title: Halle synagogue shooting

text: The day after the attack, "Spiegel Online" published an article citing political scientist Matthias Quent, entitled: "The lone offender, who was not alone." Quent claimed that the perpetrator was part of a large virtual network, and that the fact that he streamed the act live and spoke in English displays the importance of this far-right "Human Haters International" for him. Especially because of the far-right subculture on the internet, it is difficult to avoid such acts, Quent said, since that subculture is not yet fully grasped by security services and social media law enforcement legislation, also he claims there is "barely any research" on the process of how radicalization occurs there.


title: Halle synagogue shooting

text: A day after the attack, Thuringia's Minister for Interior Georg Maier (SPD) and the Bavarian Minister for Interior Joachim Herrmann (CSU) called the nationalistic-völkisch politician Björn Höcke to account. Maier said that Höcke and his party Alternative for Germany (AfD) were responsible for attacks like this, while they would be "moral arsonists", feeding antisemitic resentments. Jörg Meuthen, the AfD federal spokesman, strongly condemned the attack.


title: Halle synagogue shooting

text: According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, "More than 10,000 people marched in Berlin against anti-Semitism and in a show of support for the victims of anti-Semitic violence in the city of Halle" a few days after the attack.


title: Halle synagogue shooting

text: The ruling Islamist political party and military organization of the Gaza Strip, Hamas, denounced the shooting stating it "poses a danger for all people and that terrorism has no religion or is not restricted to a single nation."


title: Sally Yeh

text: Sally Yeh (born 30 September 1961), sometimes credited as Sally Yip or Yip Sin-man, is a Hong Kong Cantopop diva and actress.


title: Sally Yeh

text: Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Yeh immigrated to Canada at the age of four with her family and grew up in Victoria, British Columbia. As a result of this, she has Canadian citizenship.


title: Sally Yeh

text: Yeh's singing career started in the early 1980s and, shortly after, her acting career started as she sang songs specifically written for the movie soundtrack. She has released a total of thirty studio albums, plus compilations and live recordings.


title: Sally Yeh

text: Yeh had a natural talent for singing and acting, but unfortunately due to the earlier decades of the 1970s and 1980s when Asians were not especially welcomed in the Canadian entertainment business, the area in which Yeh wanted to make her career, she decided to return to Taiwan to have a chance at stardom. In Taiwan, she worked hard to make improvements on her Chinese to stay in the Chinese entertainment business. However, because she was illiterate in Chinese, her managers had to create romanized or English phonetic versions to help her read the Mandarin Chinese song lyrics.


title: Sally Yeh

text: Later, she relocated to Hong Kong, which at the time was the primary center of Chinese entertainment, for a better chance at fame. Yeh learned to speak Hong Kong Cantonese.


title: Sally Yeh

text: Since then, Yeh has focused primarily on the Hong Kong Cantonese entertainment world. With the support of utilizing romanization to read Chinese characters in Mandarin and Cantonese in addition to her interactions within the Chinese entertainment business, she began to make improvements on both her spoken Mandarin and Cantonese, including reading Chinese characters. However, because she never had a formal Chinese education, her proficiency in reading Chinese is still limited on various levels and when she does have to read Chinese writing in certain situations without the support of romanizations, she is able to comprehend them to some extents, but will at times stumble upon Chinese words she is unable to read. When Yeh has to read Chinese lyrics, she still relies on Mandarin romanization and Cantonese romanization for support.


title: Sally Yeh

text: Yeh's proficiency to handwrite Chinese is even more limited and during a 1994 Jade Solid Gold Award event when she was participating in a word puzzle game to figure out the names of Chinese pop songs, she was able to figure out some of the song titles by reading limited Chinese characters that were already posted on the board as clues without the support of romanizations, though when it came to writing down the answers on the board, she wrote in English phonetics to reflect the Cantonese pronunciations of the Chinese song titles as she admitted it was a lot more quicker to write than taking time to figure out the complicated Chinese character hand strokes. In the 1993 Jade Solid Gold Award event, several Hong Kong female artists including Sally Yeh that were in the line up for the best female artist award were pulling out tennis balls of their Chinese names written down, which they had to out loudly announce once pulling it out and Sally had pulled out a tennis ball two times, in one of the balls she was able to read out Faye Wong's Chinese name, but struggled to announce Vivian Chow's Chinese name on the other ball, which Carol Cheng and Sandy Lam stepped in to help her read it out; Lawrence Cheng who was one of the hosts for the show even commented for the future to maybe have both the English and Chinese names of the artists written down. In a July 2022 English conducted interview with Liu Xin on CGTN's news report program The Point, Sally admitted that when listening to news programs in Chinese, she is okay with understanding the contents, however over the years of her career singing Chinese songs, very often she is not able to fully understand the lyrics she is singing and very often has to listen into the arrangements of the music surrounding the songs to be able to sing out the emotions to appropriately relate to the songs. In a Canadian interview back in the late 1990s, which was all conducted in English, Sally was being interviewed about her career and briefly of her childhood and youth years and somewhere along the interview, Sally even commenting on her English skills getting bad even though this is her most fluent language skill implying she has been in the Chinese speaking entertainment world for such a long time mainly using Chinese that it has started to affect her English skills.


title: Sally Yeh

text: Yeh has received the Most Popular Hong Kong Female Singer award at the Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Music Awards four times (1990, 1991, 1992, and 1993). In 1992, Sally Yeh collaborated with a couple of other western artists, recording "I'm Always Dreaming of You" with Tommy Page in 1992 and "I Believe in Love" with James Ingram the following year.


title: Sally Yeh

text: In 2002, Yeh re-entered the Cantopop market, released the record "Can You Hear", and performed a series of concerts in different countries. In 2011, Sally Yeh received the Golden Needle Award at the 33rd RTHK Top Ten Chinese Gold Song Music Award Ceremony. Yeh has also collaborated on a number of soundtracks (mostly on Tsui Hark's movies with scores by Wong Jim), including "Lai Ming But Yiu Loi" from "A Chinese Ghost Story" (1987), which won the Best Original Song award at the 7th Hong Kong Film Awards.


title: Sally Yeh

text: Sally Yeh was one of the earliest Overseas Chinese celebrities to enter the entertainment industry in China during the 1980s and one of the few from an English-speaking country. She was also one of the earliest Mandarin speaking celebrities to enter the Hong Kong entertainment industry. In doing so, she paved a way for future divas such as Faye Wong, whom she collaborated with occasionally in her prime.


title: Owen Paterson

text: Owen William Paterson (born 24 June 1956) is a British former politician who served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2010 to 2012 and Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 2012 to 2014 under Prime Minister David Cameron. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as Member of Parliament (MP) for North Shropshire from 1997 until his resignation in 2021. Paterson was also the President of the Northern Ireland Conservatives.


title: Owen Paterson

text: Paterson was appointed to the Shadow Cabinet of David Cameron in 2007 as Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. During the formation of the Coalition Government in 2010, he was appointed to the Cabinet as Northern Ireland Secretary, where he remained until being moved to Environment Secretary in 2012. He was dismissed as Environment Secretary by Prime Minister David Cameron as part of the 2014 Cabinet reshuffle, and was replaced by Liz Truss. After returning to the backbenches, Paterson became a leading supporter of Brexit as a member of the European Research Group (ERG).


title: Owen Paterson

text: Paterson resigned from the House of Commons on 5 November 2021 amid controversy surrounding a report by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards that found that he had broken paid advocacy rules.


title: Owen Paterson

text: Paterson was born in Whitchurch, Shropshire, and grew up on his family's farm. He attended Abberley Hall School and Radley College, before reading History at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. He then went on to the National Leathersellers College (now the Institute for Creative Leather Technologies at the University of Northampton).


title: Owen Paterson

text: He joined his family business, British Leather Company, in 1979, becoming Sales Director in 1983 and managing director from 1993 to 1999. He was President of COTANCE (the Confederation of National Associations of Tanners and Dressers of the European Community), the European Tanners Confederation, from 1996 to 1998. He was a Director of Parsons and Sons leather company in Halesowen in the 1990s. Paterson is a Freeman of the City of London and a Liveryman of the Leathersellers' Company.


title: Owen Paterson

text: At the 1992 general election, Paterson contested Wrexham, but the incumbent Labour MP extended his lead with a 2.4% swing.


title: Owen Paterson

text: Paterson was first elected as the Member of Parliament for North Shropshire at the 1997 general election with a majority of 2,195 and increased his majority at each subsequent election, up to 22,949 in 2019.


title: Owen Paterson

text: He served on several committees, including the Welsh Affairs Committee (1997–2001), the European Standing Committee (1998–2001), and the Agriculture Committee (2000–01). Paterson is a supporter of the Royal Irish Regiment, which has been based in his constituency at Tern Hill.


title: Owen Paterson

text: Paterson was Shadow Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Minister from 2003 to 2005. As agriculture spokesman he campaigned for the dairy industry. He visited Michigan, Maryland and Washington to discuss bovine TB policy, writing extensively on the issue facing the UK. He travelled all over the North Atlantic to produce a Green paper on Fisheries. Paterson joined the crew of the "Kiroan", one of the few remaining trawlers out of Fleetwood, Lancashire, to view the fishing practices that have been created by the EU's Common Fisheries Policy. He wrote the Green paper "Consultation on a National Policy on Fisheries Management in U.K. Waters".


title: Owen Paterson

text: Paterson served as Shadow Minister for Transport from 2005 to 2007. Whilst he was Shadow Minister for Roads, Paterson researched relevant best practice and the latest ideas from Europe and North America.


title: Owen Paterson

text: He negotiated an agreement between the Conservative Party and the Ulster Unionist Party to re-establish the traditional links between the two parties, which had been broken in 1972. This included running joint Conservative/UUP candidates for the 2009 European and 2010 general elections.


title: Owen Paterson

text: News of this alliance was praised by several Conservatives, including Iain Dale and ConservativeHome. The renewed alliance caused the UUP's only MP, Sylvia Hermon, to resign from the UUP. Lady Hermon retained her seat against the Ulster Conservatives and Unionists in the 2010 Westminster election. The UUP lost seats at the assembly elections the following year.


title: Owen Paterson

text: Paterson was appointed as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in the Coalition Government on 12 May 2010. He was created a Privy Councillor on 13 May 2010.


