title: Derrick Bell

text: The 1954 Brown V. Board of Education case ignited Bell's interest in studying racial issues within the education system. This was due to the Supreme Courts decision and its evident lack of progress for black students. During the 70s, Bell studied and wrote about the effects of desegregation noting that this decision was not due to a moral shift in nature, but rather because of the "convergence" of efforts in dismantling Jim Crow laws and racial segregation. Additionally, it had to do with the concern of the white elite that the United States would lose the battle to communism, and tarnish their reputation and global influence. The injustices initially set by segregation were not undone but, instead created new issues for black students at predominantly white institutions. Consequently, Bell comes to the conclusion that American educational systems should focus on improving the quality of education for black students, as oppose to, national integration. His early work on education contributed to his creation of critical race theory, alongside Kimberlé Crenshaw, Alan Freeman, Cheryl Harris, Patricia J. Williams, Charles R. Lawrence, Mari Matsuda, and Richard Delgado.


title: Derrick Bell

text: In the 1970s, Bell and these other legal scholars began using the phrase "critical race theory" (CRT) as a takeoff on critical legal studies, a branch of legal scholarship that challenges the validity of concepts such as rationality, objective truth, and judicial neutrality. Critical legal theory was itself a takeoff on critical theory, a philosophical framework with roots in Marxist thought. Bell continued writing about critical race theory after accepting a teaching position at Harvard University. He worked alongside lawyers, activists, and legal scholars across the country. Much of his legal scholarship was influenced by his experience both as a black man and as a civil rights attorney. Writing in a narrative style, Bell contributed to the intellectual discussions on race. According to Bell, his purpose in writing was to examine the racial issues within the context of their economic and social, and political dimensions from a legal standpoint. In addition to this, Bell's critical race theory was eventually branched off into more theories, describing the hardships of other groups, such as AsianCrit (Asian), FemCrit (Women), LatCrit (Latino), TribalCrit (American Indian), and WhiteCrit (White). His theories were based on the following propositions:


title: Derrick Bell

text: 2) white-over-color ascendancy serves important purposes, both psychic and material, for the dominant group.


title: Derrick Bell

text: 4) dominant society racializes different minority groups at different times, in response to shifting needs such as the labor market.


title: Derrick Bell

text: 5) "intersectionality and anti-essentialism" thesis. No person has a single, easily stated, unitary identity. Everyone has potentially conflicting, overlapping identities, loyalties, and allegiances. For example, a person who has parents with different religious views, political views, ethnicity, etc.


title: Derrick Bell

text: 6) ("voice-of-color" thesis) because of different histories and experiences to those of white counterparts, matters that the white people are unlikely to know must be communicated to them by the racialized minorities.


title: Derrick Bell

text: CRT has also led to the study of microaggressions, paradigmatic kinship, the historical origins and shifting paradigmatic vision of CRT, and how in-depth legal studies show law serves the interests of the powerful groups in society. Microaggressions are subtle insults (verbal, nonverbal, and/or visual) directed toward people of color, often automatically or unconsciously.


title: Derrick Bell

text: For instance, in "The Constitutional Contradiction," Bell argued that the framers of the Constitution chose the rewards of property over justice. With regard to the interest convergence, he maintains that "whites will promote racial advances for blacks only when they also promote white self-interest." Finally, in "The Price of Racial Remedies," Bell argues that whites will not support civil rights policies that may threaten white social status. Similar themes can be found in another well-known piece entitled, "Who's Afraid of Critical Race Theory?" from 1995.


title: Derrick Bell

text: His 2002 book, "Ethical Ambition", encourages a life of ethical behavior, including "a good job well done, giving credit to others, standing up for what you believe in, voluntarily returning lost valuables, choosing what feels right over what might feel good right now".


title: Derrick Bell

text: Along with Bell's contributions to critical race theory, in his early articles, he exhibited multiple analyses' of legal doctrine. He discussed the legal doctrine through his outsider narrative scholarship. He would conclude that the rule of law "sought to convey an objectivity that may exist in theory but is impossible in the real world". In his narrative stories, he would create hypothetical legal doctrines that put forth the idea that racism is a permanent neutral principle. In doing so, he called “the nation to repent”, rather than having policymakers listen to him or change policies. His deconstructionist legal doctrine would include an “interest-convergence thesis” which assumed that the U.S. legal system would adapt legal doctrines meant to remedy black injustices only when the doctrine would further benefit the interests of whites. In his doctrine, he also critiqued "Brown V. Board" and titled it the “Revisionist Brown Option” which was his alternative answer that "Brown" should have said in the court case. His doctrine also consisted of the concept “racial fortuitous corollary” and “racial preference licensing act”.


title: Derrick Bell

text: Bell also wrote science fiction short stories, including "The Space Traders", a story in which white Americans trade black Americans to space aliens in order to pay off the national debt and receive advanced technology such as environmental decontaminants and alternatives to fossil fuels. His story maintained that whites act to protect their own white self-interest. Bell explained "[It's] better [to] risk the unknown in space than face the certainty of racial discrimination here at home." The story was adapted for television in 1994 by director Reginald Hudlin and writer Trey Ellis. It aired on HBO as the leading segment of a three-part anthology entitled, "Cosmic Slop", which focused on Black science fiction. In 1970, Bell published "Race, Racism, and American Law" which would pioneer the unifying civil-rights themes that became prominent throughout American history. It contained the idea that racial progress would be achieved only when it aligned with white people's interests. Along with this, in 1992, Bell published a collection of short stories named "Faces at the Bottom of the Well", which highlighted a radical vision of the persistence of racism in American society.


title: Derrick Bell

text: On October 5, 2011, Bell died at the age of 80 from carcinoid cancer at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital in New York City. " At the time, the Associated Press reported: "The dean at NYU, Richard Revesz, said, 'For more than 20 years, the law school community has been profoundly shaped by Derrick's unwavering passion for civil rights and community justice, and his leadership as a scholar, teacher, and activist.'" He loved his students in a compassionate and encouraging way – he even taught the week before his death.


title: Derrick Bell

text: Bell has been memorialized at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law with the Derrick A. Bell Constitutional Law Commons which was opened on March 20, 2013, in the school's Barco Law Library. Bell was also honored with the renaming of the school's community law clinic that provides legal assistance to local low-income residents to the Derrick Bell Community Legal Clinic. Two fellowship positions within the school are also named for Bell. There continues to be lectures regarding Bell's teachings and concepts at NYU Law School, and Harvard Law School. They discuss Bell's teachings of racism in America and explore the future of race relations and racial justice in the United States. Many have connected his teachings to the police brutality and Black Lives Matters movements in 2020 and 2021.


title: Adam4Adam

text: Adam4Adam is an online dating website designed for men to meet other men "for friendship, romance, or a hot hookup".


title: Adam4Adam

text: As of September 2005, "San Jose Mercury News" ranked Adam4Adam as the second most popular online gay personals site in the United States (being ranked behind Gay.com). As of March 2007, Hitwise ranked it number one (the number two and three position being occupied by Manhunt and Gay.com).


title: Adam4Adam

text: Adam4Adam was launched in 2003 by a company called "Convergent Ideas, LLC" and is now operated by "A4A Network Inc.". Adam4Adam's members are mostly in the United States.


title: Adam4Adam

text: Unlike similar competitors, Adam4Adam does not charge members to use its full range of services. Instead, Adam4Adam receives revenue from advertising, particularly from pay-per-view pornographic websites and companies offering erection enhancement drugs like sildenafil, vardenafil, tadalafil and their generic drug equivalents through mail order.


title: Adam4Adam

text: The site offers a "plan-a-trip feature" to locate potential friends or dates where one is headed. It also has a specific way of posting party invitations.


title: Adam4Adam

text: Although Adam4Adam has members of all ethnic groups, the percentage of non-White men represented in member profiles is higher than the percentage of non-White people in the United States population, though the degree to which this is true varies by city/region. For instance, research into demographic representation in Atlanta, San Francisco, and New York City profiles evidences a trend of higher representations of men of color among younger age cohorts, with decreasing diversity in profiles as age increase. This is also true of Adam4Adam membership in the United Kingdom.


title: Adam4Adam

text: Unlike Manhunt and some other sites, Adam4Adam does not prohibit escort ads, however such ads are placed in a category separated from the mainstream personal ads. As with most sites of this type, members are allowed to post nude photos and many choose to do so.


title: Adam4Adam

text: Adam4Adam provides a "Health Resource" page as well as a page devoted to "Online Safety Tips". The site encourages health organizations to create "Health Counselor" accounts. All these measures encourage good health practices such as safe sex, getting tested for sexually transmitted infections and avoiding methamphetamine addiction. The counselors also discourage the party and play phenomenon.


title: Adam4Adam

text: The site also maintains an interactive blog. Posts are organized into several categories, ranging from sex to lifestyle to news.


title: Adam4Adam

text: In October 2006, New York City-area media including "The New York Times" and WCBS-TV reported that Adam4Adam was the focus of a conspiracy to find gay men online to rob. A number of men in New York City used the site to lure a Brooklyn man to a remote area where he was robbed and murdered. The men were found when one user was identified via his screenname.


title: Adam4Adam

text: Many news sources reported similar occurrences in the Washington Metropolitan Area. In discussing the case of a perpetrator of multiple robberies in that region, a Washington, D.C. police officer from that police force's Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit said "We've definitely seen an increase in online dating crimes in the past five years" and added that victims of internet dating crimes are "overwhelmingly men cruising for sex."


