title: Staines-upon-Thames

text: St Mary's Church is first recorded in 1179, but it is thought to have been in existence for at least 100 years before that. There is no mention of a church in Domesday Book, but there may have been a place of worship on the site since the 9th century. By the end of the medieval period, St Mary's had a chancel, nave and an aisle on the north side. It was primarily built of brick in the Gothic style and the tower at the west end was added in 1631.


title: Staines-upon-Thames

text: The condition of the church deteriorated in the late 17th and 18th century, due in part to the sale of the lead from the roof of the aisle to fund the Parliamentarian cause in the Civil War. The north side of the building collapsed in 1827 and a new church was built in 1828-9, incorporating the 17th-century tower. Among the stained glass panels in the church is a window behind the altar, given by the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Prussia. In 2005, a window was dedicated to those who died in the 1972 Staines air disaster.


title: Staines-upon-Thames

text: St Peter's Church was founded as a chapel of ease to St Mary's in 1874. A brick building was constructed at the corner of Wyatt and Langley Roads and was used until 1885, when the congregation moved to an iron church on the corner of Edgell and Budebury Roads.


title: Staines-upon-Thames

text: The foundation stone for the current St Peter's Church was laid on 22 July 1893 and the building was consecrated on 28 July the following year. It was designed by George Fellowes Prynne in the free Perpendicular style and the cost of construction was paid by the Solicitor General, Edward Clarke MP. The crenellated tower is topped with a set-back spire, and contains a ring of eight bells.


title: Staines-upon-Thames

text: The first Christ Church, in Kenilworth Gardens, was constructed in 1935 to serve the new area of housing along Kingston Road to the southeast of the town centre. The brick building was able to accommodate 280 worshippers, and a sliding partition at the west end of the chancel allowed the nave to be used as a church hall. The parish of Christ Church was created in 1951 and a decade later construction of a new church began on the same site as the old. The new Christ Church, consecrated in October 1962, has a centrally placed altar positioned beneath a square lantern. The lantern allows natural light into the interior of the building and is topped with a narrow spire. The font, which dates from 1750, was given to the congregation in 1935, and was previously installed in St Mary's Church.


title: Staines-upon-Thames

text: John Wesley made his first visit to Staines in 1771 and, by the early 19th century, there was a small congregation of Methodists in the town. The first chapel, opened on Kingston Road, was replaced by a larger building on the same street in 1865. The congregation moved to the current church, on Thames Street, in 1987.


title: Staines-upon-Thames

text: The first Roman Catholic Mass to be celebrated at Staines since the Reformation, took place in 1862 at the workhouse, on the site of the present Ashford Hospital. A chapel was opened in 1890 on Gresham Road and was initially known as "Our Lady, Help of Christians". The current name, "Our Lady of the Rosary" was granted in 1893. The building was extended eastwards to form the present church in 1931, with the addition of a chancel and narrow south aisle. Renovation work in 1990, added additional side aisles and created a new church hall at the west end.


title: Staines-upon-Thames

text: There has been a substantial population of Dissenters living in Staines since the mid-17th century and, by 1690, there was a permanent meeting house in the town. The numbers of Congregationalists declined in the mid-18th century, but a regular meeting was re-established in the High Street in 1785. A chapel was constructed in Thames Street in 1802 and was replaced by a classical-style church on the same site in 1837. The present Congregational Church, on Kingston Road, opened in May 1956.


title: Staines-upon-Thames

text: Several artists have been inspired to paint Staines Bridge, including William Bernard Cooke (17781855) and Arthur Melville (18551904). An engraving of the bridge by William Woolnoth (17801837), inspired by a painting by John Preston Neale (17801847), is held by the Victoria and Albert Museum.


title: Staines-upon-Thames

text: Among the works of public art on display are mosaics by Gary Drostle and sculptures by Terence Clarke that pay homage to the town's history as a former Roman settlement. The Two Rivers shopping centre has two bronze sculptures by David Backhouse: The first, "Time Continuum", celebrates the life of Staines through two millennia and the second, "Water Sprites", references the life of the waterways that converge nearby. "The Swanmaster", by Diana Thomson, commissioned by Spelthorne Borough Council in 1983, was moved to the Memorial Gardens in 2014.


title: Staines-upon-Thames

text: Staines is the hometown of the fictional Ali G, created by the actor and comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. The character, who first appeared on "The 11 O'Clock Show" on Channel 4 in 1998, has been described as a "disaffected wannabe homeboy of the suburbs" by the television producer, Harry Thompson. Baron Cohen has said that Ali G "believes that he is a black hip-hop artist from Staines. He believes his neighbourhood is a rough ghetto, when in fact it's this lovely, leafy, middle-class suburb outside Windsor, where swans swim under the beautiful bridge." Following the successful spin-off television series, "Da Ali G Show", the character appeared in the 2002 feature film, "Ali G Indahouse". In the film, Ali G is a member of a fictional gang, the West Staines Massive, when his hometown is threatened by the expansion of Heathrow Airport. The film concludes with the saving of Staines and the decision to demolish Slough instead.


title: Staines-upon-Thames

text: William Shakespeare mentions Staines in Act II Scene 3 of "Henry V", when the Hostess asks her husband, who is travelling to Southampton, if she can accompany him as far as the town. Much of chapters 911 of "Three Men in a Boat" (1889) by Jerome K. Jerome is set in the Staines area, as the main characters travel upriver from Kingston-upon-Thames to Oxford. In Chapter 15 of H. G. Wells' novel, "The War of the Worlds" (1897), an artillery unit engages a Martian close to Staines. In John Wyndham's novel "The Kraken Wakes" (1953), the main characters are stopped in their attempt to reach Cornwall on a dinghy through a flooded England in the "Staines-Weybridge area".


title: Staines-upon-Thames

text: The indie rock band Hard-Fi was formed in Staines in 2003. Many of the songs from their first album, "Stars of CCTV", describe their small-town suburban origins. In 2011, lead singer Richard Archer, attracted criticism after describing Staines as a "ghost town".


title: Staines-upon-Thames

text: Spelthorne Leisure Centre, at Knowle Green, opened in 1990 on the site of the former indoor swimming pool which was constructed in 1967. A new leisure centre, which will provide a 25 m pool, a fitness suite and three artificial football pitches on its roof, is expected to open in 2024.


title: Staines-upon-Thames

text: Staines Town F.C. (STFC) traces its origins to a football team from St Peter's Institute, which took part in the 1878–79 FA Cup. STFC itself was founded in 1892 and initially played its home games at Hammond's Farm, now beneath the King George VI reservoir. It later merged with the St Peter's team, but the combined club closed in 1935. STFC was reformed towards the end of the Second World War and played its home games at Wheatsheaf Park. The ground was refurbished in 2004, but in March 2022 the club announced that it was in dispute with its landlord and would be suspending football operations with immediate effect.


title: Staines-upon-Thames

text: Staines Lammas F.C. was founded in 1926 and initially played its home games at the Lammas Recreation Ground. The club later moved to Laleham Recreation Ground and, in 2001, opened a new pavilion.


title: Staines-upon-Thames

text: Cricket has been played on Staines Moor since at least 1759 and the nearby Laleham Burway was the site of the first recorded 11-a-side match in Surrey in 1778. Laleham Cricket Club was founded over 200 years ago. It changed its name to the Staines and Laleham Cricket Club in the early 1970s, when it moved from Ashford Road to its current ground, "The Faulkners", on Worple Road.


title: Staines-upon-Thames

text: Staines Hockey Club was formed in 1890 and is one of the oldest hockey clubs in the world. During its early years, the club had several international players among its members, who won gold medals at the 1908 Olympic Games. The club has been based at Worple Road since 1972 and the ground has four full-size hockey pitches. The first ladies' team was formed in 1979 and the first artificial turf pitch was laid in 2001.


title: Staines-upon-Thames

text: Staines Rugby Football Club was founded in summer 1926 and played its first game against a team from Windsor at the Lammas Recreation Ground that October. In 1947, the club began to rent pitches at the Laleham Cricket Club ground in Ashford Road. It acquired the land for its current premises, a former gravel pit in Hanworth, in 1962. The ground, known as "The Reeves", opened in September 1964.


title: Staines-upon-Thames

text: Staines Boat Club was formed in 1851 and, in 1909, was one of the founder members of the Remenham Club. The current boathouse, at Egham Hythe, is a temporary structure, built in 1950 after the previous building was destroyed by fire.


title: Staines-upon-Thames

text: Staines Stadium, on Wraysbury Road, was opened in 1928 and was primarily used for greyhound racing. In 1936, a dozen Cheetahs were imported from Kenya and, having served a six-month quarantine, were trained to follow the mechanical hare and to race with the dogs. Stock car racing took place at the venue in the late 1950s. The stadium closed in 1960, when the A30 Staines bypass was constructed through part of the site, and was demolished in 1965.


title: Staines-upon-Thames

text: There is thought to have been an inn on the site of the Blue Anchor since the 16th century. The present building dates from the early- to mid-18th century and is constructed in brick. Much of the interior is thought to be original, including the wooden panelling, several fireplaces and at least one of the staircases. Within a few decades of completion, five of the upstairs windows had been bricked up to reduce window tax liability. During renovation work in 1957, one of the oak beams in the building was dated using dendrochronology and was found to be 650 years old.


title: Staines-upon-Thames

text: There are three surviving coal-tax posts in the Staines area. These posts marked the limits of the tax jurisdiction of the Corporation of the City of London and were erected under the provisions of the London Coal and Wine Duties Continuance Act 1861. The two posts currently on Wraysbury Road were relocated to their present positions in the second half of the 20th century. The third, a cast-iron obelisk, is in Thames Street close to the Thames Lodge Hotel.


title: Staines-upon-Thames

text: The London Stone is a carved stone pillar, positioned beside the River Thames next to the Lammas Recreation Ground. The first stone was erected by the Corporation of the City of London in 1280 or 1285, following its purchase of the river rights from Richard I. Originally positioned close to the Market Square, it marked the western boundary of the Corporation's jurisdiction and is thought to have indicated the tidal limit of the Thames in medieval times. It was moved to its current position in the 17th or 18th century and was replaced by a replica in 1986. The original stone is now held by the Spelthorne Museum at Staines Library.


title: Staines-upon-Thames

text: The twin Staines Reservoirs, to the northeast of the town, were completed in 1902 and have a combined capacity of . They are filled from the Staines Reservoirs Aqueduct, which runs from the Thames at Bell Weir Lock, Hythe End. The two reservoirs are separated by a embankment and, under normal operating conditions, the water level of the northern reservoir is higher than that of the south. During the Second World War, Staines Reservoirs were used by No. 617 Squadron RAF to practise aiming bouncing bombs in preparation for Operation Chastise.


