title: Land of Punt

text: At times, the ancient Egyptians called Punt "Ta netjer" ("tꜣ nṯr"), meaning "God's Land". This referred to the fact that it was among the regions of the Sun God, that is, the regions located in the direction of the sunrise, to the East of Egypt. These eastern regions' resources included products used in temples, notably incense. Older literature maintained that the label "God's Land", when interpreted as "Holy Land" or "Land of the gods/ancestors", meant that the ancient Egyptians viewed the Land of Punt as their ancestral homeland. W. M. Flinders Petrie believed that the Dynastic Race came from or through Punt and that "Pan, or Punt, was a district at the south end of the Red Sea, which probably embraced both the African and Arabian shores." Moreover, E. A. Wallis Budge stated that "Egyptian tradition of the Dynastic Period held that the aboriginal home of the Egyptians was Punt...". James Breasted in 1906 argued that the term Ta netjer was not only applied to Punt, located southeast of Egypt, but also to regions of Asia east and northeast of Egypt, such as Lebanon, which was the source of wood for temples.


title: Land of Punt

text: On the murals of the Hatshepsut temple at Deir el-Bahri, the King and Queen of Punt are depicted along with their retinue. Due to her unusual appearance, the Queen was sometimes hypothesized to have had advanced steatopygia or elephantiasis.


title: Land of Punt

text: The majority opinion places Punt in Northeastern Africa, based on the fact that the products of Punt (as depicted in the Hatshepsut illustrations) were abundantly found in the Horn of Africa but were less common or sometimes absent in Arabia. These products included gold and aromatic resins such as myrrh, frankincense, and ebony; the wild animals depicted in Punt included giraffes, baboons, hippopotami, and leopards. Richard Pankhurst states: "[Punt] has been identified with territory on both the Arabian and the Horn of Africa coasts. Consideration of the articles that the Egyptians obtained from Punt, notably gold and ivory, suggests, however, that these were primarily of African origin. ... This leads us to suppose that the term Punt probably applied more to African than Arabian territory."


title: Land of Punt

text: In 2003, Ian Shaw wrote that "There is still some debate regarding the precise location of Punt, which was once identified with the region of modern Somalia. A strong argument has now been made for its location in either southern Sudan or the Eritrean region of Ethiopia, where the indigenous plants and animals equate most closely with those depicted in the Egyptian reliefs and paintings".


title: Land of Punt

text: According to Simon Najovits, the area comprising Somalia, Djibouti, the Red Sea coast of Eritrea and Sudan in the Horn of Africa is considered the most likely location .


title: Land of Punt

text: In June 2018, Polish archaeologists who have been conducting research in The Temple of Hatshepsut since 1961 discovered the only depiction of a secretary bird ("Sagittarius serpentarius") known from ancient Egypt in the Bas-reliefs from the Portico of Punt that depicted the great Pharaonic expedition to the Land of Punt. The secretary bird lives only in the African open grasslands and savannah, it is listed among the birds found in Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, and Somaliland, the bird is not found in Arabia.


title: Land of Punt

text: Recently it has been suggested that Punt might be located in the Eastern desert in Sudan and the northern Horn of Africa where the Gash Group (about 3000 to 1800 BC) and later the Jebel Mokram Group flourished. Especially at Gash Group sites, many Egyptian pottery vessels and Egyptian faience beads were found, indicating close contacts with Egypt. Found Red Sea shells demonstrate contact with the Red Sea coast.


title: Land of Punt

text: Dimitri Meeks disagrees with the Horn of Africa hypothesis and points to ancient inscriptions that locate Punt in the western coast of the Arabian Peninsula, from the Gulf of Aqaba to Yemen, he has written that "Texts locating Punt beyond doubt to the south are in the minority, but they are the only ones cited in the current consensus about the location of the country. Punt, we are told by the Egyptians, is situated – in relation to the Nile Valley – both to the north, in contact with the countries of the Near East of the Mediterranean area, and also to the east or south-east, while its furthest borders are far away to the south. Only the Arabian Peninsula satisfies all these indications."


title: Land of Punt

text: Some scholars have argued that Punt is the early Pandyan island of Tamraparni, present day Sri Lanka. An artifact datable to the Fifth Dynasty was originally stated to be made from "Diospyros ebenum" wood, a tree which is originally of Southern India and Sri Lanka. However, such identification is now considered unconfirmed because of the unlikelihood of such an early contact between Egypt and the Indian subcontinent, together with the difficulty of correctly identifying a plant specimen dead for thousands of years.


title: Navy

text: A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It includes anything conducted by surface ships, amphibious ships, submarines, and seaborne aviation, as well as ancillary support, communications, training, and other fields. The strategic offensive role of a navy is projection of force into areas beyond a country's shores (for example, to protect sea-lanes, deter or confront piracy, ferry troops, or attack other navies, ports, or shore installations). The strategic defensive purpose of a navy is to frustrate seaborne projection-of-force by enemies. The strategic task of the navy also may incorporate nuclear deterrence by use of submarine-launched ballistic missiles. Naval operations can be broadly divided between riverine and littoral applications (brown-water navy), open-ocean applications (blue-water navy), and something in between (green-water navy), although these distinctions are more about strategic scope than tactical or operational division.


title: Navy

text: First attested in English in the early 14th century, the word "navy" came via Old French "navie", "fleet of ships", from the Latin "navigium", "a vessel, a ship, bark, boat", from "navis", "ship". The word "naval" came from Latin "navalis", "pertaining to ship"; cf. Greek ("naus"), "ship", ("nautes"), "seaman, sailor". The earliest attested form of the word is in the Mycenaean Greek compound word , "na-u-do-mo" (*), "shipbuilders", written in Linear B syllabic script.


title: Navy

text: The word formerly denoted fleets of both commercial and military nature. In modern usage "navy" used alone always denotes a military fleet, although the term "merchant navy" for a commercial fleet still incorporates the non-military word sense. This overlap in word senses between commercial and military fleets grew out of the inherently dual-use nature of fleets; centuries ago, nationality was a trait that unified a fleet across both civilian and military uses. Although nationality of commercial vessels has little importance in peacetime trade other than for tax avoidance, it can have greater meaning during wartime, when supply chains become matters of patriotic attack and defense, and when in some cases private vessels are even temporarily converted to military vessels. The latter was especially important, and common, before 20th-century military technology existed, when merely adding artillery and naval infantry to any sailing vessel could render it fully as martial as any military-owned vessel. Such privateering has been rendered obsolete in blue-water strategy since modern missile and aircraft systems grew to leapfrog over artillery and infantry in many respects; but privateering nevertheless remains potentially relevant in littoral warfare of a limited and asymmetric nature.


title: Navy

text: Naval warfare developed when humans first fought from water-borne vessels. Before the introduction of the cannon and ships with enough capacity to carry them, navy warfare primarily involved ramming and boarding actions. In the time of ancient Greece and the Roman Empire, naval warfare centered on long, narrow vessels powered by banks of oarsmen (such as triremes and quinqueremes) designed to ram and sink enemy vessels or come alongside the enemy vessel so its occupants could be attacked hand-to-hand. Naval warfare continued in this vein through the Middle Ages until the cannon became commonplace and capable of being reloaded quickly enough to be reused in the same battle.


title: Navy

text: The Chola Dynasty of medieval Tamil Nadu was known as one of the greatest naval powers of its time from 300 BC to 1279 AD. The Chola Navy, Chola kadarpadai comprised the naval forces of the Chola Empire along with several other Naval-arms of the country. The Chola navy played a vital role in the expansion of the Chola Tamil kingdom, including the conquest of the Sri Lanka islands, Kadaaram (Present day Burma), Sri Vijaya (present day Southeast Asia), the spread of Hinduism, Tamil architecture and Tamil culture to Southeast Asia and in curbing the piracy in Southeast Asia in 900 CE. In ancient China, large naval battles were known since the Qin dynasty ("also see" Battle of Red Cliffs, 208), employing the war junk during the Han dynasty. However, China's first official standing navy was not established until the Southern Song dynasty in the 12th century, a time when gunpowder was a revolutionary new application to warfare.


title: Navy

text: Nusantaran thalassocracies made extensive use of naval power and technologies. This enabled the seafaring local people (either Malays of Srivijaya or Javanese of Medang) to attack as far as the coast of Tanzania and Mozambique with 1000 boats and attempted to take the citadel of Qanbaloh, about 7,000 km to their West, in 945–946 AD. In 1350 AD Majapahit launched its largest military expedition, the invasion of Pasai, with 400 large jong and innumerable smaller vessels. The second largest military expedition, invasion of Singapura in 1398, Majapahit deployed 300 jong with no less than 200,000 men. The average jong used by Majapahit would be about 76.18–79.81 m LOA, carrying 600–700 men, with 1200–1400 tons deadweight.


title: Navy

text: The mass and deck space required to carry a large number of cannon made oar-based propulsion impossible, and ships came to rely primarily on sails. Warships were designed to carry increasing numbers of cannon and naval tactics evolved to bring a ship's firepower to bear in a broadside, with ships-of-the-line arranged in a line of battle.


title: Navy

text: The development of large capacity, sail-powered ships carrying cannon led to a rapid expansion of European navies, especially the Spanish and Portuguese navies which dominated in the 16th and early 17th centuries, and helped propel the age of exploration and colonialism. The repulsion of the Spanish Armada (1588) by the English fleet revolutionized naval warfare by the success of a guns-only strategy and caused a major overhaul of the Spanish Navy, partly along English lines, which resulted in even greater dominance by the Spanish. From the beginning of the 17th century the Dutch cannibalized the Portuguese Empire in the East and, with the immense wealth gained, challenged Spanish hegemony at sea. From the 1620s, Dutch raiders seriously troubled Spanish shipping and, after a number of battles which went both ways, the Dutch Navy finally broke the long dominance of the Spanish Navy in the Battle of the Downs (1639). England emerged as a major naval power in the mid-17th century in the first Anglo-Dutch war with a technical victory. Successive decisive Dutch victories in the second and third Anglo-Dutch Wars confirmed the Dutch mastery of the seas during the Dutch Golden Age, financed by the expansion of the Dutch Empire. The French Navy won some important victories near the end of the 17th century but a focus upon land forces led to the French Navy's relative neglect, which allowed the Royal Navy to emerge with an ever-growing advantage in size and quality, especially in tactics and experience, from 1695. As a response to growing naval influence of the navies of Portuguese, the warrior king of the Marathas, Shivaji laid the foundation of the Maratha navy in 1654.