title: Adam4Adam

text: The same police officer also noted that these criminals are often technologically savvy and create profiles using fake information and other people's photos from cyber cafés or public libraries, making them difficult to trace.


title: Adam4Adam

text: A high-profile April 2010 murder investigation in the Washington, D.C., area revealed that the victim, a high school principal, met his assailants through adam4adam.com.


title: Adam4Adam

text: In reporting on the murder of a 39-year-old San Diego man by a 19-year-old U.S. Marine, an editorial in the "Gay and Lesbian Times" said that the victim:


title: Adam4Adam

text: was an avid user of adam4adam.com, a popular gay chat and hook-up Web site. Instincts told us that the victim may have met his killer online and invited him into his Little Italy apartment, where he ultimately met his fate.


title: Adam4Adam

text: Adam4Adam has also been used to "out" people who have otherwise kept their sexual orientation somewhat secret.


title: Adam4Adam

text: The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network warned United States military personnel in 2004 that online profiles on Adam4Adam and similar sites were a violation of the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, and that in some cases online profiles were being used as evidence in outing service members to military command.


title: Adam4Adam

text: In many cases it’s either a jilted ex-lover, a roommate or friend who is upset about something who knows that the service member has the online ad or profile and they then print out that profile and give it to the command.


title: Adam4Adam

text: Adam4Adam has also been mentioned by sources such as the "New York Daily News" in reference to the outing of an "American Idol" contestant who previously had said that he was heterosexual.


title: Adam4Adam

text: "New York Daily News" also reported that the Adam4Adam dating profile of artist Ross Bleckner was printed in the "Coagula Art Journal". In the "Coagula Art Journal" article, Bleckner's "age, 33-inch waistline and youthful photo" were questioned, but ultimately accepted by the magazine as true since "overall (for Internet personals), he's a pretty honest, bland dude. Like his art." Bleckner laughed off the incident, saying "For them, that's high praise!"


title: Adam4Adam

text: While Adam4Adam and other social networking venues are often dismissed as "sex sites", there is evidence to the contrary. For example, the "Washington Blade" featured an article about the evolution of online dating in which it was reported that:


title: Adam4Adam

text: an increasing number of gay and lesbian youth have taken their first steps into the “gay community” by passing through an online chat room door. Gay male social networking sites like Manhunt, Adam4Adam and the recently launched DList, for "edgy gay men," provide just as easy an opportunity for men to find a coffee date as easy as a gangbang.


title: Adam4Adam

text: Adam4Adam uses the new "Restricted To Adults" label in the metatags of its pages. The RTA label is free to use, voluntary, and universally available to any website that wishes to clearly and effectively label itself as being inappropriate for viewing by minors. The Free Speech Coalition recently endorsed the RTA website label.


title: Adam4Adam

text: Software filters work much better than a 1998 federal law designed to keep pornography away from children on the Internet, a federal judge ruled Thursday in striking down the measure on free-speech grounds.


title: Adam4Adam

text: Senior U.S. District Judge Lowell Reed Jr. also said the Child Online Protection Act fails to address threats that have emerged since the law was written, including online predators on social-networking sites like MySpace, because it targets only commercial Web publishers.


title: Adam4Adam

text: "Even defendant's own study shows that all but the worst performing (software) filters are far more effective than COPA would be at protecting children from sexually explicit material on the Web," said Reed, who presided over a monthlong trial in the fall.


title: Adam4Adam

text: The never-enforced law was Congress' second attempt to protect children from online porn. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld in 2004 a temporary injunction blocking the law from taking effect; Reed on Thursday issued a permanent injunction.


title: Adam4Adam

text: The law would have criminalized Web sites that allow children to access material deemed "harmful to minors" by "contemporary community standards." The sites would have been expected to require a credit card number or other proof of age.


title: Adam4Adam

text: "Gay & Lesbian News" reports that Adam4Adam and similar sites may soon come under an expanded interpretation of 18 U.S.C. 2257, the Child Protection and Obscenity Enforcement Act and wrote:


title: Adam4Adam

text: anyone with a sexually explicit picture on a site like Adam4Adam.com could be considered a secondary producer if the new regulations go into effect, and would be subject to the same type of requirements that the adult Web sites would be under.


title: Adam4Adam

text: If successfully applied, these regulations would mean that Adam4Adam and similar companies would have to keep records proving that individuals appearing in photographs or videos are over the age of 18. They would also have to "categorize those documents in a meticulous manner", with failure to comply resulting in possible felony charges and prison time.


title: Adam4Adam

text: It’s just a series of land mines designed to trap the unwary [...] if you file it wrong, if you put it in [the] wrong alphabetical order [...] you’re facing federal prosecution on a first offense with a maximum of five years, [and] a secondary offense [with] a minimum of two years. It’s just insane.


title: Adam4Adam

text: Further, not only the company but the website's members could be responsible under these same regulations. The same lawyer remarked that if he had a profile on Adam4Adam this would mean:


title: Adam4Adam

text: I would have to have a photocopy of my own ID and a list in my home ready for federal inspection, a paper with my legal name, or any name I have ever used under any circumstances [...] the form of ID I provided to myself, the serial number of that ID and [would have to have it] signed under penalty of perjury. If I don’t have that document or a photo of my ID available 20 hours a week for federal inspection, I’ve committed a felony.


title: Adam4Adam

text: An article in "The New York Sun" entitled "Morbid Web Site Makes Amusement of Online Profiles Left Behind by the Dead" discusses a site that highlights the user profiles on various social networking websites. Adam4Adam is mentioned several times and it is noted that Willi Ninja's profile remained posted on Adam4Adam months after his September 2006 death received widespread press attention. In this article, an Adam4Adam spokesperson is quoted as saying "We deactivate them as soon as we get notified."


title: Philo (company)

text: Philo (formerly Tivli) is an American internet television company currently based in San Francisco, California, that was first founded at Harvard University in 2010 by Tuan Ho and Nicholas Krasney. Investors in the company include HBO, Andrew McCollum, and Mark Cuban. The company and its service is named in honor of one of the pioneering engineers of television, Philo T. Farnsworth.


title: Philo (company)

text: Philo was originally founded in 2010 as Tivli by Tuan Ho and Nicholas Krasney at Harvard University. It began as an experimental dorm-room streaming project using aluminium foil as a makeshift receiving antenna to "pick up (Boston area) TV signals and deliver them wirelessly to their laptops via a jerry-rigged server". At its launch, the project was intended to be a way to provide a streaming TV service to Harvard University students living on campus. When the service first launched in 2011, a quarter of the Harvard resident population registered for it within the first few weeks of the service.


title: Philo (company)

text: In 2011, Tivli joined the Harvard Innovation Lab (iLab) as the first company in residence, before finally moving into their own office in Harvard Square in 2013. In 2012, Christopher Thorpe joined as CEO to build out Philo's original university IPTV service. From the earliest days, Philo had aspirations to launch a nationwide streaming TV service, starting in universities. After launching services at Harvard, Philo quickly added additional universities such as Stanford University, Yale University, Texas A&M University and Brown University. In 2013, Philo announced a strategic partnership with HBO to provide the HBO GO service to universities. By September 2015, the service was available in 42 universities.


title: Philo (company)

text: In July 2013, the venture raised a $6.3 million round led by Patrick Chung at venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates. Among the Series A investors, were Mark Cuban from Radical Investments LP, HBO, Ari Emanuel from Endeavor, and Rho Capital Partners. The same year the company was rebranded as Philo, from its former name, Tivli.


title: Philo (company)

text: In 2014, Andrew McCollum, a founding member of Facebook, succeeded Christopher Thorpe as CEO to further expand Philo beyond providing university IPTV services and launch a direct-to-consumer over-the-top streaming service called Philo. After securing their Series B round in 2015, Philo relocated to San Francisco, California.


title: Philo (company)

text: In June 2015, Philo raised $10 million in a Series B round led by New Enterprise Associates, with joint investment from HBO, Rho Ventures, Xfund, CBC New Media Group, as well as Andrew McCollum.


title: Philo (company)

text: Philo launched its OTT streaming television service in the United States on November 14, 2017. The service is available via TVs, digital media players, computers, tablets, and phones. The service includes channels from A&E Networks, AMC Networks, Discovery, Inc. (prior to its 2022 merger with WarnerMedia to form Warner Bros. Discovery), and Viacom (prior to its 2019 reunion with CBS Corporation to form ViacomCBS, now known as Paramount Global), all of which also became joint owners of the service with a combined $25 million investment before this launch.


title: Philo (company)

text: The service has no local television stations or sports networks, though it does offer news services through BBC World News (which is distributed by AMC) and financial news channel Cheddar, along with the national feed of the AccuWeather Network.


title: Philo (company)

text: In October 2018, Philo added Hallmark Channel and its sister channels, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries and Hallmark Drama.


title: Philo (company)

text: In February 2020, Google Fiber announced it would no longer offer television packages to new subscribers. It backed YouTube TV and fuboTV at the time and added the $20 package of Philo's 61 channels as an option. Adding Philo to the list of Google Fiber was described as a way to help the virtual MVPD "keep its growth streak going" without the burden of retransmission consent negotiations and fees needed to run a pay television service. At the time, Philo had 750,000 subscribers and the service said that over the year it had grown by 300%. Philo then added Epix and Starz as premium add-ons in June of the same year, along with TV Everywhere credentials to their websites and access to their video-on-demand libraries.