title: Staines-upon-Thames

text: The King George VI Reservoir was completed in 1939, but was left unfilled for the duration of the Second World War. In 1942, it was used by the Royal Air Force for Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation experiments. It was finally opened by King George VI in November 1947 and holds .


title: Staines-upon-Thames

text: The Town Hall, in the Market Square, was designed by John Johnson in the Renaissance style and was completed in 1880. It replaced a medieval market hall, which was closed in 1862. The building is constructed in white brick with stone dressing with a fish-scale slate roof and the clock was manufactured by Gillett & Bland.


title: Staines-upon-Thames

text: The Town Hall was used as the council headquarters until 1976, when Spelthorne Borough council relocated to Knowle Green. In the early 1990s, it was used as an arts centre and, in 2004, it became a wine bar. In January 2018, the building was converted into thirteen residential apartments.


title: Staines-upon-Thames

text: Staines War Memorial was designed by E. J. Barrett and was installed in the Memorial Gardens in 1920. It takes the form of a statue of the winged figure of Victory and is constructed in Portland stone. The names of 196 men who died in the First World War are inscribed on the plinth, beneath which is an inclined stone tablet listing those who died in the Second World War. The memorial was moved to the Market Square in 2002.


title: Staines-upon-Thames

text: The Church Lammas is an area of common land to the northeast of the town centre, adjacent to the Lammas Recreation Ground. Between 1988 and 1996, it was the site of a quarry and, after gravel and sand extraction had ceased, the area was landscaped to create a recreational area with three lakes. In 2005, the former quarry operator was awarded the Cooper-Heyman Cup in recognition of its work to ensure that the park is fully accessible to disabled visitors.


title: Staines-upon-Thames

text: The Lammas lands were granted to the town by John Ashby in 1922. The area opened to the public as a recreation ground in September of the same year. Since it had previously been common land, residents received compensation for the removal of their grazing rights.


title: Staines-upon-Thames

text: The Memorial Gardens, alongside the River Thames, were first opened in 1897 as the "Town Gardens". They acquired their current name after the First World War when the town war memorial was erected beside the river. In 2002, the Market Square was refurbished and new gateways, known as the "Swan Arches", were installed at the main access points to the Memorial Gardens.


title: Staines-upon-Thames

text: The Staines Moor, north of the town and east of the M25 motorway, is the largest area of common land in Staines. Until the Commons Registration Act 1965 came into force, any homeowner, whose chimney smoke could be seen from St Mary's Church, was entitled to graze their animals on the moor between April and December each year.


title: Staines-upon-Thames

text: Staines Moor is the largest area of alluvial meadow in Surrey and was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1984. Several rare plants are found on the moor such as brown sedge, small water pepper and upright chickweed. The area also provides a habitat for invertebrates including bees, butterflies and moths. Some 217 species of mollusc and 190 species of bird have also been recorded.


title: Staines-upon-Thames

text: Staines Park at Knowle Green, to the east of the town centre, is a recreation ground with tennis courts, a bowling green and a children's playground. Since 2019, the park has been legally protected by the charity, Fields in Trust.


title: Anne Fletcher

text: Anne Fletcher (born May 1, 1966) is an American choreographer, film director, dancer and actress. She directed the films "Step Up" (2006), "27 Dresses" (2008) and "The Proposal" (2009).


title: Anne Fletcher

text: Born Anne Marie Fletcher in Detroit, Michigan, Fletcher lived with her family in the local lakefront suburb of St. Clair Shores, Michigan until her 1984 graduation with honors from Lake Shore High School. Fletcher began taking dance lessons at a local dance studio, Turning Point School of the Performing Arts, at age 12 after watching her mother take a dance class. At age 15, she appeared in the local show "Salute to the Superstars" at the now-defunct Mr. F's Beef & Bourbon dinner club in Sterling Heights, Michigan. Upon graduation from high school, Fletcher moved to Los Angeles, California, where she received further training from renowned choreographer Joe Tremaine and began working as a professional dancer; including performing as a Laker Girl.


title: Anne Fletcher

text: In 1990, Fletcher met Adam Shankman when they were hired to perform as dancers at the 62nd Academy Awards. Shortly thereafter, Shankman hired Fletcher to become his assistant choreographer. This sparked a longtime personal friendship and professional affiliation.


title: Anne Fletcher

text: Fletcher worked closely with Shankman both during his career as a choreographer and later as a film director and has credited her collaborations with Shankman for allowing her to both develop her own set of choreographic and film directorial skills and to achieve a similarly successful career path.


title: Anne Fletcher

text: In her first film roles, Fletcher appeared as a dancer, including "The Flintstones" (1994), "The Mask" (1994), "Tank Girl" (1995), "Casper" (1995) and "Titanic" (1997). Fletcher later developed choreography for the Oscar-nominated drama film "Boogie Nights" (1997) starring Mark Wahlberg, Burt Reynolds, Julianne Moore and Heather Graham, in which she also appeared as a dancer, as well as for the comedy film "A Life Less Ordinary" (1997) with Ewan McGregor and Cameron Diaz.


title: Anne Fletcher

text: After acquiring numerous professional choreography credits, often in collaboration with Adam Shankman, Fletcher, with encouragement from Shankman, began to consider a directorial career. She worked alongside Shankman, who had moved from choreography to directing with films such as "Hairspray" (2007) and "The Wedding Planner", for both of which she was an associate producer.


title: Anne Fletcher

text: Although Fletcher began to break into the production side of filmmaking throughout the early 2000s, she continued to choreograph in films such as the "Ice Princess" and "The Pacifier" in 2005. She also did choreograph work in other films like "" (2004), "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" (2005) and "Hairspray" (2007).


title: Anne Fletcher

text: Fletcher directed the 2006 romantic dance film, "Step Up" starring Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan. The film was nominated for two Teen Choice Awards (2007) and one Young Artist Award (2007). Fletcher turned down the offer to direct the sequel to this film, fearing that if she directed another dance film, she wouldn’t be able to branch out into other genres in the future. Although she did the choreography on (2008), the role of director was given to Jon M. Chu. Panned by critics, the film was well-received by audiences and grossed $65 million at the domestic box office.


title: Anne Fletcher

text: Her work on Step Up earned Fletcher a second successful director credit on the popular 2008 romantic comedy film, "27 Dresses", starring Katherine Heigl and James Marsden. This film was nominated for eight awards: one People's Choice Awards (2008), two Teen Choice Awards (2008), three Golden Trailer Awards (2008), one Artios Award (2008) and one "EDA Special Mention Award." 27 Dresses is celebrated as an iconic 21st-century romantic comedy film, thanks in large part to Fletcher’s directing. Former president of MGM Jonathan Glickman emphasized how important Fletcher was to the success of the film, stating that she and the main character are very similar people. The writer of the film, Aline Brosh McKenna, mentioned in an interview that Fletcher was known on set as “Mama,” and credits her for capturing the story so well.


title: Anne Fletcher

text: Based on the success of her first two features, Fletcher went on to direct the popular 2009 romantic comedy film, "The Proposal", starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. This film was nominated for twenty-seven awards; out of the twenty-seven nominations, the film won seven. For her performance, Bullock received a Golden Globe nomination for best actress and a Women’s Image Network Award for Outstanding Actress. The Proposal is Fletcher’s highest-grossing film as a director, and it stands as the 7th highest grossing romantic comedy of all time.


title: Anne Fletcher

text: Following the success of "The Proposal", Fletcher directed "The Guilt Trip" (2012) starring Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand. She followed this by directing "Hot Pursuit" (2015) starring Reese Witherspoon and Sofía Vergara. Both of these films performed significantly worse than her previous films, with the former receiving zero awards nominations and the latter earning an 8% on Rotten Tomatoes.


title: Anne Fletcher

text: In July 2014, Fletcher was announced as director for "Disenchanted", the sequel to the 2007 film starring Amy Adams and Patrick Dempsey. However, in October 2016, she was replaced by her friend Adam Shankman.


title: Anne Fletcher

text: In December 2018, Fletcher released Dumplin', her first film released exclusively on Netflix. The film is based on the book of the same name, and stars Jennifer Aniston as a former beauty queen. The film grapples with issues related to body positivity and mother-daughter relationships.


title: Anne Fletcher

text: Fletcher directed "Hocus Pocus 2", the 2022 sequel to "Hocus Pocus". The film was released exclusively on Disney+ and stars Sarah Jessica Parker, Bette Midler, and Kathy Najimy as the Sanderson Sisters from the 1993 original film.


title: Charaka

text: Charaka was one of the principal contributors to Ayurveda, a system of medicine and lifestyle developed in Ancient India. He is known as an editor of the medical treatise entitled "Charaka Samhita", one of the foundational texts of classical Indian medicine and Ayurveda, included under Brhat-Trayi.


title: Charaka

text: After surveying and evaluating all past scholarship on the subject of Charaka's date, Meulenbeld concluded that, the author called Charaka cannot have lived later than about 150-200 CE and not much earlier than about 100 BCE.


title: Charaka

text: The term Charaka is a label said to apply to "wandering scholars" or "wandering physicians". According to Charaka's translations, health and disease are not predetermined and life may be prolonged by human effort and attention to lifestyle . As per Indian heritage and Ayurvedic system, prevention of all types of diseases have a more prominent place than treatment, including restructuring of lifestyle to align with the course of nature and six seasons, which will guarantee complete wellness.


title: Charaka

text: Charaka seems to have been an early proponent of "prevention is better than cure" doctrine . The following statement is attributed to Charaka:


title: Charaka

text: A body functions because it contains three "dosha" or principles, namely movement (vata), transformation (pitta) and lubrication and stability (kapha). The doshas correspond to the Western classification of humors, wind, bile, and phlegm. These doshas are produced when "dhatus" (blood, flesh and marrow) act upon the food eaten. For the same quantity of food eaten, one body, however, produces "dosha" in an amount different from another body. That is why one body is different from another.


title: Charaka

text: Further, he stressed, illness is caused when the balance among the three doshas in a human body are disturbed. To restore the balance he prescribed medicinal drugs. Although he was aware of germs in the body, he did not give them primary importance.


title: Charaka

text: Charaka studied the anatomy of the human body and various organs. He gave 360 as the total number of bones, including teeth, present in the human body. He was right when he considered heart to be a controlling centre. He claimed that the heart was connected to the entire body through 13 main channels. Apart from these channels, there were countless other ones of varying sizes which supplied not only nutrients to various tissues but also provided passage to waste products. He also claimed that any obstruction in the main channels led to a disease or deformity in the body .


