title: Aegean dispute

text: On 30 May 2020, the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) applied to the Turkish Ministry of Energy for exploration permits on the Greek continental shelf, just 6 miles off Crete, Karpathos and Rhodes. TPAO's applications were published to the Turkey's Government Gazette, with a map showing the 24 blocks that Ankara has demarcated from Turkey's shores to the point where its claimed sea borders meet these of Libya, based on the Turkey-GNA maritime agreement. This prompted strong reactions both in Greece and abroad, with the Turkish Ambassador to Athens, Burak Özügergin, being summoned to the Greek Foreign Ministry, and the European Union's High Representative of Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell warning Ankara that the good EU-Turkey relations "will depend critically on the respect of the sovereignty of Cyprus and Greece on the waters under dispute". Furthermore, the United States criticized Turkey, with the US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Francis R. Fannon stating, during a quadrilateral conference organized by both the American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce and the Atlantic Council with the participation of USA, Greece, Israel and Cyprus, that such "provocative actions" must end and that the Turkey-GNA agreement "cannot as a legal matter affect the rights or obligations of third states" such as Greece.


title: Aegean dispute

text: On 2 January 2020, the leaders of Greece, Cyprus, and Israel signed an accord to build the EastMed pipeline. The planned pipeline will transport natural gas from the Levantine Basin to Greece and from there to Italy and the rest of Europe. Energy expert Brenda Schaffer interprets the EastMed pipeline (forecasted to be able to cater to 10% of Europe's gas needs, and decrease reliance on Russia) as a joint attempt to exclude Turkey from the "Club Med" gas club, and the decision to sign the pipeline accord was taken in response to the Turkish-GNA deal.


title: Aegean dispute

text: On 9 June 2020, and in response to Turkey's moves in the region, Greece and Italy signed through their Foreign Ministers Nikos Dendias and Luigi Di Maio a "historic" agreement for the demarcation of the EEZ between the two countries. The agreement confirms the full rights of islands to their continental shelf and EEZ, in line with the UNCLOS. It uses the median line that was used for the 1977 Italy-Greece continental shelf demarcation agreement as the basis of the EEZ boundary. In the mutually agreed minor adjustments, part of the EEZ of the small Greek islands of Strofades, Othoni, and Mathraki was traded off for an equal area elsewhere (i.e. part of the EEZ of Italy's Calabria). According to Dendias, this creates an extremely favorable legal precedent for Greece in its dispute with Turkey. The United States, the Libyan House of Representatives, and the LNA led by Halifa Haftar, welcomed the EEZ agreement between Greece and Italy, with the US calling it "exemplary" and "an example of how these things should be done [in the region]", while reiterating their opposition to the Turkey-GNA EEZ agreement. Following the agreement, the Libyan House of Representatives sent an official invitation to the Hellenic Parliament for a similar EEZ agreement to be reached between Libya and Greece too, with talks beginning on 1 July. Dendias stated that Libyan-Greek talks are "not within the arbitrariness that so-called Sarraj-Turkey memorandum is constituting", but within the framework of UNCLOS and in continuation of the 2010 talks between the two countries. In this context, a committee of experts is formed by the President of the Libyan Parliament, Aguila Saleh. The LNA published a map with the proposed EEZ boundaries between Libya and Greece, in which Libya fully acknowledges the Greek islands' rights to their continental shelf and EEZ. Furthermore, on 18 June, a high-level delegation from Greece visited Egypt to negotiate and sign an agreement demarcating the Egyptian-Greek EEZ as well.


title: Aegean dispute

text: In July 2020, France and Austria have called for sanctions against Turkey, such as the termination of the Turkey's EU accession talks. In the same context the EU's Foreign Affairs Council convened and agreed for a framework of sanctions to be prepared for use in the event Turkey attempts any violations of Greece's sovereign rights. The Greek FM Dendias expressed his country's readiness to activate the Mutual Defence Clause (Article 42) of the EU's Lisbon Treaty for military assistance.


title: Aegean dispute

text: On 21 July, Turkey announced plans for a seismic survey south and east of the Greek island of Kastellorizo with the research vessel "Oruç Reis", and for this purpose it issued a Navtex covering parts of the Greek, Egyptian and Cypriot waters, prompting strong reactions both in Greece and abroad. The Greek embassy in Ankara sent a complaint to the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Egypt considers the move as an encroachment of its waters, and Germany's Foreign Minister Heiko Maas warned Turkey with consequences. Turkey dispatched its naval forces to the region around Kastellorizo, and Turkish armed jets conducted low overflights and dogfights with their Greek counterparts above the island, causing the tourists to evacuate it, and the Greek Armed Forces to be placed on high alert. The Turkish Ambassador to Berlin, Ali Kemal Aydın, was summoned to the German Foreign Ministry and the German Chancellor Angela Merkel held phone calls with the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the Turkish President Tayip Erdogan in a bid to de-escalate the situation. According to the German tabloid newspaper Bild, it was Merkel's last-minute intervention that prevented a crisis between Greece and Turkey. This was later confirmed by the German Defence Minister, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. Along with Germany, France, Spain and the United States also backed Greece, with the French President Emmanuel Macron calling for sanctions against Turkey for the violation of Greece's sovereignty, the US envoy to Athens acknowledging Kastellorizo's "exactly the same" rights to EEZ and Continental Shelf as mainlands, and the State Department urging Turkey to halt its plans for surveys in the area around the island. A few days later, Turkey announced the suspension of its oil and gas exploration around Kastellorizo.


title: Aegean dispute

text: Several days later, on 6 August, the foreign ministers of Egypt and Greece, Sameh Shoukry and Nikos Dendias respectively, signed a maritime agreement partially demarcating the EEZs between the two countries, in line with the UNCLOS which recognizes the right of the islands to their continental shelf and EEZ. According to the Greek side, the Egyptian-Greek agreement cancels in practice the Turkish-GNA memorandum. Turkey opposed the agreement and considers it "null and void", claiming that "there is no mutual sea border between Egypt and Greece". Similarly, the Tripoli-based GNA government led by Al-Sarraj condemned it as a "violation of Libya's maritime rights". On the other hand, the Tobruk-based LNA government led by Haftar, Saudi Arabia and the United States, supported and welcomed it, with the LNA stating that Greece "should solidify a EEZ with the only democratically elected legislative body in Libya, the House of Representatives" and the State Department stating that it encourages the peaceful settlement of disputes. Also, Manfred Weber, head of the European People's Party, the largest party in the European Parliament, welcomed the Egypt-Greece agreement as a positive development that "strengthens stability in the East Mediterranean," and urged for the European Union to "stand firmly with Greece" against what he called as Turkish attempts that "undermine international law in the region". In response to this, Turkey announced the next day that it resumed its seismic surveys south of Kastellorizo. Τhe US, the EU, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, North Macedonia, Egypt, Cyprus, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Spain, Portugal, Malta, Sweden and Armenia expressed their opposition to Turkey's renewed explorations in the East Mediterranean, while Azerbaijan counteracted to Armenia's position by lending its support for Turkey's moves. On 14 August 2020, Greece's and Turkey's ships collided and suffered minor damages and France intervened by sending its naval forces to the East Mediterranean, to Greece's aid, followed by the United Arab Emirates whose Fighter Jets are stationed at the Souda Bay Naval Base, in Crete. Also, the United States beefed up their military presence in the East Med by assigning the USS Hershel "Woody" Williams to the Souda Bay as its new permanent home, and talks on moving US assets from the Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, to Souda Bay opened. Josep Borrell announced that the European Union is preparing a list of sanctions against Turkey, including tough economic measures, and the former Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu criticized openly his own country's "power projection" in the East Mediterranean, which, according to him, risks causing a military conflict. On 18 August, the Egyptian Parliament ratified the Greece - Egypt EEZ Agreement and, 9 days later, the Greek Parliament followed suit, before it would be registered at the United Nations on 24 December 2020. Greece announced that reaching EEZ agreements with Albania and Cyprus are among its next priorities. On 17 September, the European Parliament condemned Turkey for its violations of the Greek and Cypriot EEZs and called on the European Council to prepare further sanctions.


title: Aegean dispute

text: Due to Turkey's diplomatic isolation, and just a week ahead of the EU Summit where sanctions against the EU-candidate country for its drilling activities were to be evaluated, Oruç Reis withdrew from Kastellorizo and the Turkish surveys on Greek continental shelf were halted. Turkey agreed to resort to diplomatic means for resolving its maritime disputes with Greece. Turkey's economy is dependent on foreign markets and especially the European Union, for exports, imports, short-term finance and technology, and thus, the EU's tough economic sanctions could have a "fatal" impact on the Turkish economy and the Turkish President Erdogan's political survival. The prospect of EU sanctions also have contributed to the Turkish Lira's depreciation to record-low levels, worsening its economy. The United States, which criticized Turkey's assertive policies in the region, welcomed Ankara's decision to adopt a more diplomatic stance over its maritime dispute with Greece, with the head of the American foreign policy, Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo stating that "the way conflict is resolved is not through shows of force, it's not through demonstrations of power, it's through dialogue. It's through international systems, agreement, conversations, dialogue. That's how these maritime disputes ought to be resolved. We’ve watched the Greeks move in that direction trying to achieve that. We hope the Turkish Government will see it the same way". Additionally, Pompeo sided with Greece, by asking for a solution that is "reflective of the fundamental rights of the citizens of Greece".


