title: Touker Suleyman

text: Touker Suleyman (born Türker Süleyman; 4 August 1953) is a British-Turkish Cypriot fashion retail entrepreneur, investor, and reality television personality. In 2001, his company Low Profile Group purchased UK shirt maker Hawes & Curtis, and in 2002 he purchased UK fashion label Ghost. Since then, he has invested in a number of start-up companies including Bikesoup and Huxley & Cox. Since 2015 he has been a dragon on Dragon's Den.


title: Touker Suleyman

text: In 2015, "The Sunday Times" listed Suleyman as 637th in its Rich List, estimating his fortune to be in excess of £200 million.


title: Touker Suleyman

text: Suleyman was born in Famagusta on 4 August 1953, into a Turkish Cypriot family. In 1958, he moved to England with his family and settled in Bermondsey, South London. He arrived not speaking English and attended Peckham Manor secondary school. At age 10, he suffered a serious hand infection that resulted in him missing a year of school and at risk of an amputation of his left hand. Suleyman helped out working at his family's restaurant in Camberwell. He credits his father for being his inspiration to start his own business.


title: Touker Suleyman

text: After leaving school, Suleyman joined a chartered accountancy firm in Southampton Row, London, heeding to his father's wishes that he enter a secure profession. He worked as an articled clerk earning £5.50 a week. Speaking of his experience there he states "I did the accounts for small clients like dentists and doctors, other accountants and small businesses. In a way it was educational, but quite boring. I saw that there were three ways to make money. You were either a pop star, in the fashion business, or in property."


title: Touker Suleyman

text: While doing an audit for a clothing company, Suleyman took home some crimplene garments for his grandmother who later told him that her friends wanted the same. He purchased more which she then sold on his behalf for about a year. He describes this incident as his introduction to the fashion business. Suleyman went in to a partnership with the manufacturer operating out of a factory in East London before going on to form Kingsland Models which supplied clothing to the likes of C&A, Dorothy Perkins and Top Shop.


title: Touker Suleyman

text: In the early 1980s, after being advised by a stockbroker, Suleyman took a 29.9% stake in clothing business Mellins. He was later persuaded by Laing & Cruickshank that Mellins should buy a stake in retailer Bamber Stores "because it offered synergy—we make it and we sell it." After Suleyman asked accountants Coopers & Lybrand to do a review, they discovered that the business had falsified their records and was £20–26 million in deficits. A board meeting was held the following Monday where Suleyman resigned, the company's shares were suspended, and receivers Cork Gully were called in. The collapse of Bamber Stores now forced Suleyman to find a way to raise money or see Mellins collapse too but he was unable to find investors. Suleyman was now stuck with debt and sold his house to repay money he owed to the bank.


title: Touker Suleyman

text: In 1984, Suleyman acquired a small cash-and-carry business which subsequently became Low Profile Group, a clothing manufacturer supplying UK retail stores including Marks & Spencer. The company’s factories are based in Turkey, Bulgaria, and Georgia.


title: Touker Suleyman

text: In 2001, Low Profile Group acquired Hawes & Curtis for £1. The company was £500,000 in debt and was about to go into administration. Turnover at Hawes & Curtis rose from £600,000 in 2001 to £30m in 2014, whilst Suleyman retained the Chairmanship of Hawes & Curtis.


title: Touker Suleyman

text: As of 2014, Hawes & Curtis operates from 30 branches in the UK and one in Cologne, Germany. In 2013, UAE investment group Korath Holding signed a $5m deal to open 26 Hawes & Curtis stores across the Gulf over a period of five years.


title: Touker Suleyman

text: In 2008, Suleyman purchased UK fashion label Ghost after its owner, KCAJ, an Icelandic investment fund, cut investment following the collapse of the Icelandic banking market. The acquisition safeguarded 142 jobs across the company. In 2009 the label announced its first collaboration with design duo Modernist.


title: Touker Suleyman

text: Alongside Ghost, Touker Suleyman has invested in Tru-Tension, an innovative motorcycle and cycling brand; Docks Rio, a casual boat shoe brand; Intelligent Futures, an online advertising start-up; Personify XP, an AI personalisation start-up; Huxley & Cox, a manufacturer of luxury handbags; and Bikesoup, an online marketplace for bicycles in which he invested £100,000 for an undisclosed stake.


title: Touker Suleyman

text: In 2015, Suleyman was chosen to join the investors' panel on the thirteenth series of BBC television programme "Dragons' Den", alongside Nick Jenkins and Sarah Willingham. Suleyman is the only dragon out of the three to have remained on the show since.


title: Another Miss Oh

text: Another Miss Oh () is a South Korean television series starring Eric Mun, Seo Hyun-jin, Jeon Hye-bin. It replaced "Pied Piper" and broadcast on cable network tvN on Mondays and Tuesdays at 23:00 (KST) time slot for 18 episodes from May 2 to June 28, 2016.


title: Another Miss Oh

text: The series recorded the highest audience rating for a tvN Monday-Tuesday show and became one of the highest-rated Korean dramas in cable television history. The drama was extended by 2 episodes and 2 specials.


title: Another Miss Oh

text: Park Do-kyung (Eric Mun) is a sound director in his 30s. A year ago, his bride, Oh Hae-young (pretty) (Jeon Hye-bin), disappeared on their wedding day leaving him miserable. One year after that incident, Do-kyung was told that Hae-young is going to marry a young entrepreneur named Han Tae-jin (Lee Jae-yoon). Do-kyung exacted revenge by sabotaging Tae-jin's business leaving him bankrupt. However, the woman who has the name Oh Hae-young (just/"그냥") (Seo Hyun-jin) was actually just a stranger who coincidentally has the same name as the other Oh Hae-young (pretty) who left him.


title: Another Miss Oh

text: Coincidentally, Oh Hae-young (just) is the girl that Do-kyung had been seeing lately in his visions, and he sees snapshots of the future with her in it.


title: Another Miss Oh

text: Tae-jin was soon to be sent to jail due to bankruptcy, and hence before his imprisonment he meets his fiancée, Hae-young (just), and tells her that he doesn't love her enough to marry her and wants to call off their wedding. Truthfully, Tae-jin was lying and his true intentions was to let her go so that she will gain happiness.


title: Another Miss Oh

text: Amidst all of this, Do-kyung and Hae-young (just)'s lives turn as they cross paths. After sharing similar unfortunate experiences of being dumped before their weddings, the two of them got even closer. Will Do-kyung start to fall in love with Hae-young (just)? But, will Hae-young (just) look at Do-kyung the same way when she finds out that he is the one who ruined her wedding? Is it a love story between two people who should not be destined to be together? Or will Do-kyung's visions of her actually prove that they are meant for each other?


title: Another Miss Oh

text: A 36-year-old man, he is a sound director. He has a very reserved and aloof personality and is intimate and meticulous with his work. He is unable to forget his ex-girlfriend, Oh Hae-young (pretty), who disappeared on the day of their wedding. After he mistook Oh Hae-young (just) for Hae-young (pretty), Do-kyung keeps seeing visions that are always related to Hae-young (just) as if he sees the future. He falls in love with Hae-young (just) but knows he doesn't deserve her, because he was the one who ruined her wedding with her ex-fiancé, Han Tae-jin.


title: Another Miss Oh

text: A 32-year-old woman, she is a product planning team representative of the catering division of her company. Her life got ruined after her ex-fiancé Tae-jin dumped her the day before their wedding, and as a result she becomes the main topic of gossip because of it. She describes herself as a pitiful and unlucky person but is cheered up by Do-kyung and eventually becomes attracted to him. Meanwhile, she is clueless that Do-kyung is the person who ruined her wedding. Because she shares her name with the beautiful and perfect Oh Hae-young (pretty), she is always compared and feels small.


title: Another Miss Oh

text: A 32-year-old woman, she is the TF team leader of the catering division Oh Hae-young (just) works in. She also is Do-kyung's ex-lover who ditched their wedding and left for Europe. After one year, she still loves him and decided to come back to him. She comes from a wealthy family with many marriage issues, where her mother and father marry and divorce back-and-forth, and has many step-siblings. She always appears cheerful in front everyone in order to hide her true self who lacks love from her parents.


title: Another Miss Oh

text: A 44-year-old woman, she is the catering division director and Do-kyung's older sister. She is an alcoholic who always babbles in French when she gets drunk and has a habit of falling for any man whom she ever sleeps with. Hae-young (just) and her other subordinates give her the nickname "Isadora" ("isa" = two four (24) and "dora" = "running around" meaning she is around at all times) because of her habit of constantly checking up on her subordinates.


title: Another Miss Oh

text: A 36-year-old man, he is a lawyer and Do-kyung's friend. He is the first person who mistook Hae-Young (just) for Hae-young (pretty) and persuaded Do-kyung to seek revenge. He said to Do-kyung he would stay in Do-kyung's house for a while to protect himself from dangerous people that are related to the case he is handling. But in reality, he is hiding from the husband of a woman he recently seduced.


title: Another Miss Oh

text: A 33-year-old man, he is a sound recording studio staff and Do-kyung's younger brother. Even though they have the same last name, Do-kyung and Hoon are not actually blood-related - Do-kyung and Soo-kyung are from the maternal side, while Hoon is from the paternal side. He seems to be frustrated with his step-brother, and they don't get along with each other often and share different opinions. He always gets crazy while searching for a girlfriend.


title: Another Miss Oh

text: A 63-year-old woman, she is a film producer and Do-kyung's mother. She is a gold-digger and only cares about living a luxurious life, and always asks Do-kyung for money even though she never pays him back. She was against Do-kyung's marriage to Hae-young (pretty) as she knew Do-kyung wouldn't give her money once he gets married. For this purpose, she emotionally and psychologically tortures Hae-young (pretty) into running away on the day of their wedding.


title: Another Miss Oh

text: A 36-year-old man, he is an entrepreneur and Hae-young (just)'s ex-fiancé. He decides to call off their wedding and dumps Hae-young (just) in order to let her live happily. Not long after he dumped her, he went to jail because of the bankruptcy. He is curious as to why Do-kyung decided to destroy his business as they never met each other previously. Even after he walks out from jail, he still has feelings for his ex-fiancé, Hae-young (just).


title: Another Miss Oh

text: A 60-year-old man, he is Hae-young (just)'s father. As a man he is talented in cooking, and he seems to be more patient and calm than Hae-young (just)'s mother.


title: Another Miss Oh

text: A 57-year-old woman, she is Hae-young (just)'s mother. She feels pressured after her daughter called off her wedding, as her friends in the neighborhood keep talking about her daughter behind her back. She has a weird habit of taking off her clothes when she's angry.