title: Charaka

text: Agnivesa, under the guidance of the ancient physician Atreya, composed an encyclopedic medical compendium in the eighth century BCE, the "Agnivesha Samhitā". The work received little attention. The "Agnivesha Samhitā" was revised by Charaka and renamed the "Charaka Samhitā". In this form it became well known. The "Charaka Samhitā" was itself later supplemented with an extra seventeen chapters added by the author , while retaining its name. The "Charaka Samhita" is one of the two foundational text of Ayurveda, the other being the "Sushruta Samhita". For two millennia it remained a standard work on the subject and was translated into many foreign languages, including Arabic and Latin.


title: Jimmie Nicol

text: James George Nicol (born 3 August 1939) is an English drummer and business entrepreneur. He is best known for replacing Ringo Starr in the Beatles for eight concerts of the Beatles' 1964 world tour during the height of Beatlemania, elevating him from relative obscurity to worldwide fame and then back again in the space of a fortnight. Nicol had hoped that his association with the Beatles would greatly enhance his career but instead found that the spotlight moved away from him once Starr returned to the group, and in 1965 his subsequent lack of commercial success culminated in bankruptcy. In 1967, after having worked with a number of different bands which included a successful relationship with the Spotnicks, he left the music business to pursue a variety of entrepreneurial ventures.


title: Jimmie Nicol

text: Over the decades, Nicol increasingly shied away from media attention, preferring not to discuss his connection to the Beatles nor seeking financial gain from it. He has a son, Howard, who is a BAFTA award-winning sound engineer.


title: Jimmie Nicol

text: Jimmie Nicol's career break came in 1957 when he was talent spotted by Larry Parnes whilst drumming with various bands in London's The 2i's Coffee Bar, a time that saw Britain's skiffle-dominated music scene giving way to rock and roll which was being popularised by its Teddy Boy youth. Parnes invited Nicol to join Colin Hicks & The Cabin Boys whom Parnes co-managed with John Kennedy (Colin Hicks is the younger brother of English entertainer Tommy Steele, whom Parnes also managed). After taking a temporary break from the group to be a member of the original pit band in the Lionel Bart musical "Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be" at the Theatre Royal Stratford East Nicol rejoined Hicks's band for their appearance in the 1958 Italian film documentary "Europa Di Notte", breaking them in Italy and subsequently allowing them to tour there extensively. During the early sixties, Nicol went on to play for a number of artists, including Vince Eager, Oscar Rabin, and Cyril Stapleton and was kept in regular work through Charlie Katz, a well-known session fixer during that period. Nicol has cited drummer Phil Seamen and saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderley as being his main influences.


title: Jimmie Nicol

text: In 1964 Nicol helped to form The Shubdubs with former Merseybeats bassist Bob Garner, a jazz line-up similar in musical style to Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames, a group with whom Nicol had sat-in with when they were the resident house band at London's now defunct Flamingo Jazz Club. Other members of The Shubdubs were Tony Allen (vocals), Johnny Harris (trumpet), Quincy Davis (tenor saxophone), and Roger Coulam (organ – went on to form Blue Mink). It was at this point that he received a telephone call from the Beatles' producer, George Martin. Nicol recalled: "I was having a bit of a lie down after lunch when the phone rang."


title: Jimmie Nicol

text: When Ringo Starr became ill with tonsillitis and was hospitalised on 3 June 1964, the eve of the Beatles' 1964 Australasian tour, the band's manager Brian Epstein and their producer George Martin urgently discussed the feasibility of using a stand-in drummer rather than cancelling part of the tour. Martin suggested Jimmie Nicol as he had recently used him on a recording session with Tommy Quickly. Nicol had also drummed on a 'Top Six' budget label album as part of an uncredited session band, as well as an extended play single (with three tracks on each side) of Beatles cover versions (marketed as 'Teenagers Choice' and titled "Beatlemania") which meant that he already knew the songs and their arrangements. Producer Bill Wellings and Shubdubs trumpeter Johnny Harris (freelancing as an arranger and composer) were responsible for putting together alternative budget cover versions of songs taken from the British Hit Parade aimed at cash-strapped teenagers. Harris said: "The idea was for me to try and guess which six songs would be topping the charts about a month ahead. I would do the arrangements and then go into the studio and record 'sound a-likes'; the first EP (extended play) released got to number 30 in the charts. Jimmie was on drums and, as you can imagine, we covered a lot of the Beatles' songs."


title: Jimmie Nicol

text: Although John Lennon and Paul McCartney quickly accepted the idea of using an understudy, George Harrison threatened to pull out of the tour telling Epstein and Martin: "If Ringo's not going, then neither am I. You can find two replacements." Martin recalled: "They nearly didn't do the Australia tour. George is a very loyal person. It took all of Brian's and my persuasion to tell George that if he didn't do it he was letting everybody down." Tony Barrow, who was the Beatles' press officer at the time, later commented: "Brian saw it as the lesser of two evils; cancel the tour and upset thousands of fans or continue and upset the Beatles." Starr stated that "it was very strange, them going off without me. They'd taken Jimmie Nicol and I thought they didn't love me any more – all that stuff went through my head." The arrangements were made very quickly, from a telephone call to Nicol at his home in West London inviting him to attend an audition/rehearsal at Abbey Road Studios, to packing his bags, all in the same day. At a press conference a reporter mischievously asked John Lennon why Pete Best, who had been the Beatles' previous drummer for two years but dismissed by the group on the eve of stardom, was not rehired, to which Lennon replied: "He's got his own group [Pete Best & the All Stars], and it might have looked as if we were taking him back, which is not good for him."


title: Jimmie Nicol

text: Nicol's first concert with the Beatles took place just 27 hours later on 4 June at the KB Hallen in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was given the distinctive Beatle moptop hairstyle, put on Starr's suit and went on stage to an audience of 4,500 Beatles fans. McCartney recalled: "He was sitting up on this rostrum just eyeing up all the women. We'd start 'She Loves You': [counting in] 'one, two', nothing, 'one, two', and still nothing!" Their set was reduced from eleven songs to ten, dropping Starr's vocal spot of "I Wanna Be Your Man". McCartney teasingly sent Starr a telegram saying: "Hurry up and get well Ringo, Jimmy is wearing out all your suits." Commenting later on the fickle nature of his brief celebrity, Nicol reflected: "The day before I was a Beatle, girls weren't interested in me at all. The day after, with the suit and the Beatle cut, riding in the back of the limo with John and Paul, they were dying to get a touch of me. It was very strange and quite scary." He was also able to shed some light on how they passed the time between shows: "I thought I could drink and lay women with the best of them until I caught up with these guys."


title: Jimmie Nicol

text: In the Netherlands, Nicol and Lennon allegedly spent a whole night at a brothel. Lennon said: "It was some kind of scene on the road. Satyricon! There's photographs of me grovelling about, crawling about Amsterdam on my knees, coming out of whorehouses, and people saying 'Good morning John'. The police escorted me to these places because they never wanted a big scandal. When we hit town, we hit it – we were not pissing about. We had [the women]. They were great. We didn't call them groupies, then; I've forgotten what we called them, something like 'slags'." Nicol discovered that, aside from acting as a Beatle, he could behave much as any tourist could: "I often went out alone. Hardly anybody recognised me and I was able to wander around. In Hong Kong, I went to see the thousands of people who live on little boats in the harbour. I saw the refugees in Kowloon, and I visited a nightclub. I like to see life. A Beatle could never really do that."


title: Jimmie Nicol

text: Nicol played a total of eight shows until Starr rejoined the group in Melbourne, Australia, on 14 June. He was unable to say goodbye to the Beatles as they were still asleep when he left, and he did not want to disturb them. At Melbourne Airport, Epstein presented him with a cheque for £500 and a gold Eterna-matic wrist watch inscribed: "From the Beatles and Brian Epstein to Jimmy – with appreciation and gratitude." George Martin later paid tribute to Nicol whilst recognising the problems he experienced in trying to readjust to a normal life again: "Jimmie Nicol was a very good drummer who came along and learnt Ringo's parts very well. He did the job excellently, and faded into obscurity immediately afterwards." Paul McCartney acknowledged: "It wasn't an easy thing for Jimmy to stand in for Ringo, and have all that fame thrust upon him. And the minute his tenure was over, he wasn't famous any more." Nicol himself expressed his disillusionment several years later: "Standing in for Ringo was the worst thing that ever happened to me. Until then I was quite happy earning £30 or £40 a week. After the headlines died, I began dying too." He resisted the temptation to sell his story, stating in a rare 1987 interview: "After the money ran low, I thought of cashing-in in some way or other. But the timing wasn't right. And I didn't want to step on the Beatles' toes. They had been damn good for me and to me."


title: Jimmie Nicol

text: Nicol reformed the Shubdubs, renaming themselves Jimmy Nicol and the Shubdubs. They released two singles "Husky"/"Don't Come Back", followed by "Humpty Dumpty"/"Night Train"; neither of which was a commercial success. He was later called upon to again stand in for an ailing drummer when Dave Clark of The Dave Clark Five fell ill and Nicol's band, Jimmy Nicol and the Shubdubs, filled in for The Dave Clark Five in Blackpool, Lancashire. Whilst there Nicol was reminded of just how popular, albeit briefly, he had been as a stand-in Beatle; receiving a bundle of 5,000 fan letters passed on to him from an Australian radio disc jockey. Nicol sent a message back thanking the fans, promising that he would one day return to Australia permanently.


title: Jimmie Nicol

text: He was later reunited with the Beatles when his band appeared on the same bill as them and The Fourmost on 12 July 1964 at the Hippodrome in Brighton.


title: Jimmie Nicol

text: In 1965, Nicol declared bankruptcy with debts of £4,066, nine months after being a temporary Beatle. After seeing news of Nicol's bankruptcy in the Daily Mirror Paul McCartney recommended him to Peter and Gordon who hired him for a 1965 England tour.


title: Jimmie Nicol

text: Later that year he joined the successful Swedish group the Spotnicks, recording with them and twice touring the world. He left them in 1967, spending time in Mexico and formed Los Nicolquinn with Eddie Quinn. An album was released on RCA Records. He also scored the music for the film"El Mes Mas Cruel" (translation : The Cruelest Month).


title: Jimmie Nicol

text: In 1984, Nicol participated in a Beatles convention in Amsterdam. Four years later, in 1988, rumours of his death began circulating.


title: Jimmie Nicol

text: During Nicol's brief time with the Beatles both Lennon and McCartney would often ask him how he felt he was coping, to which his reply would usually be "It's getting better". Three years later McCartney was walking his dog, Martha, with Hunter Davies, the Beatles official biographer, when the sun came out. McCartney remarked that the weather was "getting better" and began to laugh, remembering Nicol. This event inspired the song "Getting Better" on 1967's "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". McCartney again makes reference to Nicol on the "Let It Be" tapes from 1969, saying: "I think you'll find we're not going abroad 'cause Ringo just said he doesn't want to go abroad. And he put his foot down. So, us and Jimmie Nicol might go abroad."


