title: Alan Ford (actor)

text: In 1998, Ford narrated and appeared in the Guy Ritchie directed crime comedy "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels", and, in 2000, he appeared as the crime boss 'Brick Top' in Ritchie's film "Snatch".


title: Alan Ford (actor)

text: In 2011 he starred as crime boss 'Carter' in the film noir "Jack Falls" alongside his "Lock, Stock" co-stars Jason Flemyng and Dexter Fletcher, while in 2014, he was cast in the crime thriller "Two Days in the Smoke" alongside fellow "Lock, Stock" actor Stephen Marcus.


title: Alan Ford (actor)

text: In 2013 Ford had a guest role in the Norwegian-American TV show "Lilyhammer" as crime family boss 'Uncle Terry'.


title: Alan Ford (actor)

text: In 2018, Ford appeared in a primary supporting role as Dale Jacobs in the psychological thriller "Winter Ridge".


title: Alan Ford (actor)

text: In 2006, Ford published his novel "Thin Ice". He said the book "evolved from a collection of anecdotes and actors’ tales."


title: Alan Ford (actor)

text: Ford's voice is featured in the dubstep song "Cockney Thug" by Rusko, "Well 'Ard" by Caspa and The Others, "Crunch" by Flux Pavilion and Datsik, "Damien" by Modestep & Funtcase, the death metal song "A Child Is Missing" from the Illdisposed album "The Prestige" and the hip-hop song "Sinister" by Aesop Rock, Vast Aire and Yeshua from the 2001 Centrifugal Phorce compilation "Euphony".


title: Alan Ford (actor)

text: Ford is married and a father, and lives in Primrose Hill, North London. He has been a vegetarian since 1973.


title: BMW i4

text: The BMW i4 (model code G26) is a battery electric compact executive car produced by BMW since 2021. It adopts a five-door liftback body style and is marketed as a four-door coupé. The initial concept version, named BMW i Vision Dynamics, debuted at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show. It is the fifth BMW i sub-brand model, and is sold in several variants at different performance levels, including the first battery-electric variant by BMW's motorsport division. The production version was revealed in March 2021 and went on sale in November 2021.


title: BMW i4

text: An investment of about in the Munich plant was made in preparation for the 2021 series production as the G26 BMW i4 is built on the same assembly line as cars with combustion engines and plug-in hybrids. While 90% of the existing production equipment in the body shop were incorporated into the production process of the i4, several new systems were required mainly for the floor assembly and rear structure as the electric drive and high-voltage battery are different from conventional architectures. The plant was closed for six weeks in the summer of 2020 to convert more than 1000 robots in the body shop and assembly area to prepare it for the assembly of the i4. The electric motor is assembled in Dingolfing. The i4 was revealed fully production-ready in March 2021, three months ahead of schedule, and went on sale in November 2021.


title: BMW i4

text: Over an ownership period of , the eDrive40 is supposed to have a 45 percent lower global warming potential than that of a comparable diesel G20 3 Series or G22 4 Series model. Furthermore, BMW enhanced the sustainability of its supply chain and increased its use of recycled materials for the i4, cutting the production emissions by 18 percent.


title: BMW i4

text: The production model is based on the modular CLAR platform to keep costs low and volume-production attainable. Although it is described as a battery-powered G20 3 Series, the model uses the bodyshell design of the G26 4 Series Gran Coupé. The i4 has a MacPherson strut front suspension and multi-link rear suspension with rear air suspension as standard (the M50 adds adaptive M dampers). It has a damping system designed to reduce “dipping movements of the body” under acceleration or braking, with an “actuator-related wheel slip limitation” system to better boost traction and stability.


title: BMW i4

text: The i4 has an almost completely flat underbody, resulting in a low drag coefficient of 0.24 for the eDrive40 and 0.25 for the M50. Compared to the G20 3 Series, it has wider front tracks and wider rear tracks. Due to the low floor location of the battery pack for better agility, the M50's center of gravity is lower than the G20 3 Series and lower in the eDrive40. An active air flap control at the bottom of the grille can be adjusted in ten stages, allowing cooling air to be supplied to the drive system, battery, brakes, and air conditioning system in precise quantities. The eDrive40 has a 45:55 weight distribution, while it is 48:52 for the M50.


title: BMW i4

text: The electric drive component of the i4, its charging unit and high-voltage battery are all developed in-house by the BMW Group, forming the fifth-generation eDrive system. A notable technical feature of the i4's powertrain concerns its packaging. The electric motor, transmission and power electronics are all contained in a single component, which allows for a higher efficiency of energy conversion. BMW also focussed on reducing the number of rare earth materials in the battery and electric motor system. None are used to construct the motor (efficiency factor of 93 percent), while the battery uses two thirds less cobalt than before. The motors themselves are positioned in the axles, and the axles also house the one-speed transmissions.


title: BMW i4

text: The M50 can recuperate braking energy at a max rate of 195 kW and 116 kW for the eDrive40. The three adjustable regenerative braking levels includes a robust setting for one-pedal driving, while the fourth adaptive mode uses GPS data and driver-assistance systems to adjust the amount of regenerative braking. The eDrive40 is a rear-wheel drive model, where power comes from a single electrically excited synchronous motor that is fitted to the rear axle. The M50 runs predominantly in rear-wheel drive mode, conserving energy and thus increasing range. The larger electric motor resides at the rear, while the smaller only kicks in when the front tires require power. Using a pre-warmed battery, consumption can be 20kWh/100 km driving in winter mountains.


title: BMW i4

text: The tall battery in the i4 is made up of four modules with 72 cells each and three 12-cell modules, which is located in the floorpan in a process that's claimed to add rigidity to the overall structure. The battery enclosure is directly connected to the front axle subframe, while the battery pack is bolted to the floor assembly with 22 bolts. There also is an additional section of the battery housed within the center tunnel in the place usually taken up by a driveshaft. The battery voltage is between 400 volt (empty) and 477 volt (full), with a nominal voltage of 430 volt. The i4's battery has 40 percent more energy density than the 120 Ah version of the BMW i3.


title: BMW i4

text: The fifth-generation eDrive system supports up to 200 kW DC fast charging. The battery pack can be charged to 80 percent in 31 minutes or ten minutes for a range of in the eDrive40, and in the M50. Using a Level 2 wall box with AC power and a charging rate of 11 kW, the i4 can recharge its battery from 0–100 percent in under eight hours.


title: BMW i4

text: The i4 features an integrated heating and cooling system that takes into account various factors such as ambient temperature and mid-journey fast-charging sessions to precondition the temperature of the battery pack. It does this automatically via high efficiency pumps that can increase range efficiency by up to 31 percent when driving in urban traffic. Without pre-warming, the battery may be restricted to 75 kW charging at cold temperatures.


title: BMW i4

text: All models feature the iDrive 8 infotainment system, including an updated voice-controlled assistant and gesture control system, while the iDrive controller is also retained on the centre console. The interface is sourced through the BMW Curved Display that combines the instrument cluster and infotainment system with a redesigned touch interface within a single unit. The iDrive 8 system features Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capability, compatible with 5G mobile technology, while third-party applications for communication and music streaming are also integrated within the system. The over-the-air functionality is increased and incorporate updates to driving functions, such as driving assistance and semi-autonomous features. A number of ambient lighting elements are placed throughout the cabin and change color depending on the driving mode. The iDrive 8 system is integrated with the new My BMW App for smartphones.


title: BMW i4

text: Standard equipment includes a sports steering wheel with multifunction buttons and sports seats, three-zone climate control, acoustic glazing for the windshield, pre-heating and pre-conditioning, and an electrically operated tailgate. Optional equipment includes such as seat heating and ventilation, M Sport Package Pro, ambient lighting and a glass slide/tilt sunroof. An M Carbon exterior package and M Performance Parts can also be ordered as an option. The i4 offer a 10-speaker audio system with a 205-Watt amplifier as standard, while a Harman Kardon system with 16 speakers with a digital seven-channel amplifier is an optional equipment. Full LED headlights and tail lights are standard, though the former can be upgraded to adaptive units with BMW Laserlight and BMW Selective Beam function. It is available in wheel sizes from 17 inch to 20 inch with wider rear tires as standard.


title: BMW i4

text: The i4 comes with an acoustic pedestrian protection system, which is an artificially generated sound (including optional false engine sounds) produced by the exterior speakers that is active when driving up to in Europe or in the US. Furthermore, it has up to 40 driver assistance systems, enabling Level 2 semi autonomous driving. Standard driver assistance systems including lane departure warning, intelligent speed adaptation, collision warning with braking intervention, front and rear parking sensors, and a backup camera. A Driving Assistance Professional package is optional, which adds adaptive cruise control with stop and go, lane-keep assist with side collision avoidance, and rear automatic emergency braking. The optional parking assistant system displays a three-dimensional 360 degree view of the car and its surroundings. The maximum towing capacity is , with an additional roof load possible.


title: BMW i4

text: M Performance parts can be fitted 35-40 models in the M Sport Trim and all M50 models. These include carbon fibre mirrors, spoiler, kidney grille trim, splitter, diffuser, rear bumper trim, front vents and gear lever, M rims, interior alcantara, a sport steering wheel and sport seats.


title: BMW i4

text: Models introduced at launch include the high-performance M50 with a dual-motor xDrive all-wheel system, the first battery-electric vehicle by BMW's motorsport division, and eDrive40 with a single-motor, rear-wheel-drive layout. The base RWD model eDrive35, featuring the same battery and electric motor as the China-exclusive BMW i3, was added in August 2022.


title: BMW i4

text: The BMW i4 was previewed by two concept cars: BMW i Vision Dynamics (2017) and BMW Concept i4 (2020), as well as the Vision Next 100 (2016).


title: BMW i4

text: The initial BMW i Vision Dynamics concept debuted at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show, and was built on the flexible CLAR platform rather than a carbon-fibre structure as with the contemporary i3 and i8 electric models. The i Vision Dynamics concept gave a hint at BMW's intention to make a mid-sized EV four-door coupé. It was powered by a single electric motor on the rear axle. The car had projected performance figures of 0– in 4.0 seconds, and a top speed of over . BMW's range goal for the i Vision Dynamics was on the European WLTP cycle. The design of the i Vision Dynamics was based on the study Vision Next 100 from 2016.


