and earned $114,129 in its opening weekend (an average of $57,065 per theater). The aforesaid two theaters are the only two locations in the United States that are equipped to present the film in its special format, with ticket prices at both locations running $20 or higher. Its per-theater average is the third-best of the year, just behind "Moonlight" ($100,519) and "Don't Think Twice" ($92,835).


title: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (film)

text: The following weekend, the film expanded wide to 1,176 theaters, where it was expected to gross $3–5 million. It made $352,475 on its opening day and just $901,026 over the weekend, finishing outside at number fourteen. It was the 25th-worst-ever debut for a film opening on more than 1,000 screens. The film was considered another box office misfire for TriStar Pictures, following 2015's "The Walk", and according to "Deadline Hollywood", it wasn't the lack of 3D 4K projectors available that factored into the film's poor box office performance, but rather that the story itself didn't resonate with critics or audiences. In its second weekend of wide release the film grossed just $210,000 (still from 1,176 theaters) for a drop of 76.6%, the 21st-biggest second-weekend drop of all time.


title: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (film)

text: Scott Mendelson of "Forbes" argued that a bag of mixed to negative reviews hindered the box office potential of the film. Unlike tentpole films which aren't as affected by critic reviews and fan reception, adult skewing drama films like "Billy Lynn" heavily depend on reviews which could either help or hinder the box office fate of a film. In this case, the bad reviews took a toll on the film. He also pointed out that the complex release format—which is the main focus of the whole film—failed to deliver its intended desired effect, which manifested in its poor box office performance. "The Guardian" cited different causes, saying that the Iraqi war settings—which don't usually resonate to American audiences—and the war genre itself as being tough-selling subject matter. War films in the United States are generally sold as action films, but "Billy Lynn" on the other hand is a drama piece. The film falls in line with previous poor showings of Iraqi War films, after "Green Zone" (2010), "Body of Lies" (2008), "Rendition" (2007), and "Stop-Loss" (2008).


title: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (film)

text: Internationally, the film earned $13.2 million on its opening weekend (November 11–13) from nine markets, a bulk of which came from China. In China, it delivered a $11.7 million debut, placing at number two behind holdover "Doctor Strange". The film, which has Chinese finance (via Bona Film Group and Fosun International), but is considered as a revenue sharing import, had over 60,000 screenings on Friday, and by Sunday, was down to 45,000. It earned $11.5 million and with paid previews finished the weekend with $11.7 million, according to data from Ent Group. While it registered the highest percentage of showtimes on Friday owing to Lee's popularity in China, the attendance dwindled and deteriorated from its second day onward due to mixed word of mouth as general audiences were unable to relate to its central character. It has made around $20 million there. The film also opened in Taiwan, Lee's domicile. The film continued the majority of its international release mainly in January 2017 in Brazil, Mexico and Spain; France, Germany, Italy, the UK and Japan in February, followed by Korea and Russia in March.


title: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (film)

text: Whereas in France, the movie didn't get his audience (only 11,000 people), Les Cahiers du cinéma listed it as number 10 on their annual top films of 2017.


title: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (film)

text: On website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 44% based on 158 reviews, with an average rating of 5.35/10. The site's critical consensus reads, ""Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk" has noble goals, but lacks a strong enough screenplay to achieve them—and its visual innovations are often merely distracting." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 53 out of 100, based on 42 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".


title: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (film)

text: Owen Gleiberman of "Variety" praised the film, calling it "a highly original, heartfelt, and engrossing story. And part of the power of it lies in the way that those two things are connected." David Rooney of "The Hollywood Reporter" described the film as "an absorbing character study" but criticized some of the technological aspects saying that it didn't justify "its much-vaunted technological advances."