title: Jimmie Nicol

text: While appearing on the radio show "Fresh Air" hosted by Terry Gross in April 2016, Tom Hanks noted that he was at least partly influenced by Jimmie Nicol's experience with the Beatles when he wrote the script for his 1996 feature film "That Thing You Do!"


title: Kuruthipunal (film)

text: Kuruthipunal () is a 1995 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film directed and filmed by P. C. Sreeram, and co-produced and written by Kamal Haasan. The film, which stars Haasan, Arjun, Nassar, Gautami and Geetha, is a remake of the Hindi film "Drohkaal" (1994), and revolves around two police officers seeking to curb a terrorist group.


title: Kuruthipunal (film)

text: Alongside the Tamil version, a Telugu-language version titled Drohi () was filmed at the same time. "Kuruthipunal" was co-produced by Haasan's brother Chandrahasan. Mahesh composed the score and the film was edited by N. P. Sathish. "Kuruthipunal" was the first Indian film to use Dolby Stereo surround SR technology.


title: Kuruthipunal (film)

text: "Kuruthipunal" was released on 23 October 1995, Diwali day, and "Drohi" on 7 July 1996. The former was a critical and commercial success, and won the Cinema Express Award for Best Film – Tamil while Kamal Haasan won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil. It was India's official entry for the 68th Academy Awards under the category Best Foreign Language Film but was not nominated. The film attained cult status in Tamil cinema, and has been recognised by many to have set standards for other action films of the period.


title: Kuruthipunal (film)

text: Police officers Adhi Narayanan and Abbas devise a plan to take down a terrorist group; they send undercover officers Anand and Shiva on "Operation Dhanush". The objective is to infiltrate a terrorist group headed by the Naxalite Badri and relay information back to Abbas. After a year of the operation, Anand is caught and commits suicide before he can be interrogated. With the information relayed by Anand, Abbas and Adhi know the terrorists are picking up someone important and are going to Tiruchirappalli.


title: Kuruthipunal (film)

text: Abbas tightens security at the railway station while Adhi calls his wife from a public telephone booth. Adhi sees some suspicious activity and tries to investigate but a sound from his radio alerts the terrorist and a shootout follows. Adhi wounds a terrorist and Adhi stops another from fleeing by shooting at the car's tyre. The wounded terrorist enters the railway station but is shot dead by Abbas and the car driver is taken into custody.


title: Kuruthipunal (film)

text: Adhi asks the driver for information on Badri. The driver maintains his innocence but Adhi is convinced the driver holds a mid-level position in the terrorist organisation. The terrorists plan to assassinate a central-government minister who is visiting the city. A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) expert is brought in to kill the minister, whose route the terrorists seem to know. The terrorists kill the minister but Adhi catches the RPG shooter, who identifies the driver as Badri.


title: Kuruthipunal (film)

text: Adhi tells Badri the RPG shooter has identified him and is willing to give more information about the terrorist organisation. Badri uses his influence and kills the jailed RPG shooter. Enraged, Adhi beats Badri and decides to kill him but instead interrogates him. Badri reveals the terrorists have planted a spy in the police department; Srinivasan – Abbas and Adhi's mentor. Adhi tells the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Srinivasan is a spy but Srinivasan commits suicide before he can be arrested.


title: Kuruthipunal (film)

text: Badri's assistant Narasimhan sends terrorists to kill Adhi's pet and shoots Adhi's son to show he can easily kill Adhi's family, who Narasimhan threatens to kill if Badri is not allowed to escape. Adhi cooperates, lets Badri escape, and becomes the terrorists' new spy. Abbas becomes suspicious and follows Adhi when he goes to meet Badri, who catches, tortures, and kills Abbas.


title: Kuruthipunal (film)

text: Griefstricken, Abbas's wife Zeenath and their teenage daughter go to live with Adhi, his wife Sumitra, and their son. Badri again threatens Adhi to allow two terrorists, Surendar and Mala, to live with and monitor Adhi. Overcome with guilt and grief over Abbas's death and his betrayal of his duty, Adhi realises he is becoming like Srinivasan and decides to end the arrangement. Adhi sets up a meeting with Badri. Shiva, who is still in contact with Adhi, tells him Narasimhan is meeting his wife and that if Narasimhan dies, Shiva will become Badri's assistant. Adhi kills Narasimhan.


title: Kuruthipunal (film)

text: Adhi tries to attack Badri in a safe house but is overpowered. Surendar tries to rape Abbas's daughter and kills Mala when she intervenes. Sumitra intervenes and seduces Surendar, steals his gun, and kills him.


title: Kuruthipunal (film)

text: Adhi is tortured for information about Dhanush. When only Adhi, Badri, and Badri's second-in-command Shiva are left in the room, Badri tells Adhi the group has found the radio used by the spy and that Dhanush – the spy's codename – can no longer contact the police. This surprises Adhi; he looks at Shiva, who is the spy, for confirmation. Badri notices this and realises Shiva is Dhanush. When Badri tries to kill Shiva, Adhi breaks free, wrestles with Badri, and kills him.


title: Kuruthipunal (film)

text: Adhi, deciding the mission to destroy the terrorist organisation is more important than his life, orders Shiva to shoot him so Shiva can continue spying. Shiva shoots Adhi as the other terrorists enter the room. Shiva tells the terrorists Badri was killed by Adhi and that he killed Adhi. Shiva says Badri's death leaves him, as second-in-command, to take over the group. Adhi and Abbas are felicitated posthumously.


title: Kuruthipunal (film)

text: In 1994, Govind Nihalani invited P. C. Sreeram and Kamal Haasan to a Bombay screening of his Hindi film "Drohkaal". Both men liked the film; Haasan wanted to remake it in Tamil and Sreeram agreed. Haasan and Sreeram had discussions with Sab John about filming; it was decided Haasan would write the remake's screenplay. After completing the script, Haasan suggested three titles, two of which were "Kuruthipunal" () and "Drohi" (). The former title was met with objections because it was believed "the audience may not have a stomach for a morbid title". Sreeram, however, preferred "Kuruthipunal", as it is also the title of a novel by Indira Parthasarathy, and he felt it had a connection to Akira Kurosawa's "Throne of Blood" (1957). It was decided to film simultaneously in Telugu with "Drohi" as the title. The film was produced by Haasan and his brother Chandrahasan under the banner Raaj Kamal Films International, photographed by Sreeram and edited by N. P. Sathish, while Haasan's then-wife Sarika was the sound recordist. Nirav Shah worked as an assistant cinematographer. The film has no songs and the score was composed by Mahesh.


title: Kuruthipunal (film)

text: Besides producing the film and writing the screenplay, Haasan also portrayed the lead character Adhi Narayanan. He approached Arjun to portray Abbas; Arjun agreed to do the film even without hearing the narration until fiming began. Nassar, who portrayed the Naxalite leader Badri, said he had the freedom to interpret the character in his own way and that he "didn't really 'act' in the film. The context of every scene was so well established, that I did nothing more than maintain a stoic expression in most scenes. The fact that my character was torturing someone and yet my face was so calm contributed to the impact." Vikram dubbed the voice of Sab John, who portrayed the Naxalite Narasimham, and Rohini dubbed the voice of Gautami, who portrayed Adhi's wife Sumitra. "Kuruthipunal" is the fourth collaboration between Haasan and Gautami, and the last one until the release of "Papanasam" (2015).


title: Kuruthipunal (film)

text: "Kuruthipunal" was the first Indian film to use Dolby Stereo surround SR technology. While composing the score for Badri, Mahesh decided to make the film sound ominous, and he "wanted the omen of death to reflect" on the character's face. According to Sreeram; "I am not a cinematographer but someone who is part of the expedition group ... There were lots that were planned ahead of the shoot, which made it easier for us." To collect details about RPG rocket launching, Haasan met many army personnel. The police uniforms and haircuts seen in the film were made in accordance with National Police Academy specifications. While filming the scene in which Adhi interrogates Badri, Sreeram took liberties with the way real interrogations take place; he did not want the scene to look mundane, but was "opting for that visual style for the first time ... it also came from a point of commercial interest". Despite the tight schedule and budget for the film, filming was completed within 30 days. According to Sreeram; "The shooting was akin to a war footing. You cannot shoot three or four scenes a day, if not for a great star cast."


title: Kuruthipunal (film)

text: "Kuruthipunal" was released on 23 October 1995, Diwali day, and "Drohi" was released on 7 July 1996. For the premiere of "Kuruthipunal" in Madras, Haasan invited numerous Bollywood personalities, including Nihalani and Manmohan Shetty, who produced "Drohkaal". Despite facing competition from "Muthu", which was released on the same day, "Kuruthipunal" became a commercial success. "Kuruthipunal" was included as part of a retrospective to Kamal Haasan under the category "Director in Focus" at the International Film Festival Rotterdam.


title: Kuruthipunal (film)

text: "Kuruthipunal" received critical acclaim. RPR of "Kalki" appreciated the makers for not making compromises for commercial success, the performances of Arjun and Haasan, and the film's realism. On 11 November 1995, K. Vijiyan from "New Straits Times" praised the film's special effects for their realism but added; "The fear Kamal feels for his family was not properly brought to the screen by Sreeram. The intensity Arjun usually puts into his movies was also missing here"; and concluded "Kuruthipunal" is "like an American action movie made in Tamil". On 19 November, "Ananda Vikatan" said the film was attempting to turn Tamil cinema, which was quickly moving in the direction of masala entertainers, by bringing in a different screenplay. The reviewer noted though it would not fulfill the needs of ordinary people, it is a wonderful film, and rated it 45 out of 100. Bhawana Somaaya, the then editor of the "G" magazine, said "Kuruthipunal" "proved a chilling experience. Violent, but realistic in the context of what is happening today." Nihalani called the film better than "Drohkaal".


title: Kuruthipunal (film)

text: "Kuruthipunal" won the Cinema Express Award for Best Film – Tamil and Kamal Haasan won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil. The film was India's official entry for the 68th Academy Awards in the category Best Foreign Language Film but was not nominated.


title: Kuruthipunal (film)

text: "Kuruthipunal" attained cult status in Tamil cinema, and has been recognised by many to have set standards for other action films of the period. Many filmmakers, including Gautham Vasudev Menon and AR Murugadoss, have cited "Kuruthipunal" as an influence on their works. Certain dialogues from the film such as ""Veeramna enna theriyuma, payam illatha mathiri nadikkarathuthan"" (Do you know what bravery is? It is to act as if you know no fear); "Delay, disable and disintegrate"; and "Shoot me ... shoot me, my man. It's a bloody order!"; attained popularity. Actor Venkatesh Prabhu adopted the screen name Dhanush after being inspired by the covert operation in "Kuruthipunal".