title: BMW i4

text: Although the interior was not finished, BMW promised a great view outwards via the "flush integration of glass into the main body". Controversially, the i Vision Dynamics featured a reworking of the double-kidney grille that covered a plethora of sensors. Depending on the legal environment, BMW intimated that the goal was to launch the production car with the capability to work at Level 3 or Level 4 autonomous driving, which require differing types of human input depending on circumstances.


title: BMW i4

text: The production version was announced at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show as the BMW i4. At the 2018 Paris Motor Show, BMW confirmed the launch year for the i4 as being 2021.


title: BMW i4

text: The headlight design was introduced in 2022 on the G70 7 Series and the facelifted G07 X7, while the rear light design was adopted in 2019 on the F44 2 Series Gran Coupé and G06 X6.


title: BMW i4

text: The BMW Concept i4 was presented in March 2020 and reiterated a lot of i4's specifications that was shared at the LA Auto Show in November 2019. The design language of the Concept i4 was more closely resembled to the production model than the i Vision Dynamics, and confirmed the i4 as an all-electric version of the G26 4 Series Gran Coupé. The single rear-motor was projected to be rated at that was on par with one of BMW's V8 combustion engines, though media doubted this claim as V8's are connected to a xDrive system. It was clarified that the i4 would come with an EPA-estimated range of from an 80 kWh battery pack, though the production model has an EPA-rated range of .The BMW Concept i4 was an evolution of the i Vision Dynamics design study from 2017. The proportions were classic coupé, featuring a long wheelbase, fastback roofline and short overhangs. The exterior design had been kept simple with its smooth lines and clear surfaces "as a deliberate counterpoint to the dynamic flair of the driving experience". The covered kidney grille served primarily as an "intelligence panel" housing the various sensors for autonomous driving.


title: BMW i4

text: The concept featured a stretched wheelbase with BMW claiming it would offer plenty of cabin space. The highly futuristic and minimalistic interior was dominated by the BMW Curved Display that was angled toward the driver, featuring the newest BMW Operating System 8. Other notable features was an all-glass roof, mixture of cloth and leather in the seats and dash with bronze and chrome fixtures, and replacement of touchpoints with crystal-like plastic.


title: Angiosarcoma

text: Angiosarcoma is a rare and aggressive cancer that starts in the endothelial cells that line the walls of blood vessels or lymphatic vessels. Since they are made from vascular lining, they can appear anywhere and at any age, but older people are more commonly affected, and the skin is the most affected area, with approximately 60% of cases being cutaneous. Specifically, the scalp makes up ~50% of angiosarcoma cases, but this is still <0.1% of all head and neck tumors. Since angiosarcoma is an umbrella term for many types of tumor that vary greatly in origin and location, many symptoms may occur, from completely asymptomatic to non-specific symptoms like skin lesions, ulceration, shortness of breath and abdominal pain. Multiple-organ involvement at time of diagnosis is common and makes it difficult to ascertain origin and how to treat it.


title: Angiosarcoma

text: The cause of angiosarcoma is not known, though several risk factors are known, such as chronic lymphedema, radiation therapy and various chemicals such as arsenic and vinyl chloride. Ultraviolet radiation and localized immunodeficiency may play a role in pathogenesis of angiosarcoma. Angiosarcoma can be seen on MRI, CT and ultrasound scans, but it is usually difficult to discern it from other cancers, requiring confirmation of diagnosis by biopsy and immunohistochemical analysis.


title: Angiosarcoma

text: Treatment includes surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy, usually all three combined. Because these cancers arise from the cells lining the blood or lymphatic vessels, they can easily metastasize to distant sites, particularly the liver and lungs. This makes them especially lethal, and an early diagnosis is usually necessary for survival. Even with treatment, prognosis is poor, with a five-year survival rate of 30–38%. This is even worse in cardiac angiosarcoma and angiosarcoma of the liver, where prognosis may be as low as three months.


title: Angiosarcoma

text: Angiosarcomas make up 1–2% of soft tissue sarcomas, which in turn make up less than 1% of adult cancer. Due to this, no large studies have ever been published on the disease, with few exceeding even 100 patients; however, many case reports and small cohort studies have been published, and they cumulatively provide enough information to get a useful understanding of the disease. The rate of angiosarcoma is increasing in the US.


title: Angiosarcoma

text: The classification of angiosarcoma is based on both its origin and the underlying risk factors that may have contributed. This is not a comprehensive list and case reports often go into further depth.


title: Angiosarcoma

text: Angiosarcoma in the skin (usually the head or neck and specifically the scalp) with no underlying risk factors such as lymphedema or radiation therapy.


title: Angiosarcoma

text: Also called Stewart-Treves syndrome, it is a lymphangiosarcoma resulting from chronic lymphedema, swelling due to the build up of lymphatic fluid. It typically happens in the breast following a mastectomy that removes the lymph nodes of the breast. However it can happen anywhere.


title: Angiosarcoma

text: Angiosarcoma in parenchymal organs such as the liver, breast or heart. These makes up about 40% of angiosarcoma.


title: Angiosarcoma

text: This refers to angiosarcoma of the breast without underlying causes such as radiation therapy or lymphedema. It is rare and makes up only 0.04% of breast tumors and 8% of breast sarcomas. It is very aggressive, usually presents in younger females and is often noticeable by a palpable mass. Prognosis is poor with a five-year survival between 8 and 50%.


title: Angiosarcoma

text: These are angiosarcoma that arise in the breast from underlying causes such as lymphedema or radiation, usually from radiation therapy for breast cancer. The link between radiation therapy and angiosarcoma has been disputed by some who profess the angiosarcoma is caused by concurrent lymphedema. Secondary breast angiosarcoma tends to have a bad prognosis. Radiation-associated angiosarcoma has a five-year survival of 10 to 54%. Distant metastases are present in 27–42% of individuals and is associated with a far worse prognosis. Other prognostic factors include size of tumor, age and how much can be removed by surgery.


title: Angiosarcoma

text: Primary brain angiosarcoma are angiosarcoma that arise in the brain (i.e. not metastasised from elsewhere). They are exceedingly rare with only a few cases reported. Imaging is non specific and differential diagnosis includes most other brain tumors such as gliomas or cavernomas, requiring biopsy to confirm diagnosis, usually after surgery. Prognosis is generally poor with a median survival rate of eight months. However it varies greatly depending on whether or not the tumor has metastasised, some individuals may be rid of the disease following surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.


title: Angiosarcoma

text: Primary cardiac angiosarcoma is an angiosarcoma that arises in the heart. Despite being very rare they are the most common malignant primary heart tumor with 10–25% of cases being angiosarcomas. Symptoms may include shortness of breath, chest pain (46%), hypotension and syncope. Superior vena cava syndrome is reportedly a complication of cardiac angiosarcoma. Due to the non-specificity of symptoms and rarity of the disease it is often missed by doctors and initial diagnosis may be delayed. A 2012 study reported that 56% of patients presented with pericardial effusion with or without cardiac tamponade. The most common finding on imaging is cardiomegaly. Prognosis is generally very poor with a mean survival rate of three months to four years following diagnosis. Metastasis at time of diagnosis is common.


title: Angiosarcoma

text: Primary angiosarcoma of the liver is the third most common type of liver cancer however it only makes up 0.1–2.0% of all liver cancers. It is rapidly fatal with most individuals dying within six months or a year even with surgical resection. Despite being associated with arsenic, vinyl chloride, thorotrast and other chemicals, 75% of liver angiosarcomas have no known cause. Men are more commonly affected in a ratio of 3–4:1 however in children girls are more often affected. If symptomatic it often presents with non-specific liver related symptoms such as abdominal pain, jaundice, fatigue, unintended weight loss and distension.


title: Angiosarcoma

text: Angiosarcoma in the deep soft tissue such as adipose tissue, ligaments or muscles. These make up about 10% of angiosarcoma.


title: Angiosarcoma

text: Cutaneous angiosarcoma may initially look like a bruise or a purplish-red papule. It may look like a benign tumor which can delay correct diagnosis and treatment. Fungation, ulceration and bleeding may develop.


title: Angiosarcoma

text: Cardiac angiosarcoma may present with shortness of breath, chest pain (46%), weight loss, anemia-like symptoms, low blood pressure and syncope.


title: Angiosarcoma

text: Angiosarcomas principally metastasises through the blood with the most common site for metastasis being the lungs, this may present as pleural effusion, pneumothorax or other pleural disease. Other common sites of metastasis include the liver, bone and lymph nodes.


title: Angiosarcoma

text: Angiosarcoma develops when damage to the DNA of endothelial cells causes them to divide uncontrollably and prevents programmed death. This allows them to grow into a mass invading other parts of the body and consuming its resources. If part of the mass breaks off and enters the circulatory or lymphatic system (which is very common due to angiosarcomas arising from the lining of said systems) it allows them to lodge elsewhere in the body. This process is called metastasis and is a negative prognostic factor. The underlying causes of DNA damage is not understood but several risk factors are widely accepted.


title: Angiosarcoma

text: Accepted risk factors include lymphedema, radiation therapy, neurofibromatosis, Maffucci syndrome, Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome and chemicals such as arsenic, thorotrast and vinyl chloride.


title: Angiosarcoma

text: A 2020 study analyzing the genome of cutaneous angiosarcomas suggests that ultraviolet radiation may be a causative agent of angiosarcomas.


title: Angiosarcoma

text: Immunosuppression may play a role in the pathogenesis of angiosarcoma. There have been reports of angiosarcoma in immunosuppressed individuals following kidney transplantation. The association between lymphedema and angiosarcoma may be due to localized immunodeficiency, however this hypothesis has not been confirmed. Some studies suggest a link between AIDS and angiosarcoma though this may be due to misdiagnosed Kaposi's sarcoma.


title: Angiosarcoma

text: The diagnosis of angiosarcoma can be difficult due to its asymptomatic nature or non-specific symptoms. Initial diagnosis is typically done by MRI, CT or ultrasound scan, however it is typically difficult to discern if a mass is an angiosarcoma or other type of tumor such as a melanoma or carcinoma. This means that while the initial diagnosis is typically done via imaging, conclusive diagnosis has to be performed via biopsy and subsequent histological and immunohistochemical analysis.