title: Navy

text: Throughout the 18th century the Royal Navy gradually gained ascendancy over the French Navy, with victories in the War of Spanish Succession (1701–1714), inconclusive battles in the War of Austrian Succession (1740–1748), victories in the Seven Years' War (1754–1763), a partial reversal during the American War of Independence (1775–1783), and consolidation into uncontested supremacy during the 19th century from the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. These conflicts saw the development and refinement of tactics which came to be called the line of battle.


title: Navy

text: The next stage in the evolution of naval warfare was the introduction of metal plating along the hull sides. The increased mass required steam-powered engines, resulting in an arms race between armor and weapon thickness and firepower. The first armored vessels, the French and British , made wooden vessels obsolete. Another significant improvement came with the invention of the rotating turrets, which allowed the guns to be aimed independently of ship movement. The battle between and during the American Civil War (1861–1865) is often cited as the beginning of this age of maritime conflict. The Russian Navy was considered the third strongest in the world on the eve of the Russo-Japanese War, which turned to be a catastrophe for the Russian military in general and the Russian Navy in particular. Although neither party lacked courage, the Russians were defeated by the Japanese in the Battle of Port Arthur, which was the first time in warfare that mines were used for offensive purposes. The warships of the Baltic Fleet sent to the Far East were lost in the Battle of Tsushima. A further step change in naval firepower occurred when the United Kingdom launched in 1906, but naval tactics still emphasized the line of battle.


title: Navy

text: The first practical military submarines were developed in the late 19th century and by the end of World War I had proven to be a powerful arm of naval warfare. During World War II, Nazi Germany's submarine fleet of U-boats almost starved the United Kingdom into submission and inflicted tremendous losses on U.S. coastal shipping. The , a sister ship of , was almost put out of action by miniature submarines known as X-Craft. The X-Craft severely damaged her and kept her in port for some months.


title: Navy

text: A major paradigm shift in naval warfare occurred with the introduction of the aircraft carrier. First at Taranto in 1940 and then at Pearl Harbor in 1941, the carrier demonstrated its ability to strike decisively at enemy ships out of sight and range of surface vessels. The Battle of Leyte Gulf (1944) was arguably the largest naval battle in history; it was also the last battle in which battleships played a significant role. By the end of World War II, the carrier had become the dominant force of naval warfare.


title: Navy

text: World War II also saw the United States become by far the largest naval power in the world. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the United States Navy possessed over 70% of the world's total numbers and total tonnage of naval vessels of 1,000 tons or greater. Throughout the rest of the 20th century, the United States Navy would maintain a tonnage greater than that of the next 17 largest navies combined. During the Cold War, the Soviet Navy became a significant armed force, with large numbers of large, heavily armed ballistic missile submarines and extensive use of heavy, long-ranged antisurface missiles to counter the numerous United States carrier battle groups. Only two nations, the United States and France, presently operate CATOBAR carriers of any size, while Russia, China and India operate sizeable STOBAR carriers (although all three are originally of Russian design). The United Kingdom is also operating two carriers, which are the largest STOVL vessels in service, and India is currently building one aircraft carrier, , and considering another. France is also looking at a new carrier, probably using a CATOBAR system and possibly based on the British "Queen Elizabeth" design.


title: Navy

text: A navy typically operates from one or more naval bases. The base is a port that is specialized in naval operations, and often includes housing, a munitions depot, docks for the vessels, and various repair facilities. During times of war temporary bases may be constructed in closer proximity to strategic locations, as it is advantageous in terms of patrols and station-keeping. Nations with historically strong naval forces have found it advantageous to obtain basing rights in other countries in areas of strategic interest.


title: Navy

text: Navy ships can operate independently or with a group, which may be a small squadron of comparable ships, or a larger naval fleet of various specialized ships. The commander of a fleet travels in the flagship, which is usually the most powerful vessel in the group. Before radio was invented, commands from the flagship were communicated by means of flags. At night signal lamps could be used for a similar purpose. Later these were replaced by the radio transmitter, or the flashing light when radio silence was needed.


title: Navy

text: A "blue water navy" is designed to operate far from the coastal waters of its home nation. These are ships capable of maintaining station for long periods of time in deep ocean, and will have a long logistical tail for their support. Many are also nuclear powered to save having to refuel. By contrast a "brown water navy" operates in the coastal periphery and along inland waterways, where larger ocean-going naval vessels can not readily enter. Regional powers may maintain a "green water navy" as a means of localized force projection. Blue water fleets may require specialized vessels, such as minesweepers, when operating in the littoral regions along the coast.


title: Navy

text: A basic tradition is that all ships commissioned in a navy are referred to as ships rather than vessels, with the exception of destroyers and submarines, which are known as boats. The prefix on a ship's name indicates that it is a commissioned ship.


title: Navy

text: An important tradition on board naval vessels of some nations has been the ship's bell. This was historically used to mark the passage of time, as warning devices in heavy fog, and for alarms and ceremonies.


title: Navy

text: In the United States, the First Navy Jack is a flag that has the words, "Don't Tread on Me" on the flag.


title: Navy

text: By English tradition, ships have been referred to as a "she". However, it was long considered bad luck to permit women to sail on board naval vessels. To do so would invite a terrible storm that would wreck the ship. The only women that were welcomed on board were figureheads mounted on the prow of the ship.


title: Navy

text: Firing a cannon salute partially disarms the ship, so firing a cannon for no combat reason showed respect and trust. As the tradition evolved, the number of cannon fired became an indication of the rank of the official being saluted.


title: Navy

text: Historically, navy ships were primarily intended for warfare. They were designed to withstand damage and to inflict the same, but only carried munitions and supplies for the voyage (rather than merchant cargo). Often, other ships which were not built specifically for warfare, such as the galleon or the armed merchant ships in World War II, did carry armaments. In more recent times, navy ships have become more specialized and have included supply ships, troop transports, repair ships, oil tankers and other logistics support ships as well as combat ships.


title: Navy

text: Modern navy combat ships are generally divided into seven main categories: aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, frigates, corvettes, submarines, and amphibious assault ships. There are also support and auxiliary ships, including the oiler, minesweeper, patrol boat, hydrographic and oceanographic survey ship and tender. During the age of sail, the ship categories were divided into the ship of the line, frigate, and sloop-of-war.


title: Navy

text: Naval ship names are typically prefixed by an abbreviation indicating the national navy in which they serve. For a list of the prefixes used with ship names (HMS, USS, LÉ, etc.) see ship prefix.


title: Navy

text: Today ships are significantly faster than in years past, thanks to much improved propulsion systems. Also, the efficiency of the engines has improved, in terms of fuel, and of how many sailors it takes to operate them. In World War II, ships needed to refuel very often. However, today ships can go on very long journeys without refueling. Also, in World War II, the engine room needed about a dozen sailors to work the many engines, however, today, only about 4–5 are needed (depending on the class of the ship). Today, naval strike groups on longer missions are always followed by a range of support and replenishment ships supplying them with anything from fuel and munitions, to medical treatment and postal services. This allows strike groups and combat ships to remain at sea for several months at a time.


title: Navy

text: The term "boat" refers to small craft limited in their use by size and usually not capable of making lengthy independent voyages at sea. The old navy adage to differentiate between ships and boats is that boats are capable of being carried by ships. (Submarines by this rule are ships rather than boats, but are customarily referred to as boats reflecting their previous smaller size.)


title: Navy

text: Navies use many types of boat, ranging from dinghies to landing craft. They are powered by either diesel engines, out-board gasoline engines, or waterjets. Most boats are built of aluminum, fiberglass, or steel. Rigid-hulled inflatable boats are also used.


title: Navy

text: Landing craft are designed to carry troops, vehicles, or cargo from ship to shore under combat conditions, to unload, to withdraw from the beach, and to return to the ship. They are rugged, with powerful engines, and usually armed. There are many types in today's navies including hovercraft. They will typically have a power-operated bow ramp, a cargo well and after structures that house engine rooms, pilot houses, and stowage compartments. These boats are sometimes carried by larger ships.


title: Navy

text: Special operations craft are high-speed craft used for insertion and extraction of special forces personnel and some may be transportable (and deployed) by air.


title: Navy

text: Boats used in non-combat roles include lifeboats, mail boats, line handling boats, buoy boats, aircraft rescue boats, torpedo retrievers, explosive ordnance disposal craft, utility boats, dive boats, targets, and work boats. Boats are also used for survey work, tending divers, and minesweeping operations. Boats for carrying cargo and personnel are sometimes known as launches, gigs, barges or shore party boats.


title: Navy

text: Naval forces are typically arranged into units based on the number of ships included, a single ship being the smallest operational unit. Ships may be combined into squadrons or flotillas, which may be formed into fleets. The largest unit size may be the whole Navy or Admiralty.


title: Navy

text: Despite their acceptance in many areas of naval service, female sailors were not permitted to serve on board U.S. submarines until the U.S. Navy lifted the ban in April 2010. The major reasons historically cited by the U.S. Navy were the extended duty tours and close conditions which afford almost no privacy. The United Kingdom's Royal Navy has had similar restrictions. Australia, Canada, Norway, and Spain previously opened submarine service to women sailors.


title: Navy

text: Typical ranks for commissioned officers include the following, in ascending order (Commonwealth ranks are listed first on each line; USA ranks are listed second in those instances where they differ from Commonwealth ranks):


title: Navy

text: "Flag officers" include any rank that includes the word "admiral" (or commodore in services other than the US Navy), and are generally in command of a battle group, strike group or similar flotilla of ships, rather than a single ship or aspect of a ship. However, commodores can also be temporary or honorary positions. For example, during World War II, a Navy captain was assigned duty as a convoy commodore, which meant that he was still a captain, but in charge of all the merchant vessels in the convoy.


title: Navy

text: The most senior rank employed by a navy will tend to vary depending on the size of the navy and whether it is wartime or peacetime, for example, few people have ever held the rank of Fleet Admiral in the U.S. Navy, the chief of the Royal Australian Navy holds the rank of Vice Admiral, and the chief of the Irish Naval Service holds the rank of Commodore.


title: Navy

text: Naval infantry, commonly known as marines, are a category of infantry that form part of a state's naval forces and perform roles on land and at sea, including amphibious operations, as well as other, naval roles. They also perform other tasks, including land warfare, separate from naval operations.