title: Owen Paterson

text: One of his first tasks was overseeing the publication and delivery of the Saville Report on the events of Bloody Sunday in January 1972, which led to an apology by the Prime Minister David Cameron. He worked with the Treasury to deliver his promise of a consultation on the devolution of the power to reduce the rate of corporation tax to Stormont. Paterson stated that "Rebalancing and rebuilding the economy is critical to the future prosperity of Northern Ireland and it is one of the Government's key priorities for Northern Ireland." He has been outspoken on the issue of integrated education in Northern Ireland. Currently 95% of Northern Ireland pupils attend a segregated school. Paterson believes segregated education is not working; in October 2010, he said: “there's a school in Belfast with no pupils and there's a school in Belfast with more staff than pupils. That's just a criminal waste of public money. We cannot go on bearing the cost of segregation and I don't see why the British taxpayer should continue to subsidise segregation."


title: Owen Paterson

text: Paterson was the first cabinet member to publicly oppose the Coalition Government's Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, defying David Cameron and ministerial convention.


title: Owen Paterson

text: Despite his voting record "moderately for" laws to stop climate change, he is a climate change sceptic, and did not accept scientist David MacKay's offer of a briefing on climate change science. Prior to being appointed at DEFRA, he described wind turbines as "ridiculous" and "useless" and called for the end of "Soviet" subsidies that supported their development. As an alternative to wind power, he supported the use of fracking. At the 2013 Conservative party conference, he argued that there were advantages to climate change such as fewer deaths caused by cold weather and the ability to grow food further North. During his time in office, Paterson cut funding for climate change adaptation by approximately 40%. In 2014, the outgoing Environment Agency chair Chris Smith said that flood defence budget cuts had left the agency underfunded and hampered its ability to prevent and respond to flooding in the UK. When asked in a 2013 BBC interview about the alleged failure of a badger cull he had been responsible for, Paterson replied that "the badgers have moved the goalposts."


title: Owen Paterson

text: Paterson voted and spoke strongly against the fox hunting ban, in one speech likening supporters of the bill to Nazis. Coming as Justine Greening was removed as Transport Secretary, Paterson's appointment was widely considered to be part of a move back towards the expansion of Heathrow Airport, given his support for aviation. Paterson stated on BBC Radio 4's "Any Questions?" in June 2013 that "the temperature has not changed in the last 17 years ...".


title: Owen Paterson

text: Paterson is known as a strong supporter of genetically modified food (GM) technology. Even before he acceded to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in September 2012, he spoke at length in June of the same year at the Rothamsted Research facility and invited GMO innovators to take root in the UK. In December 2012, he labelled consumer opposition to the technology as a "complete nonsense". In October 2013, he branded opponents of the development of golden rice enriched with vitamin A "wicked".


title: Owen Paterson

text: Paterson was mentioned by journalist Benedict Brogan as a possible replacement on the European Commission when the term of Baroness Ashton expired. Paterson was one of three MPs to leave the cabinet as part of the re-shuffle on 15 July 2014, and was succeeded by Liz Truss as Environment Secretary. His departure was widely attributed to his botched handling of the summer floods and the badger cull. Paterson praises Britain's shale gas reserves as "one unexpected and potentially huge windfall." "The Guardian" reported in December 2014 that Paterson had spoken the previous October at a meeting of the London Swinton Group, which opposes non-white immigration and calls for the return of capital punishment.


title: Owen Paterson

text: Retiring to the backbenches Paterson, long known for his Euroscepticism, supported the successful Leave.EU campaign. Throughout the campaign he was an active voice, setting out the reasons in his constituency for a decision to go it alone. On 26 June 2016, he spoke about his long friendship with colleague Sir Bill Cash MP, who has shared his ambition for Brexit. Earlier in the year, he spoke at an international forum outlining his vision for Britain outside the Union.


title: Owen Paterson

text: In 2015, Paterson joined John Redwood to found internal pressure group Conservatives for Britain, which took pride of place at the party conference in Manchester pledging on the fringe to strive for independence from European interventionism; it formed the backbone of the Conservative effort for Leave. "If there are individuals in the cabinet who are not happy with the deal, they should be allowed to campaign", Paterson told "The Daily Telegraph". He continued to be critical of David Cameron's attempts to negotiate a settlement with the European Union over net migration figures, an issue that featured highly in the referendum campaign. Following Paterson's return to the backbenches he remained an outspoken critic of the European Union, and was on the political advisory board of pro-hard Brexit advocacy group Leave Means Leave.


title: Owen Paterson

text: In 2014, Paterson established UK 2020, an independent centre-right think tank, to develop policies to address challenging and complex public policy areas. In his role as chairman, he delivered a number of speeches and written op-eds in favour of GM crops, and against the European Union and "exaggerated" climate change forecasts. He announced in October 2019 that UK 2020 would be shut down.


title: Owen Paterson

text: Paterson first became involved with the healthcare company Randox based in Northern Ireland whilst he was Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary before 2010 and contact continued when he became a minister and was campaigning for corporation tax to be devolved in Northern Ireland. In 2015, he began working as a part-time consultant for Randox, with the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments being advised at the time that the role "may involve discussions with ministers". In 2019, Paterson earned £8,333 a month for a monthly commitment of 16 hours as a consultant for Randox. In March 2020, Randox was awarded a £133 million contract from the Department of Health and Social Care to produce testing kits (at a cost of £49 each) during the coronavirus pandemic without any other firms being given the opportunity to bid for the work. Paterson represented Randox in a call with James Bethell, the minister responsible for awarding contracts to the private sector during the pandemic in April 2020. The government was later unable to find any minutes of the meeting, which the Commons Speaker noted would be expected to occur in any meeting between a minister and a business. A further £347 million contract was awarded to Randox six months later without other companies being able to bid. Paterson also receives £12,000 for 24 hours work per year from Lynn's Country Foods Ltd, a Northern Ireland-based processor and distributor of sausages.


title: Owen Paterson

text: In October 2021, Paterson was found by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards to have breached paid advocacy rules for making three approaches to the Food Standards Agency and four approaches to the Department for International Development in relation to Randox and seven approaches to the Food Standards Agency relating to Lynn's Country Foods. The Commissioner said Paterson had "repeatedly used his privileged position to benefit two companies for whom he was a paid consultant, and that this has brought the house into disrepute" and that "no previous case of paid advocacy has seen so many breaches or such a clear pattern of behaviour in failing to separate private and public interests". The Commons Select Committee on Standards recommended Paterson be suspended from the Commons for 30 sitting days. Paterson said: "The process I have been subjected to does not comply with natural justice. I am not guilty and a fair process would exonerate me."


title: Owen Paterson

text: A motion to carry out the recommendations of the Committee and suspend Paterson was due to be voted on by Parliament. Had suspension been approved, a recall petition would have been triggered in his constituency. An amendment to the motion was put forward by Conservative backbencher Andrea Leadsom to delay consideration of Paterson's suspension and to set up a new committee to investigate the disciplinary process for MPs. Such an amendment was noted in the press as being unprecedented. The government of Boris Johnson supported the amendment and issued a three-line whip. The amendment passed 250–232 with the support of Sammy Wilson of the DUP and Paterson himself, with 13 Conservative MPs voting against, and 97 absent or abstaining. The duly amended motion was then passed 248–221. The amended motion:


title: Owen Paterson

text: It became apparent that the opposition parties were not willing to participate in the new Select Committee. Faced with heavy criticism in the media and from MPs of all parties, the government reversed its position and announced that a vote would still take place on whether Paterson should be suspended. Following that decision, on 5 November 2021, Paterson announced his decision to resign from Parliament, forestalling any further votes and the possibility of a recall petition, and making a by-election inevitable. After a further debate on 16 November, Parliament passed a motion accepting the findings of the original report that recommended Paterson be suspended. The by-election was held on 16 December 2021, when the previously ultra-safe seat of North Shropshire was won by the Liberal Democrat candidate Helen Morgan.


title: Owen Paterson

text: In January 2019, it emerged that Paterson had received £39,000 of funding for overseas trips from the thinktank UK 2020, of which he was the chairman and sole director. Trips funded by the thinktank included speaking at two rightwing thinktanks in the US, the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the Heritage Foundation. MPs are required to declare the source of funds for any overseas visit worth more than £300. Although Paterson had declared the trips, the Labour Party called for a parliamentary investigation: shadow Cabinet Office minister Jon Trickett wrote to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Kathryn Stone, "Paterson appears to be both the recipient of donations and the controlling intermediary through which they are paid". He said without information on the true source of donations, "the register of members' interests is unable to fulfil its vital purpose". Paterson stated that "All the expenses incurred on these trips have been declared according to parliamentary rules", but has not confirmed the original source of the funding. In October 2019, he announced the body's forthcoming shutdown.


title: Owen Paterson

text: Paterson married Rose Ridley, the daughter of Matthew White Ridley, 4th Viscount Ridley, and sister of Matt Ridley, in 1980. They have two sons, Felix and Ned, and a daughter, Evie. Paterson speaks French and German. He lives near Ellesmere, north Shropshire, and also has a house in Drôme, France.


title: Owen Paterson

text: Paterson is a keen horse rider and racer. He has ridden across Turkmenistan and Mongolia. His daughter, Evie, is a successful eventer who won the British Junior Eventing Championships in 2008, aged 16. In January 2018, Paterson fell from a horse while riding and broke three vertebrae in his back.


title: Owen Paterson

text: In February 2014, he suffered a detached retina and required urgent surgery to prevent loss of sight in that eye.


title: Owen Paterson

text: Paterson's wife Rose died on 24 June 2020, her husband's birthday. Her body was found in the early hours of the morning in woodland at their country house, Shellbrook Hill. The coroner later ruled her death to be suicide by hanging.


title: Bajaj Pulsar

text: The Bajaj Pulsar is a range of motorcycles manufactured by Bajaj Auto in India. It was developed by the product engineering division of Bajaj Auto in association with Tokyo R&D, and later with motorcycle designer Glynn Kerr. A variant of the bike, the Pulsar 200NS was launched in 2012, but it was suspended for some time (reintroduced in early 2017 with BS IV Emission compliance and renamed the NS200). With average monthly sales of around 86,000 units in 2011, Pulsar claimed a 2011 market share of 47% in its segment. By April 2012, more than five million units of Pulsar were sold. In 2018, they celebrated selling over ten million Pulsars backed an exclusive TV commercial and a marquee ride to in 6 cities to write "PULSAR" on a pre-defined route.