title: Angiosarcoma

text: The marker CD31 is often considered the gold standard for angiosarcoma diagnosis due to its high sensitivity and specificity. Other markers typically used include von Willebrand factor, CD34, and vascular endothelial growth factor. The absence of markers present in melanomas such as S100 and HMB-45 can help in differentiating angiosarcomas from melanomas.


title: Angiosarcoma

text: Angiosarcomas are rare with one in a million people being diagnosed with it each year in the US. Older adults are more commonly affected and there is no gender bias, except in angiosarcoma of the liver where males are affected in a ratio of 3-4:1 and cutaneous angiosarcoma where males are again affected more commonly, particularly elderly white men.


title: Angiosarcoma

text: In dogs, hemangiosarcoma is relatively common with the golden retriever, boxer and labrador retriever at higher risk of the disease than other breeds. It occurs primarily in the spleen, liver, heart, skin and subcutaneous layer of the skin. It is rapidly fatal and metastatic and can present with anything from nonspecific signs to imminent death from tumor rupture.


title: James Ivory

text: James Francis Ivory (born June 7, 1928) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. For many years, he worked extensively with Indian-born film producer Ismail Merchant, his domestic as well as professional partner, and with screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. All three were principals in Merchant Ivory Productions, whose films have won seven Academy Awards; Ivory himself has been nominated for four Oscars, winning one.


title: James Ivory

text: Ivory's directorial work includes "A Room with a View" (1985), "Maurice" (1987), "Howards End" (1992), and "The Remains of the Day" (1993). For his work on "Call Me by Your Name" (2017), which he wrote and produced, Ivory won awards for Best Adapted Screenplay from the Academy Awards, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, Writers Guild of America, the Critics' Choice Awards, and the Scripter Awards, among others. Upon winning the Oscar and BAFTA at the age of 89, Ivory became the oldest-ever winner in any category for both awards.


title: James Ivory

text: Ivory was born in Berkeley, California, the son of Hallie Millicent (née de Loney) and Edward Patrick Ivory, a sawmill operator. He grew up in Klamath Falls, Oregon. He attended the University of Oregon, where he received a degree in fine arts in 1951. Ivory is a recipient of the Lawrence Medal, UO's College of Design's highest honor for its graduates. His papers are held by UO Libraries' Special Collections and University Archives.


title: James Ivory

text: He then attended the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, where he directed the short film "Four in the Morning" (1953). He wrote, photographed, and produced "Venice: Theme and Variations", a half-hour documentary submitted as his thesis film for his master's degree in cinema. The film was named by "The New York Times" in 1957 as one of the ten best non-theatrical films of the year. He graduated from USC in 1957.


title: James Ivory

text: Ivory met producer Ismail Merchant at a screening of Ivory's documentary "The Sword and the Flute" in New York City in 1959. In May 1961, Merchant and Ivory formed the film production company Merchant Ivory Productions. Merchant and Ivory were long-term life partners. Their professional and romantic partnership lasted 44 years, from 1961 until Merchant's death in 2005. Ivory owned several homes, including the Jacob Rutsen Van Rensselaer House and Mill Complex in Claverack, New York.


title: James Ivory

text: Their partnership has a place in the "Guinness Book of World Records" for the longest partnership in independent cinema history. Until Merchant's death in 2005, they produced 40 films, including a number of films that received Academy, BAFTA and Golden Globe awards among many others. Ivory directed 17 theatrical films for Merchant Ivory, and novelist Ruth Prawer Jhabvala was the screenwriter for 22 of their productions in addition to another film produced by Merchant Ivory after Merchant's death.


title: James Ivory

text: Of this collaboration, Ismail Merchant once commented: "It is a strange marriage we have at Merchant Ivory ... I am an Indian Muslim, Ruth is a German Jew, and Jim is a Protestant American. Someone once described us as a three-headed god. Maybe they should have called us a three-headed monster!"


title: James Ivory

text: In 1985, Ivory directed a film adaptation of the classic E. M. Forster novel "A Room with a View". The film starred Helena Bonham Carter who was 19 years old at the time, in her first major film role. The film also co-starred Julian Sands, Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Denholm Elliott, Simon Callow, and Daniel Day-Lewis. The film received universal praise with "The Chicago Sun-Times" film critic Roger Ebert gave the film four out of four stars, writing: "It is an intellectual film, but intellectual about emotions: It encourages us to think about how we feel, instead of simply acting on our feelings." The film received eight Academy Award nominations including Best Director for Ivory. He also received Best Director nominations from the British Academy Film Awards, the Golden Globes Awards, and the Directors Guild of America.


title: James Ivory

text: The following year Ivory directed another Forster adaptation, the romantic drama "Maurice" (1987). The film is a gay love story in the restrictive and repressed culture of Edwardian England. The story follows its main character, Maurice Hall, through university, a tumultuous relationship, struggling to fit into society, and ultimately being united with his life partner. The film stars James Wilby and Hugh Grant in their first major film appearances, and also features Rupert Graves, Simon Callow, Denholm Elliott, Mark Tandy, Billie Whitelaw, Judy Parfitt, Phoebe Nicholls,and Ben Kingsley. In a 2017 retrospective in "The New Yorker", Sarah Larson wrote, "...For many gay men coming of age in the eighties and nineties, "Maurice" was revelatory: a first glimpse, onscreen or anywhere, of what love between men could look like". Director James Ivory has added to the legacy on the film saying, "So many people have come up to me since "Maurice" and pulled me aside and said, 'I just want you to know you changed my life.'" Ivory won the Venice Film Festival's Silver Lion for Best Director.


title: James Ivory

text: This was followed in 1990 by "Mr. and Mrs. Bridge", which was adapted by Jhabvala from the novels by Evan S. Connell. According to Ivory, "the world of "Mr. and Mrs. Bridge" is the world I grew up in...It's the only film I've ever made that was about my own childhood and adolescence." The film received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress (Joanne Woodward), as well two New York Film Critics Circle awards. Ivory would later call "Mr. & Mrs. Bridge" a personal favorite, adding that it was the one film he would most like to see reappraised.


title: James Ivory

text: In 1992, Merchant-Ivory tackled their third Forster adaptation, "Howards End", based on the acclaimed novel and starring Emma Thompson, Helena Bonham Carter, Anthony Hopkins, and Vanessa Redgrave. The film premiered at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival where it competed for the Palme d'Or and went on to critical acclaim. Ivory received his second Academy Award for Best Director nomination. The film also received three Academy Awards for Best Actress (Emma Thompson), Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Production Design. The film also received eleven British Academy Film Award nominations, and four Golden Globe Award nominations. In 2016, the film was selected for screening as part of the Cannes Classics section at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, and was released theatrically after restoration on 26 August 2016.


title: James Ivory

text: The following year, Merchant-Ivory directed the period drama "The Remains of the Day" (1993), adapted from the acclaimed novel of the same name by Kazuo Ishiguro. American filmmaker Mike Nichols served as one of the film's producers, and the film reunited Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson. Supporting performances included James Fox, Christopher Reeve, Hugh Grant, and Lena Headey. The film revolved around a dedicated butler who serves an English landlord in the years leading up to the second World War. The film was a commercial and critical success with Vincent Canby of "The New York Times" said, in another favorable review, "Here's a film for adults. It's also about time to recognize that Mr. Ivory is one of our finest directors, something that critics tend to overlook because most of his films have been literary adaptations." The film received eight Academy Award nominations with Ivory receiving his third nomination for Best Director. He also received nominations from the British Academy Film Awards, Golden Globe Awards, and Directors Guild of America.


title: James Ivory

text: In 1999, the British Film Institute ranked "The Remains of the Day" the 64th-greatest British film of the 20th century.


title: James Ivory

text: In 2017, Ivory wrote and co-produced the film adaptation of "Call Me by Your Name", a coming-of-age romantic drama film directed by Luca Guadagnino. Its screenplay is based on the 2007 novel of the same name by André Aciman. The film is the final installment in Guadagnino's thematic "Desire" trilogy, after "I Am Love" (2009), and "A Bigger Splash" (2015). Set in 1983 in northern Italy, "Call Me by Your Name" chronicles the romantic relationship between a 17-year-old, Elio Perlman (Timothée Chalamet), and Oliver (Armie Hammer), a 24-year-old graduate-student assistant to Elio's father (Michael Stuhlbarg), an archaeology professor.


title: James Ivory

text: Ivory originally was to co-direct the film based on Guadagnino's suggestion however there was no contract to that effect. Ivory accepted the offer to co-direct on the condition that he would also write the film; he spent "about nine months" on the screenplay. Ivory stepped down from a directorial role in 2016, leaving Guadagnino to direct the film alone. According to Ivory, financiers from Memento Films International did not want two directors involved with the project because they "thought it would be awkward ... It might take longer, it would look terrible if we got in fights on the set, and so on." Guadagnino said Ivory's version would have likely been "a much more costly [and] different film" that would have been too expensive to make. Ivory became the sole-credited screenwriter The film was the only narrative feature he has written but not directed. Despite stepping aside as director, he continued to remain involved with other aspects of the production.


title: James Ivory

text: The film was an immense critical success premiering at the Sundance Film Festival, Ivory received many awards and nominations for his screenplay. He was nominated for his fourth Academy Award this time for Best Adapted Screenplay for which he won. He also received the BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. In 2018 Ivory took part in the film "Dance Again with Me Heywood! "directed by Michele Diomà.


title: James Ivory

text: In 1985 "A Room with a View" was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, and won three, for Jhabvala's adaptation of Forster's novel as well as for Best Costume and Best Production Design. "A Room With a View" was also voted Best Film of the year by the Critic's Circle Film Section of Great Britain, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, the National Board of Review in the United States and in Italy, where the film won the Donatello Prize for Best Foreign Language Picture and Best Director. In 1987, "Maurice" received a Silver Lion Award for Best Director at the Venice Film Festival as well as Best Film Score for Richard Robbins and Best Actor Awards for co-stars James Wilby and Hugh Grant. 1990's "Mr. and Mrs. Bridge" would receive an Oscar nomination for Best Actress (Joanne Woodward), as well as Best Actress and Best Screenplay from the New York Film Critics Circle.