title: Aegean dispute

text: On 8 October 2020, Turkey and Greece agreed, under Germany's mediation and with the United States' full consultation, to resume exploratory talks for resolving their maritime disputes. However, a few days later, on 11 October, Turkey withdrew from the talks and resumed its gunboat diplomacy by releasing a NAVTEX announcing that it will be conducting surveys on the waters just 6.5 nautical miles off Kastellorizo and redeployed its research vessel Oruç Reis, escorted by Turkish frigates, for this purpose. These Turkish moves drew the International community's condemnation, with Berlin decrying them as a "serious blow" to efforts at easing tensions in the East Mediterranean and accusing Ankara for "interplay between detente and provocation", the German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas cancelling his planned official visit to Ankara, and along with France, warning Turkey with consequences, Greece's Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias declaring that "the Turkish leadership has shown it is not a credible interlocutor. Its calls for dialogue are only a pretext. The international community must judge [Ankara] on the basis of actions, not words. We must all face reality before it is too late", the United States "deploring" Ankara for its moves, which the State Department described as "calculated provocations", Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz condemning Oruc Reis' redeployment and warning Turkey of sanctions, Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry rejecting Turkey's gunboat diplomacy and policy of territorial expansion in the region, Sweden's Foreign Minister Ann Linde warning that the Oruç Reis' redeployment is leading to new tensions instead of contributing to de-escalation, Israel expressing its concerns over Turkey's destabilizing role in the East Med, and Russia backing Greece's right to expand its territorial waters to 12 nautical miles and reaffirming that the UNCLOS is a "cornerstone" of the international law and applies to the Mediterranean Sea. Manfred Weber of the EPP reiterated his call for EU sanctions against Turkey, stating that these initial de-escalation moves by Erdogan were purposeful only, with the aim of avoiding sanctions against his country at the recent European Council. Turkey however rebuffed international criticism of its research vessel's redeployment, insisting that the Oruç Reis is operating in what it claims as "Turkish waters".


title: Aegean dispute

text: On 17 October, Turkey passed a law expanding its search and rescue (SAR) area to cover all the new territories it claims in the Aegean and Mediterranean seas as part of its Blue Homeland theory. Greece condemned this extension of Turkish SAR as illegal under international law which does not permit any deliberate expansions of SAR areas without prior agreements with the relevant neighboring states, and protested strongly due to this expansion overlapping with Greece's Athens SAR and the sovereign rights of Greek islands and their surrounding waters. The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs filed a complaint against it at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Turkey described the Greek protests as "groundless", insisting that the expansion was done "to ensure the safety of the activities" within the Greek continental shelf which Ankara claims as "Turkish". ICAO's Secretary General Fang Liu, however, responded by rejecting Turkey's unilateral expansion of SAR and reaffirming the Greek position on the matter. According to Liu, no changes may be done to the SAR boundaries between the two countries without Greece's prior consent.


title: Aegean dispute

text: On 20 October, Greece and Albania agreed to resume negotiations for the demarcation of their maritime boundaries and that, in the event of no resolution, the two parties may jointly submit the case to the International Court of Justice in The Hague. The two countries had already reached an agreement on the demarcation of their maritime boundaries in 2009. Although ratified by the Greek side, the Albanian one took it to the Albanian Supreme Court where it was deemed unconstitutional. According to Cihat Yaycı, a Turkish general and author of the Turkey's "Blue Homeland" theory, it was due to Ankara's pressure on Tirana that the agreement's ratification failed. For Turkey, an agreement between Albania and Greece based on the UNCLOS, would have had set a negative legal precedent against Turkey's positions in its maritime disputes with Greece. According to US diplomatic cables leaked in 2011, however, the Greek government had blackmailed Albania to accept an unfavourable deal using the veto power that Athens has over EU enlargement.


title: Aegean dispute

text: On 18 November, Greece and the United Arab Emirates formed a military alliance by signing a mutual defense pact, which calls for each to help the other in case of an attack. The pact which is regarded as historic, marking the first of its kind in Greece's modern history, aims at countering Turkey's policies in the region.


title: Aegean dispute

text: Turkey was criticized at a NATO meeting on 3 December by the then US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, for what he regarded as undermining NATO's security and cohesion and destabilizing the eastern Mediterranean by stoking tensions with fellow ally Greece, whilst according to Reuters, Turkish sources with knowledge of the meeting saw Pompeo's approach as "unjust" as Turkey was "open to talks with Greece". On 5 December, Turkey's Ministry of Foreign Affairs tweeted that "No sanctions will ever make Turkey compromise its sovereign rights, be it in Meis/Kastellorizo or 10 nm airspace." On 9 December, the US House of Representatives adopted the National Defence Authorization Act (NDAA), a defense legislation which includes sanctionary measures against Turkey because of several international disagreements between Washington and Ankara, including the purchase of the Russian defence system S-400 and the Turkish activities in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Three days after its approval by the US Congress, the Donald Trump administration imposed the sanctions as part of the CAATSA. According to Senator Robert Menendez, a member of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and rapporteur of the NDAA amendment for US sanctions, Turkey's behavior in the East Med was one of the reasons contributing to the decision. The European Union's 27 leaders, also decided in the 10 December summit to impose sanctions on Turkey for its activities against Greece and Cyprus in the East Med. The EU sanctions include travel bans into the EU territories and asset freezes on Turkish companies and individuals.


title: Aegean dispute

text: On 18 September 2021, new diplomatic tensions sparked after an incident between Greece and Turkey where the latter's frigates prevented France's research vessel Nautical Geo from conducting surveys on Greece's behalf at the Greek EEZ, just 6 miles off the Greek island of Crete, whose waters Turkey claims as Turkish, citing its contentious maritime deal with the former Government of National Accord of Libya. The tensions come just a day after a high-level EUMed 9 Summit at Athens, where the heads of governments from 9 Mediterranean countries, including Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain, as well as the head of EU's Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, released a joint statement regarding the security and stability in the Mediterranean Sea, urging Turkey to “abstain, in a consistent and permanent manner, from provocations or unilateral actions in breach of international law”. Turkey's Foreign Ministry rejected the summit's declaration, calling it "biased".


title: Aegean dispute

text: On 19 September, the main opposition party in Turkey, the Republican People's Party (CHP), opposed the Mavi Vatan (Blue Homeland) doctrine as aggressive and expansionist.


title: Aegean dispute

text: On 28 September 2021, Greece and France signed the Franco-Greek defense agreement whereby either country is obliged to defend the other in the case of attack by a third party. France will supply Greece with navy frigates worth around €3 billion and is committed to help defend Greece if Turkey attacks. The pact is considered to be a landmark and the first of its kind ever signed between NATO allies, and is believed to be the first step in Europe's strategic autonomy and the creation of a European army. The deal was welcomed positively by other NATO allies such as the United States Germany, and the EU's Commission, however it is opposed by Turkey as "harmful". According to experts, the deal aims to become the basis for the creation of a European defense structure with its own autonomous dynamics and priorities, and part of Greece's efforts in deterring Turkey's neo-Ottoman expansionist policies in the region.


title: Aegean dispute

text: On 14 October, Greece and the United States expanded and indefinitely extended their defense pact amid tensions with Turkey. The agreement, known as the US-Greece Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement, promotes a strategic partnership between the two countries and grants the American forces a broader use of Greek bases, including a military base near the Greece-Turkey border. According to the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, it aims at advancing "security and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean and beyond". Furthermore, in his letter accompanying the deal, Blinken vowed "to mutually safeguard and protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of both countries against actions threatening peace, including armed attacks".


title: Aegean dispute

text: On 15 December 2021, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu hinged Greece's sovereignty over the Aegean islands to their demilitarized status, claiming for the first time that Greece loses its sovereign rights even over the major Greek islands (such as Chios, Lesvos, and Rhodes), from the moment it has militarized them. According to him, this claim of sovereignty over islands being dependent to their demilitarization, was reiterated in Turkey's October 2021 letter to the United Nations as well. The international community however rejected Çavuşoğlu's positions. The Israeli ambassador to Athens, Yossi Amrani, when commenting about Çavuşoğlu's statements, pointed to the joint Israel, Cyprus and Greece declaration at the tripartite Jerusalem Summit earlier this month, which stressed the need for all countries to respect the sovereign rights of their neighbors in the region. Besides Israel and Cyprus, also the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, the European Union,


title: Aegean dispute

text: Egypt and China lend their support to Greece, with the State Department stating that "the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries must be respected and protected. The sovereignty of Greece οn these islands is not in question," and the European Union expressing its disapproval, stating that "the sovereignty of Greece in these islands is indisputable" and that "the international agreements must be respected." The US ambassador to Athens Geoffrey Pyatt also affirmed his country's solidarity with Greece against the Turkish claims. A few days later, however, the Turkish President Erdogan, reiterated Çavuşoğlu's statements, insisting that their militarization is a "violation of [international] treaties" and that "the issue of the islands is always controversial". Greece's Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias expressed his regret for Erdogan's remarks, stating that they go against the spirit of the United Nations's Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and raises questions about Turkey's membership in the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO). Turkey's retired ambassadors, and Selim Kuneralp, questioned their country's foreign policy regarding the Greek islands, noting that it is harmful for its own interests. While commenting on the Turkish government's attempts to challenge their sovereignty, Eralp stated that “There are many claims of sovereignty that the islands were given on condition [of demilitarization]. There is no such thing. The islands located beyond three miles were given to Greece and Turkey has accepted it for many years. Putting this into question now – in diplomacy – makes Turkey an aggressive state”, adding that "there are over 2,400 islands and islets in the Mediterranean. A treaty to count all these islands is out of the question. We have not seen it [happening] anywhere. [The Treaty of] Lausanne gave the islands beyond three miles to Greece, whether we like it or not.”


title: Aegean dispute

text: On 9 July 2022, officials from Turkey's AKP-led ruling coalition, the People's Alliance, appeared for the first time in photographs with a revisionist map claiming Greece's largest island, Crete, as belonging to Turkey. Besides Crete, the entire eastern half of the Aegean Sea, its islands and their waters, which were initially claimed as part of the "Blue Homeland" doctrine, are also shown as Turkish. This prompted strong reactions and condemnation both in Greece and abroad, with Athens regarding the unprecedented move as an aggressive act, and the Greek Prime Minister asking publicly the Turkish President to clarify his position on the new map, something he avoided doing. The United States and Germany also rebuked the map's claims as unacceptable. Following these developments, the head of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Senator Robert Menendez, announced congressional amendments conditioning future US arm sales of F-16 to Turkey on its respect of Greek sovereignty. These amendments which require that the US administration shows the US Congress that Turkey has "not violated the sovereignty of Greece" in the past 120 days prior to the sale, and that concrete steps have been taken "to ensure no such F-16s are used by Turkey for repeated unauthorized territorial overflights of Greece", passed on 14 July.