title: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (film)

text: The high frame rate used in the film drew some criticism, especially the decision to use it in a drama film. David Rooney of "The Hollywood Reporter" said "the technical innovations took me out of the drama just as often as they pulled me in." Dan Callahan for "TheWrap" felt that some of the characters were "so super-clear that they look like a cut-out with scissors from a glossy magazine" and said "the extra-clarity 3D in this Lee movie often looks weirdly like something shot on videotape in the 1980s." Much like "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey", "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk" received a polarized reception from critics, with detractors saying the process created an unpleasing video look.


title: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (film)

text: On February 14, 2017, "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk" was released on DVD, Blu-ray, and in an Ultra HD combo pack which contains the Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, and 4K UHD versions of the film. The 4K UHD version presents the film at 60 frames per second in 2D.


title: Eicher Motors

text: Eicher Motors Limited is an Indian multinational automotive company that manufactures motorcycles and commercial vehicles, headquartered in New Delhi. Eicher is the parent company of Royal Enfield, a manufacturer of middleweight motorcycles.


title: Eicher Motors

text: Eicher Motors is a commercial vehicle manufacturer in India. The company's origins date back to 1948, when Goodearth Company was established for the distribution and service of imported tractors. In 1959 the Eicher Tractor Corporation of India Private Ltd was established, jointly with the Eicher tractor company, a German tractor manufacturer. Since 1965, Eicher in India has been completely owned by Indian shareholders. The German Eicher tractor was partly owned by Massey Ferguson from 1970, when they bought 30%. Massey Ferguson bought out the German company in 1973.


title: Eicher Motors

text: In 2005, Eicher Motors Ltd sold their tractors and engines business to TAFE Tractors (Tractors and Farm Equipment Ltd) of Chennai, the Indian licensee of Massey Ferguson tractors.


title: Eicher Motors

text: In October 1982, a collaboration agreement with Mitsubishi for the manufacture of light commercial vehicles (LCVs) was signed in Tokyo and in the same period the incorporation of Eicher Motors Limited also took place. LCVs were sold under the "Eicher Mitsubishi" brand. In February 1990, Eicher Goodearth bought 26% stake in Enfield India Ltd and by 1993 Eicher acquired a majority stake (60% equity shareholding) in Royal Enfield India.


title: Eicher Motors

text: In July 2008, Eicher Motors Limited (EML) and Volvo Group's formed a 50:50 joint venture called VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV) which designs, manufactures and markets commercial vehicles, engineering components and provides engineering design.


title: Eicher Motors

text: At present, Volvo Group owns 45.6% of VECV, although there are 122 other institutional investors on record. In 2020 VECV bought Volvo Buses India operations for ₹100 crores.


title: Eicher Motors

text: The Eicher Group has diversified business interests in design and development, manufacturing, and local and international marketing of trucks, buses, motorcycles, automotive gears, and components. Eicher has invested in the potential growth areas of management consultancy services, customised engineering, and maps and travel guides.


title: Eicher Motors

text: VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV) Limited is a joint venture between Volvo Group and Eicher Motors Limited. VECV is divided into five business units:


title: Otis (wrestler)

text: Nikola Bogojevic (born December 21, 1991) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Otis.


title: Otis (wrestler)

text: After signing with WWE in 2016, he was assigned to their developmental brand NXT, teaming with Tucker Knight as part of Heavy Machinery. They were promoted to WWE's main roster in 2018. During his time on the main roster, Otis won the 2020 men's Money in the Bank ladder match and won the Raw Tag Team Championship as part of Alpha Academy with Chad Gable in 2022.


title: Otis (wrestler)

text: Prior to his professional wrestling career, Bogojevic was an amateur wrestler, winning the 2008 Greco-Roman junior Nationals in his weight class, the national title in the 2018 Junior Pan-American Games, and a bronze medal in Greco-Roman wrestling at the Pan-American Games, and was a prospect for the 2018 Olympic Games team, but was not chosen. In 2018, he was named the Rookie of the Year by "Pro Wrestling Illustrated" ("PWI").


title: Otis (wrestler)

text: Nikola Bogojevic was born on December 21, 1991, in Duluth, Minnesota. He is a Christian and is of Serbian descent.