title: James Ivory

text: In 1992 Ivory directed another film adapted from Forster, "Howards End". The film was nominated for nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, and won three: Best Actress (Emma Thompson), Best Screenplay – Adaptation (Ruth Prawer Jhabvala), and Best Art Direction/Set Decoration (Luciana Arrighi/Ian Whittaker). The film also won Best Picture at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards, as well as awards for Best Picture, Best Actress for Emma Thompson and Best Director for Ivory from the National Board of Review. The Directors Guild of America awarded the D.W. Griffith award, its highest honor, to Ivory for his work. At the 1992 Cannes Film Festival the film won the 45th Anniversary Prize. "Howards End" was immediately followed by "The Remains of the Day", which was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.


title: James Ivory

text: For his work in "Call Me by Your Name" (2017), Ivory received an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, a Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and USC Scripter Award for Best Screenplay. He was also nominated for the AACTA International Award for Best Screenplay, and the Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Screenplay. At 89, Ivory is the oldest person to ever win an Academy Award in competition.


title: Energy transformation

text: Energy transformation, also known as energy conversion, is the process of changing energy from one form to another. In physics, energy is a quantity that provides the capacity to perform work or moving, (e.g. Lifting an object) or provides heat. In addition to being converted, according to the law of conservation of energy, energy is transferable to a different location or object, but it cannot be created or destroyed.


title: Energy transformation

text: The energy in many of its forms may be used in natural processes, or to provide some service to society such as heating, refrigeration, lighting or performing mechanical work to operate machines. For example, to heat a home, the furnace burns fuel, whose chemical potential energy is converted into thermal energy, which is then transferred to the home's air to raise its temperature.


title: Energy transformation

text: Conversions to thermal energy from other forms of energy may occur with 100% efficiency. Conversion among non-thermal forms of energy may occur with fairly high efficiency, though there is always some energy dissipated thermally due to friction and similar processes. Sometimes the efficiency is close to 100%, such as when potential energy is converted to kinetic energy as an object falls in a vacuum. This also applies to the opposite case; for example, an object in an elliptical orbit around another body converts its kinetic energy (speed) into gravitational potential energy (distance from the other object) as it moves away from its parent body. When it reaches the furthest point, it will reverse the process, accelerating and converting potential energy into kinetic. Since space is a near-vacuum, this process has close to 100% efficiency.


title: Energy transformation

text: Thermal energy is extremely unique because it in most cases (willow) cannot be converted to other forms of energy. Only a difference in the density of thermal/heat energy (temperature) can be used to perform work, and the efficiency of this conversion will be (much) less than 100%. This is because thermal energy represents a particularly disordered form of energy; it is spread out randomly among many available states of a collection of microscopic particles constituting the system (these combinations of position and momentum for each of the particles are said to form a phase space). The measure of this disorder or randomness is entropy, and its defining feature is that the entropy of an isolated system never decreases. One cannot take a high-entropy system (like a hot substance, with a certain amount of thermal energy) and convert it into a low entropy state (like a low-temperature substance, with correspondingly lower energy), without that entropy going somewhere else (like the surrounding air). In other words, there is no way to concentrate energy without spreading out energy somewhere else.


title: Energy transformation

text: Thermal energy in equilibrium at a given temperature already represents the maximal evening-out of energy between all possible states because it is not entirely convertible to a "useful" form, i.e. one that can do more than just affect temperature. The second law of thermodynamics states that the entropy of a closed system can never decrease. For this reason, thermal energy in a system may be converted to other kinds of energy with efficiencies approaching 100% only if the entropy of the universe is increased by other means, to compensate for the decrease in entropy associated with the disappearance of the thermal energy and its entropy content. Otherwise, only a part of that thermal energy may be converted to other kinds of energy (and thus useful work). This is because the remainder of the heat must be reserved to be transferred to a thermal reservoir at a lower temperature. The increase in entropy for this process is greater than the decrease in entropy associated with the transformation of the rest of the heat into other types of energy.


title: Energy transformation

text: In order to make energy transformation more efficient, it is desirable to avoid thermal conversion. For example, the efficiency of nuclear reactors, where the kinetic energy of the nuclei is first converted to thermal energy and then to electrical energy, lies at around 35%. By direct conversion of kinetic energy to electric energy, effected by eliminating the intermediate thermal energy transformation, the efficiency of the energy transformation process can be dramatically improved.


title: Energy transformation

text: Energy transformations in the universe over time are usually characterized by various kinds of energy, which have been available since the Big Bang, later being "released" (that is, transformed to more active types of energy such as kinetic or radiant energy) by a triggering mechanism.


title: Energy transformation

text: A direct transformation of energy occurs when hydrogen produced in the Big Bang collects into structures such as planets, in a process during which part of the gravitational potential is to be converted directly into heat. In Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune, for example, such heat from the continued collapse of the planets' large gas atmospheres continue to drive most of the planets' weather systems. These systems, consisting of atmospheric bands, winds, and powerful storms, are only partly powered by sunlight. However, on Uranus, little of this process occurs.


title: Energy transformation

text: On Earth, a significant portion of the heat output from the interior of the planet, estimated at a third to half of the total, is caused by the slow collapse of planetary materials to a smaller size, generating heat.


title: Energy transformation

text: Familiar examples of other such processes transforming energy from the Big Bang include nuclear decay, which releases energy that was originally "stored" in heavy isotopes, such as uranium and thorium. This energy was stored at the time of the nucleosynthesis of these elements. This process uses the gravitational potential energy released from the collapse of Type II supernovae to create these heavy elements before they are incorporated into star systems such as the Solar System and the Earth. The energy locked into uranium is released spontaneously during most types of radioactive decay, and can be suddenly released in nuclear fission bombs. In both cases, a portion of the energy binding the atomic nuclei together is released as heat.


title: Energy transformation

text: In a similar chain of transformations beginning at the dawn of the universe, nuclear fusion of hydrogen in the Sun releases another store of potential energy which was created at the time of the Big Bang. At that time, according to one theory, space expanded and the universe cooled too rapidly for hydrogen to completely fuse into heavier elements. This resulted in hydrogen representing a store of potential energy which can be released by nuclear fusion. Such a fusion process is triggered by heat and pressure generated from the gravitational collapse of hydrogen clouds when they produce stars, and some of the fusion energy is then transformed into starlight. Considering the solar system, starlight, overwhelmingly from the Sun, may again be stored as gravitational potential energy after it strikes the Earth. This occurs in the case of avalanches, or when water evaporates from oceans and is deposited as precipitation high above sea level (where, after being released at a hydroelectric dam, it can be used to drive turbine/generators to produce electricity).


title: Energy transformation

text: Sunlight also drives many weather phenomena on Earth. One example is a hurricane, which occurs when large unstable areas of warm ocean, heated over months, give up some of their thermal energy suddenly to power a few days of violent air movement. Sunlight is also captured by plants as a chemical potential energy via photosynthesis, when carbon dioxide and water are converted into a combustible combination of carbohydrates, lipids, and oxygen. The release of this energy as heat and light may be triggered suddenly by a spark, in a forest fire; or it may be available more slowly for animal or human metabolism when these molecules are ingested, and catabolism is triggered by enzyme action.


title: Energy transformation

text: Through all of these transformation chains, the potential energy stored at the time of the Big Bang is later released by intermediate events, sometimes being stored in several different ways for long periods between releases, as more active energy. All of these events involve the conversion of one kind of energy into others, including heat.


title: Energy transformation

text: In such a system, the first and fourth steps are highly efficient, but the second and third steps are less efficient. The most efficient gas-fired electrical power stations can achieve 50% conversion efficiency. Oil- and coal-fired stations are less efficient.


title: Energy transformation

text: There are many different machines and transducers that convert one energy form into another. A short list of examples follows:


title: Country code

text: Country codes are short alphabetic or numeric geographical codes (geocodes) developed to represent countries and dependent areas, for use in data processing and communications. Several different systems have been developed to do this. The term "country code" frequently refers to ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 or international dialing codes, the E.164 country calling codes.


title: Choi Sung-eun

text: Choi Sung-eun (; born June 17, 1996) is a South Korean actress. She is known for roles in television dramas such as "SF8" (2020), "Beyond Evil" (2021), and "The Sound of Magic" (2022).


title: Choi Sung-eun

text: Choi Sung-eun was born on June 17, 1996 in Seoul, South Korea. Choi’s family consists of her parents, an older brother, and a younger brother. She attended Kaywon High School of Arts under the Department of Theater and Film before getting admitted at the Korea National University of Arts' Acting Department in 2015.


title: Choi Sung-eun

text: Choi started out acting in short films and as a theater actress at the Doosan Art Center. In 2018, she played the role of Autumn, a girl waiting for an organ transplant in the theater play "Grain in the Blood". As a college student, Choi was featured as a cover of popular university magazine, Life Magazine College Tomorrow's 853 issue for 20s which drew the attention of industry officials and various management companies. In July 2018, Choi officially signed an exclusive contract with SALT Entertainment officially starting her career as a rookie actress.


title: Choi Sung-eun

text: Choi landed her first major role in a feature film after passing an audition for the comedy film "Start-Up" (2019) where she played the role of red-haired girl So Kyung-joo. For her scene-stealing performance, she won Best New Actress from the Chunsa Film Festival and earned another nomination from the Buil Film Awards in South Korea.


title: Choi Sung-eun

text: In 2020, Choi appeared in the short film, "Nipple War 3". In April of the same year, Choi made her CRT debut through the MBC drama "SF8 : Joan's Galaxy (Ep. 3)." Her first lead role in an independent film, "Ten Months" was also screened during the 21st Jeonju International Film Festival under the category "Korean Cinema". In August 2020, Choi signed an exclusive contract with Ace Factory.


title: Choi Sung-eun

text: In 2021, Choi joined the JTBC drama "Beyond Evil" as Manyang butcher shop owner, Yoo Jae-yi marking debut in a mini series. Following her moving performance as Yoo Jae-yi, Choi was nominated for the 57th Baeksang Arts Awards in the category Best New Actress – Television. In April, Choi joins the Netflix series "The Sound of Magic," playing the role of Yoon Ah-yi alongside Ji Chang-wook and Hwang In-youp in her first main role in a drama series. Later in August 2021, Choi was cast in the Wave's original film "Gentleman" as prosecutor Kim Hwa-jin, which is slated to premiere in 2022, alongside Joo Ji-hoon and Park Sung-woong. Later in October, Choi's independent film, "Ten Months" was released commercially in cinemas.