title: Aegean dispute

text: On August 23, Turkey's Defense Ministry claimed that Greek Air Force fighter jets placed radar locks on Turkish F-16s escorting US B-52 bombers as part of the NATO mission. Following the incident, Turkey summoned the Greek military attaché and filed a complaint with NATO. A few days later, it also claimed that the radar of a Greek S-300 missile system based on the island of Crete has been used to locked on to the Turkish F-16s. These allegations were denied by Greece, while a Western military official noted that Turkey has yet to provide any evidence to support them. According to experts, it is believed that Turkey uses fake news regarding the use of S-300 by Greece to create analogies between Turkey's S-400 and Greece's S-300 in a bid to convince the US administration to lift the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) sanctions which were imposed on Turkey for acquiring them from Russia. However the United States refuted Turkey's attempts to create any analogies between its S-400 and Greece's S-300. In the past, Turkey has again unsuccessfully attempted to justify the use of S-400 and thus lift the CAATSA sanctions on Ankara, by pointing again to Greece's S-300.


title: Aegean dispute

text: By 3 September 2022, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan threatened Greece with a Turkish military invasion of the Greek islands which, according to him, are "occupied". Greece responded by reiterating its right to defend its islands against what it described as an "expansionist" Turkish stance, and pointed to Turkey's Aegean coast just opposite the Greek islands, noting that Turkey maintains there its landing fleet, the largest in Europe, along with a full formation of its army. Greece furthermore announced that it is informing the United Nations and NATO about the leader's remarks. The European Union and its presiding country, the Czech Republic condemned the Erdoğan's threats as "unacceptable", while France's Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna responded by recalling the mutual assistance clause signed last year that unites Paris and Athens. According to the international media, the Turkish leader's remarks constitute an escalation of his rhetoric as he is preparing for the 2023 elections in his country, which are seen as crucial for his nearly 20-year rule; increasing the political rhetoric against a neighboring country would rally his nationalist base amid Turkey's ongoing economic troubles. According to Greek analysts, these threats of invasion made Greece's position appear more credible to the international community as the need to maintain a military presence on its islands for deterrence against Turkey is now fully justifiable.


title: Aegean dispute

text: On 11 December, Erdogan also stated that the Turkish-manufactured Tayfun missiles "will hit Athens", Greece's capital city, if the Greek islands continue to be armed up.


title: Aegean dispute

text: There have been a number of disputes related to the territories of the Greek islands themselves. These have related to the demilitarized status of some of the main islands in the area; to Turkish concerns over alleged endeavours by Greece to artificially expand settlements to previously uninhabited islets; and to the existence of alleged "grey zones", an undetermined number of small islands of undetermined sovereignty.


title: Aegean dispute

text: The question of the demilitarized status of some major Greek islands is complicated by a number of facts. Several of the Greek islands in the eastern Aegean as well as the Turkish straits region were placed under various regimes of demilitarization in different international treaties. The regimes developed over time, resulting in difficulties of treaty-interpretation. However, the military status of the islands in question did not constitute a serious problem in the bilateral relations until the Cyprus crisis of 1974, after which both Greece and Turkey re-interpreted the stipulations of the treaties. Greece, claiming an inalienable right to defend itself against Turkish aggression, reinforced its military and National Guard forces in the region. Furthermore, Greece maintains the position that it has the right to militarize its islands in the same context as the rest of Europe, where the appliance of demilitarization statute on islands and territories ceased with the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the Warsaw Pact; i.e. the cessation of demilitarization of Italy's Panteleria, Lampedusa, Lampione and Linosa islands, and West Germany from the NATO side, and the cessation of demilitarization of Bulgaria, Romania, East Germany, and Hungary from the Warsaw Pact's side, and the cessation of demilitarization of Finland. Turkey, on the other hand, denounces this as an aggressive act by Greece and as a breach of international treaties. From a legal perspective, three groups of islands may be distinguished: (a) the islands right off the Turkish Dardanelles straits, i.e. Lemnos and Samothrace; (b) the Dodecanese islands in the southeast Aegean; and (c) the remaining northeast Aegean islands (Lesbos, Chios, Samos, and Ikaria).


title: Aegean dispute

text: These islands were placed under a demilitarization statute by the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923, to counterbalance the simultaneous demilitarization of the Turkish straits area (the Dardanelles and Bosphorus), Imbros and Tenedos. The demilitarization on the Turkish side was later abolished through the Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Turkish Straits in 1936. Greece holds that, by superseding the relevant sections of the earlier treaty, the convention simultaneously lifted also the Greek obligations with respect to these islands. Against this, Turkey argues that the Montreux treaty did not mention the islands and has not changed their status. Greece, on the other hand, cites Turkish official declarations, by the then Turkish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Rustu Aras, to that effect made in 1936, assuring the Greek side that Turkey would consider the Greek obligations lifted.


title: Aegean dispute

text: These islands were placed under a demilitarization statute after the Second World War by the Treaty of peace with Italy (1947), when Italy ceded them to Greece. Italy had previously not been under any obligation towards Turkey in this respect. Turkey, in turn, was not a party to the 1947 treaty, having been neutral during WWII. Greece therefore holds that the obligations it incurred towards Italy and the other parties in 1947 are "res inter alios acta" for Turkey in the sense of Article 34 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, which states that "a treaty does not create obligations or rights for a third country", and that Turkey thus cannot base any claims on them. Turkey argues that the demilitarization agreement constitutes a status treaty (an "objective régime"), where according to general rules of treaty law such an exclusion does not hold.


title: Aegean dispute

text: The remaining islands (Lesbos, Chios, Samos, and Ikaria) were placed under a partial demilitarization statute by the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923. It prohibited the establishment of naval bases and fortifications, but allowed Greece to maintain a limited military contingent recruited from the local population, as well as police forces. With respect to these islands, Greece has not claimed that the treaty obligations have been formally superseded. However, in recent years it has argued that it is entitled to discount them, invoking Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations. It argues that after the Turkish occupation of northern Cyprus and the Turkish threat of war over the 12 miles issue, re-armament is an act of legitimate self-defence.


title: Aegean dispute

text: The first time a dispute between the two countries in the Aegean touched on questions of actual sovereignty over territories was in early 1996 at the tiny barren islets of Imia (known as Kardak in Turkey), situated between the Dodecanese island chain and the Turkish mainland. The conflict, triggered by the stranding of a Turkish merchant ship on the islets, was originally caused by factual inconsistencies between maps of the area, some of which assigned these islets to Greece, others to Turkey. The media of the two countries took up the issue and gave it a nationalistic turn, before the two governments even had the time to come to a full technical understanding of the true legal and geographical situation. Both governments finally adopted an intransigent stance, publicly asserting their own claims of sovereignty over the islets. The result was military escalation, which was perceived abroad as quite out of proportion with the size and significance of the rocks in question. The two countries were at the brink of war for a few days, until the crisis was defused with the help of foreign mediation.


title: Aegean dispute

text: During the crisis and in the months following it, both governments elaborated legal arguments to support their claims to sovereignty. The arguments exchanged concerned the interpretation of the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923, which forms the principal basis for the legal status of territories in most of the region, as well as certain later diplomatic dealings between Turkey, Greece and Italy.


title: Aegean dispute

text: In the wake of the Imia crisis, the Turkish government widened its argumentation to include not only Imia but also a possibly large number of other islands and small formations across the Aegean. Since then, Turkish authorities have spoken of "grey zones" of undetermined sovereignty. According to the Turkish argument, these islets, while not explicitly retained under Turkish sovereignty in 1923, were also not explicitly ceded to any other country, and their sovereignty has therefore remained objectively undecided.


title: Aegean dispute

text: The Turkish government has avoided stating exactly which islets it wishes to include in this category. On various occasions, Turkish government sources have indicated that islands such as Pserimos, Agathonisi, Fournoi and Gavdos (situated south of Crete) might be included. Most of them, unlike Imia, had undeniably been in factual Greek possession, which had never previously been challenged by Turkey, and all but the final two listed below have Greek residents and infrastructure. Furthermore, the islands are covered by previous treaties such as the Treaty of Lausanne, which defines Turkish sovereignty as limited to within 3 miles of the Anatolian mainland in the majority of cases. In a 2004 publication by Turkish authors close to the Turkish military leadership the following (among other, even smaller ones) were listed as potentially "grey" areas:


title: Aegean dispute

text: While Turkey has not attempted to challenge Greek sovereignty on the ground, its claims about "grey area" islands add to the number of minor military incidents, already numerous due to the 10-mile airspace and the FIR issues. Greek authorities routinely report that the Turkish Air Force ignores their national airspace. According to Greek press reports, the number of airspace violations rose sharply in 2006, as did the number of unauthorized Turkish military flights directly over Greek islands themselves. Renewed reports of systematic Turkish military flights directly over Greek islands like Pharmakonisi and Agathonisi were made in late 2008 and early 2009.


title: Aegean dispute

text: During the late 2010s, tensions rose again as Turkish fighter aircraft increased the number of direct armed overflights above inhabited Greek islands. While most overflights continue to occur above small islands that Turkey considers "grey areas", such as Agathonisi or Oinousses, some incidents have also repeatedly been reported involving major and undisputed islands such as Rhodes, Lesbos, Chios or Leros. Flying over the territory of a country is considered a serious violation of its sovereignty and one of the most provocative acts by Turkey, directly challenging Greek territorial sovereignty.


title: Aegean dispute

text: A regional Foreign Minister conference held on 11 May 2020 with the participation of Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece and the United Arab Emirates, concluded with a joint declaration condemning Turkey for its practice of conducting armed overflights above the inhabited Greek islands.


title: Aegean dispute

text: In 2022, Turkish bomber aircraft approached the major Greek city of Alexandroupolis on Evros, within 2.5 miles. The jets reportedly flew near the US base located in the city's port. This move is considered to be unprecedented, prompting protests from both the Greek authorities and the European Union, as well as USA's disapproval, with the Head of Turkey's Permanent Representation to the European Union Mehmet Bozay being summoned at Brussels by the Secretary General of the European Union External Action Service, Stefano Sannino.


title: Aegean dispute

text: In September 2009, a Turkish military radar issued a warning to a Latvian helicopter patrolling in the eastern Aegean—part of the EU's Frontex programme to combat illegal immigration—to leave the area. The Turkish General Staff reported that the Latvian Frontex aircraft had violated Turkish airspace west of Didim.