title: Bajaj Pulsar

text: Before the introduction of the Pulsar, the Indian motorcycle market trend was towards fuel efficient, small capacity motorcycles (that formed the 80–125 cc class). Bigger motorcycles with higher capacity virtually did not exist (except for Royal Enfield Bullet with 350cc and 500cc variants). The launch and success of Hero Honda CBZ in 1999 showed that there was demand for performance bikes. Bajaj took the cue from there on and launched the Pulsar twins (150cc and 180cc) in India on 24 November 2001. Since the introduction and success of Bajaj Pulsar, Indian youth began expecting high power and other features from affordable motorcycles.


title: Bajaj Pulsar

text: The project faced internal resistance, reservations by McKinsey & Company and doubts on its effects on Bajaj's relation with Kawasaki. The project took approximately 36 months for completion and cost Bajaj 1 billion.


title: Bajaj Pulsar

text: The Bajaj Pulsar "Twins" were launched on 24 November 2001. The first generation Pulsar had a 150/180cc two valve, air-cooled, single-cylinder, four-stroke engine which made 12/15 bhp of maximum power respectively. It featured a single spark plug to ignite the air-fuel mixture fed from a carburetor, simple spring shock absorbers, round headlamp dome, voluminous 18 L fuel tank and a 1,265 mm wheelbase. Disc brakes as standard equipment was a novelty in Indian motorcycles of the early 2000s.


title: Bajaj Pulsar

text: The 180 cc version made 15 bhp and came with a twin-tone horn, which was optional equipment on the 150 cc version. Electric Start (ES) and Engine Killswitch was offered as standard feature in the 180 cc model and optional on the 150 cc model.


title: Bajaj Pulsar

text: The second generation Pulsars featured Bajaj Auto's newly developed DTSi technology, which increased the power rating of both versions by each and also increased fuel economy. This model also introduced a new headlamp assembly, 1,320 mm wheelbase, and standard twin-tone horn and trip meter.20


title: Bajaj Pulsar

text: In 2005, Bajaj launched Pulsar 150. The bike was offered with alloy wheels as standard option, and the stance was also lowered by about 12 mm. The fuel tank had a capacity of only 15 litres when compared to the original 18 litres, this was done in order to make the tank look proportionate with the new low-slung stance. The power output was further increased to @ 8500 rpm for the 150 while it increased to @ 8500 rpm for the 180. The rear shock absorbers were gas-filled Nitrox absorbers.


title: Bajaj Pulsar

text: In 2006, Bajaj introduced another version of Pulsar (UG III). New features included pilot lamps separated from the main headlamp, turn indicators with clear lenses and amber bulb, self-cancelling turn indicator switch, flush LCD screen with digital read-out of key vehicle data, non-contact speed sensor, non-contact backlit switches, twin-stripe LED tail-light assembly, and side panels altered for a sharp, tapering-towards-the-rear look. The engine had increased torque availability, reduced vibration, and improved gear shift feel.


title: Bajaj Pulsar

text: In July 2007, Bajaj began selling the Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi and Pulsar 180 DTS-i, the former featuring fuel injection and oil cooled engines, a digital dash, and modern styling. This bike has some features which are totally new to the Indian market, like the fuel injection itself, rear disc brake and clip-on handlebars (the first two only available in the 220 model).


title: Bajaj Pulsar

text: The new Pulsar has many firsts to its credit. It comes equipped with an oil cooler, which helps control engine oil temperatures at sustained high speeds and rpms, thus ensuring more stable engine oil viscosity.


title: Bajaj Pulsar

text: The new digital console is an advanced version of the latest Pulsar family. Apart from the Digital Odometer, Digital Speedo Meter, Digital Fuel Gauge, Self Cancelling Indicators and two Digital Trip Meters, the console on the 180 cc Pulsar DTS-I has indicators for the air filter condition, engine temperature, battery voltage and oil level.


title: Bajaj Pulsar

text: Later 200cc version was discontinued and fuel injection system of 220 was replaced with carburator which resulted in cost reduction to Rs 73000 ex showroom Delhi


title: Bajaj Pulsar

text: Bajaj released the UG IV (fourth upgrade) versions of the Pulsar 150 and Pulsar 180 in April 2009. The upgrades for the Pulsar 150 included an all-black theme, tank scoops similar to those on the Pulsar 200, a 3D Pulsar logo, and a changed electrical system (full DC). Power also increased from 13.5 HP to 14.09 HP (at 8,500 rpm).


title: Bajaj Pulsar

text: Electrical enhancements like auto head light switch-off after few seconds of turning the engine off to protect the battery, self-cancelling turn signals, icon illumination (horn icon, indicator icon, engine cut off icon, etc.), side stand warning light, dual digital trip meter, low fuel warning light (which also flashes when the engine and Auto Choke System in 220 Variant.


title: Bajaj Pulsar

text: The Pulsar 180 received upgrades like wider tyres, split seat, tank scoops, clip-on handlebars, 3D Pulsar logo, swing arm suspension borrowed from Pulsar 200, and thicker forks. The power was increased to 17 PS.


title: Bajaj Pulsar

text: Bajaj launched a carbureted version of Pulsar 220 in June 2009, tagging it as "the fastest bike in India". It also discontinued the production of Pulsar 200 in July 2009.


title: Bajaj Pulsar

text: Bajaj also introduced a new Light Sports version of Pulsar named as Pulsar 135LS. It is the first bike in India to contain 4-valve DTS-i technology. It consists 4 smaller valves rather than 2 standard bigger valves, styling also is changed and looks become more aggressive. The bike is ARAI certified for 68.5 km/L and weights only 122 kg.


title: Bajaj Pulsar

text: Bajaj released the UG 4.5 versions of the Pulsar 150. The upgrades for the Pulsar 150 included clip-on handlebars like those in Pulsar 135LS. Power also increased from 14.09 HP to 15.06 HP (at 9,000 rpm).


title: Bajaj Pulsar

text: A naked version of Pulsar 220 is also launched, named as Pulsar 220S (Street Fighter) which retains everything from Pulsar 220 except the front fairing. Front fairing is similar to Pulsar 180/150. The former Pulsar 220 was renamed as Pulsar 220F.


title: Bajaj Pulsar

text: 2012 marked the entry of Bajaj's latest design, the Pulsar 200NS (NS standing for Naked-Sport). The bike has a revised 200 cc liquid-cooled engine derived from the KTM 200 Duke, which produces at 9,500 rpm and at 8,000 rpm. It has a new triple-spark design, along with a new four-valve SOHC. The company claims a top speed of . It does not have fuel injection like its predecessor, the Pulsar 220Fi. It has a petal disc brake on the front, a disc brake on the rear wheel, and a gas-charged monoshock. It was launched in April 2012. Claimed fuel economy is when ridden under . Design of the 200NS was by Bajaj lead designer Edgar Heinrich, who left Bajaj to become head of BMW Motorrad design in mid-2012.


title: Bajaj Pulsar

text: At the February 2014 Auto Expo, Bajaj announced two new 375 cc Pulsar variants : the CS400, an unfaired "street-naked" compared stylistically to the Ducati Diavel, and the SS400, with a full fairing. Models shown were described by press as "near-production prototypes.". Later in the following year the a bike looking similar to the SS400 came into production with a 200cc fuel injected engine derived from the NS200, with full fairing and twin projector headlamps and was named as Pulsar RS200. It also is the first Pulsar to get Single Channel ABS as an option.


title: Bajaj Pulsar

text: In April 2015, Bajaj launched the Pulsar RS200, AS150 and AS200 in which 'RS' stood for 'Race Sport' whereas 'AS' stood for 'Adventure Sport'. The RS200 is Bajaj's first attempt at a fully faired motorcycle whereas the AS series featured semi-fairing with projector headlamps common among them all. The AS200 got the same 199.5cc, single-cylinder, liquid-cooled engine that also powers the RS200 with the exception of fuel injection. Mated to a 6-speed transmission, this engine churns out a maximum power output of 23.17 PS at 9,500rpm along with a peak torque of 18.3 Nm at 8,000rpm. While the AS200 is based on the 200NS platform, the AS150 is built on a new perimeter frame instead of the standard Pulsar 150 Dtsi. The motorcycle derives its power from a 149.5cc, single-cylinder, air-cooled engine that, mated to a 5-speed gearbox, produces 16.8bhp at 9,000rpm and 13Nm at 7,500rpm. The RS200 makes slightly higher power output at 24.5PS that peaks out (compared to the AS200) at 9,750rpm and 18.6 Nm torque at 8000 rpm owing to its fuel injection. On late 2015 Bajaj had come up with dual tone design, especially for Pulsar 220 Fighter bikes, which was later discontinued for certain colors.


title: Bajaj Pulsar

text: The CS400 concept from the 2014 Auto Expo, went through a series or rebranding before release (Pulsar CS400, Pulsar VS400, Bajaj Kratos 400). Finally, it was separated from the Pulsar range and spawned as the Bajaj Dominar 400.


title: Bajaj Pulsar

text: The 200NS, which was temporarily discontinued in favor of the AS200, was reintroduced as the NS200 with an updated color scheme. Later in the year, NS200 received a Single Channel ABS Variant.


title: Bajaj Pulsar

text: The entire Pulsar lineup (135LS, 150, 180, 220F, NS200, RS200) receives BS4 compliant engines and AHO (Always Headlamp On) as well as a new Laser Edge color scheme. The digital display on received newer graphics and a Blue back light instead of the previously Orange back light. The Pulsar 150 received mechanical changes to conform to BS4 norms, leading to a loss of 1 Ps of power. The Pulsar 180 received a 230mm rear disc brake instead of a drum brake.


title: Bajaj Pulsar

text: A new model named the Pulsar NS160 was released soon after. It shared most of its styling and design with the NS200, but used a smaller 160cc Oil Cooled DTS-i engine producing 15.5 Ps of power at 8500 rpm and 14.6 Nm of peak torque at 6500 rpm. It also features a skinnier rear tire and does not offer a rear disc brake.


title: Bajaj Pulsar

text: The NS200 and RS200 were rebadged and sold in the Malaysian market as the Modenas Pulsar NS200 and RS200.


title: Bajaj Pulsar

text: A scale-down variant of the Pulsar series, the Pulsar 125, was launched in August 2019. It features the same specifications as its older counterpart, the Pulsar 150, albeit being powered by a 124.4 cc engine and has a smaller price tag. The bike produces 11.8 PS at 8500 rpm and has a 5-speed gearbox.


title: Bajaj Pulsar

text: Bajaj launched two new 250cc bikes, Pulsar F250 and N250 as successors of Pulsar 220 range on the mark of 20 years anniversary of Pulsar.