title: Philo (company)

text: On March 29, 2021, T-Mobile announced a partnership with Philo to offer a discount on the service when bundled with its wireless plans. September 8 saw the debut of a "Movies & More" add-on package, which includes Sony Movies, Reelz, HDNet Movies, MGM HD and Cinémoi. Philo would be a launch partner of Comcast's revival of G4, launching the network on November 16. GAC Media channels, GAC Living and GAC Family, were added to the service at the start of December 2021.


title: Philo (company)

text: In February 2022, Philo reached an agreement with entertainment company, Kin, to bring over 65 hours of programming to its platforms along with producing Philo's first original series, Boss Moves with Rasheeda. Later in the year, Philo added around a half-dozen channels operated by Weigel Broadcasting, including MeTV, Decades and Story Television. In October 2022, Philo added FETV to its base subscription package and Family Movie Classics to the "Movies & More" add-on package.


title: Aardman filmography

text: Aardman Animations is an animation studio in Bristol, England that produces stop motion and computer-animated features, shorts, TV series and adverts.


title: Aardman filmography

text: Note: Rights to the Aardman films produced with DreamWorks Animation are now owned by Universal Pictures, following NBCUniversal's purchase of DreamWorks in 2016.


title: Aardman filmography

text: In the future, Aardman will make a new deal with Warner Bros. Pictures to make a few upcoming feature films under the Warner Animation Group label in 2025 until 2037.


title: Aardman filmography

text: This is a selected list of commercials produced by Aardman. By 2000, the studio had produced over 100 commercials, at a rate of 15–20 spots per year. In the year 2009 alone, the studio produced 106 commercials.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: The COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). , with over 4,945,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases, over 27,000 active cases, over 36,648 deaths, and more than 66 million tests, the country is currently ranked third in the number of COVID-19 cases in Southeast Asia behind Vietnam and Indonesia, and fourth in the number of COVID-19 deaths in Southeast Asia behind Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: Since January 2020, the medical response and preparedness for the outbreak in Malaysia are overseen by the Director-General of Health Noor Hisham Abdullah under the Health Ministry of three successive governments led by the Mahathir, Muhyiddin and Ismail Sabri cabinets. The first cases in Malaysia were confirmed among travellers from China in Johor via Singapore on 25 January 2020, and continued to be limited to a few imported cases until March 2020, when several local clusters emerged. The most notable was a Tablighi Jamaat religious gathering in Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur that sparked a massive spike in local cases and imported cases to neighbouring countries. By the end of March, the total number of cases had risen from below 30 to over 2,000 active cases across every state and federal territory in the country.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: In response to the surge of cases in March 2020, the Malaysian government led by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin imposed a nationwide lockdown known as the Movement Control Order (MCO), which came into effect on 18 March 2020. The MCO, which was supposed to be ended on 31 March 2020, was extended to early May 2020. By early May, the MCO had led to a gradual decline in daily infections. The government progressively relaxed lockdown restrictions in a staggered phase; beginning with the "Conditional Movement Control Order" (CMCO) on 4 May 2020, which allows most business sectors to be reopened under strict standard operating procedures (SOPs), followed by the "Recovery Movement Control Order" (RMCO) on 10 June 2020. The government had planned to end the RMCO on 31 August 2020 but due to the continuous detection of imported cases, measures were extended until the end of the year, with several sectors remaining closed and strict travel restrictions from several countries remaining in place.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: The third wave of COVID-19 infections in the country occurred as a result of the Sabah state election in September 2020 and several outbreaks at Top Glove facilities in late 2020. The Malaysian government responded by restoring CMCO restrictions in most states since November 2020 to counter the outbreak. By mid-January 2021, the pressure of COVID-19 on the country's healthcare system led to the reintroduction of MCO restrictions across various Malaysian states and federal territories, which was extended to March 4, 2021. A nationwide state of emergency was also declared on 12 January 2021 by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, suspending Parliament and State Legislative assemblies and granting the Muhyiddin government emergency powers until 1 August 2021.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: Due to a decline in new cases by early March 2021, the government lifted MCO restrictions in all states and federal territories. However, the restrictions were reinstated in several states in mid-April as infection cases rose again. With novel SARS-CoV-2 variants detected in Malaysia and a record surge in daily COVID-19 cases and deaths, the government reintroduced a nationwide MCO once more from May 12, 2021. The MCO was strengthened into a "total lockdown" from June 1 that was extended indefinitely, as the severe and continued spread of the Delta variant led to Malaysia's healthcare system capacity being reached in some regions.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: Following high vaccination rates in the adult population against COVID-19 and a decrease in the number of severe cases of the disease since September 2021, Malaysia announced its intention to transition to treating COVID-19 as an endemic disease by the end of October 2021, with more generalised restrictions being eased. A fifth wave fueled by the Omicron variant led to record daily cases in February and March 2022, but is marked by lower numbers of hospitalizations and deaths than during the spread of the Delta variant. As of March 2022, the BA.2 Omicron subvariant was projected to be the dominant strain in the country.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: The pandemic has had a severe economic impact, devaluing Malaysia's currency and shrinking its GDP, and has had far-reaching effects on Malaysian society. The onset of the pandemic in early 2020 coincided with an initially unrelated political crisis that hampered the government's early response, and the repeated COVID-19 waves and emergency measures exacerbated ongoing political instability throughout 2020 and 2021. This led to Muhyiddin's resignation following the collapse of his government, and the appointment of a successor government under Ismail Sabri Yaakob, in August 2021.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: The country's vaccination programme, which commenced in late February 2021, has fully inoculated over 80% of the population and 97% of adults .


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: The Ministry of Health originally referred to this disease as the "2019 Novel Coronavirus". Some media referred to this disease as the "Wuhan Coronavirus". During the onset of the outbreak, the Malaysian media called it the ""radang paru-paru Wuhan"" in Malay, meaning "Wuhan Pneumonia". Then some media changed the name to ""radang paru-paru koronavirus baru"" (new coronavirus pneumonia) in Malay. The Ministry of Health and most media now refer to the disease as "COVID-19", as suggested by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 February 2020.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 12 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: Unlike the SARS outbreak of 2003, the case fatality ratio for COVID-19 has been much lower, but the transmission has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: Malaysia reported its first three cases on 25 January 2020, all of whom were Chinese nationals who had visited the country. Malaysia experienced a spike in COVID-19 cases following a four-day Tablighi Jamaat event that was held at Kuala Lumpur's "Masjid Jamek Sri Petaling" between 27 February and 1 March 2020. By 20 March, 48% of the country's COVID-19 cases (3,347) had been linked to the Sri Petaling tabligh cluster. In response to the rise in cases nationally, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced that Malaysia would enter into a partial lockdown on 18 March 2020. On 17 March, Malaysia reported its first two deaths from the coronavirus: a 60-year-old priest from Emmanuel Baptist Church in Kuching, Sarawak and a 34-year-old participant of the Sri Petaling tabligh jamaat from Johor Bahru, Johor.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 3 April, a spike in 217 new cases was reported, bringing the total number to 3,333. The Director-General of Health Noor Hisham Abdullah attributed this spike to active detection in areas affected by Enhanced Movement Controlled Order, a stricter version of the MCO. In response to rising cases, the Government extended the movement control order until 28 April.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 1 May, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced that the country's lockdown would be eased on 4 May, allowing most businesses to reopen while maintaining a ban on mass gatherings. From 21 May, a spike of cases occurred among detainees at immigration detention centres in Bukit Jalil and Semenyih, Selangor, causing the number of cases to rise to a total of 7,819 cases by 31 May.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 20 July, Prime Minister Muhyiddin announced that the Malaysian Government would consider making face masks compulsory following the emergence of 13 clusters after the relaxation of lockdown restrictions on travel and businesses the previous month. By 31 August, there were 160 active cases with a total of 9,340 cases. A total of 9,054 had recovered while the death toll had risen to 127.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: At least two regional outbreaks have occurred since July 2020. In late July and August, several clusters emerged in Kedah and Sarawak. In September 2020, a major outbreak in Sabah initially detected in two prisons led to a spike in community cases within that state. Following the 2020 Sabah state election, the number of cases rose across the country due to Sabah voters returning to work in other states. Malaysian authorities also attributed the surge of cases in Sabah to the entry of illegal immigrants from Indonesia. The country passed the 10,000 cases mark on 16 September 2020, and 11 deaths, primarily in Kedah and Sabah, were reported between the month ends of August and September.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: Throughout December, the total number of cases climbed rapidly, reaching the 100,000 mark on 24 December. On 23 December, the Malaysian Health Ministry confirmed that it had identified a new COVID-19 strain dubbed the "A701B" strain.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: By 6 January 2021, the number of recovered had exceeded 100,000. On the same day, the Director General reported there were 252 active clusters in Malaysia. By 25 January 2021, Malaysia ranked 29th in a list of countries with the highest number of infections over a two-week period published by Johns Hopkins University, with 48,625 new infections during that period. On 18 February, the death toll exceeded the 1,000 mark, reaching 1,005 deaths.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: By 22 May, the total number of cases had reached the 500,000 mark, reaching 505,115. By 2 June 2021, the total number of recoveries had exceeded the 500,000 mark, reaching 501,898. On 28 June, the death toll exceeded 5,000, reaching 5,001.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 26 July, the total number of cases exceeded the one million mark, reaching 1,013,438. By 5 August, the death toll had reached the 10,000 mark, reaching 10,019. By 7 August, the total number of recoveries had reached the 1 million mark, reaching 1,009,343.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: By 11 September, the death toll had exceeded 20,000, reaching 20,419. By 14 September, the total number of cases exceeded the two million mark, reaching 2,011,440. By 27 September, the total number of recoveries exceeded the two million mark, reaching 2,005,942. On 21 November, Malaysia's death toll exceeded the 30,000 thresholds, reaching 30,002.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 13 February 2022, the total number of cases in Malaysia exceeded the 3 million mark, reaching 3,040,235. By 24 February, the total number of recoveries had reached the 3 million mark, reaching 3,018,172.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: Beginning from 15 March, Malaysia saw a significant jump in active cases. The Prime Minister of Malaysia held a live nationwide telecast on 16 March 2020 at 10:00 pm (UTC+8) to announce the decision of the federal government in implementing the Movement Control Order (MCO). Based on the live addressing that evening, six restrictions have been imposed:


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: The order was originally to be in effect from 18 March to 31 March, but has been extended four times as additional two-week "phases" over the course of two months:


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 25 October 2020, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah of Pahang rejected Prime Minister Muhyiddin's request for him to declare a state of emergency in response to a spike in COVID-19 cases throughout Malaysia.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 16 December, Prime Minister Muhyiddin invoked a state of emergency to stop by-elections scheduled to be held in the Bugaya constituency of Sabah and the Gerik constituency in Perak scheduled for January 2021. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Abdullah had assented to the request to impose the states of emergency within these two electorates in response to a third wave of infections, which had risen to a total of 86,000 cases and 422 deaths by 16 December.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 12 January 2021, King Abdullah of Pahang declared a national state of emergency until at least 1 August 2021 to curb the spread of COVID-19 and in response to a political crisis involving Prime Minister Muhyiddin's Perikatan Nasional government. Under this state of emergency, parliament and elections were suspended while the Malaysian government was empowered to introduce laws without approval.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 26 July, the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department of Parliament and Law, Takiyuddin Hassan, had announced that the emergency ordinance and its subsequent rules and guidelines had been revoked on 21 July by the federal government. However, when questioned by the opposition on whether the Yang di-Pertuan Agong's consent was given for the revocation, their calls were not answered by the government.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: Immediately after the spikes of the cases which related to the Sri Petaling Tabligh event, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced that religious, social and sports mass gatherings must be cancelled or postponed until 30 April 2020. However, the end date for the ban on mass gathering events are subject to revision depending on the situation of the outbreak. In addition, Registrar of Societies (RoS) bans all parties registered with RoS from organising any meeting and activities until 30 June 2020.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 4 February 2021, Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that Chinese New Year family reunion dinners would only be allowed at their residences among family members from the same household. These "standard operating procedures" were criticised by several politicians and public figures including Deputy national unity minister Ti Lian Ker and Member of Parliament Ong Kian Ming as "culturally insensitive" and unnecessary. The National Unity Ministry subsequently allowed Chinese New Year family reunions of 15 family members living within a 10 km radius that did not involve interstate or inter-district travel.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: Some people have been arrested for allegedly spreading false information about the COVID-19 pandemic. As of May 17, 2020, police and the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) have opened 265 investigations on COVID-19 related fake news. A total of 30 people have been charged, 11 were served with a warning notice and 18 others pleaded guilty.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 11 March 2021, the government announced the Emergency (Essential Powers) (No.2) Ordinance 2021, which states that those who spread "fake news" "by any means, with intent to cause, or which is likely to cause fear or alarm to the public" could face a fine of RM100,000 or three years imprisonment or both.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: The medical response and preparedness to the outbreak in Malaysia is overseen by Director-General of Health Noor Hisham Abdullah under the Health Ministry of three successive governments. Preparations to stockpile equipment, detect and monitor cases, and treat COVID-19 patients were reported to have been initiated as early as 6 January 2020, following a World Health Organization (WHO) report on a late-December 2019 outbreak of "pneumonia of unknown cause" in the city of Wuhan in Hubei, China.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 23 July 2020, Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that it will be compulsory for people to wear face masks in public spaces such as markets and public transportation from 1 August, with violators facing a RM1,000 (US$235) fine.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 27 April 2022, the Malaysian Government confirmed that it would lift face mask requirements for outdoor settings from early May 2022.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 7 September 2022, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin announced that face masks would be optional for most indoor spaces excluding health facilities such as hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes and public transportation.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 5 January 2020, the National Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre (CPRC) under the Ministry of Health Malaysia began operation. By early February 2020, 57 hospitals were reported to provide screening services for coronavirus, while among them, 26 government hospitals are responsible for the confirmation of coronavirus and the suspected patients. With the rapid increase of infections, a further total of 409 sites across the country have been gazetted by the federal government as quarantine zones for coronavirus patients comprising public universities, community colleges, technical institutes, former National Service (PLKN) camps, training centres, polytechnics and hotels owned by federal ministries, departments, agencies and statutory bodies. As of 2 May 2020, 5,484 beds at 40 hospitals, 3,873 beds (in addition to 2,100 beds on standby) at 26 hospital extension centres/low-risk COVID-19 centres, 422 ICU beds, and 1,059 ventilators have been allocated for COVID-19 patients.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: Based on the January 29 circular from the Malaysia Ministry of Health, foreigners in Malaysia would not have to pay for COVID-19 testing or outpatient treatment at government hospitals. This announcement was reiterated by the Director-General of Health Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah on March 23, 2020, when asked to clarify a statement made by the Prime Minister that foreigners would have to pay for COVID-19 testing.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 8 April 2020, a consortium of associated laboratories in Malaysia comprising Gribbles Pathology, Quantum Diagnostics and Clinipath Malaysia launched the country's largest COVID-19 collection and testing programme to increase testing capacity. Malaysian public universities have also been providing research and scientific capacity with 10 diagnostic laboratories at public higher learning institutions in the country nationwide have been called as part of a joint initiative by the Higher Education and Science, Technology and Innovation Ministries to help the Health Ministry in conducting coronavirus tests daily. Despite further capabilities to conduct more tests, the Health Ministry had stated that the country is yet to find its suitable rapid test kits to solve the increasing backlog of pending result cases along with the revelation that the existing supply of coronavirus reagents test kits could only last for another week which causing the Health Ministry to source from other countries including Singapore. As a response, the Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia (Hua Zong) has called on the federal government to ensure sufficient coronavirus test kit reagents for the country especially among Malaysia's eastern states of Sabah and Sarawak which are reportedly struggling to source test kit reagents.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: The Solidarity trial, launched by WHO to research and compare the safety and effectiveness of treatment protocols which included chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, interferon-beta, lopinavir/ritonavir and remdesivir, would be conducted in nine government hospitals across the country.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 3 July 2020, Minister of Health Adham Baba announced that both Malaysian citizens and foreign nationals travelling to Malaysia would be required to pay fees when undergoing COVID-19 tests under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Fee for Coronavirus Diseases 2019 (COVID-19) Detection Test) Regulations 2020, which came into effect on 29 June.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 24 December 2020, Malaysian Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob confirmed that the National Security Council would require the compulsory screening of all foreign workers from 1 January 2021 so that action can be taken against employers who refuse to have their workers tested.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: By 16 May 2021, Health Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah confirmed that intensive care unit (ICU) occupancy rates at hospitals in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang, Sarawak, Kedah, and Perak had reached 80% due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some hospitals have used up all their ICU beds to treat COVID-19 patients. As a result, Malaysian authorities have been forced to deploy military-built hospitals and field hospitals. The Health Ministry has been forced to postpone elective surgery operations while semi-emergencies have been transferred out of COVID-19 hospitals.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: By 15 July 2021, hotels were being converted into quarantine and treatment centres for low-risk COVID-19 patients due to a rapid increase in nationwide cases placing a strain on the country's hospitals. Hospitals across the country particularly the Klang Valley were also forced to turn away patients due to a shortage of intensive care unit beds and staff to adequately care for the patients. Health workers and medical professionals have reported experiencing "burn out" and compassion fatigue. The surge in cases throughout 2021 has been attributed to the government's less stringent lockdown measures and an earlier decision to allow 18 manufacturing sectors to reopen under 60% capacity, creating favourable conditions for virus outbreaks in factories and workers' dormitories.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 26 July 2021, thousands of junior doctors working on contracts went on ethical strike to protest against the government system in absorbing medical officers into a permanent position within the country's healthcare which was implemented in 2016 and also harsh working conditions including 36-hour shifts. The strike was organised anonymously after the junior doctors' grievances were not resolved. Striking doctors dressed in black marched out of several hospitals including Kuala Lumpur Hospital and Sungai Buloh Hospital. Director-General of Health Noor Hisham Abdullah urged doctors not to join the strike while police in KL confirmed they would investigate some of the organisers. The strike campaign amidst reports of overcrowding and unsanitary conditions at quarantine centres. BBC News also reported that undertakers and funeral workers were overwhelmed with requests to bury patients, many of whom had died at home.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: Between November 2020 and January 2021, the Malaysian government entered into agreements with several governments, international organizations, and companies including the Chinese government, AstraZeneca, COVAX, Pfizer, Pharmaniaga Berhad and Duopharma to procure various COVID-19 vaccine stocks for the country. In late January 2021, a COVID-19 vaccine developed by the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences' Institute of Medical Biology became the first COVID-19 vaccine trial in Malaysia.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: In early February 2021, the Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin was appointed as the Coordinating Minister for the immunization program. The COVID-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee Special Committee (JKJAV) was also established to facilitate the procurement of COVID-19 vaccine supplies for the country. On 11 February, the Special Committee on Ensuring Access to COVID-19 Vaccine Supply announced that COVID-19 vaccines would be distributed freely to both citizens and resident foreigners. The government also launched a twelve-month immunization program between 24 February 2021 and February 2022, with Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin being the first individual in Malaysia to receive the COVID-19 vaccine when it was broadcast live nationwide.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: In early September 2021, Minister of International Trade and Industry Mohamed Azmin Ali announced that Malaysia would start treating the COVID-19 pandemic as an endemic disease from late October 2021 due to a high vaccination rate.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 2 October 2021, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin confirmed that the Malaysian government was negotiating with Merck & Co to procure stocks of its antiviral molnupiravir pills for treating COVID-19.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: Under the Movement Control Order put in place on 18 March 2020, all citizens were prohibited from leaving the country while foreigners were also prohibited from entering the country.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: Since the first wave of the virus was reported, thermal scanners were introduced at border points with the Malaysian health authorities placed on high alert. After the ban on travellers from Hubei on 27 January, the Malaysian federal government extended its ban to the Chinese provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang on 9 February. The state of Sabah expanded their travel restriction to all points of entry by air, sea or land starting 8 February, involving everyone except Sabahan citizens with recent travel history to mainland China within 14 days, while Sabahan citizens with such travel history must undergo a 14-day quarantine at home. The state of Sarawak closed its borders to all Chinese visitors with immediate effect on 1 February, except for people with employment passes, student passes or long-term social visit passes. However, those visitors were required to undergo self-quarantine at home for 14 days. With the increasing cases in South Korea, both Sabah and Sarawak government began to extended its travel restrictions into the country from 1 March. On 4 March, Sarawak further added Italy and Iran into its travel restrictions list.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 5 March, Malaysia added seven regions towards its travel restriction list, which include Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia-Romagna in Italy; Hokkaido in Japan; and Tehran, Qom and Gilan in Iran. By 10 March, Sabah also began to added Italy and Iran into its restrictions list. On 11 March, Malaysia announced a full restriction on foreign nationals directly from Italy, Iran and South Korea starting from 13 March, while Malaysians from those countries will be quarantined for 14 days. Following the 13 March Denmark lockdown, Malaysia has added the country into its travel ban list effective from 14 March.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 6 April, visitors from the following regions can enter Malaysia by air exclusively: Angola, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, DR Congo, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda and Western Sahara.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 16 May, the Malaysian Government announced that it would be allowing "Malaysia My Second Home" (MM2H) programme members who were stranded overseas to return to Malaysia from 17 May. However, they must undergo testing for COVID-19 in the place that they are in and must be certified free of the coronavirus in order to enter Malaysia. They will also be quarantined for 14 days.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 1 September, Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that long-term pass holders from India, Indonesia and the Philippines would be unable to enter Malaysia due to a spike of cases in those countries effective 7 September.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 7 September, the Immigration Department banned nationals from 23 countries with a high number of COVID-19 cases including the United States, Brazil, India, Russia, Peru, Colombia, South Africa, Mexico, Spain, Argentina, Chile, Iran, Bangladesh, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, France, Turkey, Italy, Germany, Iraq, Philippines and Indonesia. The ban includes permanent residents, participants of the "Malaysia My Second Home" program, and expatriates, professional visit pass holders, the spouses of Malaysian citizens, and students.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 10 October 2021, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that all interstate and international travel restrictions has been lifted for citizens and residents fully vaccinated against COVID-19 since 90% of its adult population had been fully vaccinated. While citizens and residents of all states and territories welcomed and enjoyed this decision, Sabah is the only state that defers the application of this decision. Sabah resumes inter-district travel on 14 October and will allow interstate and international travels on 1 November.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 7 November, the United States Embassy in Kuala Lumpur confirmed that Malaysians traveling to the US could show their proof of vaccination on the MySejatera app as well as a negative COVID-19 test.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 8 November, the Malaysian and Singaporean governments reached an agreement to establish a quarantine free-travel lane for fully vaccinated travellers between Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Changi International Airport, which comes into effect on 29 November.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 28 December, the Malaysian Government lifted its travel ban on travelers from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho and Namibia; stating that the Omicron variant had spread beyond Southern Africa.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 12 January 2022, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin confirmed that travellers heading to Malaysia who are fully vaccinated and have previously contracted COVID-19 do not need to undergo mandatory quarantine. Travellers would have to present evidence that they had been fully vaccinated. Those who had been infected with COVID-19 had to present evidence they had been infected 11 to 60 days prior to travelling to Malaysia and a "fit to travel" letter from the health facility where they were treated.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 27 April 2022, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the Malaysia will remove pre-flight and on-arrival testing requirements for fully vaccinated travelers and those who have just recovered from COVID-19 beginning on May 1. Masks would remain mandatory for indoor activities and on public transport, he said.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: The Malaysian government has made the repatriation of its citizens abroad a priority; beginning with the first repatriations from China. During the first repatriation, two persons were found to be infected with the virus and were subsequently quarantined and treated in the country until they have fully recovered.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 21 March, a total of 212 Malaysians arrived from Uzbekistan through a flight sponsored by the Uzbekistan government which is also being used to repatriated Uzbek citizens in Malaysia. On that same day, 372 Malaysians departed Tamil Nadu on two chartered flights. On 22 March, it was reported that the Malaysian government was waiting for the Indian government's permission to organise six more flights to evacuate Malaysians still in India.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 31 March, Deputy Foreign Minister Kamaruddin Jaffar confirmed that 4,374 Malaysians were stranded abroad due to the travel restrictions and delays created by the global coronavirus pandemic. This figure only consists of Malaysians who had bought return tickets but were unable to return due to travel restrictions. According to Kamaruddin, 2,156 Malaysians are stranded in India, 680 in Indonesia, 337 in Thailand, 226 in Australia, 153 in New Zealand, 128 in Pakistan, and 121 in Saudi Arabia.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 5 April, Deputy Foreign Minister Kamaruddin announced that the government had brought back 4,811 stranded Malaysians from affected countries. He also upgraded the number of Malaysians stranded abroad to 2,298: 1,016 in India, 172 in Thailand, 136 in New Zealand, 128 in Pakistan, 122 in Vietnam, 83 in Saudi Arabia, 77 in Australia, 66 in the Philippines, 65 in Sri Lanka, and 43 in Nepal.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 6 May 2021, Foreign Minister Hishamuddin Hussein confirmed that the Malaysian government would begin evacuating citizens from the northern and western regions of India via New Delhi and Mumbai in response to a surge of cases in those regions.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 7 June 2020, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced that interstate travel would be allowed from 10 June except in areas classified under the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO).


