Challenges in definition.

Definition of a mountain.

Many mountains, in addition to their highest point or peak, will also have subsidiary subpeaks. Generally, the topographic prominence of a peak or subpeak, as well as the general topography, all come into consideration when determining whether such apexes are considered to be independent peaks or subpeaks. Although objective criteria have been proposed for distinguishing peaks from subpeaks, there is no widely agreed standard. In 1994, the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA) classified 82 mountain peaks in the Alps whose summits were at least above sea level and with at least of topographic prominence over any adjacent mountain pass or col, as a distinct peak.

Verification of unclimbed status.

It can be difficult sometimes to determine whether or not a mountain peak has been fully summited. Long before modern mountaineering commenced in the middle of the 19th century, evidence indicates that people did indeed travel up to the summits or near to the summits of major mountain peaks. Archaeological excavations in the Andes have shown that humans travelled up to in pre-historic times. Permanent settlements as high as were established as far back as 12,000 years ago in the Andes. In the Greater Himalaya region, Lhasa, in Tibet, sitting at has been permanently occupied since the 7th century and many smaller settlements across the Greater Himalaya thrive at elevations exceeding. With humans living at high elevations for many millennia, nearby peaks to such settlements may or may not have been summited at some point in the past. However, many regions away from settlements may never have been explored, especially since some high peaks in the Greater Ranges are so remote that they were unknown to local inhabitants until they were sighted by European explorers.  The world's third tallest peak, Kangchenjunga, has been summited a number of times, but after the first climbers of the peak agreed to honor the wishes of locals and not set foot on the topmost part of the mountain, succeeding mountaineering parties may have followed this tradition. Similarly, Nanda Devi has also been climbed but the topmost summit was not ascended and the primary summit is now off limits to climbers. Machapuchare had only one summit attempt back in 1957 when climbers came within of the summit; Nepal then banned future attempts.

Gangkhar Puensum.

The mountain most widely claimed to be the highest unclimbed mountain in the world in terms of elevation is Gangkhar Puensum (). It is in Bhutan, on or near the border with China. In Bhutan, the climbing of mountains higher than has been prohibited since 1994. The rationale for this prohibition is based on local customs that consider this and similar peaks to be the sacred homes of protective deities and spirits, and the lack of high-altitude rescue resources from any locale closer than India. The prohibition was further expanded in 2003 when mountaineering of any kind was disallowed entirely within Bhutan. Gangkhar Puensum will likely remain unclimbed so long as the government of Bhutan prohibits it.

Highest unclimbed non-prohibited peak.

It is unclear which is the highest unclimbed non-prohibited mountain. While some recognize only peaks with of topographical prominence as individual summits, the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation uses a cutoff for determining individual summits. Based on the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation's criteria, Muchu Chhish ( with a prominence of ) in Pakistan is currently the world's tallest that has not been climbed even though it is legal to do so. Other unclimbed summits include one on the massif known as Kabru ( prominence c. ), Labuche Kang III/East () with prominence of and Karjiang ( with a prominence of ).

Most prominent unclimbed peak.

Unclimbed candidates with high topographic prominence are by definition independent mountains, but some have relatively modest elevations. With such peaks there is a greater possibility of undocumented ascents, perhaps occurring long ago.  As of mid-2014 Sauyr Zhotasy (, prominence of ), the highpoint in the Saur Range on the border between Kazakhstan and China, and Mount Siple (, prominence of ) on Siple Island off the coast of Antarctica, have no record of successful ascents. The unclimbed status of each of these peaks is difficult to confirm, although Mount Siple in particular is remote, uninhabited (and without any nearby habitation), and seldom visited. The most recent remaining most prominent mountain summited (with a prominence of ) was in June of 2014 in the Finisterre Range of Papua New Guinea.

List of highest unclimbed peaks.

The following peaks, with a minimum prominence of, were thought to be unclimbed as of August 2018.  Mountains with prominence over 300m in bold.

An unclimbed mountain is a mountain peak that has yet to be climbed to the top. Determining which unclimbed peak is highest is often a matter of controversy. In some parts of the world, surveying and mapping are still unreliable. There are no comprehensive records of the routes of explorers, mountaineers, and local inhabitants. In some cases, even modern ascents by larger parties have been poorly documented and, with no universally recognized listing, the best that can be achieved in determining the world's highest unclimbed peaks is somewhat speculative. Most sources indicate that Gangkhar Puensum () in Bhutan or on the Bhutan–China border is the tallest mountain in the world that has yet to be fully summited. Gangkhar Puensum has been off limits to climbers since 1994 when Bhutan prohibited all mountaineering above due to spiritual/religious beliefs.


Plot.