title: Bajaj Pulsar

text: DTSi stands for Digital Twin Spark Ignition, a Bajaj Auto trademark. Bajaj Auto holds an Indian patent for the DTSi technology. The Alfa Romeo Twin-Spark engines, the BMW F650 Funduro which was sold in India from 1995 to 1997 also had a twin-spark plug technology, and the Rotax motorcycle engines, more recently Honda's iDSI Vehicle engines use a similar arrangement of two spark-plugs. However very few small capacity engines did eventually implement such a scheme in their production prototypes.


title: Bajaj Pulsar

text: In September 2007, Bajaj Auto filed a claim accusing that the development of TVS Flame was in violation of their patent for DTS-I.


title: Bajaj Pulsar

text: In February 2008, the Madras High Court in Chennai restrained TVS from launching it with the twin spark plug technology.


title: Bajaj Pulsar

text: and in March 2008, launched the Flame with a modified engine containing one spark plug. The DTSi idea is a simple one to understand – it involved usage of two spark plugs (instead of one) per engine cylinder. On 16 September 2009, the Supreme Court of India permitted TVS Motors to manufacture and sell the 125 cc TVS Flame with Twin Spark Technology until the pendency of the suit before the Madras High Court, but it shall maintain accurate records of its sales all over the country.


title: Bajaj Pulsar

text: ExhausTEC stands for Exhaust Torque Expansion Chamber, a technology patented by Bajaj. The technology involves use of a small chamber connected to the exhaust pipe of the engine to modify the back-pressure and the swirl characteristics, with an aim to improve the low-end performance of the bikes. The ExhausTEC technology is claimed to be highly effective in improving the low and mid-range torque.


title: Bajaj Pulsar

text: There were several allegations of IPR infringement by Chinese manufacturers in Sri Lankan and South American markets. Pulsar clone versions are sold in Bangladesh also.


title: Bajaj Pulsar

text: The 'Tomahawk' motorcycle manufactured by Hong Kong-based Giantco Limited, 'YB200' motorcycle manufactured by China-based Taizhou City Kaitong Motorcycle Manufacture Co., Limited (the company which made a clone of Piaggio MP3), 'ZX200-7(G) and ZX200-7(II)' motorcycles manufactured by China-based Jiangsu Zhongxing Motor Group Co., Limited, 'RT150-8' motorcycle manufactured by China-based Chongqing Rato Power Co., Limited, 'SM150-GB’ motorcycle manufactured by China-based Pantera Motorcycle Co., Limited, 'HJ200-23' motorcycle manufactured by China-based Guangzhou Panyu Haojian Motorcycle Industry Co., Limited, 'VL150-30, VL150-28 & VL150-26' motorcycles manufactured by China-based Veli Technology Industrial Co., Limited, 'SUM200 Pulsar' motorcycle manufactured by China-based Chongqing Union Co., Limited, 'YG200-7A' motorcycle manufactured by China-based Chongqing Yingang Sci.&Tech.(Group) Co., Limited and 'YX150-CS' motorcycle manufactured by China-based Chongqing YInxiang Motorcycle (Group) Co., Limited are some famous replicas of Pulsar brand motorcycles' Bajaj Pulsar RS 200 Sports Bike.


title: Adil Rashid

text: Adil Usman Rashid (born 17 February 1988) is an English cricketer who plays for England in One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) cricket, and previously played for the Test team. In domestic cricket, he represents Yorkshire, and has played in multiple Twenty20 leagues, including for Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League.


title: Adil Rashid

text: Rashid made his ODI and T20I debuts in 2009, and played for the Test team between 2015 and 2019. He was part of the England teams that won the 2019 Cricket World Cup and 2022 T20 World Cup.


title: Adil Rashid

text: Rashid plays as a right-arm leg break bowler. He is England's highest wicket-taker among spin bowlers in both ODIs and T20Is, and England second-highest wicket-taker in T20Is overall behind Chris Jordan. Along with Jos Buttler, he holds the world record for highest seventh-wicket stand in ODIs: 177 against New Zealand in 2015.


title: Adil Rashid

text: Rashid was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, and is of Pakistani background. Like his England teammate Moeen Ali, he belongs to the Mirpuri community, his family having migrated to England in 1967 from Mirpur, Jammu & Kashmir.


title: Adil Rashid

text: Rashid showed promise from a young age: Terry Jenner spotted him as a 14-year-old, and, in early July 2005, aged 17, he took 6–13 for Yorkshire's Academy (youth) team. A few days later he hit 111 for Yorkshire Cricket Board Under-17s against their Cheshire equivalents in the Under-17s County Championship.


title: Adil Rashid

text: Rashid made his county cricket debut against Warwickshire at North Marine Road, Scarborough, as a replacement for injured overseas batsman Darren Lehmann. In the second innings he bowled a magnificent 6/67 to rip through Warwickshire's middle order and win the match for Yorkshire. Rashid was then included in the England Under-19s Test squad for their series against India Under-19s. Making his debut for the side in the first Test at Canterbury, he scored 13 and 23 runs and took one wicket. In the second Test, at Taunton, he produced a dominant all-round display, scoring 114 and 48 and claiming 8/157 and 2/45. He also played in the third Test at the Denis Compton Oval in Shenley, but made less of an impression, only taking three wickets and scoring 15 and 12 runs.


title: Adil Rashid

text: From mid-August until the end of the season, he held down a regular spot in the Yorkshire side. He continued to impress, taking 4/96 against Middlesex at Scarborough and scoring 63, his maiden first-class half-century, against Nottinghamshire at Headingley as part of a fourth-wicket stand of 130 with Craig White to dig Yorkshire out of a hole from 42/3 before helping to bowl out Nottinghamshire's tail to win the match for Yorkshire. Rashid also featured in a two-day "spin match" held by the England and Wales Cricket Board, a programme which would simulate different match-based scenarios to develop young spin bowlers.


title: Adil Rashid

text: During the winter, Rashid suffered from a stress fracture in his back and missed England Under-19s' tour of Malaysia, but he recovered well enough to be picked for the 2006–07 England A tour of Bangladesh. Despite unimpressive performances, he was tipped by Yorkshire teammate Jason Gillespie to play international cricket for England in the future.


title: Adil Rashid

text: Rashid started the English summer at Lord's, playing for Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) against the 2006 champion county, Sussex. In his County Championship game of the season, at The Oval against Surrey a few days later, he hit 86 in the first innings, putting on 190 with Jacques Rudolph for the sixth wicket. This established a new partnership record for the sixth wicket for Yorkshire against Surrey, surpassing a mark that had stood since 1902. At the end of April he continued to impress with bowling figures of 5/88 against Durham at Headingley. Due to his form he was picked to play for England Lions in a tour match against India.


title: Adil Rashid

text: Rashid was considered to play for England's Under-19 side again in their series against Pakistan, but his Yorkshire coach Martyn Moxon showed displeasure at the idea of Rashid being pulled away from county cricket. The selectors decided that as Rashid had progressed to the next level of cricket, having appeared for England Lions, and therefore he shouldn't be pulled out of county cricket to play for England Under-19s. In continuing to play county cricket, he scored his maiden first-class century, 108 against Worcestershire at Kidderminster, and another half-century against Warwickshire.


title: Adil Rashid

text: Over the course of the 2007 English cricket season, Rashid scored 837 with a batting average of 44.05 and took 43 wickets with a bowling average of 42.16 across all first-class matches. He took the most wickets of any Yorkshire player and scored the fourth-most runs. He won several awards in 2007 for his strong form. In June 2007 he won both the YCCSA Young Player of the Year Award for 2006 and the Neil Lloyd Young Cricketer of the Year Award for 2006. On 9 September Rashid was named 2007 Cricket Writers' Club Young Cricketer of the Year, while on 24 September he was awarded the title of PCA Young Player of the Year.


title: Adil Rashid

text: In October 2007, Rashid was named in the "England Performance Programme squad", to train at home and in India during the 2007–08 winter.


title: Adil Rashid

text: In January 2008, Rashid was named in the England Lions squad for the 2007–08 Duleep Trophy in India. He played two games for the tournament and took six wickets. For the second season in a row he was also named in the Marylebone Cricket Club squad to play against the champion county, this time Sussex. He also retained his place in the England Performance Programme squad.


title: Adil Rashid

text: There was concern early in the season that Rashid's bowling was losing some of its variety as it seemed his batting was taking precedence, but he then took career-best bowling figures of 7/107 against Hampshire at the Rose Bowl. He followed this up with hauls of 5/95 against Lancashire and 7/136 against Sussex. Rashid finished the season with 62 wickets, Yorkshire's leading wicket-taker for the second year in a row.


title: Adil Rashid

text: At the end of the year, Rashid was included in the English national team for their tour of India, though he wasn't expected to be any chance of playing a match for England, only being on the tour for the experience. He was then included in England's squad for their following tour of the West Indies, where he was part of England's team for a tour match against a Saint Kitts and Nevis team. National selector Geoff Miller, described Rashid's selection at the age of 20 in the following terms:


title: Adil Rashid

text: Rashid was again included in the England Lions team for a tour match against the West Indies, and he had a good all-round performance, scoring 72 runs in England Lions' first innings and taking 3/66 in the West Indies' second innings. Despite not being included in Yorkshire's side for their first two Twenty20 matches of the season, Rashid's form saw him called up to the national team for the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 as an injury replacement for Andrew Flintoff. In England's first warm-up match for the tournament against Scotland, Rashid appeared nervous, but in their second warm-up match against the West Indies he appeared more settled and took 1/20 from his 4 overs. During the tournament itself he had impressive performances against Pakistan and the West Indies, and he finished the tournament with 3 wickets at an average of 31.66 and with an economy of 7.30 runs per over from his 4 matches.


title: Adil Rashid

text: Following his World Twenty20 appearances, he was included in England's training squad for the 2009 Ashes series against Australia, thought to be a potential replacement for the out-of-form Monty Panesar, but instead of playing a warm-up game with the England XI he played with England Lions again in a tour match against Australia. He was left out of England's final squad for the Ashes and instead returned to playing county cricket with Yorkshire. Rashid scored his career-best 117 not out and later on helped Yorkshire to bowl Hampshire out with figures of 5/41. He then went on to better that against Lancashire, scoring an unbeaten 157 and taking 5/97 in the first innings. The feat of scoring a century and taking a five-for in a match was the third of his career; the last player to have achieved the feat twice in a season for Yorkshire was George Hirst back in 1911.