title: Aegean dispute

text: According to a Hellenic Air Force announcement, the incident occurred as the Frontex helicopter—identified as an Italian-made Agusta A109—was patrolling in Greek air space near the small isle of Farmakonisi, which lies on a favorite route used by migrant smugglers ferrying mostly illegal migrants into Greece and the EU from the opposite Turkish coastline. Frontex officials stated that they simply ignored the Turkish warnings as they did not recognise their being in Turkish airspace and continued their duties.


title: Aegean dispute

text: Another incident took place in October 2009 in the aerial area above the eastern Aegean sea, off the island of Lesbos. On 20 November 2009, the Turkish General Staff issued a press note alleging that an Estonian Border Guard aircraft Let L-410 UVP taking off from Kos on a Frontex mission had violated Turkish airspace west of Söke.


title: Aegean dispute

text: The decades since the 1970s have seen a repeated heightening and abating of political and military tensions over the Aegean. Thus, the crisis of 1987 was followed by a series of negotiations and agreements in Davos and Brussels in 1988. Again, after the Imia crisis of 1996, there came an agreement over peaceful neighbourly relations reached at a meeting in Madrid in 1997. The period since about 1999 has been marked by a steady improvement of bilateral relations.


title: Aegean dispute

text: For years, the Aegean dispute has been a matter not only about conflicting claims of substance. Rather, proposed strategies of how to resolve the substantial differences have themselves constituted a matter of heated dispute. Whereas Turkey has traditionally preferred to regard the whole set of topics as a "political" issue, requiring bilateral political negotiation, Greece views them as "separate" and purely "legal" issues, requiring only the application of existing principles of international law. Turkey has advocated direct negotiation, with a view to establishing what it would regard as an equitable compromise. Greece refuses to accept any process that would put it under pressure to engage in a give-and-take over what it perceives as inalienable and unnegotiable sovereign rights. Up to the late 1990s, the only avenue of conflict resolution that Greece deemed acceptable was to submit the issues separately to the International Court of Justice in The Hague.


title: Aegean dispute

text: The resulting stalemate between both sides over process was partially changed after 1999, when the European summit of Helsinki opened up a path towards Turkey's accession to the EU. In the summit agreement, Turkey accepted an obligation to solve its bilateral disputes with Greece before actual accession talks would start. This was perceived as giving Greece a new tactical advantage over Turkey in determining which paths of conflict resolution to choose. During the following years, both countries held regular bilateral talks on the level of technical specialists, trying to determine possible future procedures. According to press reports, both sides seemed close to an agreement about how to submit the dispute to the court at The Hague, a step which would have fulfilled many of the old demands of Greece. However, a newly elected Greek government under Kostas Karamanlis, soon after it took office in March 2004, opted out of this plan, because Ankara was insisting that all the issues, including Imia and the "grey zones", belonged to a single negotiating item. Athens saw them as separate. However, Greek policy remained at the forefront in advocating closer links between Ankara and the EU. This resulted in the European Union finally opening accession talks with Turkey without its previous demands having been fulfilled.


title: Aegean dispute

text: According to some commentators, the 2020 fall of energy prices, combined with the discovery of gas within the Turkish EEZ in the Black Sea means there is enough energy in Turkey that further exploration for gas is unnecessary.


title: Aegean dispute

text: According to Greece's Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, the disputes which are plaguing the Greek-Turkish relations for decades, can easily be resolved once Turkey accepts the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). To this, Dendias opined that the United States, due to their position and influence in the region, are an "ideal partner" in persuading Turkey to do so. Furthermore, he noted that the UNCLOS has been ratified by all the member states of the European Union, is part of the EU's acquis communautaire, and therefore Greece's talks with EU-candidate member Turkey on the delimitation of maritime zones are bound by it. Ronald Meinardus, head of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, analyst and author in Deutsche Welle, while commenting on the statements Dendias made during his official visit to Ankara in April 2021 about the UNCLOS being a prerequisite for joining the EU, confirmed that the Law of the Sea is a precondition for Turkey's EU membership.


title: Back bacon

text: Back bacon is a cut of bacon that includes the pork loin from the back of the pig. It may also include a portion of the pork belly in the same cut. It is much leaner than side bacon made only from the pork belly. Back bacon is derived from the same cut used for pork chops. It is the most common cut of bacon used in British and Irish cuisine, where both smoked and unsmoked varieties of bacon are found.


title: Back bacon

text: "Canadian bacon" or "Canadian-style bacon" is the term commonly used in the United States for a form of back bacon that is cured, smoked and fully cooked, trimmed into cylindrical medallions, and sliced thick. The name was created when this product was first imported from Toronto to New York City. "Canadian" bacon is made only from the lean eye of the loin and is ready to eat. Its flavor is described as more ham-like than other types because of its lean cut.


title: Back bacon

text: The term "Canadian bacon" is not used in Canada, where the product is generally known simply as "back bacon" while "bacon" alone refers to the same streaky pork belly bacon as in the United States. Peameal bacon is a variety of back bacon popular in Ontario where the loin is wet cured before being rolled in cornmeal (originally yellow pea meal); it is unsmoked.


title: Percentage point

text: A percentage point or percent point is the unit for the arithmetic difference between two percentages. For example, moving up from 40 percent to 44 percent is an increase of 4 percentage points, but a 10-percent increase in the quantity being measured. In literature, the unit is usually either written out, or abbreviated as "pp" or "p.p." to avoid ambiguity. After the first occurrence, some writers abbreviate by using just "point" or "points".


title: Percentage point

text: Consider the following hypothetical example: In 1980, 50 percent of the population smoked, and in 1990 only 40 percent of the population smoked. One can thus say that from 1980 to 1990, the prevalence of smoking decreased by 10 "percentage points" (or by 10 percent of the population) or by "20 percent" when talking about smokers only - percentages indicate proportionate part of a total.


title: Percentage point

text: Percentage-point differences are one way to express a risk or probability. Consider a drug that cures a given disease in 70 percent of all cases, while without the drug, the disease heals spontaneously in only 50 percent of cases. The drug reduces absolute risk by 20 percentage points. Alternatives may be more meaningful to consumers of statistics, such as the reciprocal, also known as the number needed to treat (NNT). In this case, the reciprocal transform of the percentage-point difference would be 1/(20pp) = 1/0.20 = 5. Thus if 5 patients are treated with the drug, one could expect to heal one more case of the disease than would have occurred in the absence of the drug.


title: Percentage point

text: For measurements involving percentages as a unit, such as, growth, yield, or ejection fraction, statistical deviations and related descriptive statistics, including the standard deviation and root-mean-square error, the result should be expressed in units of percentage points instead of percentage. Mistakenly using percentage as the unit for the standard deviation is confusing, since percentage is also used as a unit for the relative standard deviation, i.e. standard deviation divided by average value (coefficient of variation).


title: Najib Mikati

text: Najib Azmi Mikati (; born 24 November 1955) is a Lebanese politician and businessman, and three-time Prime Minister of Lebanon whose current term began in September 2021. He also serves as the acting President of Lebanon as of October 2022 in his capacity as prime minister. He previously served as Prime Minister from June 2011 to February 2014 and from April to July 2005. He also served as Minister of Public Works and Transport from December 1998 to 2003.


title: Najib Mikati

text: In 2005, he headed an interim government that supervised the general election following the withdrawal of Syrian troops. In 2011, he formed his second government backed by the March 8 alliance, before he resigned in 2013. He was a member of parliament for Tripoli from 2000 to 2005 and was re-elected in 2009 and 2018. In July 2021, he was designated as Prime Minister.


title: Najib Mikati

text: According to "Forbes", he is the richest man in Lebanon, with a net worth of $2.5 billion in 2021. He has been subject of multiple corruption accusations, and was charged with illegitimate gains. Mikati was close to the Syrian government and operated several telecom projects in Syria and Lebanon.


title: Najib Mikati

text: Mikati was born on 24 November 1955 and hails from a prominent Sunni Muslim family based in Tripoli. He graduated from the American University of Beirut in 1980 with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree. He also attended a summer school program held at Harvard and the French business school INSEAD.


title: Najib Mikati

text: In 1979, Najib's older brother Taha Mikati founded Arabian Construction Company (ACC), headquartered in Abu Dhabi, and which became one of the largest construction companies in the Middle East. Najib Mikati co-founded the telecommunications company Investcom with his brother Taha in 1982. He sold the company in June 2006 to South Africa's MTN Group for $5.5 billion.


title: Najib Mikati

text: He is a major shareholder in the South African telecommunications operator MTN, owner of the high-end fashion brand "Façonnable", and investor in transport, gas and oil. He also has investments in real estate, notably in London, New York and Monaco.


title: Najib Mikati

text: After being appointed Minister of Public Works and Transport on 4 December 1998, Mikati was elected to the Lebanese parliament from his hometown of Tripoli in 2000, outpolling Omar Karami, who was elected from the same multimember constituency. As a parliamentarian, Mikati retained his cabinet position and developed a reputation as a moderately pro-Syrian politician with a normal relationship with Syrian president Bashar Assad. Later Mikati was made transportation minister and became an ally of then Lebanese president Emile Lahoud, supporting the extension of his term in 2004.


title: Najib Mikati

text: He is considered a compromise figure, not being close to any particular political bloc. He is one of the leaders of the Sunni community. He himself denies any closeness to Hezbollah and describes himself as a liberal, emphasizing his background in business to reassure the United States.


title: Najib Mikati

text: Mikati was a perennial candidate for Lebanon's prime ministry since 2000, finally taking the office upon the resignation of Omar Karami on 13 April 2005. During negotiations to form a government, Mikati emerged as a consensus candidate. Mikati acted as a caretaker premier. He is the leader of the solidarity bloc, which has had two seats in the Lebanese parliament since 2004. He also created the centrist movement and ideology in Lebanon and the Arab world, for which he has held many international conferences in Lebanon. In the general elections of 2009, Mikati won again a seat from Tripoli, being a member of the centrist groups in the Lebanese parliament.