Reporter Ángela Vidal (Manuela Velasco) and her cameraman Pablo are covering the night shift in one of Barcelona's local fire stations for the documentary television series "While You're Sleeping". While they are recording, the firehouse receives a call about an old woman, Mrs. Izquierdo, who is trapped in her apartment and screaming. Ángela and Pablo accompany two of the firefighters, Álex and Manu, to the apartment building, where two police officers are waiting. As they approach, the old woman becomes aggressive and attacks one of the officers, biting his neck. As they carry the injured officer downstairs, they find the building residents gathered in the lobby. The police and military have sealed off the building and trapped them inside.  As people begin to panic, Álex, who remained upstairs with the old woman, is thrown over the staircase railings and critically injured. Mrs. Izquierdo then kills a girl, and the remaining officer, Sergio, is forced to shoot her. Ángela and Pablo begin interviewing the residents. One of the interviewees is a sick little girl named Jennifer. Her mother Mari Carmen claims she has tonsillitis, and says her dog, Max, is at the vet because he is sick as well. A health inspector in a hazmat suit arrives and attempts to treat the injured until they suddenly become preternaturally aggressive. After the injured are locked in the building's textile warehouse, the health inspector explains that they are infected with a virus similar to rabies, and that the disease was traced back to a dog in the apartment building, and Ángela realizes it must be Max. When the residents confront Mari Carmen, Jennifer turns, vomits blood at her mother's face and flees upstairs. Sergio handcuffs Mari Carmen to the stairs and proceeds upstairs with Manu and Pablo. They find Jennifer but she bites Sergio, who tells the others to leave him. Manu and Pablo find the remaining residents running upstairs as the infected in the warehouse have broken down the door. Gradually, the rest of the apartment's residents are bitten and infected.  Ángela, Pablo and Manu, the three survivors, find a key that will allow them to escape from the building via a large drain in the basement that is connected to the sewers. Manu is bitten outside the apartment of the key's location, forcing Ángela and Pablo to take refuge in the penthouse. They discover a tape recorder which explains that the penthouse owner, an agent of the Vatican, was charged with the task of isolating an enzyme carried by a young Portuguese girl named Tristana Medeiros, whose symptoms suggest a demonic possession. As the agent attempted to treat Medeiros, the enzyme mutated and became contagious. The agent then sealed Tristana in the house to die of starvation. An infected boy within the attic damages the light on Pablo's camera, requiring Pablo to activate the camera's night vision. A now-ghoulish Tristana emerges and searches the penthouse for food. Ángela and Pablo try to escape, but Pablo is killed by Tristana and drops the camera. Ángela then picks it up and looks through the screen. Seeing Tristana eating Pablo, she panics, trips and drops the camera. The camera continues to record as Ángela is dragged into the darkness screaming.

Production.

Balagueró and Plaza had previously directed the 2002 documentary "OT: la película".

Release.

The film premiered in August 2007 at the 64th Venice International Film Festival, out of competition, in the opening and closing films sessions. It was also shown in October 2007 at the Sitges Film Festival and the Málaga International Week of Fantastic Cinema in November 2007, before going on general release in Spain later that month.  The film was also shown in February 2008 at the Glasgow Film Festival and the co-directors participated in a corresponding interview in which they revealed their influences during the creation of the cinema work: "Our main reference was TV; was not other films, or a tradition of previous features. I think the main influence for us was TV. What we wanted was to build a classic horror story, but, ahh, telling it in the way of a TV show." "REC" was then released in the United Kingdom in April 2008 and a North American DVD release occurred in 2009.

Reception.

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports an 89% approval rating based on 37 reviews, with an average rating of 7.52/10. The site's consensus states: "Plunging viewers into the nightmarish hellscape of an apartment complex under siege, "[Rec]" proves that found footage can still be used as an effective delivery mechanism for sparse, economic horror."  Reviewing the film for the BBC, Jamie Russell called it "A runaway rollercoaster of a fright flick", praising the "faux-docu handheld style", and the sense of claustrophobia and confusion, claiming that ""[Rec]" will definitely jangle the nerves"; however, Russell criticised the lack of substance and a "one-dimensional" supporting cast. Bloody Disgusting awarded the film four-and-a-half stars out of five, with the reviewer writing, ""[REC]" has it all and is probably one of the best Spanish horror films in recent memory." "Bloody Disgusting" later ranked the film eleventh in their list of the 'Top 20 Horror Films of the Decade', with the article stating: "Out of all the'shaky-cam' films... this one is arguably the best." In the early 2010s, "Time Out" conducted a poll with several authors, directors, actors, and critics who have worked within the horror genre to vote for their top horror films. "Rec" placed at number 54 on their top 100 list.

Sequels.

The sequel "Rec 2" premiered in September 2009 at the 66th Venice International Film Festival, and was commercially released in Spain in October of the same year. The second installment portrays the events that immediately follow the end of the first film. Actress Manuela Velasco's role of Ángela Vidal returned in the sequels "Rec 2" and "".  "" is the third installment of the series and was released in Spanish theaters on 30 March 2012. The conclusion of the franchise, "", was released in 2014, first being screened at the Toronto Film Festival and later in Spain at the Sitges Film Festival on 3 October before being released in cinemas on 31 October.

Rec (stylized as [•REC]; short for "record") is a 2007 Spanish found-footage horror film co-written and directed by Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza. The film centers on a reporter and her cameraman covering a firefighter intervention in an apartment building in Barcelona. As the situation escalates, after some of the building's occupants show animalistic and murderous behavior, the reporter and cameraman find themselves confined inside the perilous building.