title: Adil Rashid

text: Rashid made his One Day International debut for England on 27 August 2009 against Ireland. He scored 7 runs and had bowling figures of 1/16 in a narrow win. He kept his place in the side for the 1st ODI against Australia, and he was the best of England's bowlers, only conceding 37 runs from his 10 overs. He followed this up with a quickfire 31 not out from just 23 balls with the bat to almost get England across the line in a tight finish. He impressed Australians Michael Clarke and James Hopes with his strong performance, but he was shockingly omitted from the English side for the next match. He did return for two more matches during the series, but finished with only 2 wickets at an average of 74.


title: Adil Rashid

text: Rashid completely supplanted Monty Panesar in the England side, being named as the back-up to Graeme Swann for both the Test and ODI squads in their tour of South Africa. He played in the second Twenty20 International between the sides, but was only used for one over in which he conceded 25 runs, after which South Africa's coach Mickey Arthur criticized the English side for not showing enough faith in Rashid's ability. Due to an injury to Swann, Rashid was brought back into the side for the 2nd ODI, but he bowled an expensive three overs, conceding 27 runs, and was dropped once Swann was fit again. He was then dropped from South Africa's ODI squad altogether for the rest of the series, instead playing four-day matches with the England Performance Programme. Meanwhile, offspinner James Tredwell remained on stand-by to potentially play, indicating that Rashid had dropped down the pecking order. His poor form continued in the England Performance Programme matches, and though he re-joined the main squad ahead of the Test series he did not play in any Test matches.


title: Adil Rashid

text: Following the poor tour for Rashid, he was left out of England's squad for their tour of Bangladesh, instead being sent to the United Arab Emirates to play for England Lions against Pakistan A. His time in the UAE was somewhat more successful than his time in South Africa, and he took 3/13 in the second Twenty20 against Pakistan A to secure a series win for England Lions. After the Twenty20 series against Pakistan A, England Lions also played a Twenty20 against the main England team and Rashid helped cause a shock upset win with another strong bowling performance of 3/22.


title: Adil Rashid

text: Following his unsuccessful winter abroad, Rashid returned to playing county cricket with Yorkshire in the 2010 summer. He immediately showed that he still had the potential to return to the English national team, showing his batting skills with an impressive innings against Warwickshire in his first match of the season. His self-confidence returned throughout the season and he had several impressive performances with both ball and bat in the county championship, finishing the season with 732 runs at 45.75 and 57 wickets at 31.29, as well as taking 26 wickets in the 2010 Twenty20 Cup, the most of the Yorkshire bowlers and the fourth-most overall. Despite his strong performances throughout the season he was still overlooked by English selectors, being left out of their home series against Bangladesh and the squad for the 2010–11 Ashes series in favour of Monty Panesar.


title: Adil Rashid

text: Not having been selected to play for England over the 2010–11 winter, Rashid instead played for South Australia in the 2010–11 KFC Twenty20 Big Bash. He played a useful role in the team alongside fellow spinner Nathan Lyon, and finished the season with 10 wickets, one behind the tournament's leaders Lyon and Pat Cummins, as South Australia won the tournament. Following the Big Bash, Rashid was selected to play for England Lions on a tour of the West Indies, during which they played in the local first-class competition, the 2010–11 Regional Four Day Competition.


title: Adil Rashid

text: Rashid started the 2011 season well by taking 6/77 and 5/37 in Yorkshire's opening match against Worcestershire, but overall he struggled for form, and conceded the worst bowling figures of his career, and the third-worst ever for Yorkshire, when he bowled no wicket for 187 runs against Sussex. His poor form continued into the 2012 season, and he found himself dropped from Yorkshire's team for the first time in his county career. This came as a result of his worst ever start to a county season, taking nine wickets at 49.00 in his first six matches. Yorkshire's president Geoffrey Boycott lamented that Rashid had not appeared to progress at all since he started playing county cricket, and said that Rashid needed to take responsibility for his poor performances. In ten first-class matches in 2012 he took just 16 wickets at an average of 41 and made 129 runs at 16.12, his decline meaning he was no longer even asked to play for England Lions anymore.


title: Adil Rashid

text: Just hours before the start of the 2013 county season, Rashid was quoted by "the Independent" as saying that if his 2013 season didn't go well he'd request to go on loan from Yorkshire to a different county, which forced Yorkshire to deny that there was any rift between Rashid and the club. Martyn Moxon, then Yorkshire's director of cricket, said that the interview had been in January, months before the start of the season and that there hadn't been any issues. Rashid also showed that his poor form was behind him as he started the season with his highest first-class score, a 180 against Somerset. He followed this up with two more centuries, one against Warwickshire and a second against Somerset, taking his average for the county season up to that point above 200. In 2014 Rashid continued to improve his bowling, particularly in limited overs cricket, bowling career-best figures of 5/33 in a one-day match against Hampshire.


title: Adil Rashid

text: Due to his form in county cricket, Rashid was named in the England Lions squad for their tour of South Africa in early 2015, set to play in both their first-class and one-day series against South Africa A. He batted well on the tour with innings of 78 and 68 in the unofficial Tests. In March 2015, Rashid was named in the England Test squad for the tour of the West Indies. In the tour matches leading up to England's Test series against the West Indies, Rashid did not perform well enough to get into the Test side, with the selectors favouring James Tredwell ahead of him. Despite not being used in the Test matches, he was not allowed to return to England to play with Yorkshire at the beginning of the county cricket season, though Rashid did leave the tour early to join England's ODI team for their match against Ireland. After the match, Yorkshire hired a private jet to fly Rashid back in time for their next county match against Hampshire, where he took four wickets in each innings.


title: Adil Rashid

text: With the 2015 Ashes around the corner, the English selectors decided to rest Moeen Ali from their ODI series against New Zealand and brought in Rashid as his replacement. Rashid had an immediate impact in the first match of the series, being involved in the highest 7th wicket partnership of ODI history with Jos Buttler, where they scored 177 runs. Rashid reached his maiden half-century in just 37 balls and went on to score 69 runs, then he gave the most eye-catching bowling of the match as well, making use of his googly to take the wicket of Kane Williamson and finishing with figures of 4/55. Rashid played all five matches of the series for England and finished with a total of 8 wickets.


title: Adil Rashid

text: Rashid was included in England's 13-man squad for the first Test of the Ashes, but the selectors decided that they would only use Rashid in the Test as a second spinner alongside Moeen Ali if there was a spinning pitch. Rashid remained in the Test squad for every match of the Ashes but did not play, and instead he continued playing county cricket for Yorkshire, scoring a century against Durham. Although he had not played in the Ashes at all, Rashid did get to play in the ODI series against Australia and solidified his spot in the team with figures of 4/59 in the 1st ODI and 2/41 in the 3rd ODI. Across the five-match series he took 7 wickets, the most of England's bowlers.


title: Adil Rashid

text: In October 2015, Rashid was selected in the England touring party to play Pakistan in the UAE making his debut in the First Test at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium. Rashid had a torrid time in the first innings of his first match in the Test side, finishing with figures of 0-163 as Pakistan posted 523 - the worst figures by a Test debutant. However, he enjoyed a remarkable turn around of fortunes in the next innings, finishing with figures of 5-64, a return that was nearly good enough for England to win the match, although it eventually finished in a draw. In the second Test he took 1–84 in Pakistan's first innings and 1–107 in their second as England lost the game by 178 runs, although Rashid made his maiden Test half-century in England's second innings, hitting 61. In the third and final Test, Rashid did not take a wicket in Pakistan's first innings, and in the second innings he finished with 1-97 as England lost the match and the series 2–0.


title: Adil Rashid

text: Following the Test series, Rashid played in the ODI series. He only took one wicket in the first three games, finishing with figures of 0–60 in the first game, which England lost. After taking 1–32 in the second match, he again finished wicketless in the third match of the series. He was expensive in the final match of the series, although he did pick up three wickets and England won the match and the series 3–1.


title: Adil Rashid

text: He played in all three of the T20 matches. After not bowling or batting in the first game, he took figures of 2–18 in the second game as England secured a three-run victory. He took 1–29 in the final game which went to a Super Over, with England winning the matches after the scores finished level.


title: Adil Rashid

text: At the urging of coach Jason Gillespie, Rashid signed a deal to play for Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash in 2015-16 after being left out of the England squad for the tour of South Africa.


title: Adil Rashid

text: Rashid was not selected for the Test series against South Africa, although he did keep his place in the ODI side. After failing to take a wicket in the first game, he finished with figures of 1–43 in the second game which England won by five wickets. After taking 1–45 in the third game, he had his best return of the series in the fourth match. After making 39 with the bat, he took figures of 2-38, although South Africa secured a one wicket victory. In the final match of the series he took figures of 1-59 as South Africa won the match by five wickets to win the series 3–2. England lost both T20 matches, although Rashid performed reasonably well, taking figures of 1–24 in the first game and 1–30 in the second game, although England lost by nine wickets.


title: Adil Rashid

text: Rashid took figures of 1–20 in the opening game against the West Indies, although it wasn't enough to prevent a defeat. In the second game he picked up figures of 1–35 against South Africa, before taking his best figures of the tournament, 2–18 against Afghanistan. With England needing to beat Sri Lanka to qualify for the semi-finals, Rashid finished with figures of 0-31 as England won by ten runs. He did not pick up a wicket against New Zealand in the semi-final, but turned in a good performance in the final against West Indies, taking figures of 1-23. Despite his good performance, England suffered a narrow loss and finished as runners-up.


title: Adil Rashid

text: Rashid did not pick up a wicket in the first ODI, although he did bowl economically as the match ended in a tie. He took 2–34 in the second match of the series, which England won by ten wickets. In the rain affected third match, he failed to pick up a wicket, and the match was eventually abandoned. In the fourth ODI he took 2-47 as England won by six wickets. He picked up another two wickets in the final game of the series as England completed a 3–0 series win after winning the match by 122 runs. Rashid played in the only T20I between the two sides, and bowled economically, conceding just 25 runs from his four overs, as England won by eight wickets.


title: Adil Rashid

text: Rashid took figures of 2–51 in the first ODI against Pakistan, as England got off to a winning start. In the second ODI, he took figures of 1-51 as England restricted Pakistan to 251 and won the match by four wickets. In the third match of the series he took figures of 2-73 as England again won to go 3-0 up in the series. In the fourth match he took figures of 3-47 as England won by four wickets. Rashid was rested for the final match, which England lost. He took figures of 1–29 in the only T20I between the two sides, which England lost by nine wickets.