title: Navy

text: During the era of the Roman empire, naval forces included marine legionaries for maritime boarding actions. These were troops primarily trained in land warfare, and did not need to be skilled at handling a ship. Much later during the age of sail, a component of marines served a similar role, being ship-borne soldiers who were used either during boarding actions, as sharp-shooters, or in raids along shorelines.


title: Navy

text: The Spanish "Infantería de Marina" was formed in 1537, making it the oldest, current marine force in the world. The British Royal Marines combine being both a ship-based force and also being specially trained in commando-style operations and tactics, operating in some cases separately from the rest of the Royal Navy. The Royal Marines also have their own special forces unit.


title: Navy

text: In the majority of countries, the marine force is an integral part of the navy but there are variations such as the French Troupes de marine which is actually part of the French Army. The United States Marine Corps is a separate armed service within the United States Department of the Navy, with its own leadership structure.


title: Navy

text: Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases.


title: Navy

text: In World War I several navies used floatplanes and flying boats - mainly for scouting. By World War II, aircraft carriers could carry bomber aircraft capable of attacking naval and land targets, as well as fighter aircraft for defence. Since World War II helicopters have been embarked on smaller ships in roles such as anti-submarine warfare and transport. Some navies have also operated land-based aircraft in roles such as maritime patrol and training.


title: Navy

text: Naval aviation forces primarily perform naval roles at sea. However, they are also used in a variety of other roles.


title: Alvvays

text: Alvvays (pronounced "always") is a Canadian indie pop band formed in 2011, originating from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, and currently based in Toronto, Ontario. It consists of Molly Rankin (vocals and guitar), Kerri MacLellan (keyboards), Alec O'Hanley (guitars), Abbey Blackwell (bass), and Sheridan Riley (drums). Their self-titled debut album, released in 2014, topped the US college charts. Their second studio album, "Antisocialites", was released on September 8, 2017, and won the Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2018. Both albums were short-listed for the Polaris Music Prize. Their third album, "Blue Rev", was released on October 7, 2022.


title: Alvvays

text: Molly Rankin, the group's singer-songwriter, is the daughter of John Morris Rankin, a fiddler with the Celtic folk family collective the Rankin Family, who enjoyed international success in the 1990s. Rankin grew up in Judique, Nova Scotia, writing music with her neighbour, keyboardist Kerri MacLellan. She later met guitarist and partner Alec O'Hanley at a concert. With the help of O'Hanley, Rankin quietly released a solo extended play titled "She" in 2010. Alvvays was formed the following year, with Rankin recruiting MacLellan, O'Hanley, drummer Phil MacIsaac and bassist Brian Murphy. Rankin picked the name Alvvays because it had a "shred of sentiment and nostalgia." The spelling of the band name was due to the fact that there was already a band named Always signed to Sony.


title: Alvvays

text: The band members moved to Toronto and secured jobs that allowed them to tour occasionally. The group toured extensively as supporting acts for bands such as Peter Bjorn and John and the Decemberists. Their self-titled debut studio album, "Alvvays", was recorded in Calgary with Chad VanGaalen in March 2013; Graham Walsh helped track the album while John Agnello helped mix it.


title: Alvvays

text: Alvvays were signed to Polyvinyl Records on the strength of their performances at SXSW (South by Southwest) and online response to the demo of their single "Adult Diversion". The album "Alvvays" was released by Royal Mountain Records (Canada), Polyvinyl Records (US) and Transgressive Records (Europe) in July 2014. Simon Vozick-Levinson, writing in "Rolling Stone", called the album an "indie-pop wonder". "Alvvays" went to #1 on US college charts on August 5, 2014; in November that year they performed in Los Angeles with another Canadian band, Absolutely Free.


title: Alvvays

text: "Archie, Marry Me" became a minor hit. The single for "Archie, Marry Me" featured the B-side "Underneath Us" which was recorded after the eponymous album.


title: Alvvays

text: The group toured heavily in support of their debut, including slots at Glastonbury 2015 and Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2016.


title: Alvvays

text: The debut album was nominated to the shortlist of the 2015 Polaris Music Prize. They performed at that year's gala with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. At the Juno Awards of 2015, the band was nominated as Breakthrough Group of the Year, and "Alvvays" was nominated for Alternative Album of the Year.


title: Alvvays

text: Alvvays began recording and writing their second studio album in 2015. Several new original songs had been performed throughout 2014 and 2015, including "Your Type" (often the opening song of the show), "New Haircut" (later retitled "Saved By A Waif") and "Hey". In 2016 they added "Not My Baby" and "Dreams" to their performance repertoire.


title: Alvvays

text: Following the addition of new songs such as "Plimsoll Punks" as part of live shows in spring 2017, Alvvays released a teaser clip of a song called "In Undertow" from their second album, "Antisocialites". Along with songs performed at previous shows, new songs for this record included "Already Gone", "Forget About Life", "In Undertow", "Lollipop (Ode to Jim)" and "Saved by a Waif". The album was released on September 8, 2017. A North American and European tour in support of the album was announced for autumn 2017. In 2016, Phil MacIsaac left the music industry for a career in graphic design; he was replaced by Sheridan Riley. A second UK tour in spring 2018 was announced in September 2017.


title: Alvvays

text: On September 16, 2017, at a show in Antwerp, a male audience member jumped on stage and attempted to kiss singer Molly Rankin. Ken Veerman, the director at Trix, the show’s venue, apologized on Facebook.


title: Alvvays

text: In 2018 the band received a SOCAN Songwriting Prize nomination for the song "Dreams Tonite", and "Antisocialites" was shortlisted for the 2018 Polaris Music Prize. At the Juno Awards of 2018, Alvvays was nominated as Group of the Year and "Antisocialites" won the Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year.


title: Alvvays

text: Bassist and founding member Brian Murphy left the band in 2021. Alvvays released "Pharmacist", the first single from their third album "Blue Rev", on July 6, 2022. "Blue Rev" was released on October 7, 2022.


title: Alvvays

text: Alvvays' music has been described as jangle pop by the music press and its members. According to Rankin, the band's emphasis is primarily on strong melodies rather than for a specific genre. The band has been compared to Camera Obscura; Rankin noted she shared vocalist Tracyanne Campbell's "fondness for the pathetic perspective." Rankin sought inspiration from Stephin Merritt, frontman of the Magnetic Fields, appreciating the honest but lighthearted nature of his lyrics. Rankin's personal influences include the Magnetic Fields, Teenage Fanclub, Dolly Mixture, the Smiths, Celine Dion, Pavement, the Primitives, and Oasis. While the band does not have an overt Celtic music sound, Rankin acknowledges that she was immersed in the genre from childhood, and it has a discernible influence on the way she sings and writes melodies.


title: James Austin Johnson

text: James Austin Johnson (born July 19, 1989) is an American comedian and actor originally from Nashville, Tennessee. He has garnered attention for his impression of former President Donald Trump, sometimes being referred to as "the best Trump impersonator." He currently is a cast member of the sketch comedy television series "Saturday Night Live", where he impersonates both Trump and Joe Biden.


title: James Austin Johnson

text: In addition to the films "Blue Like Jazz" and "Hail, Caesar!", Johnson has appeared in the television series "Adam Ruins Everything", "Better Call Saul", and "All Rise". He has also filmed a DirecTV television ad with National Football League veteran Peyton Manning.


title: James Austin Johnson

text: In 2021, Johnson was cast as a featured player on "Saturday Night Live", alongside fellow newcomers Aristotle Athari and Sarah Sherman, for its forty-seventh season. During the season premiere cold open, he portrayed President Joe Biden, and later played former president Donald Trump in the season's fifth episode. Andy Hoglund, who recaps "SNL" episodes for "Entertainment Weekly", said "he is one of the most exciting new cast members in years, a cross between Dana Carvey and Darrell Hammond. He's that kind of talent."


title: Death erection

text: A death erection, angel lust, rigor erectus, or terminal erection is a post-mortem erection, technically a priapism, observed in the corpses of men who have been executed, particularly by hanging.


title: Death erection

text: The phenomenon has been attributed to pressure on the cerebellum created by the noose. Spinal cord injuries are known to be associated with priapism. Injuries to the cerebellum or spinal cord are often associated with priapism in living patients.


title: Death erection

text: Death by hanging, whether an execution or a suicide, has been observed to affect the genitals of both men and women. In women, the labia and clitoris may become engorged and there may be a discharge of blood from the vagina while in men, "a more or less complete state of erection of the penis, with discharge of urine, mucus or prostatic fluid is a frequent occurrence ... present for one in three cases." Other causes of death may also result in these effects, including fatal gunshots to the head, damage to major blood vessels, and violent death by poisoning. A postmortem priapism is an indicator that death was likely swift and violent.


title: Dreamgirls

text: Dreamgirls is a Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. Based on the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Supremes, The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and others, the musical follows the story of a young female singing trio from Chicago, Illinois called "The Dreams", who become music superstars.


title: Dreamgirls

text: Staged with a mostly African-American cast and originally starring Jennifer Holliday, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Loretta Devine, Ben Harney, Cleavant Derricks, Vondie Curtis-Hall, and Obba Babatundé, the musical opened on December 20, 1981, at the Imperial Theatre on Broadway. The musical was then nominated for 13 Tony Awards, including the Tony Award for Best Musical, and won six. It was later adapted into a motion picture from DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures in 2006. The film starred Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé, Eddie Murphy, Jennifer Hudson, Danny Glover, Anika Noni Rose, and Keith Robinson.


title: Dreamgirls

text: In 1962, The Dreamettes, a hopeful Black girl group from Chicago, enter the famous Amateur Night talent competition at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York ("I'm Lookin' for Something", "Goin' Downtown", "Takin' the Long Way Home"). The group is composed of full-figured lead singer Effie White and best friends, Deena Jones and Lorrell Robinson. For the contest, the Dreamettes sing "Move (You're Steppin' on My Heart)", a song written by Effie's brother, C.C., who accompanies them to the talent show. Unfortunately, they lose the talent show, but backstage, the girls and C.C. meet Curtis Taylor Jr., a car salesman who becomes the Dreamettes' manager.