title: Chrissy Amphlett

text: Christine Joy Amphlett (; 25 October 1959 – 21 April 2013) was an Australian singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the frontwoman of the rock band Divinyls. She was notable for her brash, overtly sexual persona and subversive humour in lyrics, performances and media interviews.


title: Chrissy Amphlett

text: Amphlett, Jeremy Paul and guitarist Mark McEntee formed Divinyls in Sydney in 1980. With Amphlett and McEntee as its core members, the band underwent various lineup changes before dissolving in 1996. The band's biggest-selling single, "I Touch Myself" (1990), achieved a No. 1 ranking in Australia, No. 4 in the United States and No. 10 in the United Kingdom (UK). The band was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame in 2006.


title: Chrissy Amphlett

text: On the stage, Amphlett, who was 17 years old, played Linda Lips in the R-rated adults only musical comedy "Let My People Come" (1976), starred in the musical "Blood Brothers" (1988) and portrayed Judy Garland in multiple productions of "The Boy from Oz". On the screen, she played a supporting role in "Monkey Grip" (1982).


title: Chrissy Amphlett

text: Amphlett grew up in Geelong and attended Belmont High School. She was a first cousin of Australian singer Little Pattie (Patricia Amphlett). Amphlett worked as a child model from the age of three until twelve, and later said, "I didn't come from a very wealthy family so that actually clothed me and allowed me to have things".


title: Chrissy Amphlett

text: According to Amphlett's autobiography, her father was a World War II veteran whose mother was a German immigrant and his father a Melbourne chef, while Amphlett's mother was from a well-off Hawthorn family.


title: Chrissy Amphlett

text: Amphlett met Mark McEntee at a concert at the Sydney Opera House in 1980 and they formed Divinyls with Jeremy Paul (Air Supply). Having performed in Sydney for some time, they recorded several songs for the film "Monkey Grip", in which Amphlett also acted.


title: Chrissy Amphlett

text: Divinyls consisted of an ever-changing line-up formed around Amphlett and McEntee, whose relationship was always volatile. Nevertheless, the band released six albums between 1982 and 1996, peaking in 1991 with the success of their single "I Touch Myself", which reached #1 in Australia, #4 in the US and #10 in the UK. The band, which underwent various lineup changes, broke up in 1996.


title: Chrissy Amphlett

text: The band was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame in 2006.


title: Chrissy Amphlett

text: Amphlett and McEntee barely spoke after the band broke up, but resumed contact when they were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame and eventually announced a new tour and album. The band recorded and released a single, "Don't Wanna Do This", and toured Australia, but the proposed reunion album was never made.


title: Chrissy Amphlett

text: Amphlett performed Divinyls' and other songs with a 30-piece orchestra for the Australian Rock Symphony in January 2010.


title: Chrissy Amphlett

text: In 2011, she released the single "Summer Song" under the name The Tulips, a band consisting of Amphlett, Charley Drayton and Kraig Jarret Johnson. It was used in the soundtrack for the film "The Music Never Stopped".


title: Chrissy Amphlett

text: Known for her brash, sexualized persona, Amphlett employed subversive humour in performances, lyrics and media interviews.


title: Chrissy Amphlett

text: At the age of 17 in 1976, Amphlett was part of the original cast of the Australian production of the Earl Wilson Jr. penned stage musical comedy "Let My People Come", playing the role of Linda Lips. The adult-themed musical opened at the Total Theatre in Melbourne, running for nine months, before transferring to the Bijou Theatre in Sydney for an additional three months. Amphlett made her film debut in "Monkey Grip" (1982) in a supporting role as Angela, the temperamental lead singer of a rock band.


title: Chrissy Amphlett

text: In 1988, she starred opposite Russell Crowe in the first Australian production of Willy Russell's stage musical "Blood Brothers".


title: Chrissy Amphlett

text: Amphlett played Judy Garland in the original touring production of "The Boy from Oz", with Todd McKenney playing the role of Peter Allen. When the highly successful show transferred to Broadway in the year 2000, Garland was played by American performer Isabel Keating and Allen by Hugh Jackman. On its return to Australia as an arena spectacular, Amphlett resumed playing the role.


title: Chrissy Amphlett

text: Amphlett and her bandmate Mark McEntee were romantically involved from 1982 to 1993. They met in 1980 and began a relationship two years later when McEntee split up with his wife. Their relationship was highly volatile, being marred by drug and alcohol use and physical fights. However the band's manager, Vince Lovegrove, later stated that the nature of their "weird" relationship was the "magic of Divinyls".


title: Chrissy Amphlett

text: On 27 July 1999, Amphlett married American drummer Charley Drayton, who played drums on the Divinyls' eponymous album and was the drummer in the reformed group.


title: Chrissy Amphlett

text: In an interview on the Nine Network program "A Current Affair", on 7 December 2007, Amphlett revealed that she had multiple sclerosis. On 20 October 2010, she announced that she had breast cancer and was being treated in New York where she lived with her husband. She also said that her sister was a breast cancer survivor. On 24 January 2011, she stated she was free of cancer.


title: Chrissy Amphlett

text: Amphlett died, aged 53, on 21 April 2013, at her home in Manhattan, after a long battle with breast cancer. Due to the multiple sclerosis that Amphlett concurrently had, she reported that she was unable to receive radiation treatment or chemotherapy as cancer treatment. Following the announcement of Amphlett's death, numerous tributes were received from artists, performers and musicians. Russell Crowe wrote: "RIP Chrissie Amphlett, [she] played my mum in "Blood Brothers", 1988."


title: Chrissy Amphlett

text: A Melbourne central city laneway has been named "Amphlett Lane" in Amphlett's honour, complete with a commemorative plaque and two artworks. In November 2018, Amphlett was posthumously inducted into the Music Victoria Hall of Fame.


title: Chrissy Amphlett

text: Amphlett's family and friends and Cancer Council NSW launched the breast cancer awareness project "I Touch Myself" in 2014, as a tribute to Amphlett. Part of the project included a cover of "I Touch Myself" and features 10 female Australian artists (Olivia Newton-John, Megan Washington, Sarah McLeod, Katie Noonan, Sarah Blasko, Suze DeMarchi, Deborah Conway, Kate Ceberano, Little Pattie and Connie Mitchell). The song was released in June 2014 and peaked at number 72 on the ARIA charts.


title: Chrissy Amphlett

text: Cancer Council NSW stated, "Through this campaign we are encouraging women to get to know their breasts better, to know what is normal for them and to participate in breast screening if they're in the right age range."


title: Chrissy Amphlett

text: The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987. Divinyls were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2006.


title: Chrissy Amphlett

text: "Countdown" was an Australian pop music TV series on national broadcaster ABC-TV from 1974 to 1987, it presented music awards from 1979 to 1987, initially in conjunction with magazine "TV Week". The TV Week / Countdown Awards were a combination of popular-voted and peer-voted awards.


title: Chrissy Amphlett

text: The Helpmann Awards is an awards show, celebrating live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group "Live Performance Australia" since 2001. Note: 2020 and 2021 were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Chrissy Amphlett

text: The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016.


title: Chrissy Amphlett

text: The Music Victoria Awards are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2005.


title: Sharon Stone filmography

text: Sharon Stone is an American actress, film producer, and former fashion model. The following is a filmography of her work.


title: Sharon Stone filmography

text: Stone came to international attention for her role in Paul Verhoeven's erotic thriller "Basic Instinct". She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama for her performance in "Casino". She also received a Golden Globe nomination for "Basic Instinct".


title: President of Venezuela

text: The president of Venezuela (), officially known as the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (), is the head of state and head of government in Venezuela. The president leads the National Executive of the Venezuelan government and is the commander-in-chief of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces. Presidential terms were set at six years with the adoption of the 1999 Constitution of Venezuela, and presidential term limits were removed in 2009.


title: President of Venezuela

text: The office of president in Venezuela has existed since the 1811 Venezuelan Declaration of Independence from the Spanish Crown; the first president was Cristóbal Mendoza. From 1821 to 1830, Venezuela was a member state of Gran Colombia, and the Venezuelan executive was absorbed by the Colombian government in Bogotá. When the State of Venezuela became independent from Gran Colombia, the office of the president was restored under José Antonio Páez. Every head of state of Venezuela since then has held the title of president.


title: President of Venezuela

text: During the 19th century, Venezuela suffered political turmoil and autocracy, remaining dominated by regional military dictators until the mid-20th century. Since 1958, the country has had a series of democratic governments, as an exception where most of the region was ruled by military dictatorships, and the period was characterized by economic prosperity.


title: President of Venezuela

text: As of June 2022, the Venezuelan presidential crisis is unresolved and who holds the office is disputed since 10 January 2019, when the opposition-majority National Assembly declared that incumbent Nicolás Maduro's 2018 re-election was invalid and the body declared its president, Juan Guaidó, to be acting president of the country. However, support for Guaidó has declined since a failed military uprising attempt in April 2019. As of July 2021, efforts led by Guaidó to create a transitional government have been described as unsuccessful by various analysts and media networks, with Maduro continuing to control Venezuela's state institutions. As of 6 January 2021, the European Union stopped recognizing Guaidó as president (although Guaidó was never recognized by the entire European Union block because of Italy's veto), but the EU still does not recognize Maduro as the legitimate president, threatening his government with further sanctions.


title: President of Venezuela

text: As a self described republic with a presidential executive, Venezuela grants significant powers to the president. The president effectively controls the executive branch, represents the country abroad, and appoints the cabinet and, with the approval of the National Assembly, the judges for the Supreme Tribunal of Justice. The president is also the commander-in-chief of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces (FANB).


title: President of Venezuela

text: The powers and obligations of the president of Venezuela are established, limited and numbered by articles 236 and 237 of the constitution:


title: President of Venezuela

text: The president's salary directly derives from the National Treasury, as stated in the Organic Law of Salaries, Pensions and Retirements of High Officials of the Public Power. During his or her tenure, the president may not be employed by anyone else, nor receive any other salary from the state. The president's salary is not to be superior to twelve monthly minimum wages, that is to say, 67,469.76 VEF (as of February 2015).


title: President of Venezuela

text: The of Venezuela is in charge of the president's protection, as well as the presidential family and their political peers. The Presidential Guard of Honor is made up of members from the four service branches of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces and other institutions of public security, and is headed by a general or flag officer.