title: Adil Rashid

text: In the first ODI against Bangladesh, Rashid took figures of 4–49 to help England to a 21-run victory. In the second match, he made an unbeaten 33 and took another two wickets, but England lost. In the third match of the series, he took 4-43 as England recorded a four wicket victory to win the series 2–1. In the first Test, Rashid scored 26 with the bat before taking 2-58. He took 1–55 in Bangladesh's second innings as England recorded a 22-run victory. In the second Test, Rashid was wicketless in the first innings but took 4–52 in the second innings. England were unable to chase down their target and lost by 108 runs.


title: Adil Rashid

text: In the first Test against India, Rashid took figures of 4–114 in India's first innings, before taking 3–64 in their second innings. However, England were unable to force a win and the match ended in a draw. Rashid took 2–110 in India's first innings of the second Test, before making an unbeaten 32 with the bat. He continued to bowl well in India's second innings, taking 4-82, although India won the game by 246 runs. In the third Test he took figures of 4–118 in India's first innings, before taking 1-28 as India secured an eight wicket victory. In the fourth Test, he took figures of 4–192 in India's first innings total of 631, as they won by an innings and 36 runs. In the final match of the series, he made 60 in England's first innings before taking figures of 1-153 as India posted 759/7 and won the match to win the series 4–0.


title: Adil Rashid

text: Rashid played in the first ODI against India and took figures of 0-50 as England lost by three wickets. He did not feature in the rest of the series, although he retained his place for the T20Is. In the first T20I he did not bat or bowl as England won by seven wickets. In the second match he took 1-24 but England lost by 5 runs as India levelled the series. In the final match of the series he took figures of 0-23 as India made 202/6 and won by 75 runs.


title: Adil Rashid

text: He was also named as part of the 'Team of the Tournament' at the 2017 Champions Trophy by the ICC, Cricinfo and Cricbuzz.


title: Adil Rashid

text: Rashid took 1–43 in the first ODI against the West Indies as England won by 45 runs. In the second match he took 2-53 as England secured a 4 wicket victory. Rashid made nine with bat as England made 328 in the final ODI, before taking 1–5 with the ball as England won by 186 runs to win the series 3–0. Later in the same year, the West Indies toured England. Rashid's first appearance was in the only T20I, in which he picked up a personal best of 3-25. He continued this good form into the ODI series, taking an economical 2–31 in the first of five, to help restrict the tourists to 204/9. England made light work of the total, as they cruised to a seven wicket victory. Despite the majority of the second ODI being abandoned due to rain, he took 3–34 in the third, while England won by 124 runs. In the final two games, Rashid picked up a solitary wicket in each, although England won both games and celebrated a 4–0 series victory as a consequence.


title: Adil Rashid

text: England started their summer by preparing for the Champions Trophy, which they were hosting for the second time in succession. Preparation began with two ODIs against Ireland. In the first ODI, Rashid picked up a career best of 5-27, as Ireland stumbled to 126 all out. England won the game comfortably; they cruised to a seven wicket victory. In the second ODI, Rashid made a speedy 39 from 25 deliveries, although his bowling proved to be less effective, as he took 1-68. England still managed to win the game by 85 runs, and take a 2–0 series victory.


title: Adil Rashid

text: In early 2018 Rashid informed Yorkshire of his desire to only play white-ball cricket during the upcoming season, and will not feature in the county championship for the side, preferring to focus on his limited-over career.


title: Adil Rashid

text: Rashid was called up to the England squad to play Test cricket against India in the 2018 series, causing controversy after his decision not to play 4-day county cricket for Yorkshire. In the second Test, he became the first England cricketer for 13 years to complete a Test match without batting, bowling or taking a catch in the field.


title: Adil Rashid

text: In England's tour of West Indies in 2019, Rashid was selected in all three squads. He played only one Test, in which his figures were 0–117. In the first ODI he took 3-74, with England winning by 6 wickets. In the second, he took 1–28 in a defeat. In the fourth ODI he took his second ODI five-for, with figures of 5–85 to help England to a 28-run victory.


title: Adil Rashid

text: In April 2019, he was named in England's squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup. On 21 June 2019, in the match against Sri Lanka, Rashid played in his 150th international match for England.


title: Adil Rashid

text: On 29 May 2020, Rashid was named in a 55-man group of players to begin training ahead of international fixtures starting in England following the COVID-19 pandemic. On 9 July 2020, Rashid was included in England's 24-man squad to start training behind closed doors for the ODI series against Ireland. On 27 July 2020, Rashid was named in England's squad for the ODI series. In the second match against Ireland, he became the first spin bowler for England to take 150 wickets in ODIs. In November 2020, in the second fixture against South Africa, Rashid took his 50th wicket in T20I cricket.


title: Adil Rashid

text: Rashid became an Ambassador for the Overseas Plastic Surgery Appeal charity in November 2018. OPSA are a Yorkshire-based charity that carry out most of their work in the Punjab region of Pakistan.


title: Elmer Gantry (film)

text: Elmer Gantry is a 1960 American drama film about a confidence man and a female evangelist selling religion to small-town America. Adapted by director Richard Brooks, the film is based on the 1927 novel of the same name by Sinclair Lewis, and stars Burt Lancaster, Jean Simmons, Arthur Kennedy, Shirley Jones and Patti Page.


title: Elmer Gantry (film)

text: "Elmer Gantry" was nominated for five Academy Awards in 1961, including Best Picture and Best Score. It won Best Actor for Lancaster, Best Supporting Actress for Jones and Best Adapted Screenplay. Jean Simmons was nominated for the Golden Globe award in the Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama category.


title: Elmer Gantry (film)

text: The film's plot overlaps with less than 100 pages of the novel "Elmer Gantry", deleting many characters and fundamentally changing the character and actions of female evangelist Sister Sharon Falconer, as played by Simmons. The character of Sharon Falconer was loosely based on elements in the career of the Canadian-born American radio evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson, who founded the Pentecostal Christian denomination known as the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel in 1927. In addition, a plot point from the end of the novel is incorporated into Gantry and Lulu Bains's relationship, fundamentally changing the fates of both characters.


title: Elmer Gantry (film)

text: Elmer Gantry is a hard-drinking, fast-talking traveling salesman with a charismatic personality who infuses biblical passages and fervor into his pitches as a way to ease and collect money. He is drawn to the roadshow of Sister Sharon Falconer and is immediately attracted to the revivalist's saintly aura. As the troupe leaves town for Kansas, Gantry sweet talks her naïve assistant Sister Rachel into disclosing information regarding Falconer's past, which he uses to con his way into her good graces. He joins the troupe preaching "Christ in commerce" and how he is a saved salesman.


title: Elmer Gantry (film)

text: Gantry and Falconer develop a "good cop/bad cop" routine, with Gantry telling the audience members that they will burn in Hell for their sins and Falconer promising salvation if they repent. Because of Gantry's fire and brimstone sermons, the group comes to the attention of the church council in Zenith, Winnemac, a larger city. Though Falconer's manager Bill Morgan does not think that she is ready to preach outside of the smaller venues, Gantry convinces her to go to Zenith. They meet with the church leaders, most of whom are wary of turning religion into a spectacle as Gantry does, but he convinces them that the churches must earn money to stay open and can increase their membership only if prospective members are first won over to Christ by attending Gantry's colorful revival meetings.


title: Elmer Gantry (film)

text: Travelling along with Falconer is big-city reporter Jim Lefferts, who is torn between his disgust for religious hucksterism and his admiration for Gantry's charm and cunning. As Gantry's sermons bring Falconer's group to larger venues, Lefferts writes a series of articles labeling the revival a sham, and reveals that neither Falconer nor Gantry has any credentials. Falconer eventually admits to Gantry that her real name is Katie Jones, and that her origins are humbler than she publicly admits. Falconer also becomes Gantry's lover and loses her virginity to him.


title: Elmer Gantry (film)

text: The success of the Falconer-Gantry team comes to the attention of Lulu Bains, who became a prostitute when her youthful affair with Gantry ruined her standing in her minister father's eyes and Gantry ditched her. Acting as a moralist, Gantry unwittingly invades the brothel where Lulu works, but sends the prostitutes out of town when he sees Lulu. When he meets Lulu privately after she phones him, Lulu wants revenge against Gantry for running out on her in Kansas. Her love for Gantry returns, however, when confronting him, and they embrace. A hidden photographer planted by Lulu records their embrace, but Gantry's love for Falconer prevents him from consummating his relationship with Lulu. Lulu proceeds to frame Gantry out of jealousy for his love for Falconer. Lulu blackmails him, and Falconer is asked to bring $25,000 in exchange for the negatives of the incriminating pictures. Falconer brings the money, but Lulu refuses to accept it, and the pictures are then printed on the front page of the town's newspaper.


title: Elmer Gantry (film)

text: Lulu had at first offered Lefferts the exclusive story of Gantry's supposed sexual indiscretion, but he refused, shrugging off the pictures as merely proof that Gantry is as human as anyone else. An angry mob ransacks the tent revival following the publication of the incriminating photos in another newspaper, with Lulu witnessing Gantry's humiliation. As the mob curses Gantry and smears him with eggs and produce, Lulu is emotionally shaken and flees the scene. She returns to the brothel, which is now in a dilapidated state from Gantry's publicity stunt. Her pimp is there to collect the $25,000, but when Lulu tells him that she did not take Falconer's money, he beats her. Gantry comes to Lulu's rescue. He disposes of the pimp and apologizes to Lulu, who then publicly confesses to having framed Gantry.


title: Elmer Gantry (film)

text: Gantry returns to Falconer as a capacity crowd of followers fills her new tabernacle following Gantry's redemption in the press. Falconer declines Gantry's request to abandon her soul-saving ventures, insisting that she and Gantry were brought together by God to do His work. After Falconer appears to cure a follower of deafness, a fire that had been smoldering erupts suddenly. Unable or unwilling to see past her own religious zeal as flames engulf her tabernacle, Falconer remains on the premises and dies. The next day, Gantry, saddened by Falconer's death, leads a spiritual with her followers after their prodding. Morgan asks Gantry to continue Falconer's ministry, but Gantry replies, "When I was a child, I understood as a child and spoke as a child. When I became a man, I put away childish things" (). His valise in one hand, Bible in the other, and a smile on his face, Gantry strides away.


