IN: Women in Syria constitute 49.4% of Syria's population, and are active participants not only in everyday life, but also in the socio-political fields. Notable examples are president Assad's chief political and media adviser, Bouthaina Shaaban, who also held office as Minister of Expatriates from 2002 and 2008, and Hadiya Khalaf Abbas, the officially elected speaker of the People's Council of Syria and the first woman to have held that position. Whatsoever, the Syrian Civil War put a new obstacle on Syrian women, forcing them to face increasing levels of violence, including war rape, and traditional abusive practices such as honor killings which occur in rural areas and areas held by extremist terrorists.

With the Syrian Civil War, the Kurdish populated area in Northern Syria has gained de facto autonomy as the Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava, with the leading political actor being the progressive Democratic Union Party (PYD). Kurdish women have several armed and non-armed organizations in Rojava, and enhancing women's rights is a major focus of the political and societal agenda. Kurdish female fighters in the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) played a key role during the Siege of Kobani and in rescuing Yazidis trapped on Mount Sinjar, and their achievements have attracted international attention as a rare example of strong female achievement in a region in which women are heavily repressed. The civil laws of Syria are valid in Rojava, as far as they do not conflict with the Constitution of Rojava. One notable example for amendment is personal status law, in Syria still Sharia-based, where Rojava introduced civil law and proclaims absolute equality of women under the law and a ban on forced marriage as well as polygamy was introduced, while underage marriage was outlawed as well. For the first time in Syrian history, civil marriage is being allowed and promoted, a significant move towards a secular open society and intermarriage between people of different religious backgrounds. The legal efforts to reduce cases of underage marriage, polygamy and honor killings are underpinned by comprehensive public awareness campaigns. In every town and village, a women's house is established. These are community centers run by women, providing services to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and other forms of harm. These services include counseling, family mediation, legal support, and coordinating safe houses for women and children. Classes on economic independence and social empowerment programs are also held at women's houses. All administrative organs in Rojava are required to have male and female co-chairs, and forty percent of the members of any governing body in Rojava must be female. An estimated 25 percent of the Asayish police force of the Rojava cantons are women, and joining the Asayish is described in international media as a huge act of personal and societal liberation from an extremely patriarchical background, for ethnic Kurdish and ethnic Arab women alike. The PYD's political agenda of "trying to break the honor-based religious and tribal rules that confine women" is controversial in conservative quarters of society.
QUESTION: Is there conflict in the north?
IN: Hillary was born to Percival Augustus and Gertrude (nee Clark) Hillary in Auckland, New Zealand, on 20 July 1919. His family moved to Tuakau, south of Auckland, in 1920, after his father, who served at Gallipoli with the 15th (North Auckland) Regiment, was allocated land there. His grandparents had emigrated from Yorkshire to northern Wairoa in the mid-19th century.

Hillary married Louise Mary Rose on 3 September 1953, soon after the ascent of Everest; he admitted he was terrified of proposing to her and relied on her mother to propose on his behalf. They had three children: Peter (born 1954), Sarah (born 1955) and Belinda (1959-1975). In 1975 while en route to join Hillary in the village of Phaphlu, where he was helping to build a hospital, Louise and Belinda were killed in a plane crash near Kathmandu airport shortly after take-off. In 1989 he married June Mulgrew, the widow of his close friend Peter Mulgrew, who died on Air New Zealand Flight 901 in 1979. His son Peter Hillary also became a climber, summiting Everest in 1990. In May 2002 Peter climbed Everest as part of a 50th anniversary celebration; Jamling Tenzing Norgay (son of Tenzing who had died in 1986) was also part of the expedition. Hillary's home for most of his life was a property on Remuera Road in Auckland City, where he enjoyed reading adventure and science fiction novels in his retirement. He also built a bach at Whites Beach, one of Auckland's west coast beaches in the former Waitakere City, between Anawhata and North Piha; a friend called it Hillary's place of solace, where he could escape media attention. The Hillary family has had a connection with the west coast of Auckland since 1925, when Louise's father built a bach at Anawhata. The family donated land at Whites Beach that is now crossed by trampers on the Hillary Trail, named for Edmund. Hillary said of the area: "That is the thing that international travel brings home to me - it's always good to be going home. This is the only place I want to live in; this is the place I want to see out my days."
QUESTION: what about the other children?
IN: Nieuwendyk was born September 10, 1966 in Oshawa, Ontario, and grew up in Whitby. He is the youngest of four children to Gordon and Joanne Nieuwendyk, who immigrated to Canada from the Netherlands in 1958. Gordon owned a car repair shop in Whitby. Joe grew up in a sporting family.

The Stars immediately signed Nieuwendyk to a new deal worth US$11.3 million over five years. Bob Gainey, the team's general manager, hoped that the acquisition of Nieuwendyk would help the franchise, which had relocated from Minnesota three years previous, establish its place in Dallas. Nieuwendyk scored 14 goals and 32 points in 52 games with the Stars to finish the 1995-96 season. Nieuwendyk improved to 30 goals in 1996-97 despite missing the first month of the season with fractured rib cartilage. A 39-goal season followed, but he was again sidelined by injury after appearing in only one game of the 1998 Stanley Cup playoffs. In the opening game of the Stars' first-round series against the San Jose Sharks, he suffered a torn ACL as a result of a check by Bryan Marchment. The injury required two knee surgeries to repair and six months to heal, which caused him to miss the beginning of the 1998-99 NHL season. He finished the regular season with 28 goals and 55 points in 67 games, and added 11 goals and 10 assists in the 1999 Stanley Cup playoffs to help the Stars win the first Stanley Cup in their franchise history. Six of his playoff goals were game winners, and he was voted the winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player of the playoffs. Injuries again limited Nieuwendyk in 1999-2000. He missed ten games due to a bruised chest then suffered a separated shoulder a week after his return that kept him out of the lineup for several weeks. He played only 47 regular season games, but added 23 more in the playoffs as the Stars reached the 2000 Stanley Cup Finals. They lost the series in six games to the New Jersey Devils, however. Nieuwendyk played in his 1,000th career game on January 20, 2002, against the Chicago Blackhawks. Two months later, on March 19, 2002, he was traded to the Devils, along with Jamie Langenbrunner, in exchange for Jason Arnott, Randy McKay and a first round selection in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.
QUESTION:
How long did he play for them