title: Fakhar Zaman (cricketer)

text: Fakhar Zaman (Urdu, Pashto: ; born 10 April 1990) is a Pakistani cricketer who plays for the Pakistan national cricket team and for Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League.


title: Fakhar Zaman (cricketer)

text: On 20 July 2018, he became the first batsman for Pakistan to score a double century in a One Day International (ODI) match. Two days later, he became the fastest batsman to score 1,000 runs in ODIs. In August 2018, he was one of thirty-three players to be awarded a central contract for the 2018–19 season by the Pakistan Cricket Board.


title: Fakhar Zaman (cricketer)

text: On 4 April 2021, while chasing against South Africa in the second ODI, Fakhar scored 193 before being run out by Quinton de Kock. Fakhar's 193 became the highest individual score while chasing in an ODI surpassing the 185 scored by Shane Watson against Bangladesh.


title: Fakhar Zaman (cricketer)

text: Zaman was born on 10 April 1990 in Katlang in the Mardan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He moved to Karachi at the age of 16 following matriculation. In 2007, Zaman joined the Pakistan Navy as a sailor after receiving his schooling and training at sea from the Pakistan Navy School, Bahadur. His choice of career was persuaded by his father, who was dissuaded by Fakhar's childhood addiction to cricket and wanted his son to focus on his academics. The name "Fakhar" literally translates to "pride". Amongst his teammates, he is known by the nickname "fauji" (soldier).


title: Fakhar Zaman (cricketer)

text: In 2012, he represented the navy in the International Defence Cricket Challenge Cup in Australia and was named best player of the tournament. Later in 2020, the navy awarded him the honorary rank of Lieutenant in recognition of his contribution to cricket.


title: Fakhar Zaman (cricketer)

text: In Karachi, he continued playing cricket occasionally in inter-departmental matches, including representations for the Pakistan Navy cricket team. He was first identified by his navy coach, Azam Khan, who encouraged him to pursue professional cricket. In 2013, he left his naval career after a "tough decision" in pursuit of this dream and began appearing for regional outfits like Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Abbottabad Falcons, Balochistan and several Karachi teams. He became the second-highest run scorer in the 2016 Pakistan Cup and also impressed selectors in the 2016–17 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. He was also picked by the Lahore Qalandars side for the 2017 Pakistan Super League, where he was closely mentored by New Zealand player Brendon McCullum. He was soon noticed by Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur during a training camp in Lahore, following which he earned a call-up for the national side.


title: Fakhar Zaman (cricketer)

text: In August 2017, he was named in Durban Qalandars' squad for the first season of the T20 Global League. However, in October 2017, Cricket South Africa initially postponed the tournament until November 2018, with it being cancelled soon after.


title: Fakhar Zaman (cricketer)

text: In July 2019, he was selected to play for the Rotterdam Rhinos in the inaugural edition of the Euro T20 Slam cricket tournament. However, the following month the tournament was cancelled.


title: Fakhar Zaman (cricketer)

text: In March 2017, he was named in Pakistan's limited overs squad for their matches against the West Indies. He made his Twenty20 International (T20I) debut for Pakistan against the West Indies on 30 March 2017.


title: Fakhar Zaman (cricketer)

text: In April 2017, he was named in Pakistan's One Day International (ODI) squad for the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy. He made his ODI debut for Pakistan against South Africa in the Champions Trophy on 7 June 2017, scoring 31 runs.


title: Fakhar Zaman (cricketer)

text: In the final against India, Zaman edged to the wicket-keeper, when he was on 3, but survived as it was a no-ball. After that, Zaman went on to score his maiden ODI century and helped Pakistan post a total of 338. With that, Zaman became the first batsman for Pakistan to score a century in an ICC event final. India batting second collapsed and Pakistan won the match by 180 runs to become the winners of Champions Trophy for the first time. Zaman was adjudged man of the match for his batting performance. Zaman and Azhar Ali's partnership in the match was 128 runs, making it the highest opening partnership in the Champions Trophy history for Pakistan, and the highest opening partnership in an ODI for Pakistan since 2009.


title: Fakhar Zaman (cricketer)

text: In April 2018, he was named in Pakistan's Test squad for their tours to Ireland and England in May 2018, but he did not play.


title: Fakhar Zaman (cricketer)

text: On 8 July 2018, Fakhar scored 91 runs against Australia in the tri-series final in Harare to help Pakistan secure the title. He was named man of the final and man of the series. During his innings he also became the first Pakistani batsman to score 500 or more runs in T20Is in a calendar year.


title: Fakhar Zaman (cricketer)

text: On 20 July 2018, in the fourth ODI against Zimbabwe, he became the first batsman for Pakistan to score a double century in ODIs, finishing 210 not out. In the same match, he and Imam-ul-Haq made the then highest opening partnership in ODIs, scoring 304 runs. His innings propelled Pakistan's total to 399, which was their highest score in ODIs.


title: Fakhar Zaman (cricketer)

text: Two days later, in the fifth match of the series, Zaman became the fastest player to score 1,000 runs in ODIs. He reached the milestone in 18 innings, beating the previous record of 21 innings, held by five other batsmen. Zaman went on to score 85 runs in the match, bringing his total to 515 runs in the series, the most by a Pakistan batsman in a bilateral ODI series. Zaman and Imam had scored 705 runs together across the series, the most by a pair in a bilateral ODI series. Zaman also recorded the most runs scored by a batsman between two dismissals in ODIs, with 455.


title: Fakhar Zaman (cricketer)

text: In September 2018, he was named in Pakistan's Test squad for their series against Australia. He made his Test debut for Pakistan against Australia on 16 October 2018. He made 94 and 66 on Test debut.


title: Fakhar Zaman (cricketer)

text: In April 2019, he was named in Pakistan's squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup. Ahead of the Cricket World Cup, in the ODI series against England, Zaman scored 138 runs in the second ODI match. This was the highest individual total for a Pakistan batsman against England in a One Day International. However, three days later, Imam-ul-Haq set a new record with 151 runs, in the third ODI of the series.


title: Fakhar Zaman (cricketer)

text: In June 2020, he was named in a 29-man squad for Pakistan's tour to England during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, on 23 June 2020, Zaman was one of seven players from Pakistan's squad to test positive for COVID-19.


title: Fakhar Zaman (cricketer)

text: On 4 April 2021, in the second ODI against South Africa, Zaman scored 193 runs. It was the highest individual score while chasing in an ODI match, surpassing 185 scored by Shane Watson against Bangladesh. Pakistan lost the ODI by 17 runs, with Fakhar's 193 being the second-highest score in an ODI defeat, behind Charles Coventry's 194 not out. On 5 May 2021, Zaman was nominated for the ICC's Player of the Month award for April. In September 2021, he was named as one of three travelling reserve players in Pakistan's squad for the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.


title: Fakhar Zaman (cricketer)

text: In the annual ICC Awards in January 2022, Fakhar Zaman was named in the ICC Men's ODI Team of the Year for the year 2021. On 30 January 2022, Fakhar scored his first Pakistan Super League century, against the Karachi Kings.


title: Fakhar Zaman (cricketer)

text: In the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022, Zaman was ruled out of the event after he suffered a knee injury when playing against the Netherlands.


title: The Dead Milkmen

text: The Dead Milkmen is an American punk rock band formed in 1983 in Philadelphia. Their original lineup consisted of vocalist and keyboardist Rodney Linderman ("Rodney Anonymous"), guitarist and vocalist Joe Genaro ("Joe Jack Talcum"), bassist Dave Schulthise ("Dave Blood") and drummer Dean Sabatino ("Dean Clean").


title: The Dead Milkmen

text: The band distinguished itself in the hardcore punk scene of the early 1980s through its jangly punk sound and sardonic humor delivered with thick Philadelphia accents. They attracted college radio attention with their 1985 debut album, "Big Lizard in My Backyard", and the song "Bitchin' Camaro". Extensive touring and further releases helped the band garner an underground following.


title: The Dead Milkmen

text: The band enjoyed international success on the strength of "Punk Rock Girl", a single from their 1988 "Beelzebubba" album which entered into MTV rotation. After an ill-fated stint with major record label Hollywood Records, health problems and industry frustrations in the wake of their success led to the group's 1995 breakup.


title: The Dead Milkmen

text: The group reunited in 2008, with Dan Stevens replacing the deceased Schulthise. In 2011, they released "The King in Yellow", their first studio album in 16 years. The band remained active thereafter, touring sporadically and releasing further records.


title: The Dead Milkmen

text: Conceptually, the group began in 1979 as Genaro's home-recording project. Then based in Chester County, Pennsylvania, Genaro and his high school friend Garth created an imaginary band called The Dead Milkmen with a mythological back-story, recording homemade cassettes in keeping with their fictional characters. According to Genaro, the band's moniker came from a character named "Milkman Dead" in Toni Morrison's novel "Song of Solomon". Linderman, who attended high school with Genaro, later participated in this embryonic stage of the group. The project became inactive when Garth departed to join the United States Air Force and Genaro relocated to the dormitories of Philadelphia's Temple University.


title: The Dead Milkmen

text: While in Philadelphia, Genaro met Schulthise and Sabatino through mutual friends. The three began loosely rehearsing together in 1981, taking their name from Genaro's home-recording project. Sabatino was the only member with experience in rock groups, having played previously in the two-piece new wave band Narthex. Linderman collaborated sporadically with the three during this period. He completed the lineup as lead vocalist in 1983, in time for their first public performance.


title: The Dead Milkmen

text: The band played frequently in Philadelphia's punk rock circuit and eventually began touring nationally. After several self-released cassettes, their debut LP, "Big Lizard in My Backyard", was issued in 1985 on Restless Records, a subsidiary of Enigma Records. The album received college radio play, with the track "Bitchin' Camaro" becoming especially popular. Because of its improvised dialogue intro, the song remained a favorite at live shows.


title: The Dead Milkmen

text: "Eat Your Paisley", their second album, was released the following year. "The Thing That Only Eats Hippies" became the band's first proper single and music video, and was a hit in Australia in addition to receiving domestic attention. "Bucky Fellini" followed in 1987, yielding the single "Instant Club Hit (You'll Dance to Anything)", a genre spoof of electronic dance music.


title: The Dead Milkmen

text: As the band toured extensively behind their records, they began to accrue increasing attention, which often came through unconventional routes. In 1987, Major League Baseball player Jim Walewander, a Detroit Tigers rookie, became a vocal fan of the band; this was noted on his baseball card (1988 Score, #571), which described the group as "an obscure punk-rock band". Walewander invited the band to Tiger Stadium to see a game in which he hit his first and only major league home run, and the Milkmen had a short conversation with Tigers manager Sparky Anderson.