title: Another Miss Oh

text: She is a film producer and Hae-young (just)'s best friend. Thanks to her, Do-kyung and Hae-young (just) meet for the first time in person. She has been Hae-young (just)'s sole dependable friend since their high school days. Even though both of them are close, Hee-ran is popular with boys unlike Hae-young (just).


title: Another Miss Oh

text: She is Hae-young (just)'s aunt. She used to help with house work often, but after Hae-young (just) called off her marriage, she became annoying and regularly argues with Deok-yi.


title: Another Miss Oh

text: A 21-year-old woman, she is a part-time staff of a convenience store and Hoon's girlfriend, and seems to not want to get married during her lifetime. She tells Hoon during their 100th day anniversary that she wants the both of them to live together, but Hoon constantly rejects her idea because they are not a married couple.


title: Another Miss Oh

text: A 74-year-old man, he is a conglomerate chairman and Hae-young (pretty)'s step-father, as Hae-young (pretty)'s mother was once married to him but eventually got divorced.


title: Another Miss Oh

text: He is Do-kyung's psychiatrist and the only person who knows about Do-kyung's visions that are related to Hae-young (just).


title: Dodoma

text: Dodoma ( in Gogo), officially Dodoma City, is the national capital of Tanzania and the capital of the Dodoma Region, with a population of 410,956.


title: Dodoma

text: In 1974, the Tanzanian government announced that the capital would be moved to Dodoma for social and economic reasons and to centralise the capital within the country. It became the official capital in 1996. Much of the initial design did not come to fruition for a long time. As a result, Dar es Salaam remains the commercial capital of Tanzania and still retains the state house Ikulu, and a large number of government functions.


title: Dodoma

text: Located in the centre of the country, the town is west of the former capital at Dar es Salaam and south of Arusha, the headquarters of the East African Community. It is north of Iringa through Mtera. It is also west of Morogoro. It covers an area of of which is urbanized.


title: Dodoma

text: Originally a small market town known as Idodomya, the modern Dodoma was founded in 1907 by German colonists during construction of the Tanzanian central railway. The layout followed the typical colonial planning of the time with a European quarter segregated from a native village.


title: Dodoma

text: In 1967, following independence, the government invited Canadian firm Project Planning Associates Ltd to draw up a master plan to help control and organise the then capital of the country, Dar es Salaam, which was undergoing rapid urbanisation and population growth. The plan was cancelled in 1972, in part due to its failure to adequately address the historical and social problems associated with the city.


title: Dodoma

text: In 1974, after a nationwide party referendum, the Tanzanian government announced that the capital would be moved from Dar es Salaam to a more central location to create significant social and economic improvements for the central region and to centralise the capital within the country. The cost was estimated at £186 million and envisaged to take 10 years. The site, the Dodoma region, had been looked at as a potential new capital as early as 1915 by the then colonial power Germany, in 1932 by the British as a League of Nations mandate and again in the post-independence National Assembly in 1961 and 1966.


title: Dodoma

text: With an already-established town at a major crossroads, the Dodoma region had an agreeable climate, room for development and was located in the geographic centre of the nation. Its location in a rural environment was seen as the ujamaa heartland and therefore appropriate for a ujamaa capital that could see and learn from neighbouring villages and maintain a close relationship to the land.


title: Dodoma

text: A new capital was seen as a more economically viable alternative than attempting to reorganise and restructure Dar es Salaam and was idealised as a way of diverting development away from continued concentration in a single coastal city that was seen as anathema to the government's goal of socialist unity and development. Objectives for the new capital included: that the city become a symbol of Tanzania's social and cultural values and aspirations; that the capital city function be supplemented by industrial-commercial development; and that the mistakes and features of colonial planning and modern big cities, such as excessive population densities, pollution and traffic congestion, be avoided.


title: Dodoma

text: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) invited three international firms to submit proposals for the best location and preparation of a master plan: Project Planning Associates Ltd., of Canada; Doxiadis Associates International, of Greece (who had worked on Pakistan's new capital of Islamabad); and Engineering Consulting Firms Association, of Japan. A fourth firm from Germany submitted a proposal without invitation.


title: Dodoma

text: The winner, decided by the CDA together with independent American consultants, was Project Planning Associates, the same Canadian consultants whose plan for Dar es Salaam was seen as inadequate and not responsive enough to the local conditions and needs for Tanzania's largest city. Their plan envisaged a city of 400,000 persons by 2000 and 1.3 million by 2020.


title: Dodoma

text: The official capital since 1996, Dodoma was envisaged as the first non-monumental capital city as opposed to the monumentality and hierarchy of other planned capital cities such as Abuja, Yamoussoukro, Brasília and Washington, D.C. It rejected geometrical forms such as grid iron and radial plans as inappropriate as the urban form was intended to undulate and curve with the existing topography and not in conflict with it so as to retain its rural ujamaa feel. As befitted Tanzania's development at the time, the car was seen as secondary in importance to public transports such as buses which were then utilised by much of the population.


title: Dodoma

text: In 1974, Dodoma had a population of 40,000 and was chosen as the site of the new capital as opposed to nearby Hombolo or Ihumwa. The existing population size was not seen as an impediment while existing infrastructure would reduce construction costs.


title: Dodoma

text: The city, designed over , was meant to be "the chief village in a nation of villages", built at a human scale meant to be experienced on foot. Its basic principles follow the garden city model of a town set amongst a garden with green belts separating segregated zones for residents and industry.


title: Dodoma

text: As part of the move of the government, a capitol complex was envisaged and designs by international teams offered competing visions and versions of the siting and layout of a capitol complex. These competing proposals, some paid for by foreign governments as a form of aid and others by the firms involved, were presented as early as 1978. However, it was not until 2006 that the Chinese government delivered a finished parliament building in Dodoma. The final location of the parliament was not in its original intended location in the master plan, with the location now being developed as a site for a university.


title: Dodoma

text: As much of the initial design never came to fruition over the past 40 years, government offices and embassies have resisted moving offices to Dodoma. As a result, many government offices remain in Dar es Salaam, which remains the commercial and the de facto capital of Tanzania.


title: Dodoma

text: Dodoma was envisaged as a nation-building project to cement a newly post-colonial independence identity and direction in Tanzania, and is similar to projects in Nigeria (Abuja), Côte d’Ivoire (Yamoussoukro), Botswana (Gaborone), Malawi (Lilongwe) and Mauritania (Nouakchott).


title: Dodoma

text: Out of the total population, 199,487 people (48.5 percent) are male while 211,469 people (51.5 percent) are female. The average household size is 4.4 people. The Roman Catholic Church reports that 19.2% of the population are Roman Catholics. Dodoma is populated by different ethnic groups because it is a government administrative centre, although the indigenous ethnic groups are the Gogo, Rangi, and Sandawe. There are also small Indian minorities.


title: Dodoma

text: Dodoma features a semi-arid climate with warm to hot temperatures throughout the year. While average highs are somewhat consistent throughout the year, average lows dip to in July. Dodoma averages of rainfall per year, the vast majority of which occurs during its wet season between December and April. The remainder of the year comprises the city's dry season.


title: Dodoma

text: There are several universities in Dodoma, which include the Open University of Tanzania, which has campuses in several cities in Tanzania, St Johns University of Tanzania, owned by the Anglican Church of Tanzania, and University of Dodoma, with about 35,000 students. Both universities opened in 2007. In addition there is the Mipango University and the CBE.


title: Dodoma

text: The Anglican Church runs the only international school in Dodoma, Canon Andrea Mwaka School ("CAMS"). CAMS, established in 1950, provides education to children from Nursery to Form 4. The education is based on the English National curriculum and the school offers students the opportunity to take IGCSE examinations. An estimated 280 students are taught at the school.


title: Dodoma

text: North of the city centre, Dodoma Airport is managed by the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority. Flights are currently limited to small aircraft operated commercially by Precision Air, Air Tanzania, Auric Air, and Flightlink. However, in December 2019, a US$272M loan plan was announced to build a new, far bigger airport outside the city with increased runway length and weight-bearing capacity.


title: Dodoma

text: The city is served by Dodoma Railway Station, located near Kikuyu Avenue, through which runs the Central Railway Line, which connects Dodoma over a distance of with Dar es Salaam in the east. In 2019, Tanzania Railways commissioned a study into a Dodoma commuter rail network.


title: Dodoma

text: A major highway connects Dodoma with Dar es Salaam via the Morogoro in the east. To the west, there are roads to Mwanza and Kigoma going through Singida and Tabora. The Great North Road links the city with Babati


title: Dodoma

text: and Arusha to the north, via Kondoa and Iringa, Njombe, Songea, Mbeya and Vwawa to the south via Mtera.


title: Dodoma

text: The Parliament of Tanzania is located in Dodoma. The office of the President of Tanzania and the headquarters of ministers of the Government of Tanzania completed the move to the Mtumba area of the city in October 2019.


title: Dodoma

text: The city is represented in the Tanzanian Premier League by football clubs Dodoma FC, before was known as Polisi Dodoma, other oldest clubs as CDA, Waziri Mkuu, Kurugenzi, Mji Mpwapwa and Dundee.


title: Dodoma

text: Football is admired by most children and teenagers in Dodoma. Football is a hobby that is the favourite of most young boys in Dodoma.


title: Dodoma

text: The places of worship in the city are predominantly Christian churches and temples: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dodoma (Catholic Church), Anglican Church of Tanzania (Anglican Communion), Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (Lutheran World Federation), Baptist Convention of Tanzania (Baptist World Alliance), Assemblies of God. There are also Muslim mosques.


title: Gashapon

text: , also called , is a trademark of Bandai. Among the variety of vending machine-dispensed capsule toys that originated in the 1960s, it became popular in Japan and elsewhere. "Gashapon" is onomatopoeic from the two sounds "gasha" (or "gacha") for the hand-cranking action of a toy-vending machine, and "pon" for the toy capsule landing in the collection tray. "Gashapon" is used for both the machines themselves and the toys obtained from them. Popular capsule toy manufacturers include Tomy, which uses the trademark for their capsule machines, and Kaiyodo. In many countries including Japan, China, United States and the United Kingdom, "Gashapon" is a registered trademark of Bandai. The model of capsule toy has been adapted digitally into numerous "gacha" video games, such as mobile phone games and massively multiplayer online games (MMOs).