title: Dreamgirls

text: Curtis convinces James "Thunder" Early, a popular R&B star, and his manager, Marty, to hire The Dreamettes as backup singers. Though Jimmy Early and the Dreamettes' first performance together is successful ("Fake Your Way to the Top"), Jimmy is desperate for new material. Curtis convinces Jimmy and Marty that they should venture beyond traditional rhythm and blues and soul audiences and aim for the pop market. C.C. composes "Cadillac Car" for Jimmy and the Dreamettes, who tour ("Cadillac Car (On the Road)") and record the single upon their return ("Cadillac Car (In the Recording Studio)"). "Cadillac Car" makes its way up the pop charts, but a cover version by white pop singers Dave and the Sweethearts ("Cadillac Car" (Reprise)) steals the original recording's thunder. Angered by "Cadillac Car"'s usurpation, Curtis, C.C., and Jimmy's producer, Wayne, resort to payola, bribing disc jockeys across the nation to play Jimmy Early and the Dreamettes' next single, "Steppin' to the Bad Side". As a result, the record becomes a major pop hit. Conflict arises between Marty and Curtis when Curtis moves in on Marty's turf: Jimmy Early. Things become more complicated when Effie begins dating Curtis, and Jimmy, a married man, begins an affair with Lorrell ("Party, Party").


title: Dreamgirls

text: Curtis replaces him, strongly determined to make his Black singers household names. Curtis attempts to transform Jimmy Early into a Perry Como-esque pop singer ("I Want You Baby"), and concentrates on establishing the Dreamettes as their own act, renaming them "The Dreams", changing their act to give them a more sophisticated and pop-friendly look and sound. The most crucial of these changes is the establishment of Deena as lead singer, instead of Effie. Effie is resentful of her change in status within the group. C.C. convinces her to go along with Curtis's plan ("Family"). After a fight between Marty and Curtis, Marty quits as Jimmy's manager and Curtis takes over. The Dreams make their club debut in the Crystal Room in Cleveland, Ohio, singing their first single ("Dreamgirls"). After a triumphant show, the press is eager to meet the newly minted stars ("Press Conference"). Curtis declares to Deena, "I'm going to make you the most famous woman who's ever lived," as the slighted Effie asks "What about me?" ("Only the Beginning"). Over the next few years, the Dreams become a mainstream success with hit singles ("Heavy"). As Deena is increasingly feted as a star, Effie becomes temperamental and unpredictable. She suspects Curtis and Deena of having an affair. Lorrell attempts to keep peace between her bandmates, but the task seems difficult.


title: Dreamgirls

text: In 1967, the group – now known as "Deena Jones and the Dreams" – is set to make their Las Vegas début. However, when Jimmy stops by to visit the girls ("Drivin' Down the Strip"), he learns from the others that Effie has been missing shows because of illness (it is later revealed that she was pregnant with Curtis's child). Curtis and Deena are convinced that she is trying to sabotage the act. Curtis replaces Effie with a new singer, Michelle Morris, a change about which Effie learns before anyone has a chance to tell her. Effie confronts Curtis, C.C., and the group ("It's All Over"), but despite her personal appeal to Curtis ("And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going"), the heartbroken Effie is left behind as Deena Jones and the Dreams forge ahead without her ("Love Love Me Baby").


title: Dreamgirls

text: By 1972, Deena Jones and the Dreams have become the most successful girl group in the country ("Act II Opening"). Deena has married Curtis, and C.C. is in love with Michelle. Jimmy has gone years without a hit. Curtis shows little interest in updating or revitalizing Jimmy's act because of Curtis's preoccupation with Deena and because of Jimmy's habit of sneaking funk numbers into his repertoire of pop-friendly songs. Effie is back in Chicago, a single mother to her daughter, Magic (or Ronald in other versions), struggling to get another break. Marty, who is now her manager, compels her to rebuild her confidence and give up her "diva behaviors." Once she does, Effie is able to make a show business comeback ("I Am Changing"). In contrast to Effie's struggling return to her musical career, Deena wants to stop singing and become an actress. Deena informs Curtis of her career plans during a "Vogue" photo shoot ("One More Picture Please"), but Curtis refuses to let her go ("When I First Saw You"). Deena is not the only one chafing under Curtis's control: C.C. is enraged by Curtis's constant rearrangements of his songs, including an emotional ballad, entitled "One Night Only", which Curtis wants instead recorded to reflect the "new sound" he is inventing.


title: Dreamgirls

text: Deena Jones and the Dreams and Jimmy Early perform at a National Democratic fundraiser, on a bill featuring such groups as The Five Tuxedos ("Got to Be Good Times"). While waiting backstage to go on, Jimmy finds himself in another argument with Lorrell as to the nature of their relationship and when, or if, Jimmy will tell his wife about their affair ("Ain't No Party"). Lorrell is in tears as Jimmy takes to the stage to perform, and turns to Deena for support. As Jimmy pleads to Lorrell through his music ("I Meant You No Harm"), Deena tries to help Lorrell successfully resolve her situation, and Michelle convinces the artistically frustrated C.C. to go find his sister and reconcile with her ("Quintette"). Midway through "I Meant You No Harm", Jimmy falls apart and decides that he "can't sing any more sad songs." Desperate to keep his set going, Jimmy launches into a wild, improvised funk number ("The Rap"), dropping his pants during the performance. An embarrassed Curtis fires Jimmy as soon as his set concludes ("Firing of Jimmy"). Lorrell ends her affair with Jimmy as well. The heartbroken Jimmy fades into obscurity, refusing to "beg" for Curtis' help.


title: Dreamgirls

text: Marty arranges for C.C. to meet and reconcile with Effie at a recording studio ("I Miss You, Old Friend"). C.C. apologizes for his role in handicapping her career, and Effie records C.C.'s "One Night Only" in its original ballad format. "One Night Only" begins climbing the charts, causing an enraged Curtis not only to rush-release Deena and the Dreams' version, but to use massive amounts of payola to push Deena's version up the charts and Effie's version down ("One Night Only (Disco)"). Effie, C.C., and Marty discover Curtis's scheme and confront him backstage at a Dreams concert, threatening legal action ("I'm Somebody", "Chicago/Faith in Myself"). As Curtis makes arrangements with Effie's lawyer to reverse his wrongdoings, Effie and Deena reconcile, and Deena learns that Effie's daughter Magic is Curtis's child. Realizing what kind of a man Curtis really is, Deena finally finds the courage to leave him and live her own life. Effie's "One Night Only" becomes a number-one hit, as the Dreams break up so that Deena can pursue her movie career ("Hard to Say Goodbye, My Love"). For the final number of the Dreams' farewell concert, Effie rejoins the group on stage, and all four Dreams sing their signature song one last time ("Dreamgirls (Reprise)").


title: Dreamgirls

text: "Dreamgirls" had its beginnings as a project for Nell Carter. Playwright Tom Eyen and conductor Henry Krieger first worked together on the 1975 musical version of Eyen's play "The Dirtiest Show in Town". Carter appeared in the musical, and her performance inspired Eyen and Krieger to craft a musical about black back-up singers, which was originally called "One Night Only" and then given the working title of "Project #9". "Project #9" was workshopped for Joseph Papp; Nell Carter was joined at this time by Sheryl Lee Ralph and Loretta Devine, who were to play her groupmates. The project was shelved after Carter departed to appear in the soap opera "Ryan's Hope" in 1978.


title: Dreamgirls

text: A year later, "Project #9" was brought back to the table, after catching the interest of Michael Bennett, then in the midst of his success with "A Chorus Line". Ralph and Devine returned, and Bennett had Eyen, who was to direct, begin workshopping "Big Dreams", as the musical was now known. Joining the cast at this time were Ben Harney, Obba Babatunde, Cleavant Derricks, and twenty-year-old gospel singer Jennifer Holliday as Carter's replacement (after Carter accepted an offer from NBC to star in "Gimme a Break"). However, Holliday left the project during the workshopping phase, as she disliked the material and was upset that her character, Effie White, died at the conclusion of the first act. Eyen, Bennett, and Krieger continued to iron out the story and songs. Cheryl Gaines and Phyllis Hyman were both considered as replacements for Holliday.


title: Dreamgirls

text: After two mildly successful workshops which included Jenifer Lewis as Effie, Holliday returned to the project, now known as "Dreamgirls". However, she found Effie's role had been reduced significantly in favor of Sheryl Lee Ralph's Deena character, and Holliday eventually quit the project again. After acquiring funding from music industry mogul David Geffen and fellow co-financiers ABC Entertainment, Metromedia, and the Shubert family, Bennett called Holliday back and agreed to rewrite the show's second act and build up her character.


title: Dreamgirls

text: Gender and racial issues are represented in "Dreamgirls" being a black-cast musical with three female lead roles. Being set in the 1960s, the Black Power Movement was influential on the story line with black artists starting to succeed in the music industry and black music becoming accessible to all audiences, which is a representation of racial boundaries being broken down. The story is based on three women working their way up in the music industry to achieve their dreams while the most powerful people in the industry are men. In the end, the women stand up for their rights and become influential figures.


title: Dreamgirls

text: "Dreamgirls" premiered on Broadway at the Imperial Theatre on December 20, 1981, and closed on August 11, 1985, after 1,521 performances. The production was directed by Michael Bennett, produced by Bennett, Bob Avian, Geffen Records, and The Shubert Organization, and choreographed by Bennett and Michael Peters. It starred Sheryl Lee Ralph as Deena Jones, Jennifer Holliday as Effie White, Loretta Devine as Lorrell Robinson, Ben Harney as Curtis Taylor Jr., Cleavant Derricks as James "Thunder" Early, and Obba Babatundé as C. C. White. "Dreamgirls" proved to be a star-making vehicle for several of its performers, particularly Holliday, whose performance as Effie received significant praise.


title: Dreamgirls

text: Holliday's recording of Effie's solo "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" was a #1 single on the "Billboard" R&B charts in 1982. For the "Dreamgirls" original cast recording, the producers decided to present the intricately interwoven musical sequences as individual songs, cutting approximately half of the score. The cast recording won two Grammy awards, Best Musical Album and Best Vocal Performance for Jennifer Holliday's "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going".


title: Dreamgirls

text: Bennett took "Dreamgirls" on an abbreviated national tour in 1983, with Jennifer Holliday remaining as Effie, with Larry Riley, Linda Leilani Brown, Arnetia Walker, Lawrence Clayton, and Cleavant Derricks' twin brother Clinton Derricks-Carroll as her co-stars. Because of high costs, only three cities were played before the road production was dissolved.


title: Dreamgirls

text: A second tour began in 1985, with Sharon Brown as Effie. By 1987, Lillias White, Jennifer Holliday's original understudy, had taken over the role. The tour ended with a Broadway revival at the Ambassador Theatre, which ran from June 28, 1987, to November 29, 1987, and was nominated for the 1988 Tony Award, Best Revival. By this time, Michael Bennett had fallen ill due to AIDS-related complications, and he died on July 2, 1987.