title: Elmer Gantry (film)

text: In a contemporary review for "The New York Times", critic A. H. Weiler was overwhelmingly positive in his assessment, calling the film "... a living, action-packed, provoking screen study, largely devoid of the novel's polemics, that captures both the eye and mind" and writing: "It is a complex story, running nearly two and a half hours, but its length is hardly noticeable since its many vignettes, each sharply presented, are joined into a theme that somewhat changes Gantry, Sister Falconer, et al. from Lewis' conception but has them shape up as forceful, and often memorable, individuals."


title: Regions of Kazakhstan

text: Kazakhstan is divided into 17 regions (/"oblystar"; singular: облыс/"oblys"; /"oblasti"; singular: область/"oblast"'). The regions are further subdivided into districts (/"audandar"; singular: аудан/"audan"; /; singular: /). Three cities, Shymkent, the largest city Almaty, and the capital Astana) are not part of the regions they are surrounded by.


title: Regions of Kazakhstan

text: On 16 March 2022, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced that three new regions would be created. Abai Region was created from East Kazakhstan Region with its capital in Semey. Ulytau Region was created from Karaganda Region with its capital in Jezkazgan. Jetisu Region was created from Almaty Region with its capital in Taldykorgan; Almaty Region's capital was moved from Taldykorgan to Qonaev.


title: Regions of Kazakhstan

text: Over the last 60 years, both the distribution and names of regions of Kazakhstan have changed considerably. Major changes were several fusions and splits between Guryev and Mangystau, Karaganda and Dzhezkazgan, Almaty and Taldy-Kurgan, East Kazakhstan and Semipalatinsk and Kostanay, Turgay and Tselinograd, respectively. Changes in region names were often in line with the renaming of cities, such as in the case of Alma-Ata/Almaty. After the administrative reform in 1997, the last change happened since then took place in 1999, when parts of North Kazakhstan that originally belonged to Kokshetau region became part of Akmola. The 1990s merges were in order to dilute the Russian population in the resulting region and to avoid having regions where Russians form a majority.


title: Economy of Belgium

text: The economy of Belgium is a modern, capitalist economy that has capitalised on the country's central geographic location, highly developed transport network, and diversified industrial and commercial base. Belgium was the first country to undergo an Industrial Revolution on the continent of Europe in the early 19th century. It has since developed an excellent transportation infrastructure of ports, canals, railways, and highways, in order to integrate its industry with that of its neighbours.


title: Economy of Belgium

text: Industry is concentrated mainly in the populous region of Flanders in the north, around Brussels and in the two biggest Walloon cities, Liège and Charleroi, along the sillon industriel. Belgium imports raw materials and semi-finished goods that are further processed and re-exported. Except for its coal, which is no longer economical to exploit, Belgium has few natural resources other than fertile soils. Nonetheless, most traditional industrial sectors are represented in the economy, including steel, textiles, refining, chemicals, food processing, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, electronics, and machinery fabrication. Despite the heavy industrial component, services account for 74.9% of GDP, while agriculture accounts for only 1% of GDP.


title: Economy of Belgium

text: With exports equivalent to over two-thirds of GNP, Belgium depends heavily on world trade. Belgium's trade advantages are derived from its central geographic location and a highly skilled, multilingual, and productive work force. One of the founding members of the European Community, Belgium strongly supports deepening the powers of the present-day European Union to integrate European economies further. About three-quarters of its trade is with other EU countries. Together with the Netherlands and Luxembourg, Belgium is also one of Benelux member states. Belgium began circulating the euro currency in January 2002.


title: Economy of Belgium

text: For 50 years through World War II, French-speaking Wallonia was a technically advanced, industrial region, with its industry concentrated along the sillon industriel, while Dutch-speaking Flanders was predominantly agricultural with some industry, mainly processing agricultural products and textiles. This disparity began to fade during the interwar period. When Belgium emerged from World War II with its industrial infrastructure relatively undamaged thanks to the Galopin doctrine, the stage was set for a period of rapid development, particularly in Flanders. The postwar boom years, enhanced by the establishment of the European Union and NATO headquarters in Brussels, contributed to the rapid expansion of light industry throughout most of Flanders, particularly along a corridor stretching between Brussels and Antwerp, which is the second largest port in Europe after Rotterdam.


title: Economy of Belgium

text: Foreign investment contributed significantly to Belgian economic growth in the 1960s. In particular, U.S. firms played a leading role in the expansion of light industrial and petrochemical industries in the 1960s and 1970s.


title: Economy of Belgium

text: The older, traditional industries of Wallonia, particularly steel industry, began to lose their competitive edge during this period, but the general growth of world prosperity masked this deterioration until the 1973 and 1979 oil price shocks and resultant shifts in international demand sent the economy into a period of prolonged recession. In the 1980s and 1990s, the economic center of the country continued to shift northwards to Flanders with investments by multinationals (Automotive industry, Chemical industry) and a growing local Industrial agriculture (textiles, food).


title: Economy of Belgium

text: The early 1980s saw the country facing a difficult period of structural adjustment caused by declining demand for its traditional products, deteriorating economic performance, and neglected structural reform. Consequently, the 1980–82 recession shook Belgium to the core—unemployment mounted, social welfare costs increased, personal debt soared, the government deficit climbed to 13% of GDP, and the national debt, although mostly held domestically, mushroomed.


title: Economy of Belgium

text: Against this grim backdrop, in 1982, Prime Minister Martens' center-right coalition government formulated an economic recovery program to promote export-led growth by enhancing the competitiveness of Belgium's export industries through an 8.5% devaluation. Economic growth rose from 2% in 1984 to a peak of 4% in 1989. In May 1990, the government linked the Belgian franc to the Deutsche Mark, primarily through closely tracking German interest rates. Consequently, as German interest rates rose after 1990, Belgian rates have increased and contributed to a decline in the economic growth rate. In 1992–93, the Belgian economy suffered the worst recession since World War II, with the real GDP declining 1.7% in 1993.


title: Economy of Belgium

text: Belgium switched from the Belgian franc to the Euro as its currency after 1 January 2002. Belgian per capita GDP ranks among the world's highest. In 2008, the per capita income (PPP) was $37,500. The federal government has not managed to present balanced budgets in recent years and public debt remains high, at 99% of 2009 GDP. In 2009 Belgium suffered negative growth and increased unemployment, stemming from the worldwide banking crisis. GDP growth in 2009 was negative at −1.5%.


title: Economy of Belgium

text: With 65% of the workers belonging to a union, Belgium is a country with one of the highest percentages of trade union membership. Only the Scandinavian countries have a higher trade union density. The biggest union with around 1.7 million members is the Christian democrat Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (ACV-CSC) which was founded in 1904. The origins of the union can be traced back to the "Anti-Socialist Cotton Workers Union" that was founded in 1886. The second biggest union is the socialist General Federation of Belgian Labour (ABVV-FGTB) which has a membership of more than 1.5 million. The ABVV-FGTB traces its origins to 1857, when the first Belgian union was founded in Ghent by a group of weavers. This and other socialist unions became unified around 1898. The ABVV-FGTB in its current form dates back to 1945. The third major multi-sector union in Belgium is the liberal (classical liberal) union General Confederation of Liberal Trade Unions of Belgium (ACLVB-CGSLB) which is relatively small in comparison to the first two with a little under 290 thousand members. The ACLVB-CGSLB was founded in 1920 in an effort to unite the many small liberal unions. Back then the liberal union was known as the "Nationale Centrale der Liberale Vakbonden van België". In 1930, the ACLVB-CGSLB adopted its current name.


title: Economy of Belgium

text: Besides these "big three" there are a number of smaller unions, some more influential than others. These smaller unions tend to specialize in one profession or economic sector. Next to these specialized unions there is also the that rejects the pillarization of the "big three" trade unions (their affiliation with political parties). There is also a small Flemish nationalist union that exists only in the Flemish-speaking part of Belgium, called the . The last Belgian union worth mentioning is the very small, but highly active anarchist union called the .


title: Economy of Belgium

text: About 80% of Belgium's trade is with fellow EU member states. Given this high percentage, it seeks to diversify and expand trade opportunities with non-EU countries. The Belgian authorities are, as a rule, anti-protectionist and try to maintain a hospitable and open trade and investment climate. The European Commission negotiates on trade issues for all member states, which, in turn lessens bilateral trade disputes with Belgium.


title: Economy of Belgium

text: The Belgian Government encourages new foreign investment as a means to promote employment. With regional devolution, Flanders, Brussels, and Wallonia are now courting potential foreign investors and offer a host of incentives and benefits. Foreign companies in Belgium account for approximately 11% of the total work force, with the U.S.


title: Economy of Belgium

text: Attracted by the EU 1992 single-market program, many foreign firms and lawyers have settled in Brussels since 1989.


title: Economy of Belgium

text: The social security system, which expanded rapidly during the prosperous 1950s and 1960s, includes a medical system, unemployment insurance coverage, child allowances, invalid benefits, and other benefits and pensions. With the onset of a recession in the 1970s, this system became an increasing burden on the economy and accounted for much of the government budget deficits. The national unemployment figures mask considerable differences between Flanders and Wallonia. Unemployment in Wallonia is mainly structural, while in Flanders it is cyclical. Flanders' unemployment levels are generally only about half those of Walloon. The southern region continues a difficult transition out of sunset industries (mainly coal and steel), while sunrise industries (chemicals, high-tech, and services) dominate in Flanders.


title: Economy of Belgium

text: Belgium's unemployment rate was 6.5% in 2008. A total of 4.99 million people make up Belgium's labor force. The vast majority of these people (80%), work in the service sector. Belgian industry claims 19% of the labor force and agriculture only 1%. As in other industrialized nations, pension and other social entitlement programs have become a major concern as the baby boom generation approaches retirement.


title: Economy of Belgium

text: Although Belgium is a wealthy country, public expenditures far exceeded income for many years, and taxes were not diligently pursued. The Belgian Government reacted to the 1973 and 1979 oil price hikes by hiring the redundant work force into the public sector and subsidizing industries like coal, steel, textiles, glass, and shipbuilding, which had lost their international competitive edge. As a result, cumulative government debt reached 121% of GDP by the end of the 1980s. However, thanks to Belgium's high personal savings rate, the Belgian Government financed the deficit from mainly domestic savings, minimizing the deleterious effects on the overall economy.