title: Otis (wrestler)

text: Bogojevic attended Superior High School, where he was a successful amateur wrestler; he was the 2010 285lb undefeated WIAA State Champion. He was a champion at the 2009 Greco-Roman junior Nationals. He placed third at the 2009 Junior Freestyle championships. Originally committed to the University of Wisconsin, he wrestled at collegiate level for Augsburg College and Colorado State University-Pueblo. He won the national title in Greco-Roman wrestling at the Junior Pan-American Games in 2011 and a Greco-Roman bronze at the 2014 Pan-American Games. He was at one point considered a prospect for the U.S. Greco-Roman wrestling team at the 2012 Summer Olympics and spent some time training at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado.


title: Otis (wrestler)

text: In 2015, Bogojevic trained to become a professional wrestler at the Mercury Pro Wrestling Academy in Arvada, Colorado. He wrestled under the ring name Dozer for several regional promotions in Colorado and Utah, including Ultra Championship Wrestling-Zero (UCW-Zero) and New Revolution Wrestling, where he won the NRW Charged Championship.


title: Otis (wrestler)

text: Bogojevic was scouted by WWE scout Gerald Brisco, who specialized in scouting award-winning amateur wrestlers. On April 12, 2016, Bogojevic signed a contract with WWE and was assigned to the WWE Performance Center. He made his debut at a NXT house show on July 8, 2016, teaming with Adrian Jaoude in a loss to The Authors of Pain (Akam and Rezar).


title: Otis (wrestler)

text: During this time, he formed a tag team with Tucker Knight, calling themselves Heavy Machinery. In October, with he now renamed Otis Dozovic, the duo participated in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament, and they made their television debut on the October 19 episode of "NXT", losing to the team of Austin Aries and Roderick Strong. The duo returned and had their first televised victory on the March 29, 2017 episode of "NXT", defeating the team of Jonathan Ortagun and Q. T. Marshall. On the July 12 episode of "NXT", Heavy Machinery unsuccessfully challenged The Authors of Pain for the NXT Tag Team Championship. In March 2018, Heavy Machinery once again participated in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament, but were eliminated by The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) in the first round. On the December 19 episode of "NXT", Heavy Machinery wrestled their final match on "NXT", defeating Blake Howell and Danny D'Accardo.


title: Otis (wrestler)

text: On December 17, 2018, it was announced that Heavy Machinery would be debuting on the main roster. They debuted on the January 14, 2019 episode of "Raw", interrupting an interview between Alexa Bliss and Paul Heyman. The following week on "Raw", they defeated The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor) in their in-ring debut. In February, his ring name was shortened to Otis, while Knight's ring name was shortened to Tucker. The duo made their pay-per-view debut at WrestleMania 35 on April 7, where they both competed in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, but neither would win the match. As part of the Superstar Shake-Up, Heavy Machinery was moved to the SmackDown brand. At Stomping Grounds on June 23, Heavy Machinery faced Daniel Bryan and Rowan for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship in a losing effort. At Extreme Rules on July 14, Heavy Machinery again competed for the titles in a triple threat tag team match involving Bryan and Rowan, and The New Day (Big E and Xavier Woods), which The New Day won. At Crown Jewel on October 31, Heavy Machinery competed in a tag team turmoil match, but were eliminated by The New Day. At Survivor Series on November 24, Heavy Machinery participated in an interbrand tag team battle royal, which was won by Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode.