title: Najib Mikati

text: On 24 January 2011, the March 8 alliance, specifically Hezbollah, Michel Aoun and Walid Jumblatt, nominated Mikati to become prime minister. Mikati succeeded Saad Hariri, whose government was brought down by the resignation of ten of the alliance's ministers and one presidential appointee on 12 January 2011, resulting from the collapse of the Saudi-Syrian initiative to reach a compromise on the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. On 25 January, 68 members of the parliament of Lebanon voted in favor of nominating Mikati for Prime Minister. President of Lebanon Michel Suleiman then invited Mikati to head a new Lebanese government. The process of government formation lasted for five months due to serious disagreements between leaders. On 13 June 2011, Mikati became the Prime Minister of Lebanon for the second time.


title: Najib Mikati

text: On 13 June, Mikati announced the formation of the government and stated that it would begin by "liberating land that remains under the occupation of the Israeli enemy". On 22 March 2013, Mikati resigned from office, due to "intensifying pressure between the pro-Assad and anti-Assad camps" and the Lebanese president accepted his resignation on 23 March 2013. On 6 April 2013, Tammam Salam was tasked to form a new government.


title: Najib Mikati

text: Following the resignation of Prime Minister Hassan Diab in August 2020, both Mustafa Adib and Saad Hariri failed to form a government. Mikati was designated to fill the role on 26 July 2021. He received 72 votes out of 128 MPs. Mikati declared that he wants a purely technocratic government, without representatives of political parties, in order to carry out the economic reforms expected by Lebanon's donors. His appointment was received coldly by the population. As the country sinks into a serious economic, social and humanitarian crisis, he is seen as a representative of the traditional political class and economic elites. According to the daily "L'Orient-Le Jour", “if being a billionaire has long been an asset in establishing someone on the Lebanese political scene, it is now perceived by part of the population as a symbol of the plundering of public resources by the political class. On September 10, 2021, Mikati was able to form a government of 24 members after long negotiations with President Aoun, and the various political parties. When he took office, Lebanon was in the grip of a very serious economic crisis: collapse of the national currency, galloping inflation (the cost of food had jumped by 700% in the previous two years), massive layoffs, a poverty rate of 78% according to the UN, frequent power cuts, fuel shortages, etc. He announced that he wanted to call on the solidarity of the Arab world to try to get the country out of the crisis it was going through and to negotiate with the IMF.


title: Najib Mikati

text: In February 2022, Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, Lebanese senior Christian cleric and head of the Maronite Church, called on the Mikati government to "agree with the IMF on a plan that saves Lebanon from collapse".


title: Najib Mikati

text: He was again named prime minister designate on 23 June 2022 with 54 votes against Nawaf Salam's 28 to form a new cabinet until the remainder of President Michel Aoun's term. However, Mikati and Aoun failed to agree on a new government numerous times. President Michel Aoun signed the government's resignation decree, a day before his six-year term officially ended, and Najib Mikati's government remained in office in a caretaker capacity, however Aoun’s move was deemed as of no effect by the Lebanese Parliament in a session held on November 3 since the government was already considered resigned following parliamentary elections on May 15.


title: Najib Mikati

text: In 2019, state prosecutor Ghada Aoun pressed charges against Mikati over illegitimate enrichment via subsidised housing loans.


title: Geography of Canada

text: Canada has a vast geography that occupies much of the continent of North America, sharing a land border with the contiguous United States to the south and the U.S. state of Alaska to the northwest. Canada stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west; to the north lies the Arctic Ocean. Greenland is to the northeast with a shared border on Hans Island. To the southeast Canada shares a maritime boundary with France's overseas collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, the last vestige of New France. By total area (including its waters), Canada is the second-largest country in the world, after Russia. By land area alone, however, Canada ranks fourth, the difference being due to it having the world's largest proportion of fresh water lakes. Of Canada's thirteen provinces and territories, only two are landlocked (Alberta and Saskatchewan) while the other eleven all directly border one of three oceans.


title: Geography of Canada

text: Canada is home to the world's northernmost settlement, Canadian Forces Station Alert, on the northern tip of Ellesmere Island—latitude 82.5°N—which lies from the North Pole. Much of the Canadian Arctic is covered by ice and permafrost. Canada has the longest coastline in the world, with a total length of ; additionally, its border with the United States is the world's longest land border, stretching . Three of Canada's Arctic islands, Baffin Island, Victoria Island and Ellesmere Island, are among the ten largest in the world.


title: Geography of Canada

text: Canada can be divided into seven physiographic regions: the Canadian Shield, the interior plains, the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Lowlands, the Appalachian region, the Western Cordillera, Hudson Bay Lowlands and the Arctic Archipelago. Canada is also divided into fifteen terrestrial and five marine ecozones, encompassing over 80,000 classified species of life. Since the end of the last glacial period, Canada has consisted of eight distinct forest regions, including extensive boreal forest on the Canadian Shield; 42 percent of the land acreage of Canada is covered by forests (approximately 8 percent of the world's forested land), made up mostly of spruce, poplar and pine. Canada has over 2,000,000 lakes—563 greater than —which is more than any other country, containing much of the world's fresh water. There are also freshwater glaciers in the Canadian Rockies, the Coast Mountains and the Arctic Cordillera. A recent global remote sensing analysis also suggested that there were 6,477 km² of tidal flats in Canada, making it the 5th ranked country in terms of how much tidal flat occurs there. Protected areas of Canada and National Wildlife Areas have been established to preserve ecosystems.


title: Geography of Canada

text: Canada is geologically active, having many earthquakes and potentially active volcanoes, notably the Mount Meager massif, Mount Garibaldi, Mount Cayley, and the Mount Edziza volcanic complex. Average winter and summer high temperatures across Canada range from Arctic weather in the north, to hot summers in the southern regions, with four distinct seasons.


title: Geography of Canada

text: Canada covers and a panoply of various geoclimatic regions, of which there are seven main regions. Canada also encompasses vast maritime terrain, with the world's longest coastline of . The physical geography of Canada is widely varied. Boreal forests prevail throughout the country, ice is prominent in northerly Arctic regions and through the Canadian Rocky Mountains, and the relatively flat Canadian Prairies in the southwest facilitate productive agriculture. The Great Lakes feed the St. Lawrence River (in the southeast) where lowlands host much of Canada's population.


title: Geography of Canada

text: The National Topographic System is used by Natural Resources Canada for providing general purpose topographic maps of the country. The maps provide details on landforms and terrain, lakes and rivers, forested areas, administrative zones, populated areas, roads and railways, as well as other man-made features. These maps are used by all levels of government and industry for forest fire and flood control (as well as other environmental issues), depiction of crop areas, right-of-way, real estate planning, development of natural resources and highway planning.


title: Geography of Canada

text: The Appalachian mountain range extends from Alabama in southern United States through the Gaspé Peninsula and the Atlantic Provinces, creating rolling hills indented by river valleys. It also runs through parts of southern Quebec.


title: Geography of Canada

text: The Appalachian Mountains (more specifically the Chic-Choc, Notre Dame, and Long Range Mountains) are an old and eroded range of mountains, approximately 380 million years in age. Notable mountains in the Appalachians include Mount Jacques-Cartier (Quebec, ), Mount Carleton (New Brunswick, ), The Cabox (Newfoundland, ). Parts of the Appalachians are home to a rich endemic flora and fauna and are considered to have been nunataks during the last glaciation era.


title: Geography of Canada

text: The northeastern part of Alberta, northern parts of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec, all of Labrador and the Great Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland, eastern mainland Northwest Territories, most of Nunavut's mainland and, of its Arctic Archipelago, Baffin Island and significant bands through Somerset, Southampton, Devon and Ellesmere islands are located on a vast rock base known as the Canadian Shield. The Shield mostly consists of eroded hilly terrain and contains many lakes and important rivers used for hydroelectric production, particularly in northern Quebec and Ontario. The Shield also encloses an area of wetlands around the Hudson Bay. Some particular regions of the Shield are referred to as mountain ranges, including the Torngat and Laurentian Mountains.


title: Geography of Canada

text: The Shield cannot support intensive agriculture, although there is subsistence agriculture and small dairy farms in many of the river valleys and around the abundant lakes, particularly in the southern regions. Boreal forest covers much of the shield, with a mix of conifers that provide valuable timber resources in areas such as the Central Canadian Shield forests ecoregion that covers much of Northern Ontario.


title: Geography of Canada

text: The Canadian Shield is known for its vast mineral reserves such as emeralds, diamonds and copper, and is there also called the "mineral house".


title: Geography of Canada

text: While the largest part of the Canadian Arctic is composed of seemingly endless permafrost and tundra north of the tree line, it encompasses geological regions of varying types: the Arctic Cordillera (with the British Empire Range and the United States Range on Ellesmere Island) contains the northernmost mountain system in the world. The Arctic Lowlands and Hudson Bay lowlands comprise a substantial part of the geographic region often designated as the Canadian Shield (in contrast to the sole geologic area). The ground in the Arctic is mostly composed of permafrost, making construction difficult and often hazardous, and agriculture virtually impossible.


title: Geography of Canada

text: The Arctic, when defined as everything north of the tree line, covers most of Nunavut and the northernmost parts of Northwest Territories, Yukon, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Labrador. The archipelago consists of 36,563 islands, of which 94 are classified as major islands, being larger than , and cover a total area of .


title: Geography of Canada

text: The Coast Mountains in British Columbia run from the lower Fraser River and the Fraser Canyon northwestward, separating the Interior Plateau from the Pacific Ocean. Its southeastern end is separated from the North Cascades by the Fraser Lowland, where nearly a third of Western Canada's population reside.


title: Geography of Canada

text: The coastal flank of the Coast Mountains is characterized by an intense network of fjords and associated islands, very similar to the Norwegian coastline in Northern Europe; while their inland side transitions to the high plateau with dryland valleys notable for a series of large alpine lakes similar to those in southern Switzerland, beginning in deep mountains and ending in flatland. They are subdivided in three main groups, the Pacific Ranges between the Fraser River and Bella Coola, the Kitimat Ranges from there northwards to the Nass River, and the Boundary Ranges from there to the mountain terminus in Yukon at Champagne Pass and Chilkat Pass northwest of Haines, Alaska. The Saint Elias Mountains lie to their west and northwest, while the Yukon Ranges and Yukon Basin lie to their north. On the inland side of the Boundary Ranges are the Tahltan and Tagish Highlands and also the Skeena Mountains, part of the Interior Mountains system, which also extend southwards on the inland side of the Kitimat Ranges.