title: Gashapon

text: "Gashapon" machines are similar to the coin-operated toy vending machines seen outside grocery stores and other retailers in other countries. While American coin-operated vending toys are usually cheap, low-quality products sold for a few quarters ( or less), Bandai's "gashapon" can cost anywhere from to and are normally a much higher-quality product, followed by other Japanese manufacturers. They are often constructed from high-grade PVC plastic, and contain more molding detail and intricately painted features. Many "gashapon" are considered collector's items, with rare ones fetching extremely high prices in secondhand markets.


title: Gashapon

text: "Gashapon" toys are often licensed from popular characters in Japanese manga, video games or anime, or from the American entertainment industry. These highly detailed toys have found a large following among all generations in Japan, and the trend is filtering to the world, especially among adult collectors. It is not uncommon for sets marketed specifically for adults to feature risqué female figurines.


title: Gashapon

text: Virtually all "gashapon" are released in sets—each series will have a number of figures to collect. They are, by nature, a "blind purchase"; people insert coins and hope to get the toy or figure they desire. Such an amusement element may become frustrating, as one risks obtaining the same item repeatedly.


title: Gashapon

text: Enthusiastic collectors will buy sets from "gashapon" stores in places such as Tokyo's Akihabara or Osaka's Nipponbashi (Den-Den Town). Depending on the store, the sets are usually cheaper than buying them randomly out of a machine.


title: Gashapon

text: Bandai has been selling Gashapon toys since at least 1977. , Bandai Namco has sold Gashapon toys for ¥100–500 each, generating approximately between () in estimated sales revenue, since 1977.


title: Gashapon

text: In recent years, the capsule toys have also come to refer to blind-box trading figures, which are essentially the same product sold randomly out of sealed packages instead of a machine.


title: Gashapon

text: Another variety of capsule toys is bottle cap figures. These small figures are mounted atop a plastic bottle cap, as might be found on a twenty-ounce soda bottle. They are sold both in machine capsules and blind boxes. The caps are not functional as they lack screw threads to secure them to the mouth of the bottle.


title: Gashapon

text: Capsule toy machines and their random payouts have inspired trinket-collection mini-games in many video games, most notably the "Legend of Zelda" series' similarly named "Gasha Trees" in "" and "", and, to a much higher extent, the random figurine payout in "". capsule toys have also appeared in some "Mario" games such as "Mario Party 5" and well as "Super Smash Bros. Melee" where the player inserts a desired amount of coins and gets a trophy of a Nintendo-related nature in return. In both "The Minish Cap" and "Super Smash Bros. Melee", the more the player spends in one go, the higher the chance of getting a new item in return. The bonus stage in "Sonic the Hedgehog 3" is also capsule toys-inspired. Yoshi's Crafted World also uses a capsule toy machine for receiving costumes. Gudetama mobile game app "Gudetama Tap" features a variety of "eggarapons" that dispense prizes for use in the larger game.


title: Gashapon

text: The "gashapon" concept is taken to the next level in "SD Gundam Gashapon Wars", a game based on the "SD Gundam" television series, in which a gamer can activate extra characters from the game by buying certain series of SD Gundam "gashapon" toys in real life, namely "SD Full Color STAGE:61", then use the password bundled with the toy to unlock the corresponding character in the video game. This is the same marketing tactic used by Kinder Surprise for the online surprises, except there is no online access involved


title: Gashapon

text: Many free-to-play MMOs and mobile games have mechanics inspired by capsule toys, with randomly generated items of varying market values being acquired via microtransactions.


title: Gashapon

text: Capsule toy-style item distribution has been adopted by many massively multiplayer online games, particularly those using the free-to-play model as a form of premium transaction made with real money, often granting access to items exclusive to that system. Examples are:


title: Gashapon

text: Games—often freemium—largely based on a "gacha" mechanism of monetization are referred to as "gacha" games. The "gacha" game model arose in the early 2010s, faring particularly well in Japan. Players may be given free or discounted "gacha", but have to pay to get more. The games may feature different tiers of "gacha" pulls, which give different sets of rewards. Examples of "gacha" games are "", "Fire Emblem Heroes", "Puzzle & Dragons", and "Dragon Collection". The mechanism has come under scrutiny for its similarity to gambling, and some countries require drop rates to be made public, or have banned certain practices (e.g., complete gacha).


title: Human Design

text: Human Design is a New Age-inspired pseudo-scientific practice. Its proponents describe it as a holistic self-knowledge system. Its effectiveness has not been confirmed by peer reviewed research.


title: Human Design

text: Human Design combines astrology, the I Ching, Kabbalah and Vedic philosophy, centering around the division of personalities into five energy types alleged to indicate how someone is supposed to exchange energy with the world: Manifestors, Generators, Manifesting Generators, Projectors, and Reflectors. It was originated by Alan Robert Krakower who published a book called "The Human Design System" under the pseudonym Ra Uru Hu in 1992. Krakower developed the Human Design system following a mystical experience in 1987. Human Design purports to be a self-knowledge method which does not have any specific religious dogma or affiliation. Despite this, it has been described by theologian J. R. Hustwit as a "transreligious project" that is "breathtaking in scope" and synthesizes seven or more traditions. It has also been described as a psychological counseling instrument and "the new astrology."


title: Human Design

text: In Human Design analysis, planets are displayed in a type of horoscope called a bodygraph. The bodygraph shows the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching at various locations on the body. It is sometimes shown within a mandala, overlaid on the 12 signs of the zodiac. Human Design also addresses dietary regimen and ideal environments for living, working and relationships.


title: Human Design

text: In addition, it claims to facilitate "deep access to bodily, generational and inter-dimensional intelligence."


title: Marlborough College

text: Marlborough College is a public school (English independent boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Founded in 1843 for the sons of Church of England clergy, it is now co-educational. For the academic year 2015/16, Marlborough charged £9,610 per term for day pupils, making it the most expensive day school in the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC) – the association of British independent schools.


title: Marlborough College

text: The "Good Schools Guide" described Marlborough as a "famous, designer label, co-ed boarding school still riding high." The school is a member of the G20 Schools Group. A sister school in Johor, Malaysia opened in 2012.


title: Marlborough College

text: Founded in 1843 for the education of the sons of Church of England clergy, the school now accepts both boys and girls of all beliefs. Currently there are just over 900 pupils, approximately 45% of whom are female. New pupils are admitted at the ages of 13+ (Year Nine, referred to as "Shell entry") and 16+ (Lower Sixth).


title: Marlborough College

text: Marlborough was, in 1968, the first major British independent boys' school to allow girls into the sixth form, setting a trend that many other schools followed subsequently. The school became fully co-educational in 1989. The school made a major contribution to the School Mathematics Project (from 1961) and initiated the teaching of Business Studies at A level (from 1968). In 1963 a group of boys, led by the future political biographer Ben Pimlott, wrote a book, "Marlborough, an open examination written by the boys", describing life at the school. The writer and television critic T.C. Worsley wrote about predatory masters at the school in his critically acclaimed autobiography "Flannelled Fool: A Slice of a Life in the Thirties".


title: Marlborough College

text: In 2005 the school was one of fifty of the country's leading independent schools which were found guilty of running an illegal price-fixing cartel, exposed by "The Times", which had allowed them to drive up fees for thousands of parents. Each school was required to pay a nominal penalty of £10,000 and all agreed to make ex-gratia payments totalling three million pounds into a trust designed to benefit pupils who attended the schools during the period in respect of which fee information was shared. Jean Scott, the head of the Independent Schools Council, said that independent schools had always been exempt from anti-cartel rules applied to business, were following a long-established procedure in sharing the information with each other, and were unaware of the change to the law (on which they had not been consulted). She wrote to John Vickers, the OFT director-general, saying, "They are not a group of businessmen meeting behind closed doors to fix the price of their products to the disadvantage of the consumer. They are schools that have quite openly continued to follow a long-established practice because they were unaware that the law had changed."


title: Marlborough College

text: The college is built beside the Mound, the former motte of a Norman castle. No remains of the castle can be seen today. Radiocarbon dating of core samples in the early 2010s indicated that the origins of the Mound date from 2400 BC. This is close to the dates established for Silbury Hill.


title: Marlborough College

text: The main focus of the college is the Court. This is surrounded by buildings in a number of different styles. At the south end is the back of an early 18th-century mansion, later converted to a coaching inn which was bought as the first building for the school. Next to it are the old stables, now converted into boarding houses. The west side consists of the 1959 red brick dining hall, and a Victorian boarding house now converted to other purposes. The north west corner is dominated by its Victorian Gothic style chapel by the architects George Frederick Bodley and Thomas Garner which has a collection of pre-Raphaelite style paintings by John Roddam Spencer Stanhope and stained glass by Old Marlburian William Morris.


title: Marlborough College

text: The rest of the Court is surrounded by buildings in styles ranging from the "Jacobethan" (a name coined by Old Marlburian John Betjeman) to classical Georgian and Victorian prison. The latter, B house (now just called B1), was (along with the College Chapel) designed by the Victorian architect Edward Blore, whose other works included the facade of Buckingham Palace (since remodelled) and the Vorontsovsky Palace in Alupka, Ukraine.


title: Marlborough College

text: On the other side of the Mound is the Science laboratory, built in 1933. It is an early example of shuttered concrete construction and was listed as a building of architectural significance in 1970.


title: Marlborough College

text: Pupils are assigned to one of the Houses on entering the school. This is where they make their home while at school. The Houses compete against one another in sports.


title: Marlborough College

text: The Houses are divided into In-College Houses which are mostly gathered around the central Court, and Out-College Houses at sites around the western side of the town. Unusually, the older In-College Houses were not historically given names but were referred to by an alphanumeric title. Newer Houses have been given names reflecting their location or commemorating a figure from the school's past.


title: Marlborough College

text: When the College became fully co-educational in 1989, three girls' houses were opened – Morris, Elmhurst and Mill Mead; New Court was opened in 1991. Morris was moved in 1995 from A house to Field House, which had previously been occupied by B3 and C2. New houses were built to accommodate C3, which had previously shared C house with C1 (in 1989) and C2 (in 1992). In 2012, the college acquired the Ivy House Hotel in Marlborough High Street which opened as a girls' house in the autumn of that year.


title: Marlborough College

text: In 1933, the school lent its name to one of the steam locomotives in the Southern Railway's Schools class, which were named after English public schools. The locomotive bearing the school's name (no. 922, later 30922) was withdrawn in 1961.