title: Otis (wrestler)

text: By the end of 2019, Otis entered a romantic storyline with Mandy Rose. On the February 14, 2020 episode of "SmackDown", Otis went on a date with Rose, but Dolph Ziggler appeared in Otis's place during the date. The storyline evolved into a love triangle involving a feud between Otis and Ziggler over Rose. On the April 3 episode of "SmackDown", it was revealed that Sonya Deville was working with Ziggler to keep Otis from Rose. On the second night of WrestleMania 36 on April 5, Otis defeated Ziggler with Rose's help, who kissed him after the match. On the May 1 episode of "SmackDown", Otis defeated Ziggler to qualify for the Money in the Bank ladder match. At Money in the Bank on May 10, Otis won the Money in the Bank ladder match, earning him a world title match at the time of his choosing. On the September 11 episode of "SmackDown", Otis and Tucker began a feud with John Morrison and the Miz after they stole the Money in the Bank briefcase from Otis, which was actually inside Otis' lunchbox. On the September 18 episode of "SmackDown", Otis was sued by Miz and Morrison and was told to relinquish the contract, but Otis refused and opted to go to court instead.


title: Otis (wrestler)

text: As part of the 2020 Draft in October, Otis remained on SmackDown, while Tucker was drafted to the Raw brand, disbanding Heavy Machinery. However, on the October 19 episode of "Raw", Otis tagged with Tucker but disguised under a mask and using the name El Gran Gordo. At Hell in a Cell on October 25, Otis lost his Money in the Bank briefcase to the Miz after Tucker betrayed him, hitting him with the briefcase.


title: Otis (wrestler)

text: On the November 6 episode of "SmackDown", Otis lost to Seth Rollins in a Survivor Series qualifying match. After Otis defeated Dolph Ziggler on the November 13 episode of "SmackDown", he was confronted by Chad Gable, who proposed to Otis that he would help him discover his "Inner Alpha". On the November 20 episode of "SmackDown", WWE Official Adam Pearce announced Otis as the final member of the Men's SmackDown Survivor Series team. At Survivor Series on November 22, Otis was eliminated by Braun Strowman, and Team SmackDown lost the match in a clean sweep. At on December 20, Otis, Gable, Big E and Daniel Bryan defeated Shinsuke Nakamura, Cesaro, King Corbin and Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn in an eight-man tag team match during the pre-show. At Royal Rumble on January 31, 2021, Otis competed in his first rumble match but was quickly eliminated by King Corbin.


title: Otis (wrestler)

text: On the February 19 episode of "SmackDown", Otis attacked Rey Mysterio at the orders of Gable after their tag team match, turning heel for the first time in his career. At "WrestleMania SmackDown" on April 8, Alpha Academy challenged for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship in a fatal four-way match involving Rey & Dominik Mysterio and The Street Profits in a fatal four-way match, which saw the champions Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode retain the titles. As part of the 2021 Draft, both Otis and Gable were drafted to the Raw brand. On the January 10, 2022, episode of "Raw", Alpha Academy defeated RK-Bro (Randy Orton and Riddle) to win the Raw Tag Team Championship, marking Otis's first championship in his WWE career. On the March 7 episode of "Raw", Alpha Academy dropped the titles back to RK-Bro in a triple threat match also involving Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens, ending their reign at 55 days. On the second night of WrestleMania 38 on April 3, Alpha Academy failed to regain the titles from RK-Bro in a triple threat match also involving The Street Profits.


title: Otis (wrestler)

text: During his storyline with Mandy Rose in 2020, Otis was shown as a shy man with problems when he talks to women, which Bogojevic admits is based on his real life personality.


title: Otis (wrestler)

text: Otis used "The Caterpillar" as a finishing maneuver during his matches when he was a babyface, which is very similar to Scotty 2 Hotty's finishing maneuver, "The Worm".


title: Otis (wrestler)

text: Bogojevic made his video game debut as a playable character in "WWE 2K19," and has since appeared in "WWE 2K20," "WWE 2K Battlegrounds, and "WWE 2K22"."


title: Bufalino crime family

text: The Bufalino crime family, also known as the Pittston crime family, Scranton Wilkes-Barre crime family, Northeastern Pennsylvania crime family, Northeastern Pennsylvania Mafia, or Scranton Mafia, was an Italian-American Mafia crime family active in Northeastern Pennsylvania, primarily in the cities of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, and Pittston.