title: Geography of Canada

text: The terrain of the main spine of the Coast Mountains is typified by heavy glaciation, including several very large icefields of varying elevation. Of the three subdivisions, the Pacific Ranges are the highest and are crowned by Mount Waddington, while the Boundary Ranges contain the largest icefields, the Juneau Icefield being the largest. The Kitimat Ranges are lower and less glacier-covered than either of the other two groupings, but are extremely rugged and dense.


title: Geography of Canada

text: The Coast Mountains are made of igneous and metamorphic rock from an episode of arc volcanism related to subduction of the Kula and Farallon Plates during the Laramide orogeny about 100 million years ago. The widespread granite forming the Coast Mountains formed when magma intruded and cooled at depth beneath volcanoes of the Coast Range Arc whereas the metamorphic formed when intruding magma heated the surrounding rock to produce schist.


title: Geography of Canada

text: The Insular Mountains extend from Vancouver Island in the south to the Queen Charlotte Islands in the north on the British Columbia Coast. It contains two main mountain ranges, the Vancouver Island Ranges on Vancouver Island and the Queen Charlotte Mountains on the Queen Charlotte Islands.


title: Geography of Canada

text: The northernmost point of land within the boundaries of Canada is Cape Columbia, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut . The northernmost point of the Canadian mainland is Zenith Point on Boothia Peninsula, Nunavut . The southernmost point is Middle Island, in Lake Erie, Ontario (41°41′N 82°40′W); the southernmost water point lies just south of the island, on the Ontario–Ohio border (41°40′35″N). The southernmost point of the Canadian mainland is Point Pelee, Ontario . The lowest point is sea level at 0 m, whilst the highest point is Mount Logan, Yukon, at 5,959 m / 19,550 ft .


title: Geography of Canada

text: The westernmost point is Boundary Peak 187 (60°18′22.929″N 141°00′7.128″W) at the southern end of the Yukon–Alaska border, which roughly follows 141°W but leans very slightly east as it goes North . The easternmost point is Cape Spear, Newfoundland (47°31′N 52°37′W) . The easternmost point of the Canadian mainland is Elijah Point, Cape St. Charles, Labrador (52°13′N 55°37′W) .


title: Geography of Canada

text: The Canadian pole of inaccessibility is allegedly near Jackfish River, Alberta (59°2′N 112°49′W). The furthest straight-line distance that can be travelled to Canadian points of land is between the southwest tip of Kluane National Park and Reserve (next to Mount Saint Elias) and Cripple Cove, Newfoundland (near Cape Race) at a distance of .


title: Geography of Canada

text: Climate varies widely from region to region. Winters can be harsh in many parts of the country, particularly in the interior and Prairie provinces, which experience a continental climate, where daily average temperatures are near , but can drop below with severe wind chills. In non-coastal regions, snow can cover the ground for almost six months of the year, while in parts of the north snow can persist year-round. Coastal British Columbia has a temperate climate, with a mild and rainy winter. On the east and west coasts, average high temperatures are generally in the low 20s °C (70s °F), while between the coasts, the average summer high temperature ranges from , with temperatures in some interior locations occasionally exceeding .


title: Geography of Canada

text: Much of Northern Canada is covered by ice and permafrost; however, the future of the permafrost is uncertain because the Arctic has been warming at three times the global average as a result of climate change in Canada. Canada's annual average temperature over land has warmed by , with changes ranging from in various regions, since 1948. The rate of warming has been higher across the North and in the Prairies. In the southern regions of Canada, air pollution from both Canada and the United States—caused by metal smelting, burning coal to power utilities, and vehicle emissions—has resulted in acid rain, which has severely impacted waterways, forest growth and agricultural productivity in Canada.


title: Geography of Canada

text: Canada is divided into fifteen major terrestrial and five marine ecozones, that are further subdivided into 53 ecoprovinces, 194 ecoregions, and 1,027 ecodistricts. These eco-areas encompass over 80,000 classified species of Canadian wildlife, with an equal number yet to be formally recognized or discovered. Due to pollution, loss of biodiversity, over-exploitation of commercial species, invasive species, and habitat loss, there are currently more than 800 wild life species at risk of being lost.


title: Geography of Canada

text: Canada's major biomes are the tundra, boreal forest, grassland, and temperate deciduous forest. British Columbia contains several smaller biomes, including; mountain forest which extends to Alberta, and a small temperate rainforest along the Pacific coast, the semi arid desert located in the Okanagan and alpine tundra in the higher mountainous regions.


title: Geography of Canada

text: Over half of Canada's landscape is intact and relatively free of human development. Approximately half of Canada is covered by forest, totaling around . The boreal forest of Canada is considered to be the largest intact forest on earth, with around undisturbed by roads, cities or industry. The Canadian Arctic tundra is the second-largest vegetation region in the country consisting of dwarf shrubs, sedges and grasses, mosses and lichens.


title: Geography of Canada

text: Approximately 12.1 percent of the nation's landmass and freshwater are conservation areas, including 11.4 percent designated as protected areas. Approximately 13.8 percent of its territorial waters are conserved, including 8.9 percent designated as protected areas.


title: Geography of Canada

text: Canada holds vast reserves of water: its rivers discharge nearly 7% of the world's renewable water supply, Canada has over 2,000,000 lakes—563 greater than —which is more than any other country and has the third largest amount of glacier water. Canada is also home to about twenty five percent (134.6 million ha) of the world's wetlands that support a vast array of local ecosystems.


title: Geography of Canada

text: Canada's waterways host forty seven rivers of at least in length, with the two longest being the Mackenzie River, that begins at Great Slave Lake and ends in the Arctic Ocean, with its drainage basin covering a large part of northwestern Canada, and the Saint Lawrence River, which drains the Great Lakes into the Gulf of St. Lawrence ending in the Atlantic Ocean. The Mackenzie, including its tributaries is over in length and lies within the second largest drainage basin of North America, while the St. Lawrence in length, drains the world's largest system of freshwater lakes.


title: Geography of Canada

text: The Atlantic watershed drains the entirety of the Atlantic provinces (parts of the Quebec-Labrador border are fixed at the Atlantic Ocean-Arctic Ocean continental divide), most of inhabited Quebec and large parts of southern Ontario. It is mostly drained by the economically important St. Lawrence River and its tributaries, notably the Saguenay, Manicouagan and Ottawa rivers. The Great Lakes and Lake Nipigon are also drained by the St. Lawrence. The Churchill River and Saint John River are other important elements of the Atlantic watershed in Canada.


title: Geography of Canada

text: The Hudson Bay watershed drains over a third of Canada. It covers Manitoba, northern Ontario and Quebec, most of Saskatchewan, southern Alberta, southwestern Nunavut and the southern half of Baffin Island. This basin is most important in fighting drought in the prairies and producing hydroelectricity, especially in Manitoba, northern Ontario and Quebec. Major elements of this watershed include Lake Winnipeg, Nelson River, the North Saskatchewan and South Saskatchewan Rivers, Assiniboine River, and Nettilling Lake on Baffin Island. Wollaston Lake lies on the boundary between the Hudson Bay and Arctic Ocean watersheds and drains into both. It is the largest lake in the world that naturally drains in two directions.


title: Geography of Canada

text: The continental divide in the Rockies separates the Pacific watershed in British Columbia and Yukon from the Arctic and Hudson Bay watersheds. This watershed irrigates the agriculturally important areas of inner British Columbia (such as the Okanagan and Kootenay valleys), and is used to produce hydroelectricity. Major elements are the Yukon, Columbia and Fraser rivers.


title: Geography of Canada

text: The northern parts of Alberta, Manitoba and British Columbia, most of Northwest Territories and Nunavut, and parts of Yukon are drained by the Arctic watershed. This watershed has been little used for hydroelectricity, with the exception of the Mackenzie River. The Peace, Athabasca and Liard Rivers, as well as Great Bear Lake and Great Slave Lake (respectively the largest and second largest lakes wholly enclosed by Canada) are significant elements of the Arctic watershed. Each of these elements eventually merges with the Mackenzie, thereby draining the vast majority of the Arctic watershed.


title: Geography of Canada

text: The southernmost part of Alberta drains into the Gulf of Mexico through the Milk River and its tributaries. The Milk River originates in the Rocky Mountains of Montana, then flows into Alberta, then returns into the United States, where it is drained by the Missouri River. A small area of southwestern Saskatchewan is drained by Battle Creek, which empties into the Milk River.


title: Geography of Canada

text: Canada's abundance of natural resources is reflected in their continued importance in the economy of Canada. Major resource-based industries are fisheries, forestry, agriculture, petroleum products and mining.


title: Geography of Canada

text: The fisheries industry has historically been one of Canada's strongest. Unmatched cod stocks on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland launched this industry in the 16th century. Today these stocks are nearly depleted, and their conservation has become a preoccupation of the Atlantic Provinces. On the West Coast, tuna stocks are now restricted. The less depleted (but still greatly diminished) salmon population continues to drive a strong fisheries industry. Canada claims of territorial sea, a contiguous zone of , an exclusive economic zone of with and a continental shelf of or to the edge of the continental margin.


title: Geography of Canada

text: Five per cent of Canada's land area is arable, none of which is for permanent crops. Three per cent of Canada's land area is covered by permanent pastures. Canada has 7,200 square kilometres (2,800 mi) of irrigated land (1993 estimate). Agricultural regions in Canada include the Canadian Prairies, the Lower Mainland and various regions within the Interior of British Columbia, the St. Lawrence Basin and the Canadian Maritimes. Main crops in Canada include flax, oats, wheat, maize, barley, sugar beets and rye in the prairies; flax and maize in Western Ontario; Oats and potatoes in the Maritimes. Fruit and vegetables are grown primarily in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia, Southwestern Ontario, the Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, along the south coast of Georgian Bay and in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia. Cattle and sheep are raised in the valleys and plateaus of British Columbia. Cattle, sheep and hogs are raised on the prairies, cattle and hogs in Western Ontario, sheep and hogs in Quebec, and sheep in the Maritimes. There are significant dairy regions in central Nova Scotia, southern New Brunswick, the St. Lawrence Valley, northeastern Ontario, southwestern Ontario, the Red River valley of Manitoba and the valleys in the British Columbia Interior, on Vancouver Island and in the Lower Mainland.