title: President of Venezuela

text: Since 1900, the official workplace of the president is the Palace of Miraflores in Caracas. The presidential residence has been the palace of La Casona since 1964, instituted by president Raúl Leoni. La Casona is not used by incumbent president Maduro, who has decided not to inhabit it.


title: President of Venezuela

text: The presidential designation encompasses only those persons who were sworn into office as President of Venezuela following Venezuela's declaration of independence from Spanish colonial rule, which took effect on July 5, 1811. The first president, taking office on July 5, 1811, was actually the president of a triumvirate of the first established Republic of Venezuela that rotated the presidency weekly. The person serving as president during the week of July 5 was one of the three signatories of the Declaration of Independence: Cristóbal Mendoza. Mendoza shared the triumvirate with Juan Escalona and Baltasar Padrón. A second triumvirate followed on April 3, 1812, whose members were Francisco Espejo, Fernando Toro and Francisco Javier Ustariz.


title: President of Venezuela

text: Owing to the profound confusion of the Venezuelan War of Independence and the period of Gran Colombia over what is now Venezuela, this page has gaps between 1813 and 1819. For this period in time, historians refer to the Republic of Venezuela as the Second Republic of Venezuela (1813–1814) and the Third Republic of Venezuela (1817–1819) as Simon Bolivar twice reestablished the republic. The Congress of Angostura appointed Simón Bolívar "Supreme Commander of the Republic of Venezuela" (Jefe Supremo de la República de Venezuela) from 1819 until 1830.


title: President of Venezuela

text: In 1830, José Antonio Páez declared Venezuela independent from Gran Colombia and became president, taking office on January 13, 1830. Although he was not the first president of Venezuela (having in mind Cristóbal Mendoza in 1811), he was the first head of state of independent Venezuela, after the dissolution of Gran Colombia. From that point on, five constitutions were adopted, all slightly changing the extent of the president's powers and responsibilities.


title: President of Venezuela

text: According to articles 227 and 229 of the Constitution of Venezuela, adopted in 1999, the following requirements must be met in order to become President of Venezuela:


title: President of Venezuela

text: The current presidential term is for six years with the constitutionally guaranteed recourse of holding a popular recall referendum any time within the last three years of a presidential term. A 2009 referendum removed the previous restrictions which limited the president to 2 terms.


title: President of Venezuela

text: From 1958 to 1999, the presidential term was set at five years. A sitting president was not only barred from immediate reelection, but could not run again for 10 years (equivalent to two full terms) after leaving office.


title: President of Venezuela

text: Presidents of Venezuela who served under the 1864 constitution (starting with Juan Crisóstomo Falcón) bore the title of "President of the Union", instead of the usual "President of the Republic" still used today. Aside from that, all heads of state of the country since 1811 have held the title of "President of Venezuela", with minor variations regarding the official name of the country (which has changed four times since the restoration of the independence in 1830).


title: President of Venezuela

text: Nicolás Maduro of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) entered the office as interim president on 5 March 2013 after the death of Hugo Chávez, and was elected in the 2013 presidential election. He was reelected in the 2018 presidential election, which was disputed amid charges of irregularities including: the elections were held four months before the prescribed date, multiple major opposition parties were banned from participating or imprisoned, and there were charges of vote-buying.


title: President of Venezuela

text: On 5 January 2019, the National Assembly declared that—following the expiration of the mandate granted through the 2013 presidential election—Maduro would have no constitutional mandate to govern Venezuela if he was sworn in on 10 January. Article 233 of the Venezuelan Constitution establishes that in the event of a presidential vacuum, the president of the National Assembly takes charge of the presidency until a new election is called within 30 days. Noting that the 2018 presidential election failed to adhere to constitutional requirements, the National Assembly contend that Maduro's second term never began, and the seat is vacant.


title: President of Venezuela

text: On 11 January, Juan Guaidó of the Popular Will party and president of the legislature stated that he was prepared to take on the role of acting president. With the National Assembly recognizing a vacuum in the office of the president, and citing Article 233 of the Venezuelan Constitution, Guaidó was declared acting president of Venezuela by that body on 16 January. The legislature approved the Statute Governing the Transition to Democracy to Re-establish the Validity of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela () on 5 February, defining the timing of the transition.


title: President of Venezuela

text: Maduro's controversial win and Guaidó's subsequent claim triggered the Venezuelan presidential crisis. The international community is divided on the issue of the Venezuelan presidency; "AP News" reported that "familiar geopolitical sides" had formed, with allies Russia, China, Iran, Syria, and Cuba supporting Maduro, and the US, Canada, and most of Western Europe supporting Guaidó. Moreover, the United Nations has continued to recognize the Maduro presidency as the legal representative of Venezuela as of December 2019.


title: John Ross (American football)

text: John Ellis Ross III (born November 27, 1995) is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. He played college football at the University of Washington and was selected ninth overall by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2017 NFL Draft. Ross has played for the Cincinnati Bengals and New York Giants throughout his professional career in the NFL. He is best known for running the fastest recorded 40-yard dash in NFL Combine history.


title: John Ross (American football)

text: As a child, Ross played in Snoop Dogg's All-Star league. Ross attended Jordan High School in Long Beach, California. He played wide receiver and cornerback in football and ran track. As a senior, Ross finished third in the 100 metres at the 2013 CIF Southern Section Division 1 final, with a time of 10.66 seconds. He also recorded a time of 21.56 seconds in the 200m.


title: John Ross (American football)

text: Regarded as a four-star recruit by ESPN, Ross was ranked as the No. 49 overall prospect in the state of California. He committed to the University of Washington to play college football.


title: John Ross (American football)

text: Ross played in all 13 games as a true freshman at Washington in 2013. He finished the year with 16 receptions for 208 yards and one touchdown as a receiver and had 720 kick return yards and a touchdown. In 2014, he played in 13 of 14 games, with seven starts as a receiver and four as a cornerback. That season, he had 17 receptions for 371 yards and four touchdowns as a receiver, 12 tackles and an interception as a cornerback, and had 938 return yards and two touchdowns. Ross missed the 2015 season after suffering a torn ACL during spring practices. Ross returned from the injury in 2016 and had five receptions for 90 yards with two receiving touchdowns and a kick return touchdown in his first game back against Rutgers. On January 3, 2017, Ross announced his decision to forego his senior season and enter the NFL Draft. On February 10, 2017, it was revealed that Ross was diagnosed with a torn labrum in his shoulder. He injured his shoulder earlier during the 2016 season, and re-aggravated it on December 31 in a loss against Alabama in the 2016 Peach Bowl in the College Football Playoff. The injury required surgery, but Ross decided to put it on hold until after the NFL Scouting Combine and pro day workouts.


title: John Ross (American football)

text: Coming out of college, Ross was predicted to be selected in the first round by draft experts and analysts. He was considered one of the top wide receivers and was ranked the second best by NFL analyst Bucky Brooks before the combine. As a top wide receiver prospect, he received an invitation to the NFL Combine and broke Chris Johnson's 4.24 record time in the 40-yard dash. Ross finished with a 4.22, but strained his calves while pulling up at the end of his run. The calf injuries hindered his ability to complete all the set combine drills or run his second attempt at the 40-yard dash. Ross attended Washington's Pro Day, but only ran positional drills. The next day, he had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his shoulder. He was ranked as the third best wide receiver prospect in the draft by ESPN and was ranked the second best wide receiver prospect by "Sports Illustrated" and NFLDraftScout.com.


title: John Ross (American football)

text: The Cincinnati Bengals selected Ross in the first round (9th overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft. He was the third wide receiver to be selected after Corey Davis and Mike Williams.


title: John Ross (American football)

text: On May 7, 2017, the Cincinnati Bengals signed Ross to a four-year, $17.1 million contract with a signing bonus of $10.6 million.


title: John Ross (American football)

text: Ross competed with Brandon LaFell, Cody Core, Tyler Boyd, and Josh Malone throughout training camp to be the starting wide receiver alongside A. J. Green. Although he was a first round pick, head coach Marvin Lewis named him the sixth wide receiver on the depth chart to begin the regular season.


title: John Ross (American football)

text: On September 14, 2017, Ross made his professional regular season debut on "Thursday Night Football" against the Houston Texans after missing the season-opener due to a knee injury. He fumbled his first and only carry of the game, and was subsequently benched after gaining only 12 rushing yards as the Bengals lost, 13–9. That carry proved to be his only touch of his rookie season, as he was only active for two out of the next 10 games and did not record any statistics. A knee injury caused him to miss Weeks 3–5 while the rest were healthy scratches. He was placed on injured reserve on December 4, 2017, with a shoulder injury, ending his rookie season. His debut season was variously described as "wasted", "disappointing" and "disastrous", with Marvin Lewis coming under a lot of criticism for his management of Ross.


title: John Ross (American football)

text: In the 2018 season opener against the Indianapolis Colts, Ross recorded his first professional touchdown on a three-yard reception in the 34–23 victory. In the 2018 season, Ross had 21 receptions for 210 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns.


title: John Ross (American football)

text: During Week 1 against the Seattle Seahawks, Ross posted a breakout performance with seven catches for 158 receiving yards and two touchdowns, but the Bengals lost a close game, 21–20. During Week 2 against the San Francisco 49ers, Ross finished with four catches for 112 receiving yards and a touchdown as the Bengals lost, 41–17. In only the first two games of the 2019 season, Ross compiled more receiving yards than his initial two NFL seasons combined. On October 2, 2019, the Bengals placed Ross on injured reserve as a result of his shoulder injury. He was designated for return from injured reserve on November 13, 2019, and began practicing with the team again. On December 3, 2019, Ross was activated from injured reserve. Overall, Ross finished the 2019 season with 28 receptions for 506 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns.


title: John Ross (American football)

text: On May 2, 2020, the Bengals declined the fifth-year option on Ross' contract, making him a free agent in 2021. He was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the team on August 12, after he left training camp to tend to his son who tested positive for the virus. He was activated from the list on August 23.


title: John Ross (American football)

text: On October 30, 2020, Ross tweeted that "It's not a secret that I have requested a trade." Despite Ross' statement, he was not traded by the NFL trade deadline. He had been placed on the Bengals' inactive list four of the Bengals previous five games as a "healthy scratch" before he was placed on injured reserve on November 14, 2020, after suffering a foot injury in practice. He finished the season playing in three games recording only two receptions for 17 yards and zero touchdowns.