title: Dreamgirls

text: A US tour began in 1997 with direction and choreography by Tony Stevens, based on the original direction and choreography by Michael Bennett. The tour was set to open on Broadway in July 1998, however it ultimately closed in Upstate New York while waiting for a Broadway theatre to become available. In 2004, another national tour began starring "American Idol" contestant Frenchie Davis, who gained praise for her role as Effie.


title: Dreamgirls

text: Another US tour began at the Apollo Theater, New York City in November 2009, with direction and choreography by Robert Longbottom, new scenic design by the original set designer Robin Wagner, and new costume designs by William Ivey Long. "American Idol" alum Syesha Mercado starred as Deena, with Adrienne Warren as Lorrell, Moya Angela as Effie, Chester Gregory as Jimmy, and Chaz Lamar Shepherd as Curtis. This production included a new song for Deena and the Dreams at the top of Act II ("What Love Can Do"), as well as the song "Listen" from the film, which was re-written as a duet between Deena and Effie. In 2011 the creative team took the production to Montecasino, South Africa with a local cast, however, it closed early.


title: Dreamgirls

text: In 2001 a concert performance of the show was staged on Broadway at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts starring Lillias White as Effie, Audra McDonald as Deena, Heather Headley as Lorrelle, Billy Porter as Jimmy, Darius de Haas as C.C. and Norm Lewis as Curtis. The concert was in benefit of the Actors Fund of America, and was one of the first major public gatherings to be held in New York City after 9/11. It was recorded and later released in its entirety on CD.


title: Dreamgirls

text: In February 2016 it was confirmed that "Dreamgirls" would have its London premiere at The Savoy Theatre with Amber Riley taking on the role of Effie White. Previews began on November 19, 2016, with an official opening on December 14 of that year. Riley initially performed the role for 7 out of 8 shows per week, but in July 2017 reduced her performances to 6 times a week and then 5 in August, with Marisha Wallace and Karen Mav serving as alternates. Riley left the role and from November 20, 2017, forward, Moya Angela, who played the role of Effie in the 2009 US tour, Marisha Wallace and Karen Mav all shared the role of Effie. The production was directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw, with scenic design by Tim Hatley, costume design by Gregg Barnes, sound design by Richard Brooker and lighting design by Hugh Vanstone.


title: Dreamgirls

text: In December 2021 "Dreamgirls" began an 15 month tour of the UK. Previews began on December 14 at the Liverpool Empire Theatre with its press night on December 21 before visiting 26 more venues. The role of Effie White is performed by Nicole Raquel Dennis. Sharlene Hector is the alternate Effie White, Hector is well known for being a lead vocalist for British band Basement Jaxx. The production was directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw, with scenic design and costume design by Tim Hatley, sound design by Richard Brooker and lighting design by Hugh Vanstone.


title: Dreamgirls

text: From the show's opening, Michael Bennett, Henry Krieger, Tom Eyen, and the "Dreamgirls" producers publicly denied basing the musical's plot on the story of the Supremes. It is widely believed these public denials were made in order to avoid lawsuits from the Supremes, Berry Gordy, and Motown as the similarities in the plot and the Supremes' story were strikingly close. Mary Wilson loved "Dreamgirls" so much that she named her first autobiography, "" after the musical. Diana Ross publicly denied ever seeing the show despite including "Family" in her 1983 Central Park concert. A Broadway urban myth circled at the time that Ross had seen the show in disguise and stormed out at the end of Act I upset. In an "" interview from 2014, Ralph said Michael Bennett instructed her not to portray Deena like Diana Ross or else they would be sued. In the same interview, Ralph recalled encountering Ross in New York shortly after the musical's opening where Ross coldly brushed her off, leading her to speculate that Ross had seen or knew of the show. Tom Eyen denied that he had the Supremes in mind when he wrote the book. He is quoted as saying in 1986: "I didn't grow up with the Supremes...I grew up with the Shirelles. "Dreamgirls" isn't about any one group. It's a cavalcade of black Motown singers: the Shirelles, the Chiffons, Martha and the Vandellas, Little Richard and Stevie Wonder. All the characters are larger than life."


title: Dreamgirls

text: David Geffen, founder of Geffen Records and one of the play's financiers, leased the "Dreamgirls" film rights to Warner Bros. in the 1980s through his Geffen Pictures company. Although the film was announced several times, with singers such as Whitney Houston (as Deena), Lauryn Hill (another Deena candidate), and Kelly Price (as Effie) tapped to star, the studio eventually abandoned the project. Geffen eventually began development on the film at DreamWorks SKG, a company he co-founded, in 2004. Warner Bros., which controlled the film rights to "Dreamgirls", was also originally announced as a co-financier of the film, but before shooting began, Paramount Pictures stepped in as co-producer after Warner expressed concerns over the film's budget. Laurence Mark served as producer of the DreamWorks/Paramount adaptation of "Dreamgirls", written and directed by Bill Condon, who had earned an Oscar nomination for his screenplay adaptation of "Chicago".


title: Dreamgirls

text: The film adaptation of "Dreamgirls" stars Jamie Foxx as Curtis, Beyoncé as Deena, Eddie Murphy as Jimmy, Danny Glover as Marty, Jennifer Hudson as Effie, Anika Noni Rose as Lorrell, and Keith Robinson as C.C.. "Dreamgirls" was first exhibited in special ten-day road show engagements beginning December 25, 2006. Subsequently, the film went into national release on December 25, 2006. Loretta Devine, who originated the Lorrell role, has a cameo role as a jazz singer in the film. Two other alumni of the Broadway production – Hinton Battle (a James "Thunder" Early replacement) and Yvette Cason (Charlene; Effie White understudy) – also appear. While much of the material remains the same as that of the stage musical, some of the stage musical's songs (most notably "Ain't No Party" and the Act II Opener) were removed, and four new songs were added. A number of changes were made to the story as well, including the additions of more overt references to The Supremes and Motown, the death of Jimmy (who is found dead on the road after a heroin overdose), and the relocation of the story's main setting from Chicago to Detroit. The film won two Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actress (Jennifer Hudson) and Best Sound Mixing.


title: Dreamgirls

text: To give the story more exposure for the upcoming film release, DreamWorks Pictures and the licensee of the original play, The Tams-Witmark Music Library, announced they would pay the licensing fees for all non-professional stage performances of "Dreamgirls" for the calendar year of 2006. DreamWorks hoped to encourage amateur productions of "Dreamgirls", and familiarize a wider audience with the play. As a result, more than fifty high schools, colleges, community theaters, and other non-commercial theater entities staged productions of "Dreamgirls" in 2006, and DreamWorks spent up to $250,000 subsidizing the licensing.


title: November 2019 Spanish general election

text: The November 2019 Spanish general election was held on Sunday, 10 November 2019, to elect the 14th Cortes Generales of the Kingdom of Spain. All 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 208 of 265 seats in the Senate.


title: November 2019 Spanish general election

text: The election was held as provided under article 99.5 of the Spanish Constitution, as a result of the failure in government formation negotiations between the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) and Unidas Podemos following Pedro Sánchez's failed investiture voting on 23–25 July 2019. On 17 September 2019, King Felipe VI declined to propose any candidate for investiture ahead of the 23 September deadline as a result of the lack of agreement between parties, with a new general election scheduled for 10 November. The failure in negotiations prompted Podemos founder Íñigo Errejón to turn his regional Más Madrid platform—which had obtained a remarkable result in the 26 May Madrilenian regional election—into a national alliance under the newly-created brand of Más País, comprising a number of regional parties and former Podemos and United Left (IU) allies, such as Coalició Compromís, Equo or Chunta Aragonesista (CHA), while also seeing an exodus of a number of Podemos officials into Errejón's new party.


title: November 2019 Spanish general election

text: Voter turnout was the lowest since the transition to democracy in 1975, with just 66.2% of the electorate casting a ballot, which was lower than the previous negative record set in the 2016 election (66.5%), the only other occasion in Spanish democracy that an election was triggered as a result of the failure of a government formation process. The election saw a partial recovery for the People's Party (PP) and large gains for the far-right Vox party at the expense of Citizens (Cs), which suffered one of the largest electoral setbacks in the history of Spanish elections following the party scoring its best historical result in the April 2019 general election, signalling the end of Albert Rivera's active political career. Both PSOE and Unidas Podemos saw slight decreases in both popular vote and seats, but were still able to outperform the combined strength of PP, Vox and Cs; consequently, both parties agreed to set aside their political feuds and successfully negotiated a government shortly after the election, to become the first governing coalition in Spain since the Second Spanish Republic.


title: November 2019 Spanish general election

text: The tenure of the newly-formed government, which was formally appointed on 13 January 2020, would be quickly overshadowed by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March and its political and economical consequences, including the worst worldwide recession since the Great Depression resulting from the massive lockdowns enforced to reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2.


title: November 2019 Spanish general election

text: The Spanish Cortes Generales were envisaged as an imperfect bicameral system. The Congress of Deputies had greater legislative power than the Senate, having the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a prime minister and to override Senate vetoes by an absolute majority of votes. Nonetheless, the Senate possessed a few exclusive (yet limited in number) functions—such as its role in constitutional amendment—which were not subject to the Congress' override. Voting for the Cortes Generales was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age and in full enjoyment of their political rights. Additionally, Spaniards abroad were required to apply for voting before being permitted to vote, a system known as "begged" or expat vote ().


title: November 2019 Spanish general election

text: For the Congress of Deputies, 348 seats were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with an electoral threshold of three percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied in each constituency. Seats were allocated to constituencies, corresponding to the provinces of Spain, with each being allocated an initial minimum of two seats and the remaining 248 being distributed in proportion to their populations. Ceuta and Melilla were allocated the two remaining seats, which were elected using plurality voting. The use of the D'Hondt method might result in a higher effective threshold, depending on the district magnitude.


title: November 2019 Spanish general election

text: As a result of the aforementioned allocation, each Congress multi-member constituency was entitled the following seats:


title: November 2019 Spanish general election

text: For the Senate, 208 seats were elected using an open list partial block voting system, with electors voting for individual candidates instead of parties. In constituencies electing four seats, electors could vote for up to three candidates; in those with two or three seats, for up to two candidates; and for one candidate in single-member districts. Each of the 47 peninsular provinces was allocated four seats, whereas for insular provinces, such as the Balearic and Canary Islands, districts were the islands themselves, with the larger—Majorca, Gran Canaria and Tenerife—being allocated three seats each, and the smaller—Menorca, Ibiza–Formentera, Fuerteventura, La Gomera, El Hierro, Lanzarote and La Palma—one each. Ceuta and Melilla elected two seats each. Additionally, autonomous communities could appoint at least one senator each and were entitled to one additional senator per each million inhabitants.