title: Geography of Canada

text: Fossil fuels are a more recently developed resource in Canada, with oil and gas being extracted from deposits in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin since the mid 1900s. While Canada's crude oil deposits are fewer, technological developments in recent decades have opened up oil production in Alberta's Oil Sands to the point where Canada now has some of the largest reserves of oil in the world. In other forms, Canadian industry has a long history of extracting large coal and natural gas reserves.


title: Geography of Canada

text: Canada's mineral resources are diverse and extensive. Across the Canadian Shield and in the north there are large iron, nickel, zinc, copper, gold, lead, molybdenum, and uranium reserves. Large diamond concentrations have been recently developed in the Arctic, making Canada one of the world's largest producers. Throughout the Shield there are many mining towns extracting these minerals. The largest, and best known, is Sudbury, Ontario. Sudbury is an exception to the normal process of forming minerals in the Shield since there is significant evidence that the Sudbury Basin is an ancient meteorite impact crater. The nearby, but less known Temagami Magnetic Anomaly has striking similarities to the Sudbury Basin. Its magnetic anomalies are very similar to the Sudbury Basin, and so it could be a second metal-rich impact crater. The Shield is also covered by vast boreal forests that support an important logging industry.


title: Geography of Canada

text: Canada's many rivers have afforded extensive development of hydroelectric power. Extensively developed in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and Labrador, the many dams have long provided a clean, dependable source of energy.


title: Geography of Canada

text: Air pollution and resulting acid rain severely affects lakes and damages forests. Metal smelting, coal-burning utilities, and vehicle emissions impact agricultural and forest productivity. Ocean waters are also becoming contaminated by agricultural, industrial, mining, and forestry activities.


title: Geography of Canada

text: Global climate change and the warming of the polar region will likely cause significant changes to the environment, including loss of the polar bear, the exploration for resource then the extraction of these resources and an alternative transport route to the Panama Canal through the Northwest Passage.


title: Geography of Canada

text: Canada is divided into ten provinces and three territories. According to Statistics Canada, 72.0 percent of the population is concentrated within of the nation's southern border with the United States, 70.0% live south of the 49th parallel, and over 60 percent of the population lives along the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River between Windsor, Ontario, and Quebec City. This leaves the vast majority of Canada's territory as sparsely populated wilderness; Canada's population density is 3.5 people/km (9.1/mi), among the lowest in the world. Despite this, 79.7 percent of Canada's population resides in urban areas, where population densities are increasing.


title: Geography of Canada

text: Canada shares with the U.S. the world's longest binational border at ; are with Alaska. The Danish island dependency of Greenland lies to Canada's northeast, separated from the Canadian Arctic islands by Baffin Bay and Davis Strait. As of June 14, 2022, Canada shares a land border with Greenland on Hans Island. The French islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon lie off the southern coast of Newfoundland in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and have a maritime territorial enclave within Canada's exclusive economic zone.


title: Geography of Canada

text: Canada's geographic proximity to the United States has historically bound the two countries together in the political world as well. Canada's position between the Soviet Union (now Russia) and the U.S. was strategically important during the Cold War since the route over the North Pole and Canada was the fastest route by air between the two countries and the most direct route for intercontinental ballistic missiles. Since the end of the Cold War, there has been growing speculation that Canada's Arctic maritime claims may become increasingly important if global warming melts the ice enough to open the Northwest Passage.


title: Syco Music

text: Syco Music is a defunct division of Syco Entertainment founded by British entrepreneur and record executive Simon Cowell. Originally founded as S Records, the label launched while Cowell was still employed by BMG, the label oversaw music releases by Robson & Jerome, Five, Westlife and Teletubbies. A year later, BMG, now named , bought Cowell's share in both Syco Music and Syco Television. Later in 2010, Cowell and Sony Music entered a joint venture agreement that would see Cowell and Sony each own 50% of the new Syco Entertainment company which encompassed both the previous Syco TV and Syco Music divisions.


title: Syco Music

text: The brand had multiple well-known acts signed such as Fifth Harmony, Camila Cabello, One Direction, Little Mix and CNCO. In July 2020, Sony sold the rights to the television formats and assets back to Cowell, effectively divesting all of Syco's non-music divisions. As part of the venture, Syco Music, its current roster and back catalog remains with Sony Music as a wholly owned subsidiary. However, as of September 2020, and according to industry magazine "Music Week", the label is now defunct, with staff either leaving or being redeployed elsewhere within the Sony Music group.


title: Syco Music

text: Syco Music had offices in London and Los Angeles and was home to several artists. As S Records, the company oversaw music releases by Robson & Jerome, Five, Westlife and Teletubbies.


title: Syco Music

text: Later following television franchises, Syco had the exclusive right to sign winners and finalists of "The X Factor" and "Got Talent". Susan Boyle's debut album, "I Dreamed a Dream", has sold over 9 million copies, making it one of the best selling releases of the last decade and Syco's most successful release to date. Between 2004 and 2009, Il Divo achieved four multi-million selling albums and in 2007, Leona Lewis became one of the most successful talent show winners when her second single, "Bleeding Love", propelled the album "Spirit" to 9 million global sales.


title: Syco Music

text: In 2010, Syco began diversifying by adding producer/singer-songwriter Labrinth. Savan Kotecha, who had been writing for Syco acts for several years, also became an A&R Director and set up a joint venture, Kanani Songs. Syco also began forming closer partnerships with other Sony Music Entertainment UK labels. For the first time, Syco entered into an agreement with Columbia Records that would see them work together to launch the career of a "The X Factor" winner - Matt Cardle. That same year, Sony Music bought Cowell's share of Syco, for around £27 million.


title: Syco Music

text: On 15 July 2020, it was announced that Cowell would buy Sony's stake in Syco Entertainment; Sony Music will retain Syco Music's artists and back catalogue. By September 2020, manage director Tyler Brown and Head of Digital Tom Hoare had left. "Music Week" reported that label is no longer operational and is now defunct; artist staff have been redeployed elsewhere within Sony Music, including at sister label RCA Records, or have left completely.


title: Syco Music

text: Some of the artists signed by Cowell, such as band Westlife, released their music through S Records, another company formed by Cowell whose share he then sold to BMG in 2003. Syco Music started releasing music as a label in 2004.


title: Syco Music

text: Syco Music and its artists have been the targets of illegal hacking on several separate occasions. In 2009 ahead of the release of Leona Lewis's second album "Echo", a number of unfinished demos and leftover songs from the project leaked online. An investigation was launched by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), working with the record label and police to identify those responsible. Alexandra Burke was also targeted, having two demo versions of songs from her debut album "Overcome" leak before the album's release. At the end of March 2010 it was reported that Syco had suffered once again from computer hackers who managed to obtain 14 of Burke's previously unheard studio recordings as well as 26 from Lewis.


title: Syco Music

text: Following the second incident of leaks, Cowell contacted the FBI to track down those responsible. Included in the leaks was a newly recorded version of Burke's "All Night Long" featuring American rapper Pitbull, which was tipped to be the singer's third single in March 2010. According to Burke, the songs were leaked by "Two little boys in Germany on work experience", working for Syco. It was later revealed in 2011 that songs recorded for "Echo" were targeted by the German hacker, Deniz A., also known as DJ Stolen. In July 2010, the Rasch law firm logged a criminal complaint against DJ Stolen for "constantly placing hacked songs on the internet". Amongst those songs listed in the complaint was one called "Pulse", described at the time as a new recording by Lewis. DJ Stolen was jailed for 18 months in June 2011.


title: Syco Music

text: In 2011, Syco found itself being taken to court for plagiarism after it was reported that a new Lewis song "Collide" significantly copied "Fade Into Darkness", a 2010 song by Swedish house music DJ Avicii. The DJ took both artist and label to the British High Court just prior to its release. However, the case was resolved out of court by releasing the song as a joint single between both artists on 4 September 2011. In February 2013, it was announced that One Direction would be releasing a cover version of "One Way or Another" and "Teenage Kicks" as the 2013 Comic Relief single. However, an unfinished version of the song leaked online and on 7 February 2013 Syco launched an investigation. A spokesperson told the press "It is very disappointing that the song has been leaked and we are currently investigating the matter".


title: Syco Music

text: Syco was the label that all "X Factor" winners are signed to as part of their contract for winning the show, along with other acts hand-picked by Cowell.


title: Syco Music

text: Most of the artists who were once signed to the record label had complained about their deals with the music mogul, which often saw them making little to no money from their contracts; they were also overworked, while many had also complained about creative differences concerning the music they wanted to release.


title: Syco Music

text: In 2021, musical twins Jedward outed the record label Syco for being 'toxic' and 'abusive'. It came after news broke that "The X Factor" would not be returning to television, prompting the duo to reflect on their time on the show, which they appeared on back in 2009. The duo took to social media and said ‘Every contestant on the X Factor was a slave to the show and got paid zero while they made millions! The fact every contestant has to act like their judge mentors them! When in reality all they care about is their paycheck!’. Jedward also alleged that artists on the show and under Cowell's record label, Syco Music, are unable to speak freely and are blacklisted when they do. They are isolated from their families and are watched and reported on by security. They claim that judges on "The X Factor" did not actually mentor the contestants as the show made it appear.


title: Syco Music

text: Their comments come after former "X Factor" contestants have spoken out about the conditions they were expected to work under while signed to the Syco label, including Rebecca Ferguson and Cher Lloyd. Lloyd took to TikTok to take a sly dig at the label, which she appeared to accuse of ‘exploiting’ her and taking all the money made by her music. Meanwhile, Ferguson met with Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport Secretary Oliver Dowden earlier that year, calling for better protection for artists in the music industry.


title: Logan Browning

text: Logan Laurice Browning (born June 9, 1989) is an American actress. She is best known for starring as Samantha White in the 2017 Netflix satirical-drama series "Dear White People". She is also known for playing Sasha in the 2007 film "Bratz: The Movie", Brianna Ortiz in "Meet the Browns", Jelena Howard on the VH1 series "Hit the Floor", and Zora in the PlayStation Network series "Powers".