title: The Dead Milkmen

text: In 1988, they issued "Beelzebubba", a comparatively polished record that yielded their most successful single, "Punk Rock Girl". Featuring Genaro on lead vocals, the track saw extensive rotation on MTV and propelled the album to number 101 on "Billboard"'s Top 200. They later released the "Smokin' Banana Peels" EP and music video from this album. The 1990 followup, "Metaphysical Graffiti", did not yield a hit, but also charted and helped solidify the group's presence in the independent rock scene.


title: The Dead Milkmen

text: In 1991, the band left Restless and signed with The Walt Disney Company-owned Hollywood Records. "Soul Rotation", their Hollywood debut released the following year, was focused more heavily on Genaro's singing and songwriting, with Linderman used predominantly as a keyboardist. The resulting record was much more pop-oriented than the group's previous efforts, but failed to produce a hit single. "Not Richard, But Dick" was issued in 1993, and did not fare any better than its predecessor. Relations between the band and label quickly soured, and the two albums went out of print shortly after their initial releases. The band was later unable to feature any of the songs from either of the Hollywood albums on retrospective or compilation CDs, although the group did smuggle an unlisted version of "Soul Rotation"'s "If I Had a Gun" onto their 1994 live album "".


title: The Dead Milkmen

text: Later in 1994, The Dead Milkmen announced their decision to break up following a final tour and album. This was due in part to the tendinitis Schulthise began to suffer in his hands, which made performing intensely painful, as well as the band's increasing frustration with commercial and industry struggles. Restless Records released what was planned to be their final studio album in 1995, "Stoney's Extra Stout (Pig)". Several compilations of both hits and rarities were later released.


title: The Dead Milkmen

text: The band then took a 13-year hiatus. During this time, Linderman performed with the gothic, Celtic punk band Burn Witch Burn and worked in journalism and blogging, including writing for the "Philadelphia Weekly". Sabatino played with the Big Mess Orchestra and The Hunger Artists, two sporadically active projects, as well as Genaro's post-Milkmen group Butterfly Joe. Genaro remained the most musically active member of the band during its split, consistently recording and performing with groups such as Butterfly Joe, Touch Me Zoo, the Town Managers and The Low Budgets, while also maintaining a low-key solo career.


title: The Dead Milkmen

text: Schulthise attended Indiana University to study Serbo-Croatian language, literature, history, and culture. In 1998 he moved to Novi Sad, Serbia, where he taught English. His writing was published several times in "Svetigora", the magazine of the Serbian Orthodox Church. He hoped to contribute to the country’s regrowth and development, but fled in April 1999 when NATO bombed the country.


title: The Dead Milkmen

text: In 2003, the band issued "Now We Are 20", a repackaging of their self-released "Now We Are 10" retrospective CD from 1993. They also collected their music video output and released it on the "Philadelphia In Love" DVD. Talks of reunion shows briefly emerged, but ended when Schulthise died by suicide on March 10, 2004. His death was reported in "The New York Times" and "Rolling Stone".


title: The Dead Milkmen

text: The surviving members reunited for two consecutive shows in November 2004 at the Trocadero Theatre in Philadelphia, with Dan Stevens of The Low Budgets playing bass. The shows were intended to pay tribute to Schulthise, and proceeds were donated to a variety of mental health organizations and to Studenica, a Serbian monastery that he supported.


title: The Dead Milkmen

text: In late 2008, the band reunited to play their first performances since the Schulthise memorial shows, with Stevens again on bass. After two back-to-back warm-up shows in Philadelphia, including one billed under the pseudonym Les Enfants Du Prague, they played the Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, Texas. Following these concerts, they decided to continue as an active group.


title: The Dead Milkmen

text: They spent the following two years composing new material before entering the recording studio late in 2010. On March 19, 2011, a new album, "The King in Yellow", was released in digital form on the band's website, with a self-released CD following shortly thereafter.


title: The Dead Milkmen

text: In late 2012, they released "Dark Clouds Gather Over Middlemarch" and "Big Words Make the Baby Jesus Cry", the first two installments in a series of limited-run singles. This year they also appeared on nerdcore rapper MC Lars' EP, "Edgar Allan Poe EP", for a new recording of Lars' song, "Mr. Raven", which was originally released on his 2006 album, "The Graduate". "The Great Boston Molasses Flood", the third release in their singles series, was released on March 15, 2013; the fourth, "Welcome to Undertown", followed on June 21.


title: The Dead Milkmen

text: The band released "Pretty Music for Pretty People", their tenth studio album, on October 7, 2014. The following year, SRA Records issued their split 7-inch with the 1980s Philadelphia hardcore band Flag of Democracy (also known as F.O.D.)


title: Ronee Blakley

text: Ronee Sue Blakley (born August 24, 1945) is an American actress, singer-songwriter, composer, producer and director.


title: Ronee Blakley

text: She is perhaps best known for her role as the fictional country superstar Barbara Jean in Robert Altman's 1975 film "Nashville", for which she won a National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress and was nominated for an Academy Award. She also performed roles in Walter Hill's "The Driver" (1978) and Wes Craven's "A Nightmare on Elm Street" (1984).


title: Ronee Blakley

text: Blakley was born in Nampa, Idaho, one of four children born to Ronald Blakley, a civil engineer, and his wife Carol (née Brown), who became a gay rights activist in support of Blakley's brother, Stephen. In addition to Stephen, Blakley had a brother John and a sister Marthetta.


title: Ronee Blakley

text: Blakley's early years were spent in the Pacific Northwest where she was selected as Idaho's representative to Girls Nation while in high school. She studied at Mills College, Stanford University, and went to New York to attend Juilliard for post-graduate work.


title: Ronee Blakley

text: Blakley began her music career in New York, improvising vocally with Moog synthesizers in Carnegie Hall to music by Gershon Kingsley. Her first soundtrack was composed for the 20th Century Fox film "Welcome Home, Soldier Boys" and earned her a spot in "Who's Who in America."


title: Ronee Blakley

text: Blakley released her self-titled debut album on Elektra Records in 1972. The album featured Blakley's original songs, self-accompanied on piano. Blakley also made the musical arrangements. The song "Bluebird" featured a duet with Linda Ronstadt. Blakley's songs were published by her own company, Sawtooth Music.


title: Ronee Blakley

text: Her second album, "Welcome"—produced by Jerry Wexler and recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Alabama—was released on Warner Bros. in 1975.


title: Ronee Blakley

text: That same year, Blakley appeared in what may be her most widely known performance in "Nashville". Her character, Barbara Jean, looked similar to country star Loretta Lynn, though Blakley stated that the character was based on Lynn Anderson. Blakley performed her own songs in character, including "Tapedeck In His Tractor," "Dues" and "My Idaho Home." In her review for "The New Yorker", film critic Pauline Kael wrote:


title: Ronee Blakley

text: This is Ronee Blakley's first movie, and she puts most movie hysteria to shame. She achieves her gifts so simply, I wasn't surprised when somebody sitting beside me started to cry. Perhaps, for the first time on the screen, one gets the sense of an artist being destroyed by her gifts.


title: Ronee Blakley

text: Blakley's performance in "Nashville" was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture and for Best Acting Debut in a Motion Picture (Female), BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and the Grammy Award for Album of Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Special, and won the National Board of Review award for Best Supporting Actress. She was featured on the covers of "Newsweek", "American Cinematographer" and "Interview" magazines.


title: Ronee Blakley

text: She toured in Bob Dylan's traveling "Rolling Thunder Revue", singing a set of solo original songs accompanying herself on piano. She also sang with Dylan and other headlining musicians on the tour, released on "". She recorded backup vocals on ""Hurricane"" for Dylan's album "Desire". Blakley has also recorded with Leonard Cohen and Hoyt Axton.


title: Ronee Blakley

text: Blakley starred in the 1977 film "She Came to the Valley". She also appeared in several TV movies including "Desperate Women", "Ladies in Waiting", "Oklahoma City Dolls" and the "Ford 75th Anniversary Special" presentation of "The Glass Menagerie." Her guest starring roles in television series include "Vega$", "The Love Boat", "Highway to Heaven", "Trapper John", "Hotel", "The Runaways", "Beyond Westworld" and "Tales from the Darkside".


title: Ronee Blakley

text: Blakley starred in "The Baltimore Bullet" in 1980. She appeared on Broadway in 1982's "Pump Boys and Dinettes" and starred in "Rain" for the Indiana Repertory Theatre. Blakley played the role of Marge Thompson in the 1984 horror film "A Nightmare on Elm Street".


title: Ronee Blakley

text: She wrote, produced, directed and starred in her own feature music docudrama, "I Played It for You", in 1985. The movie debuted at the Venice Film Festival and was screened at several other film festivals around the world. Sheila Benson of the "Los Angeles Times" called it "passionate and brave, an absorbing work." FX Feeney of "LA Weekly" called it "a valuable document." The film was released on DVD in 2008, bundled with the soundtrack on CD and a new spoken word poetry album titled "Freespeak".


title: Ronee Blakley

text: Throughout her career, Blakley has performed on behalf of several political and social causes, with an emphasis on civil rights and equal rights for women. During the 1976 presidential campaign, she toured performing before the speeches of Jerry Brown and later performed at the final Los Angeles rally of Walter Mondale with Kris Kristofferson.


title: Ronee Blakley

text: Blakley was married to German filmmaker Wim Wenders from 1979 to 1981. Having previously graduated from Stanford University in 1967, she completed a master's degree at California State University in 2002. She has one child, author Sarah Blakley-Cartwright. She graduated from Barnard College in 2010 and is known for penning the novel adapted into the 2011 movie "Red Riding Hood". Her career was put on hold while she raised her daughter and also recovered from a back injury. Her most recent album of original songs, "River Nile," was released in 2009, inspired by a trip she made to Egypt. In October 2010, she appeared on stage at New York's Bitter End for the first time in 20 years.


title: Ronee Blakley

text: She wrote, produced and directed the 2012 film "Of One Blood", her first foray into films in over 20 years. Her daughter appeared with her in the film.


title: S. A. Rajkumar

text: S. A. Rajkumar is an Indian film music director He has made music for all South Indian language films in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, and Kannada.


title: S. A. Rajkumar

text: His father was a vocalist performing in stage shows conducted by popular music directors such as Ilayaraja, Gangai Amaren, Deva among others. Rajkumar admired his father's musical career and developed an interest in music. It was his mother who encouraged his father to make him join music classes. Rajkumar underwent classical music training under the guidance of Subbaiah Bhagavathar for 3 years.