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 13 June, Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that Malaysians from peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, and Labuan would be allowed to enter Sarawak without having to seek permission from the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) and take COVID-19 PCR tests prior to leaving for the state.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 15 June, the Health Minister Adham Baba proposed retaining a ban on interstate travel during the Eid al-Fitr period in response to rising cases that week.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: In March 2021, Sabah's districts were grouped into "zones" by the state government during the recovery movement control order, and travel was possible within these zones instead of just within districts. This was in part to boost domestic tourism, and was seen as successful by the government.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 8 May 2021, Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob confirmed that all interstate and inter-district travel without police approval would be banned across the country from 10 May to 6 June 2021.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 31 March 2020, the Defence Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that all Malaysians returning from overseas would have to undergo a compulsory two-week quarantine at designated quarantine centres around the country.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 5 April 2020, the Johor Immigration Department announced that Malaysians with Singaporean work permits would be required to take swab tests in Singaporean clinics and hospitals to show that they are free of the coronavirus in order to return to Johor.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 18 April, the United States Embassy in Kuala Lumpur advised US nationals in Malaysia wishing to return home to make commercial arrangements as soon as possible unless they had made plans to remain in Malaysia. The US Embassy also clarified that the United States Government was not planning to charter flights to evacuate its citizens.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 27 June, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong agreed that their governments would collaborate to establish a Periodic Commuting Arrangement (PCA) allowing residents from both nations who hold long-term immigration passes for business and work purposes in the other country to periodically return to their home countries for short-term home leave.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 14 July, Malaysian Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein and Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan announced that cross-border travel and traffic between the two countries will resume on 10 August 2020 under two schemes: the Reciprocal Green Lane (RGL) and the Periodic Commuting Arrangement (PCA). The Reciprocal Green Lane will allow essential business and official travel between the two countries while the Periodic Commuting Arrangement will allow Singaporean and Malaysian residents who hold long-term immigration business and work passes to enter for work purposes.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 23 July, Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that all travellers entering Malaysia would have to undergo mandatory quarantine at hotels and quarantine centres commencing 24 July. On 30 July, Immigration Department director-general Datuk Khairul Dzaimee warned that foreigners refusing to pay the mandatory quarantine costs of RM 4,700 would have their long-term social visa passes revoked. Malaysians only have to pay half the quarantine cost.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 13 December, the Director General of Health Noor Hisham announced that the Health Ministry has reduced the quarantine period from two weeks to 10 days for all travellers and close contacts of COVID-19 positive patients.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 30 January 2021, the Singaporean Government announced that it would suspend its reciprocal "travel bubble" agreement with Malaysia in response to a spike of cases worldwide and the emergence of new variants.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 23 March, the Singaporean and Malaysian Foreign Ministers Vivian Balakrishnan and Hishamuddin Hussein announced that the two governments plan to recognise each other's COVID-19 vaccine certificates with the goal of restoring cross-border travel in the near future. As of September 2021, the two governments have not yet reached to a conclusion on reopening borders. The Malaysian Foreign Minister, Saifuddin Abdullah said that Malaysia will continue negotiating with Singapore on border reopening.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: From September 21 onwards, fully vaccinated travellers entering Malaysia will be able to apply for home quarantine via a new portal on the Ministry of Health's website. However they will require to make a Pre-departure Covid PCR test and will have to apply 7–10 days before their intended travel.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 24 September, National Recovery Council chairman Muhyiddin Yassin confirmed that Malaysia and Singapore would recognise each other's vaccination certificates to facilitate movement between the two countries.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 24 November, the Malaysian and Singaporean governments agreed to establish a land Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) between the two countries from 29 November. Under the arrangement, 2,880 vaccinated Malaysian and Singaporean citizens, permanent residents, and long-term pass holders would be able to cross the Johor–Singapore Causeway each day.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 26 November, the Government imposed temporary travel restrictions on foreign travelers from South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe in response to the detection of a new COVID-19 variant known as the Omicron variant. Malaysian national and permanent residents will be allowed to enter Malaysia but will have to undergo 14 days of mandatory quarantine.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 8 March 2022, Prime Minister Ismail announced that Malaysia's borders would be fully reopened to all travellers from 1 April. Fully vaccinated travellers will be allowed to enter the country with having to undergo quarantine.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the Malaysian economy. By late January 2020, the Malaysian Bursa Malaysia stock market had tumbled as investors sold their stocks in response to the economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic. By February 2021, the country's gross domestic product (GDP) had shrunk 3.4% in the fourth quarter from last year. In addition, the Malaysian economy contracted contracted 5.6% for all of 2020, its worst performance since the 1998 Asian Financial Crisis.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: Numerous sectors including the entertainment, retail, hospitality, and tourism sectors were affected by various lockdown and social distancing restrictions in response to outbreaks of COVID-19 throughout 2020 and 2021. In addition, panic buying created a shortage of commodities such as surgical masks and hand sanitisers. In response, the government banned the export of facemasks and took steps to import more facemasks.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: The pandemic also drew attention to workplace safety and the exploitation of migrant workers working in Malaysian industries. In response to the emerge of COVID-19 clusters among migrant workers, the Malaysian government was forced to take steps to improve their welfare and take action against "errant" employers. By 12 March 2021, 608,093 foreign workers had been screened for COVID-19, with 9,653 testing positive.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: On 27 September 2021, Malaysia's Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the country's financial position was expected to improve in 2023, with the economy targeted to grow 4.5%-5.5% per year for the next five years. Malaysia posted average annual growth of 2.7% between 2016 and 2020, due in large part to a 5.6% contraction last year due to the outbreak of COVID-19.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: The COVID-19 pandemic led to social distancing restrictions on a wide range of activities including the registration of births, marriages, and deaths, religious gatherings, education, and sporting events. All sports and co-curricular activities in schools were postponed with immediate effects as announced by the country Ministry of Education. All sports and co-curricular activities in schools were postponed with immediate effects as announced by the country Ministry of Education.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: Due to a decline in cases in May and June 2020, most places of worship and schools were allowed to reopen under certain health and social distancing restrictions. Following a third wave of infections that began in September 2020, most places of worship and schools closed and shifted to online services and classes.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: The Malaysian Government along with various non governmental organisations (NGOs), companies, and foreign governments introduced a range of relief programs to address the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia. In 23 March, the Government allocated RM600 million to the Ministry of Health for the purchase of equipment and to hire medical personnel. It also allowed contributors of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) to withdraw up to RM500 per month for 12 months. On 27 March 2020, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin introduced an economic stimulus package known as the Prihatin ("caring package") worth RM250 billion.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: In addition to the federal government's efforts to provide financial relief to small traders, victims and frontline health staff, the 13 state governments launched their own stimulus packages and financial aid in the form of rental waivers and deferment of student loan repayments to help their citizens to cope throughout the virus outbreak. In addition, the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, and all other ministers and deputy ministers announced that they would contribute two months of their salaries to the COVID-19 Fund of Malaysia.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: Between January and March 2020, the Sabah state government and various NGOs raised aid and medical supplies for China, which was serious affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the rise in COVID-19 cases in Malaysia, the Chinese government reciprocated Malaysia's earlier help by assisting in the distribution of aid and medical supplies in Malaysia. In addition, Malaysia received aid from the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Taiwan, Turkey and the multinational corporation McDonald's.