title: Logan Browning

text: Browning was born in Atlanta, Georgia. She is biracial, born to a white birth mother and an African American birth father. Her adoptive parents are African American. Growing up, she did a lot of activities, where she didn't care about being judged, from dancing for a local ballet company to cheerleading in junior high. She attended Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.


title: Logan Browning

text: In 2003, She studied acting from a young age by taking classes at Barbizon Modeling and Acting School in Atlanta. She made her acting debut in the teen series "Summerland" as the character Carrie, and played Vanessa in the Nickelodeon series "Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide" in 2005–06. She also appeared as the main love interest in Dijon Talton's video for the song "Wild Out".


title: Logan Browning

text: In 2007, Browning starred as one of the main characters, Sasha, in the live-action theatrical feature "Bratz: The Movie", based on the popular fashion doll line.


title: Logan Browning

text: Browning joined the cast of "Meet the Browns" during the second season, replacing Brianne Gould as the character Brianna Ortiz. She makes a brief appearance in Prima J's "Rockstar" music video, as well as B5's music video "U Got Me". Browning had a recurring role on the Disney XD series "Pair of Kings".


title: Logan Browning

text: She appeared in two episodes of "The Secret Circle", a TV series based on the novels of the same name by L.J. Smith. In April 2012, Browning was cast as Jelena Howard in VH1's "Hit the Floor". Before "Hit the Floor", Browning was not a professional dancer. She was cast for her acting ability and trained for 8 months before the series filming.


title: Logan Browning

text: Browning starred alongside her "Hit the Floor" co-star, Katherine Bailess, in the YouTube comedic series "Shit Southern Women Say". In July 2016, it was announced that Browning would star in the role of Samantha White in the Netflix satirical-drama series "Dear White People". In 2017, Browning was cast in the role of Lizzie on the Netflix horror film, "The Perfection". The film was released on May 24, 2019.


title: Donny Pangilinan

text: Donato Antonio Laxa Pangilinan (born February 10, 1998), professionally known as Donny Pangilinan, is a Filipino actor, model, singer, host and VJ. Pangilinan started his career in 2016 as a VJ in Myx, a Philippine pay TV channel, and made his film debut in the Regal Films production "Walwal" (2018). He has since starred in a number of Star Cinema productions, most notably in "James & Pat & Dave" (2020) and "He's Into Her" (2021).


title: Donny Pangilinan

text: Pangilinan was born on February 10, 1998, to actress Maricel Laxa and motivational speaker Anthony Pangilinan, the brother of Philippine Senator Francis Pangilinan. He has four siblings. He was named after both his grandfathers; his first given name Donato was derived from his paternal grandfather, while his second given name Antonio came from his maternal grandfather, actor Tony Ferrer, whose birth name was Antonio Laxa. Pangilinan studied at Brent International School for secondary education and, in 2018, was admitted into the University of the Philippines Open University.


title: Donny Pangilinan

text: In October 2022, he earned his Bachelor of Ministry in Christian Leadership degree from the College for Global Deployment. He had the graduation ceremony together with his sisters, Ella and Hannah, who received their own degrees as well.


title: Donny Pangilinan

text: Donny was Started in Koko Krunch commercial along with his mother. Pangilinan's entry into Philippine entertainment began with guest appearances in various ABS-CBN shows in 2016. He also briefly hosted the show "ASAP" and was a VJ for "Myx".


title: Donny Pangilinan

text: In 2018 Pangilinan made his on-screen debut in the Regal Films production "Walwal", directed by Jose Javier Reyes where he was paired with actress Kisses Delavin. In the same year he was signed by Star Magic, in the same batch as Tony Labrusca and Charlie Dizon, as part of "Star Magic Circle 2018". Following this, Pangilinan appeared in the ABS-CBN film "To Love Some Buddy" starring Zanjoe Marudo and Maja Salvador. He, and Delavin was also a supporting cast for "Fantastica" starring Vice Ganda, Richard Gutierrez and Dingdong Dantes.


title: Donny Pangilinan

text: In November the same year, it was announced that Pangilinan will be teaming up with Belle Mariano for "He's Into Her", an iWantTFC original series directed by Chad Vidanes that is based on the 2013 Wattpad novel of the same name by Maxine Lat"(Maxinejiji)". Following this, he made an appearance in the film "The Mall, The Merrier" directed by Barry Gonzales, starring Vice Ganda and Anne Curtis.


title: Donny Pangilinan

text: In 2020, Pangilinan had his first lead role in the film "James and Pat and Dave", appearing alongside Ronnie Alonte and Loisa Andalio. In the same year, Pangilinan hosted the Brightlight Productions-produced musical variety show "Sunday Noontime Live!", which was aired on TV5 as a blocktimer. The short-lived show was cancelled after three months and Pangilinan subsequently renewed his contract with Star Magic in February 2021.


title: Donny Pangilinan

text: In 2021, the long-awaited series "He's Into Her" with his new love team partner Belle Mariano, had its record-breaking launch as it crashed the streaming platform iWant TFC upon its release due to the surge of the number of viewers who wanted to watch the premiere episode. The series was marked a huge success as it continuously trended all-throughout its run, and also helped the iWantTFC app to top all free entertainment apps in the country. It was also the number one most watched series on the streaming platform.


title: Donny Pangilinan

text: For the series' soundtrack, Pangilinan collaborated with Mariano for a duet version of the latter's hit single "Sigurado" under Star Music. Aside from this, he also released his own version of the series' OST "He's Into Her" which was originally sung by BGYO.


title: Donny Pangilinan

text: Following the series' success, the cast headlined a special online concert, "He's Into Her: The Benison Ball" for the fans to enjoy through the streaming platform KTX.ph. VIP tickets for the show sold out after only three days since release. At the end of show, it was announced that a second season of the show will take place. Shortly after the successful concert, ABS-CBN Entertainment also unveiled "He's Into Her: The Journey," a documentary about the making of the series. It showed the production of the show from the conceptualization, auditions, and the lock-in tapings. With the series' production passing to two years, the documentary also showed the hardship of the entire team and how the managed to push through the show even during a global pandemic and after the ABS-CBN shutdown.


title: Donny Pangilinan

text: After the successful "He's Into Her", the DonBelle love team landed their first ever lead movie under Star Cinema directed by John Leo Garcia, romantic-comedy film "Love Is Color Blind". The casts include their "He's Into Her" co-star Jeremiah Lisbo, as well as singer-actress Angelina Cruz, and TikTok superstar Esnyr Ranollo. It premiered through the streaming platforms KTX.ph and Smart's GigaPlay app. Shortly after coming to Netflix, the film ranked atop the streaming service's trending lists in the Philippines. Upcoming projects for the pair include a teleserye and a short film to be directed by Cathy Garcia-Molina, in collaboration with the Hong Kong Tourism Board.


title: Donny Pangilinan

text: He was also one of the artists to take part in ABS-CBN's 2021 Christmas Station ID, "Andito Tayo Para Sa Isa't Isa" along with Belle Mariano, Martin Nievera, Piolo Pascual, Gary Valenciano, Zsazsa Padilla, Erik Santos, KZ Tandingan, Kathryn Bernardo, Daniel Padilla, Sarah Geronimo, Sharon Cuneta, Vice Ganda, Regine Velasquez, Ogie Alcasid, Iñigo Pascual, Andrea Brillantes, Seth Fedelin, BGYO, and Darren Espanto.


title: Donny Pangilinan

text: In 2022, he was among the guests who appeared in Belle Mariano's first concert entitled "Daylight: A Belle Mariano Digital Concert" which was streamed via KTX.ph.


title: Donny Pangilinan

text: After starting taping and production in February, the most-awaited second season of "He's Into Her" officially premiered on April the same year. Upon release of the pilot episode, the series immediately became a trending topic in the Philippines.


title: Donny Pangilinan

text: Apart from this, the Movie Cut of the first season of "He's Into Her" premiered at the "Drive-In Cinema One: A Drive-Thru Movie Experience," in partnership with Ayala Malls Vertis North and Vertis North Estate.


title: Donny Pangilinan

text: In August the same year, Star Magic toured in the United States as part of their 30th anniversary celebration. Pangilinan were among the stars who staged the shows. The artists first performed in the Newport Performing Arts Theater, Resorts World Manila, followed by the US shows in Kings Theater, Brooklyn, The Warfield, San Francisco, and in the Saban Theatre, Beverly Hills.


title: Chris O'Neill (YouTuber)

text: Christopher Luke O'Neill (born 21 November 1990), also known by his Internet pseudonym Oney () or OneyNG, is an Irish animator, Youtuber, voice actor, musician, and video game designer. He is known for his flash animations and being the founder and host of the YouTube Let's Play web series OneyPlays. He is also the owner of the video game production company OneyWare.


title: Chris O'Neill (YouTuber)

text: O'Neill began his online career on the American entertainment website Newgrounds, creating an account on March 28, 2006. He created a YouTube channel at age 17, and by 2013, it was ranked as Ireland's most successful YouTube channel with a total of 240 million views. The channel's content includes animated music videos, video game parodies, and original series, such as "Leo and Satan" and "Hellbenders", the latter of which was made with fellow Newgrounds animator Zach Hadel.


title: Chris O'Neill (YouTuber)

text: In 2014, O’Neill began posting Let's Play video content to the "Oney's Video Hole" channel, later renamed "OneyPlays". The channel became prominent in 2017 for starting the Crash Bandicoot "Woah" internet meme based on a common sound-effect from the classic PlayStation series, spawning many song parodies and animations, including one where Crash is inserted into the anime "Attack on Titan". The meme also reappeared as an easter egg in the 2020 video-game "". The channel initially included the duo Ding Dong & Julian Marcel, but later included other internet personalities such as Zach Hadel, Joshua Tomar, and Lyle Rath. The channel would also have guests, such as Matt Watson of "SuperMega", Mick Lauer, and Jon Jafari.


title: Chris O'Neill (YouTuber)

text: YouTuber Jason Gastrow, known online as "videogamedunkey", mentioned in a 2015 Reddit thread that O'Neill designed his YouTube channel profile picture. O'Neill would later make appearances on Gastrow's channel.