title: S. A. Rajkumar

text: After completion of his music training, Rajkumar started to organize musical shows on his own and was in search for film opportunities. Come 1987 and director duo Robert–Rajasekar gave him his first major breakthrough by signing him as the music composer for their film "Chinna Poove Mella Pesu" . Since then, Rajkumar has composed music for over hundred films in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada language films. His compositions for the films such as "Pudhu Vasantham" (1990), "Shruthi" (1990), "Poove Unakkaga" (1996), "Surya Vamsam" (1997), "Aval Varuvala" (1998), "Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen" (1998), "Thulladha Manamum Thullum" (1999), "Raja" (1999), "Vaanathaippola" (2000), "Vasantam" (2000) and "Priyamaana Thozhi" (2003) have all been blockbuster musical hits.


title: Kamal Sadanah

text: Kamal Sadanah (born 21 October 1970) is an Indian actor, producer and director. He is the son of producer and director Brij Sadanah.


title: Kamal Sadanah

text: Kamal made his acting debut alongside Kajol in the 1992 film "Bekhudi" which did not perform well at the box office. In 1993, he achieved greater success in "Rang" in which he acted along with the late Divya Bharti. He subsequently acted in a string of films throughout the 1990s but failed to achieve the same level of success as "Rang" and, at the end of the decade, took a hiatus from acting for several years.


title: Kamal Sadanah

text: In 2005, he made his directorial debut with the low-budget film titled "Karkash" starring himself, Anup Soni and Suchitra Pillai.


title: Kamal Sadanah

text: In 2006, he joined the television industry with a role in the Zee TV television serial "Kasamh Se." In 2007, he acted in and produced "Victoria No. 203" which is a remake of his father's 1972 hit film of the same title.


title: Kamal Sadanah

text: In 2022, he returned to acting after 15 years in "Salaam Venky", directed by Revathy and reuniting him with his first co-star Kajol. The film is slated for release in December 2022.


title: Kamal Sadanah

text: Kamal Sadanah is the son of producer and director Brij Sadanah and actress Sayeeda Khan. While his father was a Hindu, his mother was a Muslim. Kamal had a sister named Namrata. Kamal's cousin sister is the actress Jyothika. Kamal's father Brij Sadanah was the brother of Jyotika's father Chander Sadanah.


title: Kamal Sadanah

text: On 21 October 1990, Kamal was making arrangements for his 20th birthday party when a quarrel broke out between his parents, in the lower floor of the house, followed by gunshots. Kamal rushed at the scene to find both his mother and sister shot and unconscious. Kamal said that his father, who was inebriated, aimed a shot at him but missed upon which Kamal lost consciousness. After waking in a hospital, he was informed that after shooting the two women, Brij Sadanah had turned the pistol upon himself and committed suicide.


title: Kamal Sadanah

text: Two years later, Kamal made his acting debut in "Bekhudi" released in July 1992. His next film, "Rang," was successful and he followed this success with ten additional starring roles throughout the 1990s. Most of these films other films met with tepid responses from the audience, and Kamal subsequently left the film industry until 2005.


title: Kamal Sadanah

text: During this hiatus Kamal married make-up artist Lisa John. They have two children together, a son Angath and a daughter Namrata, named after Kamal's late sister. Kamal’s production company 'Angath Arts Private Limited' is named after his son.


title: Kamal Sadanah

text: In 2005, Kamal appeared as a hero for the last time in the film "Karkash" opposite Suchitra Pillai. The two actors co-produced the film, which was directed by Kamal. This was an effort by both actors to revitalize their careers, along with their finances. However, the film received a limited release and did not do well. In 2007, Kamal produced the film Victoria No. 203, which was directed by Anant Mahadevan. The resulting film was an almost frame-by-frame remake of his father's film Victoria No. 203 which had been a superhit in 1972. The remake performed poorly at the box office.


title: Red-bellied woodpecker

text: The red-bellied woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) is a medium-sized woodpecker of the family Picidae. It breeds mainly in the eastern United States, ranging as far south as Florida and as far north as Canada. Though it has a vivid orange-red crown and nape it is not to be confused with the red-headed woodpecker, a separate species of woodpecker in the same genus with an entirely red head and neck that sports a solid black back and white belly. The red-bellied earns its name from the pale reddish blush of its lower underside.


title: Red-bellied woodpecker

text: The English naturalist Mark Catesby described and illustrated the red-bellied woodpecker in his book "The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands" which was published between 1729 and 1732. Catesby used the English name "The Red-bellied Wood-pecker" and the Latin "Picus ventre rubro". When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his "Systema Naturae" for the tenth edition, he included the red-bellied woodpecker, coined the binomial name "Picus carolinus" and cited Catesby's book. Linnaeus specified the type locality as "America septentrionali" (North America). The locality is now restricted to South Carolina. The red-bellied woodpecker is one of 24 species now placed in the genus "Melanerpes" that was introduced by the English ornithologist William John Swainson in 1832. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.


title: Red-bellied woodpecker

text: Adults are mainly light gray on the face and underparts; they have black and white barred patterns on their back, wings and tail. Adult males have a red cap going from the bill to the nape; females have a red patch on the nape and another above the bill. The reddish tinge on the belly that gives the bird its name is difficult to see in field identification. They are long, have a wingspan of , and weigh 2.0–3.2 oz (56–91 g).


title: Red-bellied woodpecker

text: Red-bellied woodpeckers are noisy birds, and have many varied calls. Calls have been described as sounding like ' or ' with an alternating ' sound. Males tend to call and drum more frequently than females, but both sexes call. The drum sounds like 6 taps. Often, these woodpeckers "drum" to attract mates. They tap on hollow trees, and even on aluminum roofs, metal guttering and transformer boxes in urban environments, to communicate with potential partners. Babies have a high-pitched begging call of '. They will continue to give a begging call whenever they see their parents for a while after fledging.


title: Red-bellied woodpecker

text: These birds mainly search out arthropods on tree trunks. They may also catch insects in flight. They are omnivores, eating insects, fruits, nuts and seeds. Their breeding habitat is usually deciduous forests. They nest in the decayed cavities of dead trees, old stumps, or in live trees that have softer wood such as elms, maples, or willows; both sexes assist in digging nesting cavities. Areas around nest sites are marked with drilling holes to warn others away.


title: Red-bellied woodpecker

text: Though the species is not globally threatened, it depends on large trees for nesting. In areas that are extensively deforested, the birds will sometimes utilize gardens, but for the most part they simply will not be present in any numbers.


title: Red-bellied woodpecker

text: In early May, the red-bellied woodpeckers begin breeding activities by drumming patterns, such as slow taps followed by short rapid drumming. The red-bellied woodpeckers use vocal signals to attract and communicate with potential mates. A low ""grr, grr"" sound is observed in a pair of woodpeckers from the start of courtship until the end of the breeding season. In an intraspecific conflict, red-bellied woodpeckers usually make a loud ""chee-wuck, chee-wuck, chee-wuck"" sound. As indicated by Kilham 1983, the red-bellied woodpecker drums with its bill during conflict situation and taps to maintain pair bonding. An example of a conflict event would be competing for the same mate. Nevertheless, red-bellied woodpeckers are known to be in monogamous relationships. They have been known to rapidly peck on aluminum gutters of houses to produce a loud noise in order to attract females.


title: Red-bellied woodpecker

text: Woodpeckers depend on dead and drying wood for nesting purposes. The male red-bellied woodpecker takes the initiative in locating a nest hole. He will then seek approval from his mate by mutual tapping. The red-bellied woodpecker excavates holes in trees for nesting and roosting. By excavating cavities, they play an important role in forest communities for other species as well. For example, squirrels and bats use these cavities as shelter. The female red-bellied woodpecker accepts the nesting site by completing the excavation and entering the nest hole.


title: Red-bellied woodpecker

text: Researchers have documented that red-bellied woodpeckers tend to nest in clear areas with only a few trees. Studies have indicated that close canopy areas do not impact the bird's nesting behavior; however, further studies are needed and are in progress. Red-bellied woodpeckers breed once per year and are territorial during the nesting season. A pair begins nesting in April or May holding a year-round territory and showing high site fidelity.


title: Red-bellied woodpecker

text: Red-bellied woodpeckers depend on dead trees for nesting. Recent studies have shown that these woodpeckers experienced low breeding due to cutting sites of dead trees; however, predators are still of main concern. The juvenile red-bellied woodpecker is ready to fledge at 24 to 26 days of age. Natal dispersal has been observed in juvenile red-bellied woodpeckers. The juvenile red-bellied woodpecker remains in its natal area for approximately 27 weeks after fledging. In some cases, the woodpecker may return to its natal area for breeding, depending on predation levels and food resources.


title: Red-bellied woodpecker

text: As with all animals, foraging plays an important role in an animal's ability to survive and reproduce. The red-bellied woodpecker expresses foraging behavior by catching or storing food. The woodpecker uses its bill as a chisel, drilling into bark or probing cracks on trunk of trees. In this manner, it is able to pull out beetles and other insects from the tree with the help of its long tongue. This behavior is also seen in storing food from other animals by hiding food behind bark or deep in cracks of a tree. According to studies from Williams (1975), Breitwisch (1977), and Williams and Batzil (1979), the red-bellied woodpecker spent 20% to 69% of its time foraging on dead or decaying trees. In addition, Breitwisch (1977) observed red-bellied woodpeckers primarily gleaning and probing to find food in South Florida pine habitat. The red-bellied woodpecker relies on snags or dying trees for foraging and nesting. It is a major predator of the invasive emerald ash borer in the U.S. Midwest, removing up to 85 percent of borer larvae in a single infested ash tree. The red-bellied woodpecker has also been observed, on occasion, foraging on the ground amongst groups of Northern Flicker woodpeckers.


title: Red-bellied woodpecker

text: Predators of adult red-bellied woodpeckers include birds of prey such as sharp-shinned hawks and Cooper's hawks, black rat snake, and house cats. Known predators of nestlings and eggs include red-headed woodpeckers, owls, pileated woodpeckers, eastern gray squirrels, fox squirrels, gray rat snakes, and black rat snakes. When approached by a predator, red-bellied woodpeckers either hide from it or harass it with alarm calls. They defend their nests and young aggressively, and may directly attack predators that come near the nest.


title: Halle synagogue shooting

text: The Halle synagogue shooting occurred on 9 October 2019 in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, and continued in nearby Landsberg. After unsuccessfully trying to enter the synagogue in Halle during the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the attacker, later identified as 27-year-old Stephan Balliet, fatally shot two people nearby and later injured two others.