title: COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia

text: Mercy Malaysia, the Malaysian Red Crescent Society along with various banks and telecommunications companies also provided customers with various forms of financial assistances and discounted services during the pandemic.


title: Cargo 200 (code name)

text: Cargo 200 (, "Gruz dvésti") is a military code word used in the Soviet Union and the post-Soviet states referring to the transportation of military fatalities. Officially, the term "Cargo 200" is military jargon to refer specifically to the corpses of soldiers contained in zinc-lined coffins for air transportation. Unofficially, "Cargo 200" is used to refer to all bodies of the dead being transported away from the battlefield, and has also become a euphemism for irreversible losses of manpower in a conflict.


title: Cargo 200 (code name)

text: The first appearance of "Cargo 200" is unknown, except that it came into use in the mid-1980s during the Soviet–Afghan War. The main theory of the term's origin is the Ministry of Defense of the USSR Order No. 200, issued during the on October 8, 1984, coincidentally setting the standardized maximum weight for the air transportation of a deceased soldier's body at . The term saw widespread use in the Soviet military by the late 1980s, spawning the related code words "Cargo 300" for the transportation of wounded personnel, and "Cargo 100" for the transportation of munitions.


title: Cargo 200 (code name)

text: The term "Cargo 200" has received new international attention since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014. , the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission has after two and a half years, despite their limited access to the Donbas war conflict zone, counted more than 20 vehicles with a “Cargo 200” inscription used to transport bodies of deceased Russian mercenaries and soldiers from Donbas. Cargo 200 was referenced by the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs in the name of their 200rf.com website used to publicize Russian personnel killed and captured during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.


title: Wynn Resorts

text: Wynn Resorts, Limited is an American publicly traded corporation based in Paradise, Nevada, that is a developer and operator of high-end hotels and casinos. It was founded in 2002 by former Mirage Resorts Chairman and CEO Steve Wynn, and is now run by CEO Craig Billings. , the company has developed six properties.


title: Wynn Resorts

text: In 2000, Steve Wynn agreed to sell Mirage Resorts to MGM Grand, after having led Mirage and its predecessors since 1973. Wynn laid the foundation for his next venture that same year, buying the Desert Inn for $270 million.


title: Wynn Resorts

text: Wynn found an early partner in Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada of Universal Entertainment Corporation. Wynn, together with Universal subsidiary Aruze USA, controlled almost half the stock, making it harder for outside investors to exert control, as they had done at Mirage in response to Wynn's prolific spending.


title: Wynn Resorts

text: Wynn hired investment banker Ronald Kramer as president and director in 2002 in order to help take the company public and oversee its expansion.


title: Wynn Resorts

text: Wynn Resorts made its initial public offering on NASDAQ on October 25, 2002. The company's first project, Wynn Las Vegas, opened on April 28, 2005.


title: Wynn Resorts

text: Wynn Macau, the company's second project started construction on June 28, 2004. It opened September 5, 2006 and is now the largest-grossing casino in the region.


title: Wynn Resorts

text: Encore, an extension to Wynn Las Vegas, broke ground on April 28, 2006, the first anniversary of the opening of Wynn Las Vegas. Encore at Wynn Macau, the company's second project on the Macau Peninsula, Macau, People's Republic of China, opened on April 21, 2010. A second resort in Macau, Wynn Palace in Cotai, opened August 22, 2016.


title: Wynn Resorts

text: Wynn bought in Cotai, Macau where he hoped to break ground in 2012 for Wynn Cotai for a 2013 or early 2014 opening.


title: Wynn Resorts

text: The company considered opening a casino as part of the Entertainment City development in the Philippines, but decided against it because of corruption in the country's gaming industry. Okada decided to proceed with the project alone, leading to the rupture of his partnership with Wynn. The dispute went public with reciprocal accusations of corrupt practices. Wynn and his allies accused Okada of bribing Philippines gaming regulators with over $110,000 in benefits, including free nights in a luxury suite at Wynn Las Vegas, while Okada claimed that Wynn Resorts' record $135 million donation to the University of Macau constituted a bribe. Okada resigned as vice chairman in October 2011, and the following February, after a company investigation by the Freeh Group confirmed the charges against him, the board of directors forced Aruze USA to sell back its shares at a nearly 30% discount. Aruze had been the company's largest shareholder, with a 19.7% stake.


title: Wynn Resorts

text: On September 17, 2014, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission voted to approve Wynn Resorts' proposed $1.6 billion casino to be located in Everett, Massachusetts on the Mystic River, just north of Boston. This project will be known as Encore Boston Harbor and was scheduled to open in 2019.


title: Wynn Resorts

text: On February 6, 2018, Steve Wynn resigned as CEO of the company amidst sexual allegations and was replaced by Matthew Maddox. Amid sexual harassment lawsuits involving directors, Maddox announced the planned departure of two board members, Ray Irani and Alvin Shoemaker, on March 7, 2018. The departure of Irani and Shoemaker was to reassure investors that the corporate culture was changing. In April 2018, the company nominated three women to the board of directors: Dee Dee Myers, Betsy Atkins, and Wendy Webb.


title: Wynn Resorts

text: Talks between Wynn and Crown Resorts of Australia for a $7.1 billion offer collapsed in April 2019; analysts saw the bid as an attempt to diversify away from Macau, where its license may expire in 2022.