title: November 2019 Spanish general election

text: The term of each chamber of the Cortes Generales—the Congress and the Senate—expired four years from the date of their previous election, unless they were dissolved earlier. The election decree was required to be issued no later than the twenty-fifth day prior to the date of expiry of the Cortes in the event that the prime minister did not make use of his prerogative of early dissolution. The decree was to be published on the following day in the Official State Gazette (BOE), with election day taking place on the fifty-fourth day from publication. The previous election was held on 28 April 2019, which meant that the legislature's term would have expired on 28 April 2023. The election decree was required to be published in the BOE no later than 4 April 2023, with the election taking place on the fifty-fourth day from publication, setting the latest possible election date for the Cortes Generales on Sunday, 28 May 2023.


title: November 2019 Spanish general election

text: The prime minister had the prerogative to dissolve both chambers at any given time—either jointly or separately—and call a snap election, provided that no motion of no confidence was in process, no state of emergency was in force and that dissolution did not occur before one year had elapsed since the previous one. Additionally, both chambers were to be dissolved and a new election called if an investiture process failed to elect a prime minister within a two-month period from the first ballot. Barred this exception, there was no constitutional requirement for simultaneous elections for the Congress and the Senate. Still, as of there has been no precedent of separate elections taking place under the 1978 Constitution.


title: November 2019 Spanish general election

text: The Cortes Generales were officially dissolved on 24 September 2019, after the publication of the dissolution decree in the Official State Gazette. The tables below show the composition of the parliamentary groups in both chambers at the time of dissolution.


title: November 2019 Spanish general election

text: The electoral law allowed for parties and federations registered in the interior ministry, coalitions and groupings of electors to present lists of candidates. Parties and federations intending to form a coalition ahead of an election were required to inform the relevant Electoral Commission within ten days of the election call, whereas groupings of electors needed to secure the signature of at least one percent of the electorate in the constituencies for which they sought election, disallowing electors from signing for more than one list of candidates. Concurrently, parties, federations or coalitions that had not obtained a mandate in either chamber of the Cortes at the preceding election were required to secure the signature of at least 0.1 percent of electors in the aforementioned constituencies. The electoral law provided for a special, simplified process for election re-runs, including a shortening of deadlines, the lifting of signature requirements if these had been already met for the immediately previous election and the possibility of maintaining lists and coalitions without needing to go through pre-election procedures again.


title: November 2019 Spanish general election

text: The November 2019 Spanish general election was the first to apply the new electoral procedures introduced for election re-runs as a result of the experience of the 2015–2016 political deadlock leading to the June 2016 election. This consists of a special, simplified process, including a shortening of deadlines, the lifting of signature requirements if these had been already met for the immediately previous election and the possibility of maintaining lists and coalitions without needing to go through the same pre-election procedures again. The key dates are listed below (all times are CET. Note that the Canary Islands use WET (UTC+0) instead):


title: November 2019 Spanish general election

text: The pre-campaign period saw the rise of a new left-wing electoral platform, Más País, founded by former Podemos co-founder Íñigo Errejón around his Más Madrid platform, following the failure of the left to agree on a government following the April election. Más País was joined by several other parties, such as Coalició Compromís, Chunta Aragonesista and Equo, the latter of which voted for breaking up its coalition with Unidas Podemos in order to join Errejón's platform. The leadership of Podemos in the Region of Murcia also went on to joint Más País. The platform went on to poll at 6% as soon as it was formed.


title: November 2019 Spanish general election

text: On 24 September, the Spanish Supreme Court ruled in favor of the PSOE's plan to remove the remnants of Francisco Franco from the Valle de los Caídos, a key policy of Pedro Sánchez during the previous legislature. The prior of the Valle de los Caídos' abbey, Santiago Cantera, initially announced his intention to disregard the Supreme Court's ruling and not authorize Franco's exhumation; however, the Spanish government closed down the monument to the public on 11 October in order to prepare for the exhumationfinally scheduled for 22 October at latest, so for the removal to be over by 25 Octoberto uphold the Supreme Court's ruling.


title: November 2019 Spanish general election

text: On 13 October, the leaders of the Catalan independence movement involved in the events of October 2017 were sentenced by the Supreme Court for sedition and embezzlement to convictions ranging from 9 to 13 years in jail. The ruling unleashed a wave of violent protests throughout Catalonia, and particularly in Barcelona, throughout the ensuing days.


title: November 2019 Spanish general election

text: The table below shows registered vote turnout on election day without including voters from the Census of Absent-Residents (CERA).


title: November 2019 Spanish general election

text: On 11 November, the day after the election, Albert Rivera resigned as leader of Citizens (Cs) after the party lost over 80% of its seats in the Congress and one-third of its seats in the Senate (mainly to Vox and the PP), and announced his intention to give up the Congress seat to which he had been elected, and retire from politics entirely. The PP recovered around one-third of the seats it had lost in the Congress in the April 2019 election, and almost half of the Senate seats it had lost on that occasion. The right-wing nationalist Vox party saw its seats in the Congress more than double, and it won its first directly elected Senate seats. Más País gained two seats in the Congress from Madrid (one from the PSOE and one from Podemos), while the leftist and Catalan nationalist Popular Unity Candidacy (CUP) gained its first seats in the national legislature after choosing to participate at the national level for the first time.


title: The Darkest Hour (film)

text: The Darkest Hour is a 2011 science fiction action film directed by Chris Gorak from a screenplay by Jon Spaihts and produced by Timur Bekmambetov. It depicts an alien invasion. The film stars Emile Hirsch, Max Minghella, Olivia Thirlby, Rachael Taylor, and Joel Kinnaman as a group of people caught in the invasion. The film was released on December 25, 2011 in the United States. It grossed $65 million on a $35 million budget.


title: The Darkest Hour (film)

text: Two Americans, Ben and Sean, travel to Moscow to sell a piece of software. After arriving, they find their business partner, Skyler, has betrayed them by already selling a knockoff application. Disappointed, the pair goes to a nightclub and meets tourists Natalie and Anne. Suddenly, the lights go out and everyone heads outside. There, they witness balls of light fall from the sky and fade away. Invisible entities begin hunting and disintegrating people, generating panic.


title: The Darkest Hour (film)

text: Ben, Sean, Natalie, Anne, and now Skyler hide in the club's storeroom for seven days. With most of their food gone, the group leaves the club and finds the city full of scorched cars and cinders, but empty of people. While they search for supplies in a police car, an alien appears. They hide as it moves closer, causing the car's lights and siren to turn on. This makes Sean realize that light bulbs and other technologies give the aliens away. The group takes shelter in a shopping mall. Sean and Natalie go to look for clothes and almost run into an alien who cannot see them through a glass wall. Sean theorizes that the aliens can only see their electrical charge, but not through glass or other insulators.


title: The Darkest Hour (film)

text: The group finds the US embassy gutted and lifeless. A logbook there tells them that the invasion is worldwide. They also discover a radio broadcasting a message in Russian. During their search, Skyler is killed by the aliens. The others see a light in a nearby apartment tower and go to investigate. They find a young woman named Vika and a man named Sergei, an electrical engineer. Sergei has made his apartment into a giant Faraday cage that hides everyone from the aliens. He has also developed a microwave gun that weakens an alien's force field, so that it can actually be seen and killed. Vika and Sergei translate the radio message, which says that a nuclear submarine is waiting in the Moscow River to take survivors to safety, but will leave soon.


title: The Darkest Hour (film)

text: Vika, Natalie, and Anne go to other apartments to gather supplies. An alien senses them outside the Faraday cage and gives chase. When they get to the apartment, the alien gets inside with them. Sergei shoots the alien with his gun, to no avail. The alien kills him while the others escape. Anne is also killed in the ensuing chase. To fight back, Natalie sets the apartment on fire and meets up with Vika.


title: The Darkest Hour (film)

text: The group later meets with Russian policemen who manage to wound an alien with conventional weapons. Sean collects a piece of the alien's body while the small police band agrees to help the group get to the submarine. As they move through the subway, an alien discovers them and kills Ben.


title: The Darkest Hour (film)

text: The survivors make it to a powerless patrol boat on the river and drift downstream to the waiting submarine. The boat nears the submarine, but runs aground. As they attempt to push free, an alien light beam causes the boat to capsize. Sean and the policemen swim towards the submarine, but upon reaching it, they discover Natalie is missing. Sean is determined to get her, possibly missing his chance to escape. The policemen agree to help him. The submarine crew, after expressing their doubts about the rescue, assist by building another microwave gun with stronger batteries.


title: The Darkest Hour (film)

text: Sean finds Natalie on a bus while the policemen and Vika start destroying aliens with the microwave guns. During the battle, Sean discovers the creatures' weakness when he throws a piece of the wounded alien he collected to another one, killing it. The two stop the bus and narrowly avoid a collision.


title: The Darkest Hour (film)

text: After returning to the submarine, the police team decides to stay and fight for the city. Meanwhile Sean, Natalie, and Vika plan to spread what they learned about the aliens to the rest of the world. Sean and Natalie, the only survivors of the original group, nearly share a kiss until Vika scoffs and breaks the romantic tension in a light-hearted moment. In the last scene, they learn that multiple resistance groups are fighting in different cities all around the world.


title: The Darkest Hour (film)

text: "The Darkest Hour" was directed by Chris Gorak and produced by Timur Bekmambetov. While most films about alien invasions are centered in the United States or have an international scale, Bekmambetov's involvement ensured the premise to be an alien invasion from Russia's perspective.


title: The Darkest Hour (film)

text: With a production budget of $34.8 million, filming with 3D cameras began in Moscow on July 18, 2010. Production used resources from the Russian-based company Bazelevs, owned by Bekmambetov.


title: The Darkest Hour (film)

text: Filming was temporarily suspended three weeks later due to the 2010 Russian wildfires affecting the city and its vicinity with their smog. By September 2010, filming had resumed. In April 2011 the release date was changed to December 25 due to filming conflicts in Russia.