title: Marlborough College

text: Former pupils include the Nobel laureate Sir Peter Medawar, Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman, wartime poet Siegfried Sassoon, writer Dick King-Smith, journalists Frank Gardner, James Mates, Tom Newton Dunn and Hugh Pym, "YO! Sushi" founder Simon Woodroffe, comedian Jack Whitehall, singers Nick Drake and Chris de Burgh, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rab Butler, Home Secretary Henry Brooke, Baron Brooke of Cumnor, Archbishop of Canterbury Geoffrey Fisher, Catherine Middleton (later Princess of Wales), Pippa Middleton, Princess Eugenie of York, Samantha Cameron, fashion leaders Amanda Harlech and Stella Tennant, businessman Kevin Maxwell, and Ghislaine Maxwell.


title: Marlborough College

text: See List of Old Marlburians for notable former pupils. Societies for former pupils include the Marlburian Club and the Old Marlburian Lodge (of Freemasons).


title: Marlborough College

text: The Memorial Hall was built to commemorate the 749 Old Marlburians who were killed in World War I. Following World War II, the names of those killed in that war were added to a memorial panel in the entrance hall.


title: Marlborough College

text: The hall is a semi-circular auditorium of stepped seats. There is a stage at the front. Below the seats with access from the outside rear are a number of music practice rooms. The façade of the hall towards the forecourt and road has two entrance lobbies linked together by eight stone columns. The forecourt is paved with stone.


title: Marlborough College

text: The Hall holds about 800 people so can no longer be used for assemblies of the entire school. It is now most often used for concerts and theatrical productions where the whole school is not expected to attend.


title: Marlborough College

text: The current Chapel is the second to be built at the school. The first was opened in 1848 but by 1880 the school numbers had outgrown its space. After consideration of expanding the existing building, it was demolished in 1884 and a new Chapel was designed and built.


title: Marlborough College

text: The new Chapel, designed in the Late Decorated Gothic style, was dedicated to St Michael and All Angels and was consecrated in 1886. The original colour scheme of greens and browns was much loved by Sir John Betjeman and there are twelve large Pre-Raphaelite murals by Spencer Stanhope which depict various Biblical scenes involving angels. Those on the north side show scenes from the Old Testament while the six on the south side are from the New Testament.


title: Marlborough College

text: Two other artistic features are the Scholars' Window on the south side, which was designed by Edward Burne-Jones and made by Old Marlburian William Morris, and a sculpture of "The Virgin and Child" by Eric Gill near the west door.


title: Marlborough College

text: In 2010, the chapel was closed owing to structural defects. After being repaired, it was declared safe to use.


title: Marlborough College

text: All music halls and performance areas are fitted with soundproof windows which prevent sound from escaping, even while open, as well as walls engineered to prevent sound crossing at right angles. The floors of the centres also float on a bed of air, so as to maintain good soundproofing.


title: Marlborough College

text: The Blackett Observatory houses a 10-inch-aperture Cooke refractor on a motorised equatorial mount. The telescope dates from 1860 and was used professionally at the Radcliffe Observatory at Oxford University. When the Observatory was relocated to South Africa in the 1930s, Sir Basil Blackett, a president of the Marlburian Club, raised the funds to purchase it and have the observatory built on the playing fields of the college.


title: Marlborough College

text: In 1997 a restoration effort was started which was finished in 2002 when the telescope was reopened for use. It is currently used to teach astronomy and is also open to local astronomers from outside the college.


title: Marlborough College

text: A fully operational army-only CCF detachment operates at the college under the supervision of a resident SSI (school staff instructor). Weekly parades take place at the parade ground adjacent to the armoury, with occasional off-campus activities, such as range-days or overnight exercises.


title: Marlborough College

text: Next to the CCF parade ground is a six-lane .22 rifle range. Rifle shooting has had a long history at the college, with teams representing the school since 1862.


title: Disney Twisted-Wonderland

text: The genre of "Disney Twisted-Wonderland" is described as a "Villains Academy ADV (adventure game)". It is described to have a "basic gameplay system" consisting of three main elements: Lessons, Stories, and Tests.


title: Disney Twisted-Wonderland

text: "Twisted Wonderland" operates a gacha game model that allows you to obtain new characters to play with through utilizing the in-game currency of Magic Gems. The characters you obtain can be leveled by having them attend "Lessons.". Players are able to test the strength of their characters through tests (available daily), or exams (available periodically). Players place their characters in battle to score points depending on their team's strength. Players then achieve a rank depending on their point score, with higher ranks giving higher rewards.


title: Disney Twisted-Wonderland

text: A new system function was introduced to the Japanese version of the game on May 30, 2022, called the Guest Room. It allows players to freely customize and enjoy the “Guest Room” of the Ramshackle dorm, while inviting their favorite characters to come visit.


title: Disney Twisted-Wonderland

text: Yu, whose name can also be chosen by the player, is summoned to another world by a magic mirror and arrives at the magic training school, Night Ravens College. The main character is taken in by the school's headmaster and becomes acquainted with the school's top students, each in seven different dormitories, while searching for a way home.


title: Disney Twisted-Wonderland

text: The player is summoned to another world by a magic mirror and arrives at the magic training school, Night Raven College. The player has no recollection of how they were summoned, and in order to find a way to return to their original world, they are forced to live in the academy as an errand boy in the run-down dormitory, Ramshackle Dorm. Grimm, Ace, and Deuce cause some troubles resulting in the three of them being expelled from the school, but they were told that if they cleared a certain condition, their expulsion would be revoked. Along the way, the player discovers that they have the ability to make the uncooperative students of the school cooperate, and Crowley asks the player to become a student of the school while sharing their status with Grimm as a pair.


title: Disney Twisted-Wonderland

text: On the night that the player and Grimm are admitted to the school, Ace shows up with a magic-sealing collar on his neck, asking to stay the night. When asked about the situation, Ace replied that he angered his Housewardern by eating the tarts that were supposed to be for a party tomorrow, and that as punishment, he was collared. The next day, he promised to apologize to his Housewarden and heads to the Heartslabyul dormitory when trouble stirs.


title: Disney Twisted-Wonderland

text: The player learns that a sports tournament will be held at the school. Crowley tells Grimm, who wants to participate, that he will allow it if the player and Grimm investigate and resolve the recent series of incidents where participants have been mysteriously injured. The player agrees and cooperates with the members of the Heartslabyul Dormitory to find the culprit.


title: Disney Twisted-Wonderland

text: When the final exam scores were announced, the player and Jack were skeptical that the trio of Grimm, Ace, and Deuce all got decent results. At that moment, sea anemones spring out from the top of the threes' heads, as well as from other students around, and everyone is dragged away somewhere. Following the three, the player and Jack arrive at the Octavinelle Dormitory where all students, including Grimm, Ace, and Deuce, who signed a contract with the dormitory manager, Azul, were forced to work like slaves. In order to help the trio and the other contracted students, the player signs a contract with Azul.


title: Disney Twisted-Wonderland

text: As the holidays begin, the students of Night Raven College are returning home for the winter break. With no place to return to, the player and Grimm remain at the school where Crowley asks them to watch over the school's heating system. One day, attracted by the delicious smell coming from the school's kitchen, the player finds Jamil, the Vice-Warden of the Scarabia dormitory, cooking. Jamil tells the player and Grimm that the Scarabia dormitory received bad results on the final exams and thus, was remaining at school during the holidays to study. Jamil invites the player to come to Scarabia, where they are met with tensions between the Housewarden and Vice-Warden.


title: Disney Twisted-Wonderland

text: The new semester has begun and the player, who has gotten used to their daily life, is surprised that the National Arcane Academy Culture Fair is happening at the school. Students were encouraged to audition for the fair's main event, the "Vocal & Dance Championship", and Ace, Deuce, and Grim were determined to be chosen with the aim of the grand prize. They were taught how to dance by Kalim and Jamil, and passed the audition held at Pomefiore. Together with Vil and the others, they partake intensive training to win the championship.


title: Disney Twisted-Wonderland

text: The player is attacked by Grimm, who suddenly went out of control, and consults with Ace and Deuce to look for him together. A few days later, the members who participated in the VDC are gathered by Vil at Ramshackle dorm. Vil apologizes to Ace and the others for what happened at VDC and compensates them. Meanwhile, a mysterious armed group invades the school and kidnaps Vil, Jamil, Riddle, Leona, Azul, Crowley, and Grimm. It turns out that the armed group is a special magical security force called "Charon" owned by the mysterious non-governmental organization "STYX", and Idia, who was the heir to the Shroud family, is the acting director of STYX.


title: Disney Twisted-Wonderland

text: The characters in the house are based on the Queen of Hearts and her cards from "Alice in Wonderland".


title: Disney Twisted-Wonderland

text: Idia Shroud is a recluse who gets incredibly anxious dealing with others. He is very skilled with technology development, writing the computer programs for and creating a robot brother, Ortho.


title: Disney Twisted-Wonderland

text: Ortho is a robot. He is portrayed as significantly younger than the majority of the cast, but no exact age is given.


title: Disney Twisted-Wonderland

text: Aniplex announced they were producing the game in collaboration with Walt Disney Japan at Anime Japan 2019. Yana Toboso, the creator of "Black Butler", was credited for the concept, scenario, and character designs.


title: Disney Twisted-Wonderland

text: "Disney Twisted-Wonderland" was officially released for play on Android and iOS in Japan on March 18, 2020. The game's opening movie is animated by Troyca and the theme song, "Piece of my world", was performed by Night Ravens.


title: Disney Twisted-Wonderland

text: A manga adaptation, titled "Disney Twisted-Wonderland The Comic: Episode of Heartslabyul", written by Wakana Hazuki and illustrated by Sumire Kowono, began serialization in Square Enix's "Monthly G Fantasy" magazine on March 18, 2021, and will end serialization on October 18, 2022. It has been collected in three "tankōbon" volumes.


title: Disney Twisted-Wonderland

text: A second manga adaptation, titled "Disney Twisted-Wonderland The Comic: Episode of Savanaclaw", written and illustrated by Suzuka Oda, will begin serialization in the same magazine on December 18, 2022.


title: Disney Twisted-Wonderland

text: In October 2021, an anime adaptation was announced. Disney+ also licensed the anime at the same time.


title: Disney Twisted-Wonderland

text: A novel adaptation, titled "Disney Twisted-Wonderland Episode 1: Shinku no Bо̄kun" (The Crimson Tyrant), written by Jun Hioki, was released on March 18, 2022.


title: Mercedes-Benz SL-Class (R129)

text: The Mercedes-Benz R129 SL is a roadster which was produced by Mercedes-Benz from 1989 until 2001. The R129 replaced the R107 in 1989 and was in its turn replaced by the R230 SL-Class in 2002 for the 2003 model year.