title: Wynn Resorts

text: On May 28, 2019, Wynn paid a $ 35 million fine to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission and the $500,000 fine placed on Matthew Maddox.


title: Wynn Resorts

text: On November 9, 2021, Wynn announced that Matthew Maddox would be stepping down as CEO on January 31, 2022. Craig Billings was named as successor to Maddox. Previously, Craig Billings was the CEO of Wynn Interactive and former CFO of Wynn Resorts. Billings assumed the role of CEO effective February 1, 2022.


title: Wynn Resorts

text: The Encore in Las Vegas opened shortly after the beginning of the Great Recession. Despite the additional casino at the Encore (which added 97 tables and 857 slot machines to the original 190 tables and 2000 slots), net casino revenues for the combined resort were initially lower. Similarly, in the first quarter of 2009, net revenues of the Macau operations declined. Following the global economic recovery, performance of the Wynn properties also recovered. Wynn remained the only gaming operator to not perform mass layoffs during the recession. In 2017 CNBC reported that Wynn's stock was up 44% for the year and that Wynn's Macau operations were the leading US-based resorts there. In order to be able to resume operations of the hotel and casino despite the pandemic, Matt Maddox, CEO of Wynn Resorts, is requiring that all employees who choose not to receive a COVID-19 vaccination be tested weekly for the virus.


title: Contrast (vision)

text: Contrast is the contradiction in luminance or colour that makes an object (or its representation in an image or display) distinguishable. In visual perception of the real world, contrast is determined by the difference in the colour and brightness of the object and other objects within the same field of view. The human visual system is more sensitive to contrast than absolute luminance; we can perceive the world similarly regardless of the huge changes in illumination over the day or from place to place. The maximum "contrast" of an image is the contrast ratio or dynamic range. Images with a contrast ratio close to their medium's maximum possible contrast ratio experience a "conservation of contrast", wherein any increase in contrast in some parts of the image must necessarily result in a decrease in contrast elsewhere. Brightening an image will increase contrast in dark areas but decrease contrast in bright areas, while darkening the image will have the opposite effect. Bleach bypass destroys contrast in both the darkest and brightest parts of an image while enhancing luminance contrast in areas of intermediate brightness.


title: Contrast (vision)

text: According to Campbell and Robson (1968), the human contrast sensitivity function shows a typical band-pass filter shape peaking at around 4 cycles per degree, with sensitivity dropping off either side of the peak. That finding has led many to claim that the human visual system is most sensitive in detecting contrast differences occurring at 4 cycles per degree. However, the claim of frequency sensitivity is problematic given, for example, that changes of distance do not seem to affect the relevant perceptual patterns (as noted, for example, in the figure caption to Solomon and Pelli (1994) While the latter authors are referring specifically to letters, they make no objective distinction between these and other shapes. The relative insensitivity of contrast effects to distance (and thus spatial frequency) may also be observed by casual inspection of a paradigmantic sweep grating, as may be observed here


title: Contrast (vision)

text: The high-frequency cut-off represents the optical limitations of the visual system's ability to resolve detail and is typically about 60 cycles per degree. The high-frequency cut-off is related to the packing density of the retinal photoreceptor cells: a finer matrix can resolve finer gratings.


title: Contrast (vision)

text: The low frequency drop-off is due to lateral inhibition within the retinal ganglion cells. A typical retinal ganglion cell presents a centre region with either excitation or inhibition and a surround region with the opposite sign. By using coarse gratings, the bright bands fall on the inhibitory as well as the excitatory region of the ganglion cell resulting in lateral inhibition and account for the low-frequency drop-off of the human contrast sensitivity function.


title: Contrast (vision)

text: One experimental phenomenon is the inhibition of blue in the periphery if blue light is displayed against white, leading to a yellow surrounding. The yellow is derived from the inhibition of blue on the surroundings by the center. Since white minus blue is red and green, this mixes to become yellow.


title: Contrast (vision)

text: For example, in the case of graphical computer displays, contrast depends on the properties of the picture source or file and the properties of the computer display, including its variable settings. For some screens the angle between the screen surface and the observer's line of sight is also important.


title: Contrast (vision)

text: There are many possible definitions of contrast. Some include color; others do not. Travnikova laments, "Such a multiplicity of notions of contrast is extremely inconvenient. It complicates the solution of many applied problems and makes it difficult to compare the results published by different authors."


title: Contrast (vision)

text: Various definitions of contrast are used in different situations. Here, luminance contrast is used as an example, but the formulas can also be applied to other physical quantities. In many cases, the definitions of contrast represent a ratio of the type


title: Contrast (vision)

text: The rationale behind this is that a small difference is negligible if the average luminance is high, while the same small difference matters if the average luminance is low (see Weber–Fechner law). Below, some common definitions are given.


title: Contrast (vision)

text: with formula_3 and formula_4 representing the luminance of the features and the background, respectively. The measure is also referred to as "Weber fraction", since it is the term that is constant in Weber's Law. Weber contrast is commonly used in cases where small features are present on a large uniform background, i.e., where the average luminance is approximately equal to the background luminance.


title: Contrast (vision)

text: Michelson contrast (also known as the "visibility") is commonly used for patterns where both bright and dark features are equivalent and take up similar fractions of the area (e.g. sine-wave gratings). The Michelson contrast is defined as


title: Contrast (vision)

text: with formula_6 and formula_7 representing the highest and lowest luminance. The denominator represents twice the average of the maximum and minimum luminances.


title: Contrast (vision)

text: This form of contrast is an effective way to quantify contrast for periodic functions "f"("x") and is also known as the modulation "m" of a periodic signal "f". Modulation quantifies the relative amount by which the amplitude (or difference) ("f" − "f")/2 of "f" stands out from the average value (or background) ("f" + "f")/2. In general, "m" refers to the contrast of the periodic signal "f" relative to its average value. If "m" = 0, then "f" has no contrast. If two periodic functions "f" and "g" have the same average value, then "f" has more contrast than "g" if "m" > "m".


title: Contrast (vision)

text: Root mean square (RMS) contrast does not depend on the angular frequency content or the spatial distribution of contrast in the image. RMS contrast is defined as the standard deviation of the pixel intensities:


title: Contrast (vision)

text: where intensities formula_9 are the formula_10-th formula_11-th element of the two-dimensional image of size formula_12 by formula_13. formula_14 is the average intensity of all pixel values in the image. The image formula_3 is assumed to have its pixel intensities normalized in the range formula_16.


title: Contrast (vision)

text: "Contrast sensitivity" is a measure of the ability to discern between luminances of different levels in a static image. Contrast sensitivity varies between individuals, reaching a maximum at approximately 20 years of age, and at angular frequencies of about 2–5 cycles per degree. In addition it can decline with age and also due to other factors such as cataracts and diabetic retinopathy.


title: Contrast (vision)

text: Visual acuity is a parameter that is frequently used to assess overall vision. However, diminished contrast sensitivity may cause decreased visual function in spite of normal visual acuity. For example, some individuals with glaucoma may achieve 20/20 vision on acuity exams, yet struggle with activities of daily living, such as driving at night.


title: Contrast (vision)

text: As mentioned above, contrast sensitivity describes the ability of the visual system to distinguish bright and dim components of a static image. Visual acuity can be defined as the angle with which one can resolve two points as being separate since the image is shown with 100% contrast and is projected onto the fovea of the retina. Thus, when an optometrist or ophthalmologist assesses a patient’s visual acuity using a Snellen chart or some other acuity chart, the target image is displayed at high contrast, e.g., black letters of decreasing size on a white background. A subsequent contrast sensitivity exam may demonstrate difficulty with decreased contrast (using, e.g., the Pelli-Robson chart, which consists of uniform-sized but increasingly pale grey letters on a white background).


title: Contrast (vision)

text: To assess a patient’s contrast sensitivity, one of several diagnostic exams may be used. Most charts in an ophthalmologist’s or optometrist's office will show images of varying contrast and angular frequency. Parallel bars of varying width and contrast, known as sine-wave gratings, are sequentially viewed by the patient. The width of the bars and their distance apart represent angular frequency, measured in cycles per degree (cpd or cyc/deg).


title: Contrast (vision)

text: Studies have demonstrated that medium-level angular frequency, approximately 5–7 cycles per degree, is optimally detected by most individuals, compared with low- or high-level angular frequencies. The contrast threshold can be defined as the minimum contrast that can be resolved by the patient. The contrast sensitivity is equal to 1/contrast-threshold.


title: Contrast (vision)

text: Using the results of a contrast sensitivity exam, a contrast sensitivity curve can be plotted, with angular frequency on the horizontal, and contrast threshold on the vertical axis. Also known as contrast sensitivity function (CSF), the plot demonstrates the normal range of contrast sensitivity, and will indicate diminished contrast sensitivity in patients who fall below the normal curve. Some graphs contain “contrast sensitivity acuity equivalents”, with lower acuity values falling in the area under the curve. In patients with normal visual acuity and concomitant reduced contrast sensitivity, the area under the curve serves as a graphical representation of the visual deficit. It can be because of this impairment in contrast sensitivity that patients have difficulty driving at night, climbing stairs and other activities of daily living in which contrast is reduced.


title: Contrast (vision)

text: Recent studies have demonstrated that intermediate-frequency sinusoidal patterns are optimally-detected by the retina due to the center-surround arrangement of neuronal receptive fields. In an intermediate angular frequency, the peak (brighter bars) of the pattern is detected by the center of the receptive field, while the troughs (darker bars) are detected by the inhibitory periphery of the receptive field. For this reason, low- and high-angular frequencies elicit excitatory and inhibitory impulses by overlapping frequency peaks and troughs in the center and periphery of the neuronal receptive field. Other environmental, physiologic and anatomical factors influence the neuronal transmission of sinusoidal patterns, including adaptation.