title: The Darkest Hour (film)

text: "The Darkest Hour" was released on December 25, 2011, in the United States in 2D, 3D and RealD 3D. The DVD release date was April 10, 2012, by Summit Entertainment. In the United Kingdom, it was released theatrically on January 13 and on DVD on May 21, 2012.


title: The Darkest Hour (film)

text: Rotten Tomatoes gives a score of 12% based on reviews from 59 critics and an average score of 3.16/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Devoid of believable characters or convincing visual effects, this may be "The Darkest Hour" for the careers of all involved."


title: The Darkest Hour (film)

text: "The Hollywood Reporter" criticized the film for having a "flatlining screenplay and the absence of even a single compelling character", and "The New York Times" wrote that it has "a depressing failure of imagination". Writing for "Slant Magazine", Budd Wilkins called it "a dimwitted 3D sci-fi travesty" and wrote, "Indifferently structured, Jon Spaihts's lame-brained script knows no narrative contrivance it doesn't love and, what's worse, blows its expositional load in the first 10 minutes, bringing together a quintet of cardboard cutout leads." Joe Leydon of "Variety" called it a "modestly inventive and involving variation on a standard-issue sci-fi doomsday scenario".


title: Leila Pahlavi

text: Leila Pahlavi (, 27 March 1970 – 10 June 2001) was a princess of Iran and the youngest daughter of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, and his third wife, Farah Pahlavi.


title: Leila Pahlavi

text: Leila Pahlavi was born on 27 March 1970 in Tehran, Iran. She was the fourth and youngest child of the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and the Empress Farah Pahlavi. She had two elder brothers, an elder sister and an elder half-sister.


title: Leila Pahlavi

text: Leila Pahlavi was nine years old when her family was forced into exile as a result of the Iranian Revolution in 1979. Following her father's death in Egypt from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 1980, the family settled in the United States. She attended the United Nations International School in New York City and graduated from Rye Country Day School in 1988. She spoke Farsi, English, and French fluently, as well as some Spanish and Italian. She spent much of her time commuting between her home in Greenwich, Connecticut, and Paris, where her mother was living.


title: Leila Pahlavi

text: Pahlavi studied at Brown University literature and philosophy, she was said to have graduated in 1992. However some sources say she left university before graduation due to her declining health. She was a onetime model for the designer Valentino, and suffered from anorexia nervosa, chronic low self-esteem, severe depression and chronic fatigue syndrome.


title: Leila Pahlavi

text: On Sunday 10 June 2001, Leila was found dead in her room in Leonard Hotel in London just before 19:30 BST by her doctor. She was found to have more than five times the lethal dose of Seconal, a barbiturate, which is used to treat insomnia, in her system, along with a nonlethal amount of cocaine. She was found in bed, her body emaciated by years of anorexia, bulimia, and food intolerances. According to a report on her death, which included information from an autopsy conducted by the Westminster Coroner's Court, she stole the Seconal from her doctor's desk during an appointment and was addicted to the drug, typically taking 40 pills at once, rather than the prescribed two.


title: Leila Pahlavi

text: On 17 June 2001, she was buried near her maternal grandmother, Farideh Diba (née Ghotbi), in the Cimetière de Passy, Paris, France. At the funeral attendance was her mother, Empress Farah; the imperial family of Iran; as well as members of the former French royal family; and Frederic Mitterrand, the nephew of the late French President François Mitterrand.


title: Leila Pahlavi

text: On 4 January 2011, her brother Ali Reza Pahlavi was found dead at his home in Boston, Massachusetts, from an apparent suicide.


title: Love Will Tear Us Apart

text: "Love Will Tear Us Apart" is a song by English rock band Joy Division, released in June 1980 as a non-album single. Its lyrics were inspired by lead singer Ian Curtis's marital problems and struggles with epilepsy. The single was released the month after his suicide.


title: Love Will Tear Us Apart

text: The song was certified platinum in the UK, selling over 600,000 copies, and has an ongoing legacy as a defining song of the era. In 2002, "NME" named "Love Will Tear Us Apart" as the greatest single of all time, while "Rolling Stone" named it one of the 500 best songs ever in 2004, 2011, and 2021.


title: Love Will Tear Us Apart

text: "Love Will Tear Us Apart" was written about Ian Curtis' troubled relationship with his wife, Deborah Woodruff, whom he married in August 1975. Additionally, it deals with his own struggles with epilepsy, which he was diagnosed with in 1979, and the overwhelming stress of holding down a day job and his growing career as a singer.


title: Love Will Tear Us Apart

text: At a Joy Division gig in October 1979, Curtis met Belgian journalist and music promoter Annik Honoré and the two began a relationship, which caused further distress between Curtis and Woodruff.


title: Love Will Tear Us Apart

text: Speaking about her relationship with Curtis in a 2010 interview with Belgian magazine supplement "Focus", Honoré said:


title: Love Will Tear Us Apart

text: Joy Division first recorded "Love Will Tear Us Apart" at Pennine Studios, Oldham, on 8 January 1980, along with the B-side, "These Days". This version was similar to the version the band played live. However, singer Ian Curtis and producer Martin Hannett disliked the results and the band reconvened at Strawberry Studios, Stockport in March to re-record it. Drummer Stephen Morris recalled:


title: Love Will Tear Us Apart

text: The guitar on the recording, a 12-string Eko guitar, was played by Bernard Sumner. While Curtis generally did not play guitar, to perform the song live, the band taught him how to strum a D major chord. Sumner said:


title: Love Will Tear Us Apart

text: While Joy Division were recording, U2 were in the studio to see Hannett about producing their single "11 O'Clock Tick Tock". U2 singer Bono said of the encounter:


title: Love Will Tear Us Apart

text: It was first recorded for a John Peel session in November 1979, then re-recorded in January 1980 and March 1980. It is the latter version that appears on the 1988 "Substance" album. The January 1980 version, which has become known as the "Pennine version", originally appeared as one of the single's B-sides.


title: Love Will Tear Us Apart

text: "Love Will Tear Us Apart" became Joy Division's first chart hit, reaching number 13 in the UK Singles Chart. The following month, the single topped the UK Indie Chart. The song also peaked at number 42 on the "Billboard" disco chart in October 1980. "Love Will Tear Us Apart" also reached number 1 in New Zealand in June 1981.


title: Love Will Tear Us Apart

text: The single was re-released in 1983 and reached number 19 on the UK charts and number 3 in New Zealand during March 1984. In 1985, the 7" single was released in Poland by Tonpress in different sleeve under licence from Factory and sold over 20,000 copies. In November 1988, it made one more Top 40 appearance in New Zealand, peaking at number 39.


title: Love Will Tear Us Apart

text: According to Curtis's wife Deborah, to create the single cover photo, the song title was etched upon a sheet of metal; this was aged with acid and exposed to the weather to create the appearance of a stone slab. For the 12" version of the single, a photograph of a grieving angel on the Ribaudo family tomb in Genoa's Monumental Cemetery of Staglieno (sculpted by Onorato Toso 1910) was used. The photograph was taken by Bernard Pierre Wolff in 1978.


title: Love Will Tear Us Apart

text: The video was shot by the band themselves on 25 April 1980 as they rehearsed the song at T. J. Davidson's studio, in Knott Mill, Manchester city centre, where the band had previously rehearsed during the early days of their career. At the start of the video, the door that opens and shuts is carved with Ian Curtis' name; reportedly this was the beginning of an abusive message (the rest later erased) carved into the door.


title: Love Will Tear Us Apart

text: Due to poor production, the video's colour is 'browned out' at some points. Also, as the track recorded during the recording of the video was poor, it was replaced with the single-edit recording of the song by the band's record company in Australia, leading to problems with the synchronisation of music and video. This edited version of the music video would later become the official version due to the improvement of sound quality.


title: Love Will Tear Us Apart

text: This was the only promotional video the band ever produced as Ian Curtis hanged himself three weeks after the video was recorded.


title: Love Will Tear Us Apart

text: "Love Will Tear Us Apart" was named "NME" Single of the Year in 1980, and was listed as the best single of all time by "NME" in 2002.


title: Love Will Tear Us Apart

text: In May 2007, "NME" placed it at number 19 in its list of the 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever, one place ahead of another Joy Division song, "Transmission". The song is also listed as being one of the 5 best indie songs of all time in the "All Time Indie Top 50".


title: Love Will Tear Us Apart

text: In 2004, the song was listed by "Rolling Stone" magazine at number 179 in its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". In 2011, the song was listed at number 181. In the 2021 update of the list, it had risen to 41.


title: Love Will Tear Us Apart

text: The song reached number 1 in the inaugural "Triple J Hottest 100" music poll of 1989 and again in 1990. When being interviewed for "New Order Story", Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys stated that "Love Will Tear Us Apart" was his favourite pop song of all time. At Christmas 2011, listeners of Dublin's Phantom FM voted "Love Will Tear Us Apart" as their favourite song of all time. Furthermore, in 2012, in celebration of the "NME"s 60th anniversary, a list of the 100 Greatest Songs of "NME"s Lifetime was compiled, and the list was topped by "Love Will Tear Us Apart". Serbian rock musician, journalist and writer Dejan Cukić wrote about "Love Will Tear Us Apart" as one of the 45 songs that changed history of popular music in his 2007 book "". In 2015, the online magazine "Pitchfork" ranked "Love Will Tear Us Apart" seventh on its list of the "200 best songs of the 1980s".


title: Love Will Tear Us Apart

text: Following Curtis's suicide, his wife Deborah had the phrase "Love Will Tear Us Apart" inscribed on his memorial stone.


title: Love Will Tear Us Apart

text: In June 2013, Mighty Box Games released "Will Love Tear Us Apart?", a browser-based video game that adapts every verse of the song into a level.


title: Love Will Tear Us Apart

text: Throughout the eighties, multiple artists covered "Love Will Tear Us Apart". Chuzpe recorded a cover version that peaked at number eight in Austria in 1981. Paul Young's 1984 cover "Love Will Tear Us Apart" reached number nine in both the Belgium and Netherlands, and number 40 in Germany. The New York band Swans' fourth EP "Love Will Tear Us Apart" was named after their cover of the song, and was placed alongside two semi-acoustic versions of songs from their 1987 LP "Children of God". The EP reached number 85 on the UK Singles Chart and number two on the UK Indie Chart. In May 2005, ambient dance duo Honeyroot reached number 70 on the UK Singles Chart in May 2005 with their cover.