title: Mercedes-Benz SL-Class (R129)

text: The R129 was offered as a two-door roadster with an automated (electro-hydraulic), fabric convertible roof; colour-matched, automated tonneau cover; and a manually detachable hardtop that could be fitted over the stored fabric convertible roof and tonneau. It was available with a variety of powertrains across its twelve-year production, including a V12 option used in the SL600.


title: Mercedes-Benz SL-Class (R129)

text: Designed in 1984, the R129 was based on the shortened floorpan of the Mercedes-Benz W124. The new SL-class was presented at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1989, with left-hand drive sales beginning that summer and right-hand drive sales in the autumn. It came runner-up behind the Citroen XM for the European Car of the Year accolade.


title: Mercedes-Benz SL-Class (R129)

text: Designed in 1984, the R129 was based on the shortened floorpan of the Mercedes-Benz W124 and featured many innovative details for the time, for instance electronically controlled damping (Adaptive Damping System ADS, optional) and a hidden, automatically extending roll-over bar. The R107's somewhat dated rear suspension with semi-trailing arms gave way to a modern multi-link axle. The number of standard features was high, with electric action for the windows, mirrors, seats and hydraulic convertible top.


title: Mercedes-Benz SL-Class (R129)

text: This car has a distinction of being the first passenger vehicle to have seat belts integrated into the seats as opposed to anchoring to the floor, B-pillar, and transmission tunnel.


title: Mercedes-Benz SL-Class (R129)

text: Starting in 1993 for the 1994 model year, R129 were re-designated. For example, 500 SL became SL 500. Starting in model year 1994, Mercedes-Benz offered special SL models from time to time, such as the Mille Miglia edition cars of model year 1994 or the SL edition of model year 2000.


title: Mercedes-Benz SL-Class (R129)

text: During 1996 for model year 1997, cars were the first year to have an option of the panoramic roof. Also newly available:


title: Mercedes-Benz SL-Class (R129)

text: There was a choice of 5-speed manual or 4–5 speed automatic for the six-cylinder cars; the V8 and V12 could only be ordered with a 4-speed automatic gearbox.


title: Mercedes-Benz SL-Class (R129)

text: In autumn 1993 Mercedes-Benz rearranged names and models. Also, the 300 SL and 300 SL-24 were respectively replaced by:


title: Mercedes-Benz SL-Class (R129)

text: Only the 280 was available with a manual gearbox. SL 500 and 600 continued with their respective engines.


title: Mercedes-Benz SL-Class (R129)

text: A second facelift, introduced in late 1998, comprised new external mirrors, 17" wheels and new bumpers. Also new were the engines,


title: Mercedes-Benz SL-Class (R129)

text: The new Mercedes Benz R129 roadster was first introduced into the Australian market with the 300SL and 500SL models with only the eight cylinder variant being available throughout the entire production run of the R129 model 1989-2001.


title: Mercedes-Benz SL-Class (R129)

text: The six cylinder 300SL 24 was replaced in 1995 by the SL 280 and finally the SL 320 in 1999 and the twelve cylinder 600SL first arrived in 1993 changing to SL 600 in 1995 with the last SL 600 being delivered in 2000.


title: Mercedes-Benz SL-Class (R129)

text: Not all engines were offered in North America. The 1990 Mercedes-Benz SL base model was the 228 hp 300 SL version (European 300 SL-24) equipped with a five-speed manual or five-speed automatic transmission, but it was the 322 hp 500 SL (with a 5.0-litre V8 engine) which made the most headlines. For model year 1993, the 600 SL was additionally introduced stateside.


title: Mercedes-Benz SL-Class (R129)

text: The SL 320 replaced the 300 SL in the United States in 1994, but the SL 280 was not offered. The 6-cylinder SLs were dropped from the US lineup in 1998, leaving just the V8 and V12.


title: Mercedes-Benz SL-Class (R129)

text: Front suspension Independent damper struts with separate coil springs and gas-pressurised shock absorbers, triangular lower control arms with anti-dive geometry and stabiliser bar.


title: Mercedes-Benz SL-Class (R129)

text: Rear suspension Independent 5-arm multilink with separate single-tube gas-pressurised shock absorbers and coil springs, geometry for anti-lift, anti-squat and alignment control, stabiliser bar.


title: Mercedes-Benz SL-Class (R129)

text: Front suspension Independent damper strut with anti-dive geometry and stabiliser bar. Separate shock absorbers and coil springs. Negative-offset steering.


title: Mercedes-Benz SL-Class (R129)

text: Rear suspension Independent 5-arm multilink with geometry for anti-lift, anti-squat and alignment control and stabiliser bar. Separate shock absorbers and coil springs.


title: Mercedes-Benz SL-Class (R129)

text: Steering Recirculating ball with speed-sensitive power assist and hydraulic damper. Steering wheel turns (lock-to-lock) 3.0.


title: Mercedes-Benz SL-Class (R129)

text: Antilock Braking System (ABS) ABS senses impending wheel lock-up under heavy braking and pumps the front brakes individually or the rear brakes together (to help maintain stability), as needed, up to 30 times per second to prevent lock-up and maintain steering ability.


title: Mercedes-Benz SL-Class (R129)

text: AMG had already offered an SL version while still independent, the AMG 500 SL 6.0 of 1991. After being taken over by Daimler-Benz, there were several AMG SL-models available through D-B dealers.


title: Mercedes-Benz SL-Class (R129)

text: The SL 60 AMG was the most numerous of these rare cars. Sold from 1993 to 1998, it used a V8 engine producing at 5,500 rpm. AMG claimed a 0– speed of 5.4 seconds. Its top speed was limited to .


title: Mercedes-Benz SL-Class (R129)

text: Extremely rare was the SL 72 AMG, with a engine, sold through Mercedes-AMG in 1995, and offering the most powerful V12 engine ever put into an SL up to that time with .


title: Mercedes-Benz SL-Class (R129)

text: After a brief hiatus, the SL 73 AMG was offered with the new M297 engine from 1997 to 2001, with a bore x stroke of DOHC 4 valves per cylinder, fuel fed by naturally aspirated Bosch HFM fuel injection and a compression ratio of 10.5:1, producing at 5,500 rpm and at 4,000 rpm of torque, which was later used also by Pagani in the Zonda, enabling the SL 73 to set off from 0 to in no longer than 4.5 seconds, while achieving a top speed of above-. Only 85 cars were made.


title: Mercedes-Benz SL-Class (R129)

text: Also very rare is the SL 70 AMG which was powered by a V12 engine developing at 5,500 rpm and a maximum torque of at 3,900 rpm. It was a bored out version of M120 6.0 V12 and with a longer stroke. Produced between 1996 and 1997 in 150 units.


title: Mercedes-Benz SL-Class (R129)

text: The SL 55 AMG was sold in the R129 body style from 1998 to 2001 in limited numbers (5.4L V8, at 5,500 rpm). It was the predecessor of the production R230 SL 55 AMG sold later, albeit was normally aspirated in the R129 and not supercharged as in its R230 successor. 65 cars were made.


title: Mercedes-Benz SL-Class (R129)

text: In 1995 Mercedes released the Mille Miglia edition, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Stirling Moss's win of the 1955 Mille Miglia road race. The limited edition was available in either SL 280, SL 320, or SL 500 guise; came in Brilliant Silver metallic; and had Evo II six-spoke polished alloys, red and black leather interior, carbon-fibre trim and extra equipment. Stirling Moss was given the first SL 500 built. According to the brochure of this special edition, only 600 pieces were to be built, however only 40 were built.


title: Mercedes-Benz SL-Class (R129)

text: A special edition of 2002 SL 500/SL 600 was made to celebrate the 1930s Silver Arrow race car. It had full AMG body package, painted in Silver Arrow only special 777 metallic paint, special Silver Arrow designation on interior and exterior badging, two-tone silver and black interior, leather on steering wheel and seats, Silver Arrow illuminated sill plates, Silver Arrow leather bordered floor mats, special dark wood, and special BBS 2 piece wheels with polished stainless steel beauty rings. For the US market, only 1550 Silver Arrow units were produced; 100 units of the SL 600 and 1450 units of the SL 500. For the UK market, just 100 Silver Arrows were made, all of which were SL 500 models.


title: Mercedes-Benz SL-Class (R129)

text: Diana, Princess of Wales sold her Jaguar XJS to lease a metallic-red 500 SL and became the first member of the royal family to use a foreign car. This was not without controversy as it sparked a media storm as it questioned whether a member of the British royal family should drive a foreign car. Media pressure eventually forced her to return the car to Mercedes-Benz in 1992. It now resides in the Mercedes-Benz Museum.


title: Mercedes-Benz SL-Class (R129)

text: Victor Chang, Companion of the Order of Australia and Australian of the Century (People's Choice Awards) was a pioneer of modern heart transplantation, fatally shot while driving his 500SL in Sydney.


title: Mercedes-Benz SL-Class (R129)

text: Additionally, this is the car driven by Mark Morrison in the music video of his 1996 song Return of the Mack.


title: Khuda Aur Muhabbat (season 3)

text: Khuda Aur Mohabbat () is the third season of Pakistani spiritual-romance series Khuda Aur Mohabbat. Produced by Abdullah Kadwani and Asad Qureshi under 7th Sky Entertainment, it features Feroze Khan and Iqra Aziz in lead roles. The season premiered on 12 February 2021. The series received high viewership ratings but mixed to negative reviews from critics, with particular praise for Feroze and Iqra's performance but criticized the story for being problematic. The series is the most watched Pakistani television series on YouTube with over 2 billion views.


title: Khuda Aur Muhabbat (season 3)

text: The season starts with Mahi and her sister-in-law arriving in Lahore. A man she meets, Taimoor, can't stop thinking about Mahi. A young man named Farhad is doing illegal things, so his parents send him somewhere to work.


title: Khuda Aur Muhabbat (season 3)

text: Farhad and Mahi meet at a wedding and their friendship blossoms. Mahi uses this time as a release from her strict life at home and enjoys Farhad's friendship, but Farhad falls in love with her. Farhad starts working as a guard for Mahi's brother, Nazim Shah, and finds out Mahi hails from a very rich and influential family where it is difficult to see or speak to her. Farhad becomes friends with a man named Dilawar. Another female servant, Sajal, falls in love with Farhad but he tells her that his love lies elsewhere, upsetting her.


title: Khuda Aur Muhabbat (season 3)

text: After meeting Taimoor, Mahi's family agree to have her marry him. Mahi at first doesn't want to marry him, but later prepares to, which upsets Farhad. When Mahi clarifies her real feelings to Farhad in a private library, he curses her saying she will never find peace and she will always suffer. After Farhad leaves, Mahi is worried after being cursed by Farhad.