title: Economy of Belgium

text: The federal government ran a 7.1% budget deficit in 1992 at the time of the EU's Treaty of Maastricht, which established conditions for Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) that led to adoption of the common Euro currency on 1 January 2002. Among other criteria spelled out under the Maastricht treaty, the Belgian Government had to attain a budget deficit of no greater than 3% of GDP by the end of 1997; Belgium achieved this, with a total budget deficit in 2001 (just prior to implementation of the Euro) that amounted to 0.2% of GDP. The government has balanced the budget every year since, until 2009 where it ran a deficit of about $25 billion. Belgium's accumulated public debt remains high at 99% of 2009 GDP. A slight decrease in the accumulated public debt compared to GDP has been seen, however, thanks to a higher economic growth rate compared to the budget growth rate, which pushed the percentage from 99% of GDP in 2009 to 95% of GDP in 2011, a four-point decrease in two years, a feat rare enough to mention in the Western World.


title: Economy of Belgium

text: The economy of Belgium is varied and cannot be understood without taking the regional differences into account. Indeed, Flemish and Walloon economies differ in many respects (consider for instance Eurostat and OECD statistics), and cities like Brussels, Antwerp, Liège, Bruges, Charleroi or Ghent also exhibit significant differences. In general, productivity in Flanders is roughly 20% higher (per inhabitant) than in Wallonia. Brussels' GDP per capita is much higher than either region, although this is in many ways artificial, as many of those that work in the Brussels-Capital Region live in Flanders or Wallonia. Their output is counted in Brussels and not where they live, artificially raising the "per capita" GDP of Brussels and slightly lowering that of Flanders and Wallonia.


title: Economy of Belgium

text: Unemployment has remained consistently more than twice as high in Wallonia than in Flanders, and even more in Brussels, during most of the last 20 years (2012: Flanders: 4.55%; Wallonia: 10.12% and Brussels: 17.47%).


title: Economy of Belgium

text: Being the de facto European capital, its economy is massively service-oriented. It has a number of regional headquarters of multinational corporations. It is also host to a great number of European institutions, in addition to the Belgian federal government, the government of the Flemish Community and the government of the French Community. Brussels also has many commuters, with 230,000 coming from Flanders, and 130,000 from Wallonia. Much of the success of Brussels is based on the high educational skills of its workforce. As of July 2012, however, the statistical unemployment rate in Brussels was 20.6%.


title: Economy of Belgium

text: In 2004 the port of Antwerp was the second largest European sea port by cargo volume, and the Antwerp freight railway station accounts for one-third of Belgian freight traffic. Antwerp is the first diamond market in the world, diamond exports account for roughly 1/10 of Belgian exports. The Antwerp-based BASF plant is the largest BASF-base outside Germany, and accounts on its own for about 2% of Belgian exports. Other industrial and service activities include car manufacturing, telecommunications, photographic products.


title: Economy of Belgium

text: The port of Bruges-Zeebrugge is one of the most important, modern and fastest growing ports in Europe. It is Europe's largest port for RoRo traffic and natural gas. It also is the world's largest port for the import and export of new vehicles. Tourism is also a major component of the economy of Bruges. Due to its pristine medieval city centre, Bruges has become a popular tourist destination. Annually about 2.5 million day tourists visit the city and in 2007 there were about 1.4 million overnight stays.


title: Economy of Belgium

text: The port of Ghent, in the north of the city, is the third largest port of Belgium. It is accessed by the Ghent–Terneuzen Canal, which ends near the Dutch port of Terneuzen on the Western Scheldt. The port houses, among others, big companies like ArcelorMittal, Volvo Cars, Volvo Trucks, Volvo Parts, Honda, and Stora Enso. The Ghent University, the second largest university of Belgium by number of students, and a number of research oriented companies are situated in the central and southern part of the city. Tourism is increasingly becoming a major employer in the local area. Begonias have been cultivated in the Ghent area since 1860. Belgium is the world's largest producer of begonias, planting 60 million tubers per year. Eighty percent of the crop is exported.


title: Economy of Belgium

text: In the past, Liège was one of the most important steel-making centres in Europe. Starting in 1817, John Cockerill extensively developed the iron and steel industry. The industrial complex of Seraing was the largest in the world. Although now a shadow of its former self, steel production and the manufacture of steel goods remain important.


title: Economy of Belgium

text: Liège has also been an important centre for gunsmithing since the Middle ages and the arms industry is still strong with the headquarters of FN Herstal. The economy of the region is now diversified, the most important centers are mechanical industries (aircraft engine and Spacecraft propulsion), space technology, information technology, biotechnology and also production of water, beer or chocolate. Liège Science Park south east of the city, near the University of Liège campus, houses spin-offs and high technology businesses. Liège is also a very important logistic center: the city possesses the third largest river port in Europe, directly connected to Antwerp, Rotterdam and Germany via the Meuse river and the Albert Canal. In 2006 Liège Airport was the 8th most important cargo airport in Europe. A new passenger terminal was opened in 2005. It is also the main hub and the headquarters of TNT Airways.


title: Economy of Belgium

text: Charleroi features an industrial area, iron and steel industry, glassworks, chemicals, and electrical engineering. Charleroi is in the center of a vast coal basin, called "Pays Noir". Many slag heaps still surround the city. Charleroi is also known for its publishing industry with Dupuis, one of the main publishers of Franco-Belgian comics, located in Marcinelle.


title: Economy of Belgium

text: The following table shows the main economic indicators in 1980–2021 (with IMF staff estimates in 2022–2027). Inflation under 5% is in green.


title: Christianity and paganism

text: Paganism is commonly used to refer to various religions that existed during Antiquity and the Middle Ages, such as the Greco-Roman religions of the Roman Empire, including the Roman imperial cult, the various mystery religions, religions such as Neoplatonism and Gnosticism, and more localized ethnic religions practiced both inside and outside the empire. During the Middle Ages, the term was also adapted to refer to religions practiced outside the former Roman Empire, such as Germanic paganism, Egyptian paganism and Baltic paganism.


title: Christianity and paganism

text: From the point of view of the early Christians, these religions all qualified as ethnic (or gentile, "ethnikos", "gentilis", the term translating "goyim", later rendered as "paganus") in contrast with Second Temple Judaism. By the early Middle Ages (800 - 1000), faiths referred to as pagan had mostly disappeared in the West through a mixture of peaceful conversion, natural religious change, persecution, and the military conquest of pagan peoples; the Christianization of Lithuania in the 1400s is typically considered to mark the end of this process.


title: Christianity and paganism

text: Early Christianity arose as a movement within Second Temple Judaism and Hellenistic Judaism, following the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. With a missionary commitment to both Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews), Christianity rapidly spread into the greater Roman empire and beyond. Here, Christianity came into contact with the dominant Pagan religions. Acts 19 recounts a riot that occurred in Ephesus, instigated by silversmiths who crafted images of Artemis, and were concerned that Paul's success was cutting into their trade. These conflicts are recorded in the works of the early Christian writers such as Justin Martyr as well as hostile reports by writers including Tacitus and Suetonius.


title: Christianity and paganism

text: The pattern for the Roman state's response to what was seen as a religious threat was established in 186 BC. Roman officials became suspicious of the worshippers of Dionysus and their practice of Bacchanalia because it "took place at night" (also a later Christian practice). Magic and secret plots against the emperor were seen as products of the night. Bacchic associations were dissolved, leaders were arrested and executed, women were forbidden to hold important positions in the cult, no Roman citizen could be a priest, and strict control of the cult was thereafter established. In the first century of the common era, there were "periodic expulsions of astrologers, philosophers and even teachers of rhetoric... as well as Jews and...the cult of Isis". Druids also received this treatment, as did Christians.


title: Christianity and paganism

text: Christianity was persecuted by Roman imperial authorities early on in its history within the greater empire. By the early part of the 2nd century AD Christians are no longer viewed as part of a Jewish sect, but are considered as belonging to one of many foreign cults that infiltrated the Empire. They gradually become conspicuous by their absence from festival activities where ritual sacrifices for the health of the emperor and well-being of the empire take place, behavior that carried a "whiff of both sacrilege and treason".


title: Christianity and paganism

text: The first documented case of imperially-supervised persecution of the Christians in the Roman Empire begins with Nero (37–68). In 64 AD, a great fire broke out in Rome, destroying portions of the city and economically devastating the Roman population. Nero himself was suspected as the arsonist by Suetonius. In his "Annals", Tacitus (who claimed Nero was in Antium at the time of the fire's outbreak), stated that "to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians [or Chrestians by the populace" (Tacit. "Annals" XV, see Tacitus on Jesus). Suetonius, later to the period, does not mention any persecution after the fire, but in a previous paragraph unrelated to the fire, mentions punishments inflicted on Christians, defined as men following a new and malefic superstition. Suetonius however does not specify the reasons for the punishment, he just listed the fact together with other abuses put down by Nero.


title: Christianity and paganism

text: The Persecution in Lyon was preceded by mob violence, including assaults, robberies and stonings (Eusebius, "Ecclesiastical History" 5.1.7). Further state persecutions were desultory until the 3rd century, though Tertullian's "Apologeticus" of 197 was ostensibly written in defense of persecuted Christians and addressed to Roman governors.


title: Christianity and paganism

text: Although there was sporadic local persecution, there was no empire-wide persecution of Christians until the reign of Decius in the mid-3rd century AD. A decree was issued requiring public sacrifice, a formality equivalent to a testimonial of allegiance to the Emperor and the established order. Christians who refused were charged with impiety and punished by arrest, imprisonment, torture, and/or executions. Some Christians complied and purchased their certificates, called "libelli", which certified their compliance; others fled to safe havens in the countryside. Several councils held at Carthage debated the extent to which the community should accept lapsed Christians.


title: Christianity and paganism

text: The persecutions culminated with Diocletian and Galerius at the end of the third and beginning of the 4th century. Beginning with a series of four edicts banning Christian practices and ordering the imprisonment of Christian clergy, the persecution intensified until all Christians in the empire were commanded to sacrifice to the gods or face immediate execution. This persecution lasted until Constantine I, along with Licinius, legalized Christianity in 313. The New Catholic Encyclopedia states that "Ancient, medieval and early modern hagiographers were inclined to exaggerate the number of martyrs. Since the title of martyr is the highest title to which a Christian can aspire, this tendency is natural". Attempts at estimating the numbers involved are inevitably based on inadequate sources.The failure of the Great Persecution of Diocletian was regarded as a confirmation of a long process of religious self-assertion against the conformism of a pagan empire. Freedom to assert a belief not recognized by the State was won and held. 'However much Christian churches and states may have sinned in later times by their religious coercion, the martyrdoms of the Roman Persecutions belong to the history of freedom.