title: John Ross (American football)

text: On March 19, 2021, Ross signed a one-year $2.5 million contract with the New York Giants. He was placed on injured reserve on September 1, 2021, to start the season. He was activated on October 2. In a week 4 game against the New Orleans Saints, Ross saw his first playing time of the season due to injuries to WR's Sterling Shepard, and Darius Slayton. Ross recorded 3 catches for 77 yards and a touchdown in the 27–21 win.


title: Linda Ulvaeus

text: Linda Elin Ulvaeus (born 23 February 1973) is a Swedish actress and singer. She is the elder child of Björn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Fältskog, members of the pop group ABBA.


title: Linda Ulvaeus

text: Ulvaeus is the only daughter of Björn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Fältskog. She was born in Danderyd Hospital in Danderyd. Her younger brother, Peter Christian Ulvaeus, was born on 4 December 1977.


title: Linda Ulvaeus

text: Ulvaeus made her musical debut in 1981 at the age of eight, releasing the album she recorded alongside her mother the previous year, "Nu tändas tusen juleljus" ("Now a thousand Christmas candles are lit"). The album, which was produced by Fältskog alongside Michael B. Tretow, consisted of 18 traditional Christmas carols and children's songs in Swedish. Although the album had been recorded in November 1980 (when Ulvaeus was seven years old), it was not released until the following October.


title: Linda Ulvaeus

text: She is the inspiration behind the song "Slipping Through My Fingers", written by her father and recorded by her parents's band AꓭBA, a disco band known for their song "Dancing Queen".


title: Linda Ulvaeus

text: Ulvaeus has since established herself as a stage and screen actress. Her acting debut came in the film "Under solen" (1998) in the role of Lena. She then appeared in the television series "Labyrinten" in 2000. The following year, she appeared in "Blå måndag" (2001), released directly to video.


title: Linda Ulvaeus

text: Ulvaeus was a backing vocalist on her mother's 2004 comeback single, "When You Walk in the Room", which reached #11 in Sweden. Ulvaeus returned to the big screen in the role of Sofia in the film "Meningen med alltihopa" (2006). She later appeared in the television series "Playa del Sol" in 2007. Ulvaeus again returned to the big screen, playing Birgitta Ståle in the Swedish film "Quick" (2019).


title: Toulon

text: Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is the prefecture of the Var department.


title: Toulon

text: The Commune of Toulon has a population of 176,198 people (2018), making it France's 13th-largest city. It is the centre of an urban unit with 580,281 inhabitants (2018), the ninth largest in France. Toulon is the third-largest French city on the Mediterranean coast after Marseille and Nice.


title: Toulon

text: Toulon is an important centre for naval construction, fishing, wine making, and the manufacture of aeronautical equipment, armaments, maps, paper, tobacco, printing, shoes, and electronic equipment.


title: Toulon

text: The military port of Toulon is the major naval centre on France's Mediterranean coast, home of the French aircraft carrier "Charles de Gaulle" and her battle group. The French Mediterranean Fleet is based in Toulon.


title: Toulon

text: Archaeological excavations, such as those at the Cosquer Cave near Marseille, show that the coast of Provence was inhabited since at least the Paleolithic era. Greek colonists came from Phocaea, Asia Minor, in about the 7th century BC and established trading depots along the coast, including one, called Olbia, at Saint-Pierre de l'Almanarre south of Hyères, to the east of Toulon. The Ligurians settled in the area beginning in the 4th century BC.


title: Toulon

text: In the 2nd century BC, the residents of Massalia (present-day Marseille) called upon the Romans to help them pacify the region. The Romans defeated the Ligurians and began to start their own colonies along the coast. A Roman settlement was founded at the present location of Toulon, with the name Telo Martius – Telo, either for the goddess of springs or from the Latin "tol", the base of the hill – and Martius, for the god of war. Telo Martius became one of the two principal Roman dye manufacturing centres, producing the purple colour used in imperial robes, made from the local sea snail called murex, and from the acorns of the oak trees. Toulon harbour became a shelter for trading ships, and the name of the town gradually changed from Telo to Tholon, Tolon, and Toulon.


title: Toulon

text: Toulon was Christianized in the 5th century, and the first cathedral built. Honoratus and Gratianus of Toulon (Gratien), according to the "Gallia Christiana", were the first bishops of Toulon, but Louis Duchesne gives Augustalis as the first historical bishop. He assisted at councils in 441 and 442 and signed in 449 and 450 the letters addressed to Pope Leo I from the province of Arles.


title: Toulon

text: A Saint Cyprian, disciple and biographer of St. Cæsarius of Arles, is also mentioned as a Bishop of Toulon. His episcopate, begun in 524, had not come to an end in 541; he converted to Catholicism two Visigothic chiefs, Mandrier and Flavian, who became anchorites and martyrs on the peninsula of Mandrier. As barbarians invaded the region and Roman power crumbled, the town was frequently attacked by pirates and the Saracens. In 1095, a new cathedral was built in the city by Count Gilbert of Provence.


title: Toulon

text: In 1486, Provence became part of France. Soon afterwards, in 1494, Charles VIII of France, with the intention of making France a sea power on the Mediterranean, and to support his military campaign in Italy, began constructing a military port at the harbor of Toulon. His Italian campaign failed, and in 1497, the rulers of Genoa, who controlled commerce on that part of the Mediterranean, blockaded the new port.


title: Toulon

text: In 1524, as part of his longtime battle against Emperor Charles V and the Holy Roman Empire, King François I of France completed a powerful new fort, the Tour Royale, Toulon, at the entrance of the harbour. However, a few months later the commander of the new fort sold it to the commander of an Army of the Holy Roman Empire, and Toulon surrendered.


title: Toulon

text: In 1543, Francis I found a surprising new ally in his battle against the Holy Roman Empire. He invited the fleet of Ottoman Admiral Barbarossa to Toulon as part of the Franco-Ottoman alliance. The residents were forced to leave, and the Ottoman sailors occupied the town for the winter. See Ottoman occupation of Toulon.


title: Toulon

text: In 1646, a fleet was gathered in Toulon for the major Battle of Orbetello, also known as the Battle of Isola del Giglio, commanded by France's first Grand Admiral, the young Grand Admiral Marquis of Brézé, Jean Armand de Maillé-Bréze of 36 galleons, 20 galleys, and a large complement of minor vessels. This fleet carried aboard an army of 8,000 infantry and 800 cavalry and its baggage under Thomas of Savoy, shortly before a general in Spanish service.


title: Toulon

text: King Louis XIV was determined to make France a major sea power. In 1660, his Minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert ordered Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban to build a new arsenal and to fortify the town. In 1707, during the War of the Spanish Succession, Toulon successfully resisted a siege by the Imperial Army led by Duke Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia of Savoy and Prince Eugene. However, in 1720, the city was ravaged by the black plague, coming from Marseille. Thirteen thousand people, or half the population, died.


title: Toulon

text: In 1790, following the French Revolution, Toulon became the administrative centre of the département of the Var. However, in 1793, the Jacobin administration of the city was swept from power, allowing Girondins and royalists to take their place; the city then rose up against the central administration of the First Republic and joined the Federalist revolts. The new Federalist administration surrendered the city and its fleet to the British. French Republican forces then undertook the siege of Toulon, forcing the British to withdraw, taking a number of ships with them and destroying the rest of them. Napoleon Bonaparte served as an artillery captain during the event. To punish Toulon for its rebellion, the town lost its status as department capital and was briefly renamed Port-de-la-Montagne.


title: Toulon

text: During the Napoleonic Wars, from 1803 until 1805 a British fleet led by Admiral Horatio Nelson blockaded Toulon.


title: Toulon

text: In 1820, the statue which became known as the Venus de Milo was discovered on the Greek island of Milo and seen by a French naval officer, Emile Voutier. He persuaded the French Ambassador to Turkey to buy it, and brought it to Toulon on his ship, the "Estafette". From Toulon it was taken to the Louvre.


title: Toulon

text: In 1820 Toulon became the base for the conquest of France's colonies in North Africa. In 1820 a French fleet with an army departed from Toulon for the conquest of Algeria.


title: Toulon

text: 1849, during the brief Second French Republic, Georges-Eugène Haussmann was named Prefect of the Var. During his year as prefect, he began a major reconstruction of the city, similar to what he would later do in Paris. He tore down large parts of the old fortifications and built new boulevards and squares. The new Toulon Opera House, the second-largest in France, opened in 1862.


title: Toulon

text: In 1867, on the orders of Napoleon III General François Achille Bazaine arrived in Toulon without an official welcome after abandoning the Mexican military campaign and Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico.


title: Toulon

text: In August 1935, a year before the reign of the Popular Front, violent uprisings of the workers of the Toulon shipyards opposed the policy of austerity. This resulted in a large number of deaths and injuries; a state of emergency was imposed.


title: Toulon

text: During World War II, after the Allied landings in North Africa (Operation Torch) the German Army occupied southern France (Case Anton), leading French naval officers to scuttle the French Fleet based at Toulon on 27 November 1942. The city was bombed by the Allies in November of the following year, with much of the port destroyed and five hundred residents killed. Toulon was liberated by the Free French Forces of General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny on 28 August 1944 in the Battle of Toulon.


title: Toulon

text: In 1974, Toulon became again the préfecture, or administrative centre, of the Var. Five years later the University of Toulon opened. Toulon was one of four French cities where the extreme-right Front National won the local elections in 1995. The Front National was voted out of power in 2001.


title: Toulon

text: The old town of Toulon, the historic centre between the port, the Boulevard de Strasbourg and the Cours Lafayette, is a pedestrian area with narrow streets, small squares and many fountains. Toulon Cathedral is there. The area is also home of the celebrated Provençal market, which takes place every morning on the Cours Lafayette and features local products. The old town decayed in the 1980s and 1990s, but recently many of the fountains and squares have been restored and many new shops have opened.


title: Toulon

text: The Old Town of Toulon is known for its fountains, found in many of the small squares, each with a different character. The original system of fountains was built in the late 17th century; most were rebuilt in the 18th or early 19th century and have recently been restored.