title: Khuda Aur Muhabbat (season 3)

text: Soon after, the news reaches Mahi, Sajal, Mahi's sister-in-law, the family in Lahore, Dilawar, Nazim Shah and Kazim Shah (Mahi's father), Farhad's family and his neighbour Naheed (who has been living with his family since he left his home to follow Mahi back to her home town) that Farhad has died after falling under a train. Despite this, Mahi's wedding proceeds, but when Mahi and Taimoor are on their way to their new home, Taimoor is fatally shot.


title: Khuda Aur Muhabbat (season 3)

text: Suriyya, Farhad's mother, is now in a critical condition after hearing the news of Farhad's death, and becomes depressed and obsesses about Farhad. The Derwesh is seen recalling his prophecy of how there will be shenai (wedding celebrations) as well as maatam (mourning).


title: Khuda Aur Muhabbat (season 3)

text: Taimoor's mother, Jagirdaarni, is aware that he has been killed by an enemy of Nazim Shah and publicly holds him accountable. She refuses to allow Mahi to return to Bahawalpur, her maternal home, despite Mahi's mother requesting this. She demands that Mahi stay with her family for the sake of tradition.


title: Khuda Aur Muhabbat (season 3)

text: Farhad is revealed to be alive and meets Romana and Chanda Ji on a train. Farhad continues his journey on a train to Multan, City of the Saints. Romana is the courtesan entangled with Sikandar, Taimoor's older brother.


title: Khuda Aur Muhabbat (season 3)

text: The train stops, and Farhad goes to a shrine where he encounters the Derwesh, who welcomes him. Mahi's parents worry about how she is coping in unfamiliar surroundings with a new family in Multan especially because of Jagirdaarni's obvious resentment towards the family following Taimoor's death. However, over time Mahi develops a bond with Jagidaarni who is taken by Mahi's affection towards her two grandchildren.


title: Khuda Aur Muhabbat (season 3)

text: Romana, after her encounter on the train with Farhad, constantly thinks about him. She often mentions him to Chanda Ji [the Head Courtesan of the brothel], that both Romana and Farhad are love sick for those whom it's difficult to meet with.


title: Khuda Aur Muhabbat (season 3)

text: It has now been forty days since the death of Taimoor. Jagirdaarni reluctantly invites Mahi's family from Bahawalpur for the special prayers. She remains hostile towards Mahi. Jagirdaarni has requested the Derwesh to attend the prayer gathering and make dua. He agrees and takes Farhad with him not knowing he is so close to his beloved. The Darwesh reaches the doorstep of the haveli and offers prayers there, returning from that very spot.


title: Khuda Aur Muhabbat (season 3)

text: While shopping for things for the mazaar, Farhad meets Romana. She brings him to his house then Sikandar arrives and meets Farhad. Jagirdaarni asks Mahi to forgive her for her harshness. Farhad and Mahi have dreams of their encounters. Meanwhile, Naheed is getting married and Suriyya believes that Farhad is the man that Naheed is marrying. After realizing that Farhad is still gone, she becomes depressed again.


title: Khuda Aur Muhabbat (season 3)

text: Back in Multan, after asking Sikandar's main servant where he was the night before, Jagirdaarni finds out that Sikandar went to Rumana's house and couldn't come home because there was heavy rain the night before and all the streets were closed, and the servant requests that the family should prepare for Sikandar's new wedding. The Derwesh then asks Farhad to return to the same haveli they went to for dua.


title: Khuda Aur Muhabbat (season 3)

text: Then two servants ask Jagirdaarni to have Mahi marry Sikandar, to which she agrees because it is the end of her iddat and she doesn't want Mahi to go. Later, Mahi secretly sends the same two servants to send an invitation to the haveli to the woman Sikandar keeps meeting, not knowing she is the same girl she met when it was 40 days since Taimoor's death. When the girl, revealed to be Romana, gets the invitation, she is elated and decides to go there. When Romana goes to the haveli and Mahi sees who she is, they talk and Romana decides to never meet Sikandar again. Later, Jagirdaarni asks Sikandar to marry Mahi, but Sikandar rejects this.


title: Khuda Aur Muhabbat (season 3)

text: Romana is now heartbroken over Sikandar. Mahi and Farhad meet for the first time since Mahi and Farhad's talk in the library before Farhad's supposed death. Meanwhile, Sikandar learns that Romana has left and does not intend to return, so he decides to learn what happened to her.


title: Khuda Aur Muhabbat (season 3)

text: Farhad and Mahi continue to have visual contact and the Derwesh tells Farhad they will always meet each other. Farhad learns that Jagirdaarni repeatedly goes to the mazaar because Mahi's husband, Taimoor, was murdered on their wedding night when they were travelling back home by Kazim Shah's enemies, so they return here to pray. Farhad then remembers that he had cursed Mahi.


title: Khuda Aur Muhabbat (season 3)

text: At the mazaar, Mahi sees Farhad and asks him why he made himself a mess and why he can't just return home. Farhad replies that he will only return to his home with Mahi. Then, Mahi gives Farhad the taweez (necklace) that he gave to her, saying that she will only wear it when he returns home. Farhad tells Sikandar that he has not seen Romana since he was at her house. Farhad then realizes that he can see Mahi within the taweez.


title: Khuda Aur Muhabbat (season 3)

text: Then, Kazim Shah, Nazim Shah and Mahi's mother, Bari Sarkar agree to have Mahi marry Sikandar. But Mahi still loves Farhad, despite not wanting to. Mahi agrees to marry Sikandar and their marriage preparations begin. Farhad is invited to the haveli for Sikandar and Mahi's Rukhsati. Jagirdaarni offers Mahi to take over the house. When Farhad arrives at the haveli, he is recognised and his family is informed that he is still alive. Farhad's family then visit the mazaar to make dua for Farhad. Farhad and his family then recognise each other. Farhad tells them that he will return home after the Derwesh, who is away, returns to the mazaar.


title: Khuda Aur Muhabbat (season 3)

text: Mahi tells Farhad that they are not meant for each other in this life, but in the afterlife, she would ask Allah to stay with Farhad forever. Nazim Shah learns of this and exposes Mahi and Farhad's relationship to her parents. He and Nooray then go to the mazaar and warn Farhad to stay away. Sikandar goes to the mazaar and learns of Farhad and Mahi's history together. Nazim Shah and Nooray tell Dilawar, Farhad's old friend whom they have hired, to kill a Derwesh at the mazaar, not telling Dilawar that the "Derwesh" is really Farhad wearing the Derwesh's cloak. Jagirdaarni and Sikandar go to Kazim Shah's house and propose that Mahi marry Farhad, but he refuses. But Jagirdaarni decides that Mahi will marry Farhad, nonetheless. Meanwhile, Sikandar finds Romana and promises that she will stay with him forever.


title: Khuda Aur Muhabbat (season 3)

text: Dilawar stabs Farhad, not knowing it is him, so when he sees Farhad's face, he is horrified. Sikandar goes to the mazaar to save Farhad, while Jagirdaarni goes to Mahi's house and calls out Nazim Shah for planning it. Farhad gains consciousness and lies to the police officer in his statement saying that his stabbing was just a coincidence, therefore protecting his friend Dilawar. Farhad then tries to leave the hospital and go to the mazaar, hoping for Mahi to arrive and meet him. Dilawar ultimately takes himself and Farhad to the mazaar, while Jagirdaarni tries to convince Bari Sarkar to change her mind on Farhad.


title: Khuda Aur Muhabbat (season 3)

text: Bari Sarkar convinces Kazim Shah to ultimately accept Mahi and Farhad's relationship but Nazim Shah is not going to let that happen and soon he holds Mahi at gunpoint. Kazim Shah arrives with a rifle and tells Nazim Shah that he will forget Nazim Shah is his son. Nazim Shah ultimately leaves. Kazim Shah lets Mahi, Bari Sarkar and Jagirdaarni go to the mazaar and admits that after this he will forget that Mahi is his daughter. Meanwhile, Farhad is lying down at the front gate of the mazaar with Dilawar by his side, desperately waiting for Mahi to come. Sikandar and Romana arrive to bring Mahi to the mazaar and when they get there, Farhad sees them and gets up.


title: Khuda Aur Muhabbat (season 3)

text: Farhad and Mahi stare at each other for a while then Farhad falls down. They then talk and Farhad dies. Mahi, in shock, remembers her words about staying with Farhad forever in the afterlife, then Mahi falls to the ground and dies, too. Then Farhad and Mahi's dead bodies are shown together on the ground side-by-side. The season ends with a thank-you to the viewers for the success of the show.


title: Khuda Aur Muhabbat (season 3)

text: The original soundtrack of Khuda Aur Mohabbat's third season was released on January 29, 2021, at 20:00 (PST). The soundtrack is composed by Naveed Nashad and the lyrics are penned down by Qamar Nashad. It is sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Nish Asher. The Ost has more than 200 million views on YouTube.


title: Khuda Aur Muhabbat (season 3)

text: After the finale of season 2, Babar Javed announced the next season with Imran returning. Later on, it was revealed that Babar was replaced by Abdullah Kadwani as head of the network. Abdullah revamped the whole project by casting Feroze Khan, Iqra Aziz as lead actors for the season with Syed Wajahat Hussain directing the season, produce under Abdullah's own production house, 7th Sky Entertainment.


title: Khuda Aur Muhabbat (season 3)

text: The first teaser was released on January 1, 2021 at 20:00 (PST). The broadcast of the season hit the screens on February 12, 2021, on Geo Entertainment and follows every Friday at 20:00 (PST).


title: Khuda Aur Muhabbat (season 3)

text: With just five episodes it crossed 100+ million views on YouTube. It is the first Pakistani serial to have more than 2+ billion views on its episodes collectively on YouTube. The season was slated to go off air on 29 October but it was delayed for a week and aired its final episode on 5 November due to Pakistan's cricket match in the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.