title: Contrast (vision)

text: Decreased contrast sensitivity arises from multiple etiologies, including retinal disorders such as Age-Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD), amblyopia, lens abnormalities, such as cataract, and by higher-order neural dysfunction, including stroke and Alzheimer's disease. In light of the multitude of etiologies leading to decreased contrast sensitivity, contrast sensitivity tests are useful in the characterization and monitoring of dysfunction, and less helpful in detection of disease.


title: Tales of Mystery and Imagination (Alan Parsons Project album)

text: Tales of Mystery and Imagination (Edgar Allan Poe) is the debut studio album by British rock band The Alan Parsons Project. It was released on 25 June 1976 in the United Kingdom by Charisma Records. The lyrical and musical themes of the album, which are retellings of horror stories and poetry by Edgar Allan Poe, attracted a cult audience. The title of the album is taken from the title of a collection of Poe's macabre stories of the same name.


text: Musicians featured on the album include vocalists Arthur Brown of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown on "The Tell Tale Heart", John Miles on "The Cask of Amontillado" and "(The System of) Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether", and Terry Sylvester of The Hollies on "To One in Paradise". The complete line-up of bands Ambrosia and Pilot play on the record, along with keyboardist Francis Monkman of Curved Air and Sky.


text: "Tales of Mystery and Imagination" peaked at #38 on "Billboard"'s Pop Albums chart. The song "(The System Of) Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether" peaked at No. 37 on the Pop Singles chart, and No. 62 in Canada.


text: "The Raven" features actor Leonard Whiting on lead vocals, with Alan Parsons performing vocals through an EMI vocoder. According to the album's liner notes, "The Raven" was the first rock song to feature a digital vocoder. The prelude section of "The Fall of the House of Usher", although uncredited, is taken verbatim from the opera fragment "La chute de la maison Usher" by Claude Debussy which was composed between 1908 and 1917. "The Fall of the House of Usher" is an instrumental suite which runs more than 16 minutes and takes up most of Side 2 of the recording.


text: The album's cover art was made by Hipgnosis. Storm Thorgerson said that Eric Woolfson and Parsons wanted a "classy" design, including a book of lyrics, lengthy credits and a chronology of Poe's life. He described the recurring image of the "taped" man:


text: Poe was preoccupied with entombment. Many of his characters have been incarcerated in some form or other - in coffins, brick walls or under floorboards. We came up with the 'taped' man - a mummy-like figure who is wrapped, not in bandages, but in 2" recording tape. This motif is partially horror-like, as well as being 'entombed', and the 2" tape appropriately suggests that the album is done by a producer in a studio, as opposed to a band recording material they will play on stage. Although the clients were intrigued by this idea they did not desire a pictorial cover but preferred instead a precise graphic representation. The narrow strip of illustration from George [Hardie] shows a long shadow of the taped man.


text: The booklet (attached to the inside of the cover) is composed of photos related to the songs, and line drawings which explore the taped man as he thrashes about in his restricted world and strives to unravel himself. The illustrated capital letters continue the idea. The layout and drawings are by Colin Elgie. The sleeve is one of our better attempts at combining photographs and illustration.


text: Critical reaction to the album was mixed: "Rolling Stone's" Billy Altman concluded it did not completely accurately reproduce Poe's tension and macabre fear, ending by saying "devotees of Gothic literature will have to wait for someone with more of the macabre in their blood for a truer musical reading of Poe's often terrifying works." Nonetheless, the album has still garnered somewhat of a cult status amongst Alan Parsons Project fans. In July 2010, the album was named as one of "Classic Rock magazine's "50 Albums That Built Prog Rock".


text: Originally simply called "The Alan Parsons Project", the album was successful enough to achieve gold status. The identity of The Alan Parsons Project as a group was cemented on the second album, "I Robot", in 1977.


text: The original version of the album was available for several years on vinyl and cassette, but was not immediately available on CD (the CD technology not being commercially available until 1982).


text: In 1987, Parsons completely remixed the album, including additional keyboard and guitar passages and narration (by Orson Welles) as well as updating the production style to include heavy reverb and the gated reverb snare drum sound, which was popular in the 1980s. He also made the end of side A segue into the start of side B due to the remix of the album being released when CD’s were commercially available, thus no need to stop playback to change sides. The CD notes that Welles never met Parsons or Eric Woolfson, but sent a tape to them of the performance shortly after the album was manufactured in 1976.


text: The first passage narrated by Welles on the 1987 remix (which comes before the first track, "A Dream Within a Dream") is sourced from an obscure nonfiction piece by Poe – No XVI of his "Marginalia" (from 1845 to 1849 Edgar Allan Poe titled some of his reflections and fragmentary material "Marginalia.") The second passage Welles reads (which comes before "The Fall of the House of Usher" (Prelude), seems to be a partial paraphrase or composite from nonfiction by Poe, chiefly from a collection of poems titled "Poems of Youth" by Poe (contained in "Introduction to Poems – 1831" in a section titled "Letter to Mr. B-----------"; the "Shadows of shadows passing" part of the quote comes from the "Marginalia".


text: In 1994, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MFSL) released the original 1976 version on CD (UDCD-606), making the original available digitally for the first time.


text: In 2007, a Deluxe Edition released by Universal Music included both the 1976 and the 1987 versions remastered by Alan Parsons during 2006 with eight additional bonus tracks.


text: In 2016, a 40th Anniversary Edition 3CD/1BD was released, featuring both 2007 Deluxe Edition CDs, a third disc with demos, outtakes, and other tracks, and a Blu-ray featuring a 5.1 surround sound version of the album remixed by Alan Parsons in 2016.


text: A variant of the song "The Raven" appears on the Eric Woolfson album "Edgar Allan Poe" (2009), which contains the complete music from Woolfson's 2003 stage musical of the same name. The variant track does not appear on Woolfson's 2003 CD "", which was a highly abridged version of the stage musical. On the variant, the bass line and keyboard chords of the original "Tales of Mystery and Imagination" track are heard, but they are quieter, do not feature a vocoder, and instead of an abridged version of the Poe poem being sung, the Woolfson version features a fuller spoken dramatic reading of the poem. The Alan Parsons album "A Valid Path" includes "A Recurring Dream Within a Dream", a composite of "A Dream Within a Dream" and "The Raven" incorporating electronic music influences.


text: Orson Welles' narration does not appear on the original 1976 mix of the album. It does, however, on the 1987 remix: specifically on "A Dream Within a Dream", and on the extended Prelude of "The Fall of the House of Usher".


title: Black Leopard, Red Wolf

text: Black Leopard, Red Wolf is a 2019 fantasy novel by Jamaican writer Marlon James. It is the first book of the "Dark Star Trilogy". The novel draws on African history and mythology, blended into the landscape of the North Kingdom and the South Kingdom, and the political tensions between these two warring states, as well as various city-states and tribes in the surrounding landscape. The rights to produce a film adaptation were purchased by Michael B. Jordan in February 2019 prior to release of the book.


title: Black Leopard, Red Wolf

text: The plot is narrated in flashbacks with non-chronological episodes. In a frame story, a man named Tracker recounts his tale to prison interrogators from the South Kingdom. Once Tracker has identified someone’s scent, he can follow them anywhere. As a young adult, he abandons his abusive grandfather and returns to the Ku tribe, home of his extended family. He meets a shapeshifter known as Leopard and a young Ku man named Kava, with whom Tracker begins a sexual relationship. They rescue mingi children, who are born with birth defects and/or strange powers. These children are cared for by the Sangoma, an anti-witch.


title: Black Leopard, Red Wolf

text: On one mission to rescue children, Tracker is caught by a flesh-eating monster named Asanbosam. He and Leopard kill the creature and escape. Kava betrays the Sangoma. She and most of the children are killed, but she is able to place a protective enchantment on Tracker before she dies. Tracker leaves the surviving mingi children with the Gangatom tribe and sets out on his own.


title: Black Leopard, Red Wolf

text: Years later, in the city of Malakal, Tracker is hired to find a mysterious boy. The boy was abducted from the home of Basu Fumanguru, an elder in the city of Kongor. Basu and his family were all killed, and the boy is the sole survivor. He is now being held captive by a group of monsters. His captors include an Ipundulu, a vampire who drains his victims and replaces their blood with lightning, as well as Sasabonsam, brother of Asambosam. In addition to Tracker, members of this expedition include Leopard; Leopard’s bowman and lover Fumeli; Nyka, a man who previously betrayed Tracker by selling him into slavery; Nsaka, a mercenary and Nyka’s lover; Sadogo, a giant; Bunshi, a river spirit; and Sogolon, the Moon Witch, a sorceress who is hunted by the spirits of those she has killed.


title: Black Leopard, Red Wolf

text: The expedition falls apart almost immediately. Nsaka and Nyka leave the group early. The remaining group members survive a trip through the Darklands, a forest where time flows abnormally. They reunite in the city of Kongor. Tracker and a city prefect named Mossi learn that the boy is the son of Lissisolo, King Kwash Dara’s sister, and thus the true heir to the throne. The boy’s captors are using the nineteen doors, magical portals, to traverse the North Kingdom. Kwash Dara and his necromancer the Aesi want to kill the child to protect their claim to the throne.