title: Princess Cruises

text: Princess Cruises is an American cruise line owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. The company is incorporated in Bermuda and its headquarters are in Santa Clarita, California. As of 2021, it is the second largest cruise line by net revenue. It was previously a subsidiary of P&O Princess Cruises, and is currently under Holland America Group within Carnival Corporation & plc, which holds executive control over the Princess Cruises brand. The line has 15 ships cruising global itineraries that are marketed to both American and international passengers.


title: Princess Cruises

text: The company was made famous by the American television series "The Love Boat", in which its ship "Pacific Princess" was featured. Since her introduction in 2019, "Sky Princess" has operated as the line's flagship.


title: Princess Cruises

text: Princess Cruises began in 1965, when founder Stanley McDonald chartered Canadian Pacific Limited's Alaska cruise ship "Princess Patricia" for Mexican Riviera cruises from Los Angeles during a time when she would have usually been laid up for the winter. However, "Princess Pat", as she was fondly called, had never been designed for tropical cruising, lacking air-conditioning, and Princess ended her charter in favor of a more purpose-built cruise ship "Italia".


title: Princess Cruises

text: Princess, who marketed the ship as "Princess Italia", but never officially renamed her, used the ship to inaugurate their Mexican Riviera cruises out of Los Angeles and did not receive the Princess logo on her funnel until 1967.


title: Princess Cruises

text: In 1969, "Princess Italia" was used on Alaskan cruises from San Francisco, but by 1973, the charter was canceled, and "Italia" returned to Europe on charter to Costa Cruise Line.


title: Princess Cruises

text: Princess's third charter ship was none other than Costa's "Carla C". Originally, Compagnie Générale Transatlantique's SS "Flandre", the ship had been purchased by Costa in the late 1960s and given a major rebuilding. Almost immediately after completion, the ship was chartered to Princess, and it was on board the ship, which was marketed as, but again not officially renamed, "Princess Carla", that Jeraldine Saunders wrote the first chapters of her nonfiction book "The Love Boats."


title: Princess Cruises

text: Britain's Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O), which by 1960 was the world's largest shipping company, with 320 oceangoing vessels, acquired Princess Cruise Lines in 1974 and their "Spirit of London" (originally to have been Norwegian Cruise Line's "Seaward") was transferred to the Princess fleet, becoming the first "Sun Princess".


title: Princess Cruises

text: The two ships that were to be featured heavily in the television series "The Love Boat" were built in 1971 at Nordseewerke for Flagship Cruises and originally named the "Sea Venture" (for the original "Sea Venture", the 1609 wreck of which resulted in the settlement of Bermuda) and "Island Venture". In 1974, P&O purchased them for their Princess division, and they served as "Island Princess" and "Pacific Princess" respectively.


title: Princess Cruises

text: A part-time addition to the Princess fleet was the former Swedish transatlantic liner "Kungsholm", purchased by P&O from Flagship Cruises in 1978, and then restyled and rebuilt in Bremen as "Sea Princess". She was initially based in Australia as a P&O ship until 1981 when her role there was taken over by "Oriana". After that, she alternated between P&O and Princess colours as she moved between fleets. "Sea Princess" returned to the P&O UK fleet permanently and in 1995 and was renamed MV "Victoria" to allow a then-new Princess ship to be named "Sea Princess".


title: Princess Cruises

text: In 1981, Princess began calling at the cruise line's first private Caribbean destination, Palm Island in the Grenadines.


title: Princess Cruises

text: The first P&O Princess Cruises purpose-built cruise ship was "Royal Princess," christened by Princess Diana in 1984, she was the largest new British passenger ship in a decade, and one of the first, if not the first, ships to completely dispense with interior cabins. The ship served in P&O Cruises fleet as "Artemis" until 2011.


title: Princess Cruises

text: In 1986, P&O Princess Cruises acquired Tour Alaska, which operated on the Alaska Railroad. Based in Anchorage, Alaska, Princess Tours now operates ten luxury railcars with full-service scenic tours of Denali (formerly Mount McKinley) and can accommodate over 700 passengers per day. That same year, Princess unveiled Princess Bay, located at Saline Bay on the Caribbean island of Mayreau. Princess Bay was the cruise line's second private island resort, replacing Palm Island, and was marketed as "every castaway's first choice," primarily featured on the cruise line's Caribbean itineraries from San Juan, Puerto Rico, but is now no longer a Princess private resort.


title: Princess Cruises

text: P&O Princess Cruises acquired Sitmar Line in 1988 and transferred all of its major tonnage to Princess, including three cruise ships then under construction. "Dawn Princess" and "Fair Princess" were both ex-Cunard, and the former Sitmar "Fairsky" became Princess's "Sky Princess". The first of the three new Sitmar ships came into the Princess brand in 1989 as "Star Princess", the largest British exclusively cruising ship. Two 70,000 GT cruise ships designed originally by famed architect Renzo Piano, entered service in 1990 as "Crown Princess" and "Regal Princess", bringing Princess's fleet up to ten deluxe cruise ships. This greatly enlarged the Princess fleet by eventually adding six ships, making it a major competitor with the other Caribbean cruise lines.


title: Princess Cruises

text: In 1991, Princess Cruises began developing their third ever Caribbean private resort named Princess Cays located on the southern tip of the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas. The development was reported to cost $1.2 million and was unveiled in 1992, becoming an exclusive port of call for the cruise line's Western Caribbean itineraries. The private destination is also shared between sister brands, Carnival Cruise Line and Holland America Line. The resort suffered from a fire in January 2019 that damaged several buildings along the south side of the island.


title: Princess Cruises

text: In the early 1990s, Princess was operating a fleet of mostly second-hand ships, with the majority having been inherited from the Sitmar Cruises aquisistion. The last purpose-built Princess new build had been the Royal Princess in 1984, and the 3 recent inherited new builds had all been designed for Sitmar Cruises. A new building project was commenced with the first new build debuting in 1995 with the "Sun Princess". This was the first of four ships in the class, followed by the Dawn Princess, Sea Princess, and Ocean Princess. At the same time Princess began transferring some of its older ships to parent company P&O Cruises and their subsidiaries P&O Australia. The "Dawn Princess" left the fleet in 1993, "Sea Princess" in 1995, "Golden Princess", 1996, "Fair Princess" in 1997, "Island Princess" in 1999.


title: Princess Cruises

text: Princess unveiled its first "Grand"-class vessel in 1998, the "Grand Princess", which debuted on May 26, and was christened by Olivia de Havilland. At the time, the $450 million Fincantieri-built vessel was the largest passenger ship ever commissioned and completed. Two more ships in the class, "Golden Princess" and "Star Princess," followed, pioneering the design that carried on through the following six vessels in the class, with the last ship delivered in 2008.


title: Princess Cruises

text: On October 23, 2000, the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O) spun-off its passenger division to form an independent company, P&O Princess Cruises. In 2001, Princess Cruises headquarters moved from Century City to Santa Clarita, near the Westfield Valencia Town Center.


title: Princess Cruises

text: With the debut of "Golden Princess" in North America in 2001, "Sky Princess" was deployed to Australia for P&O Cruises Australia in 2000 and replace "Fair Princess. Sky Princess" was transformed into "Pacific Sky" to become the sister brand's first modern-era cruise ship for the recently spun off P&O Cruises Australia. "Star Princess" commenced operations in March 2002 and became the first "mega-ship" to operate from the West Coast on a full-time basis. In June 2002, "Crown Princess" was transferred to P&O Princess' new start-up brand, A'Rosa Cruises, to be the only cruise ship in A'Rosa's fleet to help launch the brand.


title: Princess Cruises

text: In 2002 the "Pacific Princess", famous as the ship from "The Love Boat", left the Princess Cruises fleet after 27 years of service with the line, and last of the original Princess Cruises fleet.


title: Princess Cruises

text: In 2002 and 2003 Princess debuted two panamax ships, the "Coral Princess" and "Island Princess". Built to be the maximized sized ships to transit the Panama Canal, they were assigned for longer Southern Caribbean and Panama Canal cruises. They would also incorporate the ship engineering trend of the time of having additional Gas-Turbine Engines. This was emphasized in the ships design with giant decorative faux turbines on each side of the funnel.


title: Princess Cruises

text: Princess eventually acquired two former Renaissance ships for the line starting in 2002. They were be deployed for longer and more exotic destination cruises. The ships joining the fleet were "Tahitian Princess", which was first based in Tahiti before being later renamed "Ocean Princess", and "Pacific Princess", reviving the famous name of the Love Boat ship.


title: Princess Cruises

text: P&O Princess Cruises merged with Carnival Corporation on April 17, 2003, to form the world's largest cruise operating company in a deal worth US$5.4 billion. As a result of the merger, Carnival Corporation and P&O Princess were integrated to form Carnival Corporation & plc, with a portfolio of eleven cruise ship brands. It is a dual-listed company, registered in both the United States and the United Kingdom, with the former P&O Princess Cruises being relisted as Carnival plc, more commonly known as Carnival UK, which holds executive control over Cunard Line and P&O Cruises. As an American-based company, executive control of Princess Cruises was transferred to Carnival's American operations, with the formation of the Holland America Group umbrella, which comprises Princess, Holland America Line, Seabourn Cruise Line, and P&O Cruises Australia.


title: Princess Cruises

text: In 2005, the "Royal Princess", Princess Cruises first purpose-built ship, was transferred to P&O Cruises after 21 years of service with the line.


title: Princess Cruises

text: In May 2005, Princess reacquired "Sea Princess" from P&O, which it had transferred over just two years prior.


title: Princess Cruises

text: On April 3, 2008, Micky Arison, the chairman of Carnival Corporation & plc, stated that due to the low value of the United States dollar because of the recession, inflation and high shipbuilding costs, the company would not be ordering any new ships for their U.S.-based brands (Princess, Carnival Cruise Line, and Holland America Line) before the economic situation improved.


title: Princess Cruises

text: In May 2010, Carnival Corporation & plc signed a contract with Fincantieri for the construction of two new 3,600-passenger ships, known as the "Royal-"class cruise ships, for Princess Cruises. The "Royal"-class vessels are the largest ships ever constructed for Princess. "Royal Princess", Princess' new flagship vessel, entered service in 2013. In 2017, Princess further invested in China via the delivery of their third "Royal"-class ship, "Majestic Princess", after it was designed to accommodate the Chinese-speaking market and scheduled to homeport in Shanghai. Following the delivery of "Sky Princess" in October 2019, Princess has the last two "Royal"-class ships set for delivery in 2020 and 2021, respectively.