title: Khuda Aur Muhabbat (season 3)

text: The shooting takes place at a number of locations. It began at Lahore which was shown as Fadi's house. The locations change with every changing sequences of the serial. The sequence of railways station and Haveli were shot at Bahawalpur railway station and Gulzar Mahal respectively. Shooting is extensively done in Karachi also. Notable location from the sequences of Multan includes Tomb of Shah Rukn-e-Alam.Darbar of Shah Shams.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: The economy of Cuba is a mixed command economy dominated by state-run enterprises. Most of the labor force is employed by the state. In the 1990s, the ruling Communist Party of Cuba encouraged the formation of worker co-operatives and self-employment. In the late 2010s, private property and free-market rights along with foreign direct investment were granted by the 2018 Cuban constitution. Foreign direct investment in various Cuban economic sectors increased before 2018. , public-sector employment was 76% and private-sector employment (mainly composed of self-employment) was 23%, compared to the 1981 ratio of 91% to 8%. Investment is restricted and requires approval by the government. In 2019, Cuba ranked 70th out of 189 countries on the Human Development Index, placed in the high human development category. , the country's public debt comprised 35.3% of GDP, inflation (CDP) was 5.5%, and GDP growth was 3%. Housing and transportation costs are low. Cubans receive government-subsidized education, healthcare, and food subsidies.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: At the time of the Cuban Revolution of 1953–1959, during the military dictatorship regime of Fulgencio Batista, Cuba GDP per capita was ranked 7th in the 47 economies of Latin America. Its income distribution compared favorably with that of other Latin American countries, although "available data must be viewed cautiously, and assumed to portray merely a rough approximation of conditions at the time" according to Susan Eckstein. However, there were profound social inequalities between city and countryside, and between whites and blacks, and Cuba had a trade and unemployment problem. According to the American PBS program "American Experience", "[o]n the eve of Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution, Cuba was neither the paradise that would later be conjured by the nostalgic imaginations of Cuba's many exiles, nor the hellhole painted by many supporters of the revolution." The socialist revolution was followed by the ongoing United States embargo against Cuba, described by William M. LeoGrande as "the oldest and most comprehensive US economic sanctions regime against any country in the world".


title: Economy of Cuba

text: Between 1970 and 1985, Cuba experienced high-sustained rates of growth; according to Claes Brundenius, "Cuba had done remarkably well in terms of satisfying basic needs (especially education and health)" and "was actually following the World Bank recipe from the 1970s: "redistribution with growth"". During the Cold War, the Cuban economy was heavily dependent on subsidies from the Soviet Union, valued at $65 billion in total from 1960 to 1990 (over three times as the entirety of U.S. economic aid to Latin America through the Alliance for Progress), an average of $2.17 billion a year. This accounted for between 10% and 40% of Cuban GDP, depending on the year. While the massive Soviet subsidies enabled Cuba's enormous state budget, they did not lead to a more advanced or sustainable Cuban economy. Described by economists as "a relatively highly developed Latin American export economy" in 1959 and the early 1960s, Cuba's basic economic structure changed very little between then and 1990. Tobacco products such as cigars and cigarettes were the only manufactured products among Cuba's leading exports, and even these were produced by a pre-industrial process. The Cuban economy remained inefficient and over-specialized in a few highly subsidized commodities provided by the Eastern Bloc countries. Following the fall of the Soviet Union, Cuba's GDP declined by 33% between 1990 and 1993, partially due to the loss of Soviet subsidies and a crash in sugar prices in the early 1990s. This period of economic stagnation and decline is known as the Special Period. Cuba's economy rebounded in the early 2000s due to a combination of marginal liberalization of the economy and heavy subsidies from the government of Venezuela, which provided Cuba with low-cost oil and other subsidies worth up to 12% of Cuban GDP annually.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: Although Cuba belonged to the high-income countries of Latin America since the 1870s, income inequality was high, accompanied by capital outflows to foreign investors. The country's economy had grown rapidly in the early part of the century, fueled by the sale of sugar to the United States.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: Prior to the Cuban Revolution, in 1958, Cuba had a per-capita GDP of $2,363, which placed it in the middle of Latin American countries. According to the UN, between 1950 and 1955, Cuba had a life expectancy of 59.4 years, which placed it in 56th place in the global ranking.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: Its proximity to the United States made it a familiar holiday destination for wealthy Americans. Their visits for gambling, horse racing and golfing made tourism an important economic sector. Tourism magazine "Cabaret Quarterly" described Havana as "a mistress of pleasure, the lush and opulent goddess of delights". Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista had plans to line the Malecon, Havana's famous walkway by the water, with hotels and casinos to attract even more tourists. Today Hotel Havana Riviera is the only hotel that was built before the revolutionary government took control.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: On 3 March 1959, Fidel Castro seized control of the Cuban Telephone Company, which was a subsidiary of the International Telephone and Telecommunications Corporation. This was the first of many nationalizations made by the new government, the assets seized totaled US$9 billion.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: After the 1959 Revolution, citizens were not required to pay a personal income tax (their salaries being regarded as net of any taxes). The government also began to subsidize healthcare and education for all citizens; this action created strong national support for the new revolutionary government.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: After the USSR and Cuba reestablished their diplomatic relations in May 1960, the USSR began to buy Cuban sugar in exchange for oil. When oil refineries like Shell, Texaco, and Esso refused to refine Soviet oil, Castro nationalized that industry as well, taking over the refineries on the island. Days later in response, the United States cut the Cuban sugar quota completely; Eisenhower was quoted saying "This action amounts to economic sanctions against Cuba. Now we must look ahead to other moves — economic, diplomatic, and strategic." On 7 February 1962, Kennedy expanded the United States' embargo to cover almost all U.S. imports.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: By the late 1960s, Cuba became dependent on Soviet economic, political, and military aid. It was also around this time that Castro began privately believing that Cuba could bypass the various stages of socialism and progress directly to pure communism. General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev consolidated Cuba's dependence on the USSR when, in 1973, Castro caved to Brezhnev's pressure to become a full member of CEMA.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: In 1970, Fidel Castro attempted to motivate the Cuban people to harvest 10 million tons of sugar, in Spanish known as "La Zafra", in order to increase their exports and grow their economy. Despite the help of the majority of the Cuban population, the country fell short and produced only 7.56 million tons. In July 1970, after the harvest was over, Castro took responsibility for the failure, but later that same year, shifted the blame toward the Sugar Industry Minister saying "Those technocrats, geniuses, super-scientists assured me that they knew what to do in order to produce the ten million tons. But it was proven, first, that they did not know how to do it and, second, that they exploited the rest of the economy by receiving large amounts of resources ... while there are factories that could have improved with a better distribution of those resources that were allocated to the Ten-Million-Ton plan".


title: Economy of Cuba

text: During the Revolutionary period, Cuba was one of the few developing countries to provide foreign aid to other countries. Foreign aid began with the construction of six hospitals in Peru in the early 1970s. It expanded later in the 1970s to the point where some 8000 Cubans worked in overseas assignments. Cubans built housing, roads, airports, schools and other facilities in Angola, Ethiopia, Laos, Guinea, Tanzania and other countries. By the end of 1985, 35,000 Cuban workers had helped build projects in some 20 Asian, African and Latin American countries.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: For Nicaragua in 1982, Cuba pledged to provide over $130 million worth of agricultural and machinery equipment, as well as some 4000 technicians, doctors and teachers.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: In 1986, Cuba defaulted on its $10.9 billion debt to the Paris Club. In 1987, Cuba stopped making payments on that debt. In 2002, Cuba defaulted on $750 million in Japanese loans.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: The Cuban gross domestic product declined at least 35% between 1989 and 1993 due to the loss of 80% of its trading partners and Soviet subsidies. This loss of subsidies coincided with a collapse in world sugar prices. Sugar had done well from 1985 to 1990 and crashed precipitously in 1990 and 1991 and did not recover for five years. Cuba had been insulated from world sugar prices by Soviet price guarantees. However, the Cuban economy began to improve once again following a rapid improvement in trade and diplomatic relations between Cuba and Venezuela following the election of Hugo Chávez in Venezuela in 1998, who became Cuba's most important trading partner and diplomacy ally.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: This era was referred to as the "Special Period in Peacetime" later shortened to "Special Period". A "Canadian Medical Association Journal" paper claimed, "The famine in Cuba during the Special Period was caused by political and economic factors similar to the ones that caused a famine in North Korea in the mid-1990s, on the grounds that both countries were run by authoritarian regimes that denied ordinary people the food to which they were entitled to when the public food distribution collapsed and priority was given to the elite classes and the military." Other reports painted an equally dismal picture, describing Cubans having to resort to eating anything they could find, from Havana Zoo animals to domestic cats. But although the collapse of centrally planned economies in the Soviet Union and other countries of the Eastern bloc subjected Cuba to severe economic difficulties, which led to a drop in calories per day from 3052 in 1989 to 2600 in 2006, mortality rates were not strongly affected thanks to the priority given on maintaining a social safety net.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: The government undertook several reforms to stem excess liquidity, increase labor incentives and alleviate serious shortages of food, consumer goods and services. To alleviate the economic crisis, the government introduced a few market-oriented reforms including opening to tourism, allowing foreign investment, legalizing the U.S. dollar and authorizing self-employment for some 150 occupations. (This policy was later partially reversed so that while the U.S. dollar is no longer accepted in businesses, it remains legal for Cubans to hold the currency.) These measures resulted in modest economic growth. The liberalized agricultural markets introduced in October 1994, at which state and private farmers sell above-quota production at free market prices, broadened legal consumption alternatives and reduced black market prices.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: Government efforts to lower subsidies to unprofitable enterprises and to shrink the money supply caused the semi-official exchange rate for the Cuban peso to move from a peak of 120 to the dollar in the summer of 1994 to 21 to the dollar by year-end 1999. The drop in GDP apparently halted in 1994, when Cuba reported 0.7% growth, followed by increases of 2.5% in 1995 and 7.8% in 1996. Growth slowed again in 1997 and 1998 to 2.5% and 1.2% respectively. One of the key reasons given was the failure to notice that sugar production had become uneconomic. Reflecting on the Special Period Cuban president Fidel Castro later admitted that many mistakes had been made, "The country had many economists and it is not my intention to criticize them, but I would like to ask why we hadn't discovered earlier that maintaining our levels of sugar production would be impossible. The Soviet Union had collapsed, oil was costing $40 a barrel, sugar prices were at basement levels, so why did we not rationalize the industry?" Living conditions in 1999 remained well below the 1989 level.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: Due to the continued growth of tourism, growth began in 1999 with a 6.2% increase in GDP. Growth then picked up, with a growth in GDP of 11.8% in 2005 according to government figures. In 2007 the Cuban economy grew by 7.5%, higher than the Latin American average. Accordingly, the cumulative growth in GDP since 2004 stood at 42.5%.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: Cuba ranked third in the region in 1958 in GDP per capita, surpassed only by Venezuela and Uruguay. It had descended to 9th, 11th or 12th place in the region by 2007. Cuban social indicators suffered less.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: Every year the United Nations holds a vote asking countries to choose if the United States is justified in their economic embargo against Cuba and whether it should be lifted. 2016 was the first year that the United States abstained from the vote, rather than voting no, "since 1992 the US and Israel have constantly voted against the resolution – occasionally supported by the Marshall Islands, Palau, Uzbekistan, Albania and Romania".