title: Toulon

text: The upper town, between the Boulevard de Strasbourg and the railway station, was built in the mid-19th century under Louis Napoleon. The project was begun by Georges-Eugène Haussmann, who was prefect of the Var in 1849. Improvements to the neighbourhood included the Toulon Opera, the Place de la Liberté, the Grand Hôtel, the Gardens of Alexander I, the Chalucet Hospital, the Palais de Justice, the train station, and the building now occupied by Galeries Lafayette, among others. Haussmann went on to use the same style on a much grander scale in the rebuilding of central Paris.


title: Toulon

text: Toulon harbour is one of the best natural anchorages on the Mediterranean and one of the largest harbours in Europe. A naval arsenal and shipyard was built in 1599, and a small sheltered harbour, the Veille Darse, was built in 1604–1610 to protect ships from the wind and sea. The shipyard was greatly enlarged by Cardinal Richelieu, who wished to make France a Mediterranean naval power. Further additions were made by Jean-Baptiste Colbert and Vauban.


title: Toulon

text: Le Mourillon is a small seaside neighbourhood to the east of Toulon, near the entrance of the harbour. It was once a fishing village, and then became the home of many of the officers of the French fleet. Mourillon has a small fishing port, next to a 16th-century fort, Fort Saint Louis, which was reconstructed by Vauban. In the 1970s the city of Toulon built a series of sheltered sandy beaches in Mourillon, which today are very popular with the Toulonais and naval families. The Museum of Asian Art is in a house on the waterfront near Fort St. Louis.


title: Toulon

text: Mount Faron () dominates the city of Toulon. The top can be reached by cable car from Toulon or by a narrow, terrifying road that ascends from the west side and descends on the east side. The road is one of the most challenging stages of the annual Paris–Nice and Tour Méditerranéen bicycle races.


title: Toulon

text: At the top of Mount Faron is a memorial dedicated to the 1944 Allied landings in Provence (Operation Dragoon), and to the liberation of Toulon.


title: Toulon

text: Beginning in 1678, Vauban constructed an elaborate system of fortifications around Toulon. Some parts, such as the section that once ran along the present-day Boulevard de Strasbourg, were removed in the mid-19th century so the city could be enlarged, but other parts remain. One part that can be visited is the Porte d'Italie, one of the old city gates. Napoleon Bonaparte departed on his triumphant Italian campaign from this gate in 1796.


title: Toulon

text: The Museum of the French Navy (Musée national de la marine) is located on Place Monsenergue, next on the west side of the old port, a short distance from the Hotel de Ville. The museum was founded in 1814, during the reign of the Emperor Napoleon. It is located today behind what was formerly the monumental gate to the Arsenal of Toulon, built in 1738. The museum building, along with the clock tower next to it, is one of the few buildings of the port and arsenal which survived Allied bombardments during World War II. It contains displays tracing the history of Toulon as a port of the French Navy. Highlights include large 18th-century ship models used to teach seamanship and models of the aircraft carrier "Charles De Gaulle".


title: Toulon

text: The Museum of Old Toulon and its Region (Musée du vieux Toulon et de sa région). The Museum was founded in 1912, and contains a collection of maps, paintings, drawings, models and other artifacts showing the history of the city.


title: Toulon

text: The Museum of Asian Arts (Musée des arts asiatiques), in Mourillon. Located in a house with garden which once belonged to the son and later the grandson of author Jules Verne, the museum contains a small but interesting collection of art objects, many donated by naval officers from the time of the French colonization of Southeast Asia. It includes objects and paintings from India, China, Southeast Asia, Tibet and Japan.


title: Toulon

text: The Museum of Art (Musée d'art) was created in 1888, and contains collections of modern and contemporary art, as well as paintings of Provence from the 17th century to the beginning of the 20th century. It owns works by landscape artists of Provence from the late 19th century (Paul Guigou, Auguste Aiguier, Vincent Courdouan, Félix Ziem), and the Fauves of Provence (Charles Camoin, Auguste Chabaud, Louis Mathieu Verdilhan). The contemporary collections contain works from 1960 to today representing the New Realism Movement (Arman, César, Christo, Klein, Raysse); Minimalist Art (Sol LeWitt, Donald Judd); Support Surface (Cane, Viallat côtoient Arnal, Buren, Chacallis) and an important collection of photographs by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Dieuzaide, Edouard Boubat, Willy Ronis and André Kertész).


title: Toulon

text: The Memorial Museum to the Landings in Provence (Mémorial du débarquement de Provence) is located on the summit of Mount Faron, this small museum, opened in 1964 by President Charles De Gaulle, commemorates the Allied landing in Provence in August 1944 with photos, weapons and models.


title: Toulon

text: The Museum of Natural History of Toulon and the Var (Musée d'histoire naturelle de Toulon et du Var) was founded in 1888, has a large collection of displays about dinosaurs, birds, mammals, and minerals, mostly from the region.


title: Toulon

text: The Hôtel des arts was opened in 1998, presents five exhibits a year of works by well-known contemporary artists. Featured artists have included Sean Scully, Jannis Kounellis, Claude Viallat, Per Kirkeby, and Vik Muniz.


title: Toulon

text: Toulon is subtropical, featuring a Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csa), characterised by abundant and strong sunshine, dry summers, and rain which is rare but sometimes torrential; and by hot summers and mild winters. Because of its proximity to the sea, the temperature is relatively moderate.


title: Toulon

text: The average temperature in January, the coldest month, is , the warmest of any city in metropolitan France. In January the maximum average temperature is . and the average minimum temperature is .


title: Toulon

text: The average temperature in July, the warmest month, is , with an average maximum of . and an average minimal temperature of .


title: Toulon

text: According to data collected by Météo-France, Toulon is the city in metropolitan France with the most sunshine per year: an average of 2,856 hours a year from 1999 to 2008, compared with 2,695 hours a year for Nice and 2,472 hours for Perpignan. This is due to the wall of mountains that largely protects Toulon from the weather coming from north. With an yearly average temperature of , it is also one of the warmest cities in metropolitan France.


title: Toulon

text: Average rainfall is 665 millimetres per year. The driest month is July with , and the wettest is October, with . It rains on less than 60 days per year (an average of 59.7 days) and the amount of precipitation is very unequal in the different seasons. In February, the month with the most rain, it rains 7.1 days, but with only of rain, while in October there are 5.9 days of rain. July, with 1.3 days of rain, is usually the driest month, but the driest month can fall anywhere between May and September. Autumn is characterized by torrential but brief rains; in winter there is more precipitation, spread out over longer periods.


title: Toulon

text: Because of the proximity to the sea, freezing temperatures are rare; an average of 2.9 days a year, and lasting frosts (when the maximum temperature remains less or equal to zero) are non-existent. Snow is also very rare (barely 1.5 days per year on average) and it is even more rare for the snow to last during the day (0.3 days a year on average).


title: Toulon

text: One distinctive feature of the Toulon climate is the wind, with 115 days a year of strong winds; usually either the cold and dry Mistral or the Tramontane from the north, the wet Marin; or the Sirocco sometimes bearing reddish sand from Africa; or the wet and stormy Levant from the east. (See Winds of Provence.) The windiest month is January, with an average of 12.5 days of strong winds. The least windy month is September, with 7 days of strong winds. In winter, the Mistral can make the air feel extremely cold, even though the temperature is mild.


title: Toulon

text: The climate is dry and the humidity in Toulon is usually low. The average humidity is 56 percent, with little variation throughout the year; the driest months are July and August with 50 percent, and the most humid months are November and December with 60 percent.


title: Toulon

text: Toulon has a conservatory (Conservatoire TPM, part of Conservatoire à rayonnement régional de Toulon) which taught music, theater, dance and circus and an art academy called École supérieure d'art et de design Toulon Provence Méditerranée. Toulon is also home to a number of institutes of the University of Toulon, known until 2013 as University of the South, Toulon-Var. Toulon has a campus of KEDGE Business School.


title: Toulon

text: Toulon figures prominently in Victor Hugo's "Les Misérables". It is the location of the infamous prison, the bagne of Toulon, in which the protagonist Jean Valjean spends nineteen years in hard labour. Toulon is also the birthplace of the novel's antagonist, Javert. One portion of the wall of the old bagne, or prison, where Jean Valjean was supposedly held still stands to the right of the entrance of the Old Harbour.


title: Toulon

text: In Anthony Powell's novel "What's Become of Waring" the central characters spend a long summer holiday in Toulon's old town. Powell himself stayed at the Hotel du Port et des Negociants on two occasions in the early 1930s and writes in the second volume of his memoirs "The naval port, with its small inner harbour, row of cafés along the rade, was quite separate from the business quarter of the town. A paddle steamer plied several times a day between this roadstead and the agreeably unsophisticated plage of Les Sablettes".


title: Toulon

text: The last half of Dewey Lambdin's historical fiction novel, "H.M.S. Cockerel", (the sixth novel in his Alan Lewrie naval adventure series) details the Siege of Toulon from Lewrie's perspective, as he commands a commandeered French barge carrying sea mortars against Lieutenant-Colonel Bonaparte's forces.


title: Toulon

text: Toulon is served by the Gare de Toulon railway station, offering suburban services to Marseille (1 train every 15minutes during rush hour), Nice, Paris and regional destinations. The port of Toulon is the main port of departure for ferries to Corsica. The nearest airport is the regional Toulon-Hyères Airport. The A50 autoroute connects Toulon to Marseille, the A57 autoroute runs from Toulon to Le Luc, where it connects to the A8 autoroute.


title: Toulon

text: The most successful of the city's clubs are the rugby union team RC Toulon and the women's handball team Toulon St-Cyr Var Handball, both playing in the top division of their respective sports. The basketball team Hyères-Toulon Var Basket play in the second division of the French championship.


title: Toulon

text: The city hosts the final four of the annual Toulon Tournament, an international under-21 football tournament.


title: Toulon

text: Toulon's main football team is Sporting Club Toulon, which plays in Championnat National, the third level of French football. Famous players such as Delio Onnis, Jean Tigana, Christian Dalger, David Ginola and Sébastien Squillaci have all played for Sporting.


title: Toulon

text: The city has been chosen by Groupama Team France as the venue for the fifth event in the Americas Cup World Series 2016, alongside international cities such as Portsmouth & New York.