title: Halle synagogue shooting

text: Federal investigators called the attack far-right and antisemitic terrorism. The federal Public Prosecutor General took over the investigation and declared it to be a "violation of Germany's internal security." Balliet, a German neo-Nazi from Saxony-Anhalt, was charged with two counts of murder and seven counts of attempted murder.


title: Halle synagogue shooting

text: On 10 November 2019, Balliet confessed to the charges before an investigative judge at the Federal Court of Justice. On 21 December 2020, he was sentenced to life imprisonment with subsequent preventive detention.


title: Halle synagogue shooting

text: German authorities said the threat of far-right attacks had increased with the number of extremists and fringe groups increasing by 50 percent in the two years prior to April 2019. Citing interior ministry figures, it was reported that some 12,700 Germans were inclined towards violence, of an estimated 24,000 far-right extremists. In 2018, anti-Semitic crime and hate crime targeting foreigners each increased by almost 20 percent in Germany. The perpetrator of the Halle attack also linked his crime to the June 2019 killing of Walter Lübcke, who was backing Germany's refugee policy.


title: Halle synagogue shooting

text: All Jewish facilities in Germany are entitled to state security precautions. The police protection of Jewish facilities is a consequence of the Munich massacre in 1972. It is the responsibility of the "Bundesländer", and carried out by the state police forces. Nevertheless, the state police of Saxony-Anhalt was not present and carried out no extra security precautions at the Halle synagogue for Yom Kippur in 2019. Daniel Neumann, director of the state union of Jewish communities in Hesse, said that smaller Jewish congregations do not have the financial resources for advanced security gear, including security doors and CCTV.


title: Halle synagogue shooting

text: The attack started around noon, on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, at the synagogue in the Paulusviertel neighborhood of Halle. The attacker, Stephan Balliet, arrived there after a 45-minute drive from Benndorf, where he lived with his mother. He live-streamed himself trying, but failing, to enter the synagogue. The gunman shot at the door's lock repeatedly and set off an explosive but the door was not breached, in part because the synagogue's security system had been recently upgraded. The upgrade included a security camera which allowed the 51 congregants inside to view Balliet's attempts to enter the synagogue. Balliet tried to enter the synagogue yard, firing shots and trying to ignite homemade explosives. At 12.03 p.m., a 112-distress call reached Halle fire-emergency HQ; one minute later, police were informed. At 2.40 p.m., federal police quick responders BFE+ arrived in the city of Halle.


title: Halle synagogue shooting

text: A female passer-by was shot several times and killed near the entrance to the Jewish cemetery next to the synagogue, after reprimanding Balliet for making noise. A man who stopped his vehicle to check on this woman was able to get away unharmed when Balliet's weapon failed to fire.


title: Halle synagogue shooting

text: After killing the woman, Balliet drove to a nearby Turkish kebab shop. There, he opened fire through the front window. A customer in the shop was injured and later killed when Balliet re-entered the shop.


title: Halle synagogue shooting

text: Authorities said they were dealing with a "rampage situation", activated the Public Alert System Katwarn, and advised the local community to stay at home and closed the city's train station.


title: Halle synagogue shooting

text: Balliet fled in a rented Volkswagen, leading police on an chase from Halle. First, he drove to Wiedersdorf near Landsberg, about north-east of Halle. At about 4.00p.m., a helicopter of the federal police landed in Wiedersdorf. Several police force personnel carriers and two ambulances were already present.


title: Halle synagogue shooting

text: A 40-year-old woman from Halle who was passing by on the street near the synagogue when she was shot dead was the first victim in the shooting. In the kebab shop, Balliet shot dead a 20-year-old man from Merseburg. In his flight, Balliet shot at a couple in Landsberg, wounding a 40-year-old woman and a 41-year-old man. The two were admitted to Halle's university hospital with gunshot wounds and successfully underwent surgery.


title: Halle synagogue shooting

text: In the first hours after the attack, security services worked on the assumption of multiple perpetrators. Later in the afternoon, Saxony-Anhalt's state minister of the interior Holger Stahlknecht declared that there was only one attacker, who had been arrested, and that it was being investigated whether the man had been part of a social environment or networks. Balliet was arrested in Zeitz, located about south of Halle.


title: Halle synagogue shooting

text: The Federal Prosecutor ("Generalbundesanwalt") took over the investigation since the attack was a potential violation of Germany's internal security. The prosecutor indicated that it was investigating a "murder with special significance." According to the prosecutor's spokesperson, there are currently no indications of a terrorist organisation being involved. Security sources said the then-unidentified suspect was a German national who had no prior criminal history, and that the indications of a right-wing extremist background became stronger.


title: Halle synagogue shooting

text: Balliet used the streaming service Twitch to broadcast his attacks. According to Twitch, that stream was not listed in the recommendations of the site or made public in any other way. This means that he had to specifically send the link to people to lead them to the stream.


title: Halle synagogue shooting

text: The perpetrator, a male 27-year-old German neo-Nazi, was named by the media as Stephan Balliet, who lived in an apartment in Benndorf near Eisleben. He grew up in Saxony-Anhalt and learned to handle weapons during his time in the German armed forces, having done his six-month military service in a Panzergrenadier battalion as an 18-year-old. There, he was trained on the use of the HK G36 assault rifle and the HK P8 pistol. No evidence of right-wing beliefs were found in his military file. He studied "molecular and structural product design" for one year at the age of 22, and after that chemistry for one year at Halle University.


title: Halle synagogue shooting

text: Federal investigators said Balliet had "almost certainly a far-right motivation for the crime." Comparisons were drawn between the Christchurch mosque shootings, where the shooter live-streamed his own attacks on Facebook for nearly 17 minutes. Like the perpetrator of those shootings, Balliet streamed the attack online with video and audio from his action camera on his helmet. The entire footage lasted about 35 minutes and was streamed to the gaming website Twitch. The video shows Balliet displaying his weapons and speaking extreme antisemitic content in "poor English." In the evening, Federal Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer said it was "at least" an antisemitic attack.


title: Halle synagogue shooting

text: In the livestream, Balliet denied the Holocaust and claimed feminism led to fewer births, leading to mass immigration; he blamed "the Jew" for those issues. During the attack, Balliet's homemade explosives repeatedly malfunctioned, and he referred to himself as "a loser", being unable to breach any of the synagogue's doors, shooting his own tire by accident, and being unable to fire his gun.


title: Halle synagogue shooting

text: In addition to the video, Balliet also left a manifesto, which was discovered by The International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence in London. According to the manifesto, his goal had been to "Kill as many anti-Whites as possible, Jews preferred." Citing a terrorism expert, "Spiegel" wrote that it was "significant that the attacker wrote and published his manifesto in English ... his heroes were people like Breivik and NZ, El Paso attackers". The manifesto, steeped in antisemitic and neo-Nazi messages, contained photos and descriptions of his homemade weapons arsenal and information about his intentions. Balliet claimed to have chosen the Halle synagogue as the target because it was the closest place where he could find "the Jew." He wrote that "if he could kill only one Jew, that was worth the attack." His manifesto showed his belief in a "Jewish world conspiracy." As a means to mock victims and to gain infamy, and show that he enjoyed his crime, he used modern internet far-right-slang and "sarcastic" neo-Nazi "meme language" and far-right imagery often found on forums such as 4chan. It emerged that Balliet was in possession of material by Atomwaffen Division Deutschland, but the extent of his relationship to the group is unclear.


title: Halle synagogue shooting

text: Balliet announced his plans on an imageboard called Meguca, which was shut down shortly after the shooting. On such boards, Spiegel wrote, users "can dive into pictures and cynical jokes and anonymously post ultra-radical views." The contents extend to violence against Jews, Muslims, migrants, and women. There, Balliet wrote that he had made DIY weapons in recent years using a 3D printer and that anyone who wanted to could watch him in a "live test" via a link to his live-stream.


title: Halle synagogue shooting

text: On 11 October 2019, during a court hearing in front of the investigating judge of the Federal Court of Justice, Balliet confessed to the crime and also confirmed a right-wing extremist, antisemitic motive. His lawyer confirmed the confession. According to investigators, Balliet hoped to inspire others to perpetrate similar right-wing extremist and anti-Semitic acts.


title: Halle synagogue shooting

text: On 21 April 2020, German prosecutors announced they had filed charges against Balliet, including two charges of murder, attempted murder of 68 people, incitement, bodily harm, and predatory extortion.


title: Halle synagogue shooting

text: Balliet was sent from Saxony-Anhalt to the Federal Court of Justice, ("Bundesgerichtshof") in Karlsruhe. The court appointed local lawyer Hans-Dieter Weber as Balliet's defence counsel. At their first meeting Balliet asked Weber if he was Jewish, and when the lawyer said no, responded, "Even if you were a Jew, I would not reject you now." Weber said that by recording the crime, Balliet had himself provided evidence. Asked about possible role models for his crime, Balliet said, he was "aware of" and "followed" major assassinations, as well as the 2011 Norway attacks and the Christchurch mosque shootings; he denied that he had been motivated by these crimes.


title: Halle synagogue shooting

text: On 21 December 2020, the sentenced Balliet to life imprisonment with subsequent preventive detention, the highest possible sentence in German law, and deemed the defendant to have a severe gravity of guilt, which effectively ruled out a release after 15 years in prison.


title: Halle synagogue shooting

text: In June 2020, Balliet attempted to escape from prison, climbing an 11-foot (3.4 m) fence during a recreation period. He was recaptured five minutes later, and transferred to a maximum security prison.


title: Halle synagogue shooting

text: On 12 December 2022, Balliet took two prison guards hostage using a device during an escape attempt. Within an hour Balliet was overwhelmed and captured. He was injured during his capture but the two hostages were unharmed.


title: Halle synagogue shooting

text: At the event commemorating the 30th anniversary of the peaceful revolution in Leipzig, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier called for solidarity with fellow citizens who were Jewish. Chancellor Angela Merkel also offered her condolences to the families of the victims and took part in a night vigil in front of Berlin's New Synagogue.


title: Halle synagogue shooting

text: The members of the European Parliament stood for a minute of silence on the day of the attack to honour the victims and send condolences to the families.


title: Halle synagogue shooting

text: Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, told TV station Das Erste that on the day of the attack there were no police patrols close to the Jewish facility in Halle. If the regular police force had been there, the second murder in the shop could have been avoided, Schuster said. He described it as "scandalous" that "the synagogue in Halle was not protected by the police on a holiday like Yom Kippur."


title: Halle synagogue shooting

text: The New Zealand government's Office of Film and Literature Classification also classified the suspect's livestream footage of the shootings as objectionable, making it illegal to download or distribute in New Zealand. The Chief Censor David Shanks likened the content and filming of the video to the Christchurch mosque shootings in March 2019.