title: Economy of Cuba

text: In 2011, "[t]he new economic reforms were introduced, effectively creating a new economic system", which the Brookings Institution dubbed the "New Cuban Economy". Since then, over 400,000 Cubans have signed up to become entrepreneurs. the government listed 181 official jobs no longer under their control—such as taxi driver, construction worker and shopkeeper. Workers must purchase licenses to work for some roles, such as a mule driver, palm-tree trimmer, or well digger. Despite these openings, Cuba maintains nationalized companies for the distribution of all essential amenities (water, power, etc.) and other essential services to ensure a healthy population (education, health care).


title: Economy of Cuba

text: Around 2000, half the country's sugar mills closed. Prior to reforms, imports were double exports, doctors earned £15 per month and families supplemented incomes with extra jobs. After reforms, more than 150,000 farmers could lease land from the government for surplus crop production. Before the reforms, the only real estate transactions involved home owners swapping properties; reforms legalized the buying and selling of real estate and created a real estate boom in the country. In 2012 a Havana fast-food burger/pizza restaurant, La Pachanga, started in the owner's home; it served 1,000 meals on a Saturday at £3 each. Tourists can now ride factory steam locomotives through closed sugar mills.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: In 2008, Raúl Castro's administration hinted that the purchase of computers, DVD players, and microwaves would become legal; however, monthly wages remain less than 20 U.S. dollars. Mobile phones, which had been restricted to Cubans working for foreign companies and government officials, were legalized in 2008.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: In 2010 Fidel Castro, in agreement with Raúl Castro's reformist sentiment, admitted that the Cuban model based on the old Soviet model of centralized planning was no longer sustainable. The brothers encouraged the development of a co-operative variant of socialism - where the state plays a less active role in the economy - and the formation of worker-owned co-operatives and self-employment enterprises.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: To remedy Cuba's economic structural distortions and inefficiencies, the Sixth Congress approved expansion of the internal market and access to global markets on 18 April 2011. A comprehensive list of changes is:


title: Economy of Cuba

text: On 20 December 2011, a new credit policy allowed Cuban banks to finance entrepreneurs and individuals wishing to make major purchases to do home improvements in addition to farmers. "Cuban banks have long provided loans to farm cooperatives, they have offered credit to new recipients of farmland in usufruct since 2008 and in 2011 they began making loans to individuals for business and other purposes".


title: Economy of Cuba

text: The system of rationed food distribution in Cuba was known as the "Libreta de Abastecimiento" ("Supplies booklet"). ration books at bodegas still procured rice, oil, sugar and matches, above government average wage £15 monthly.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: Raul Castro signed Law 313 in September 2013 in order to set up a special economic zone, the first in the country, in the port city of Mariel.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: On 22 October 2013 the government announced it intention to end the dual-currency system eventually. The convertible peso (CUC) was no longer issued from 1 January 2021 and ceased circulation on 30 December 2021.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: The achievements of the radical social policy of socialist Cuba, which enabled social advancement for the formerly underprivileged classes, were curbed by the economic crisis and the low wages of recent decades. The socialist leadership is reluctant to tackle this problem because it touches a core aspect of its revolutionary legitimacy. As a result, Cuba's National Bureau of Statistics (ONE) publishes little data on the growing socio-economic divide. A nationwide scientific survey shows that social inequalities have become increasingly visible in everyday life and that the Afro-Cuban population is structurally disadvantaged. The report notes that while 58 percent of white Cubans have incomes of less than $3,000 a year, among Afro-Cubans that proportion reaches 95 percent. Afro-Cubans, moreover, receive a very limited portion of family remittances from the Cuban-American community in South Florida, which is mostly white. Remittances from family members from abroad serve often as starting capital for the emerging private sector. The most lucrative branches of business such as restaurants and lodgings are run by white people in particular.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: In February 2019 Cuban voters approved a new constitution granting the right to private property and greater access to free markets, while also maintaining Cuba's status as a socialist state. In June 2019, the 16th ExpoCaribe trade fair took place in Santiago. Since 2014, the Cuban economy has seen a dramatic uptick in foreign investment. In November 2019, Cuba's state newspaper, "Granma", published an article acknowledging that despite the deterioration in relations between the U.S. and Cuban governments, the Cuban government continued to make efforts to attract foreign investment in 2018. In December 2018, 525 foreign direct investment projects were reported in Cuba, a dramatic increase from the 246 projects reported in 2014.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: Raul Castro's government began a concerted effort to restructure and to ask for forgiveness of loans and debts with creditor countries, many in the billions of dollars and long in arrears from loans and debts incurred under Fidel Castro in the 1970s and 1980s.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: In 2013, Mexico's Finance Minister Luis Videgaray announced a loan issued by Mexico's foreign trade development bank Bancomext to Cuba more than 15 years prior was worth $487 million. The governments agreed to "waive" 70% of it, approximately $340.9 million. Cuba would repay the remaining $146.1 million over ten years.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: In 2014, before making a diplomatic visit to Cuba, Russian President Vladimir Putin forgave over 90% of the debt owed to Russia by Cuba. The forgiveness totaled $32 billion. A remaining $3.2 billion would be paid over ten years.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: In 2015, Cuba entered into negotiations over its $11.1 billion debt to 14 members of the Paris Club. In December 2015, the parties announced an agreement - Paris Club nations agreed to forgive $8.5 billion of the $11.1 billion total debt, mostly by waiving interest, service-charges and penalties accrued over the more than two decades of non-payment. The 14 countries party to the agreement were: Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Japan, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. The payment for the remaining $2.6 billion would be made over 18 years with annual payments due by 31 October of every year. The payments would phase in gradually, increasing from an initial 1.6 percent of the total owed until the last payment of 8.9 percent in 2033. Interest would be forgiven from 2015 to 2020 and thereafter would be just 1.5 percent of the total debt still due. The agreement contained a penalty clause: should Cuba again not make payments on schedule (by 31 October of any year), it would be charged 9 percent interest until payment, as well as late interest on the portion in arrears. The agreement was viewed favorably by the regime, with the objective of resolving the long-standing issues and building business confidence, increasing direct foreign investment and as a preliminary step to gaining access to credit lines in Europe.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: In 2018, during a diplomatic visit to Cuba, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyễn Phú Trọng wrote off Cuba’s official debt to Vietnam. The forgiveness totaled $143.7 million.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: In 2019, Cuba once again defaulted on its Paris Club debt. Of the estimated payment due in 2019 of $80 million, Cuba made only a partial payment made that left $30 million owed for that year. Cuban Deputy Prime Minister Ricardo Cabrisas wrote a letter to Odile Renaud-Basso, president of the Paris Club, noting that Cuba was aware that "circumstances dictated that we were not able to honour our commitments with certain creditor countries as agreed in the multilateral Minute signed by the parties in December 2015". He maintained that they had "the intention of settling" the payments in arrears by 31 May 2020.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: In May 2020, with payments still not made, Deputy PM Cabrisas sent a letter to the fourteen Paris Club countries in the agreement requesting "a moratorium (of payments) for 2019, 2020 and 2021 and a return to paying in 2022".


title: Economy of Cuba

text: As of 2011, 96% of electricity was produced from fossil fuels. Solar panels were introduced in some rural areas to reduce blackouts, brownouts and use of kerosene. Citizens were encouraged to swap inefficient lamps with newer models to reduce consumption. A power tariff reduced inefficient use.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: As of August 2012, off-shore petroleum exploration of promising formations in the Gulf of Mexico had been unproductive with two failures reported. Additional exploration is planned.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: In 2007, Cuba produced an estimated 16.89 billion kWh of electricity and consumed 13.93 billion kWh with no exports or imports. In a 1998 estimate, 89.52% of its energy production is fossil fuel, 0.65% is hydroelectric and 9.83% is other production. In both 2007 and 2008 estimates, the country produced 62,100 bbl/d of oil and consumes 176,000 bbl/d with 104,800 bbl/d of imports, as well as 197,300,000 bbl proved reserves of oil. Venezuela is Cuba's primary source of oil.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: In 2017, Cuba produced and consumed an estimated 1189 million m of natural gas, with no m of exports or imports and 70.79 billion m of proved reserves.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: The Energy Revolution is a program executed by Cuba in 2006. This program focused on developing the country's socio-economic status and transition Cuba into an energy-efficient economy with diverse energy resources. Cuba's energy sector lacks the resources to produce optimal amounts of power. In fact, one of the issues the Energy Revolution program faces comes from Cuba's power production suffering from the absence of investment and the ongoing trade sanctions imposed by the United States. Likewise, the energy sector has received a multimillion-dollar investment distributed among a network of power resources. However, customers are experiencing rolling blackouts of power from energy companies in order to preserve electricity during Cuba's economic crisis. Furthermore, an outdated electricity grid that's been damaged by hurricanes, caused the energy crisis in 2004 and continued to be a major issue during the Energy Revolution. Cuba responded to this situation by providing a variety of different types of energy resources. In fact, 6000 small diesel generators, 416 fuel oil generators, 893 diesel generators, 9.4 million incandescent bulbs for energy-saving lamps, 1.33 million fans, 5.5 million electric pressure cookers, 3.4 million electric rice cookers, 0.2 million electric water pumps, 2.04 million domestic refrigerators and 0.1 million televisions were distributed among territories. The electrical grid was restored to only 90% until 2009. Alternative energy has emerged as a major priority as the government has promoted wind and solar power. The crucial challenge the Energy Revolution program will face is developing sustainable energy in Cuba but, take into account a country that's continuing to develop, an economic sanction and the detrimental effects of hurricanes that hit this country.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: Cuba produces sugarcane, tobacco, citrus, coffee, rice, potatoes, beans and livestock. As of 2015, Cuba imported about 70–80% of its food and 80–84% of the food it rations to the public. Raúl Castro ridiculed the bureaucracy that shackled the agriculture sector.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: In total, industrial production accounted for almost 37% of Cuban GDP, or US$6.9 billion and employed 24% of the population, or 2,671,000 people, in 1996. A rally in sugar prices in 2009 stimulated investment and development of sugar processing.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: In 2003 Cuba's biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry was gaining in importance. Among the products sold internationally are vaccines against various viral and bacterial pathogens. For example, the drug Heberprot-P was developed as a cure for diabetic foot ulcer and had success in many developing countries. Cuba has also done pioneering work on the development of drugs for cancer treatment.


title: Economy of Cuba

text: Scientists such as V. Verez-Bencomo were awarded international prizes for their contributions in biotechnology and sugar cane.