History.

Škoda Works.

Count Waldstein established a metallurgical factory in Pilsen in 1859. Starting with 100 employees, the factory was making products for breweries, sugar mills, mines, as well as steam engines and railway products. The factory was bought by its chief engineer Emil Škoda in 1869. By the end of the century, Škoda Works became one of the largest enterprises in Europe, focusing mainly on the production of heavy arms and heavy ship components.  Apart from military production, the Works were also producing a number of rolling stock components by the end of the 19th century: wheels, axles, hoops and steam engines. During the first world war the company started refurbishing locomotives. By 1918, the company had 35.000 employees and a debilitating debt accrued due to unpaid military deliveries to the Central Powers as well as unpaid pre-war loan that the company provided to China.

Locomotive factory.

As a part of its shift towards non-military production, the Works earmarked a portion of its facilities for manufacturing of locomotives. The production started following an order for 30 locomotives for Czechoslovakia. The first Škoda locomotive left the factory on 11 June 1920. Meanwhile, Škoda gained a major contract for production of 80 and refurbishment of 500 locomotives for Romania. Due to the Romanian order Škoda regained banks' confidence which provided the company with financing to survive through the immediate post-war years. The locomotive factory became one of the company's main pillars.  The company produced its 100th locomotive on 13 September 1921. In 1927 Škoda produced its first express electric locomotive which was followed by the introduction of electric freight locomotives. While electric locomotives were used on electrified lines within Prague, the company further produced electric locomotives with batteries for use within factory areas. Also in 1927, Škoda started production of diesel locomotives and diesel express trains. In the 1930s, the locomotive factory was producing on average 3 locomotives a month with third of the production for export.  Meanwhile in another factory building situated in Pilsen, Škoda started producing electrical propulsion units for trams in the early 1920s. In 1936 the company started producing trolleybuses.  Production of locomotives as well as trolleybuses continued during the company's period of nationalization after the WW2. After fall of communism in 1989, Škoda Works were transformed into a joint stock company, the assets of which were later diversified into several separate entities, among them also Škoda Dopravní Technika s. r. o. which included the rolling stock factory in Pilsen and which was renamed to Škoda Transportation in 2004.  In the early 1990s, the company started working also on refurbishment of trams, which was followed by introduction of its first own tram design in 1997, the low-floor Škoda 03 T.

Škoda Transportation.

The Czech Republic sold Škoda Transportation to private owners in 2002. While in private hands, the company extended its reach by purchasing stock in other companies that are active in production and R&D of rolling stock in Europe. Today, Škoda Transportation group of companies is one of the world's largest manufacturers of trams and propulsion units for trolleybuses as well as a significant regional producer of locomotives and electric trains.

Daughter and affiliate companies.

Škoda Transportation a.s. daughter and affiliated companies The group of companies employed close to 5,600 people in 2015, with revenues reaching CZK 17 billion.

Techmania Science Center.

Škoda Transportation and the University of West Bohemia run Techmania Science Center in Pilsen. The exhibition is annually visited by tens of thousands of schoolchildren and students who learn about various principles of mathematics and physics in an engaging way. The science center also includes a number of historical Škoda rolling stock products.

Škoda Transportation a.s. is a Czech engineering company that continues the legacy of Škoda Works' rolling stock manufacturing that started at the end of 19th century in Pilsen. Following the first world war, the Works commenced locomotive production in a separate factory dedicated to that purpose. This factory became a separate company in the 1990s. Today, Škoda Transportation develops and manufactures electric rail vehicles for urban and railway transport.


Description.

This medium-large hawk is roughly intermediate in size between a peregrine falcon ("Falco peregrinus") and a red-tailed hawk ("Buteo jamaicensis"). Harris's hawks range in length from and generally have a wingspan of about These hawks have a brownish plumage, reddish shoulders and tail feathers with a white base and white tip.  They exhibit sexual dimorphism with the females being larger by about 35%. In the United States, the average weight for adult males is about, with a range of, while the adult female average is, with a range of. They have dark brown plumage with chestnut shoulders, wing linings, and thighs, white on the base and tip of the tail, long, yellow legs and a yellow cere. The vocalizations of the Harris's hawk are very harsh sounds.

Juvenile.

The juvenile Harris's hawk is mostly streaked with buff, and appears much lighter than the dark adults. When in flight, the undersides of the juveniles' wings are buff-colored with brown streaking. They can look unlike adults at first glance, but the identical chestnut plumage is an aid for identification.

Subspecies.

There are three subspecies of Harris's hawk:

Distribution and habitat.

Harris's hawks live in sparse woodland and semi-desert, as well as marshes (with some trees) in some parts of their range (Howell and Webb 1995), including mangrove swamps, as in parts of their South American range. Harris's hawks are permanent residents and do not migrate. Important perches and nest supports are provided by scattered larger trees or other features (e.g., power poles, woodland edges, standing dead trees, live trees, and boulders, and saguaros).  The wild Harris's hawk population is declining due to habitat loss; however, under some circumstances, they have been known to move into developed areas.

Behaviour.

This species occurs in relatively stable groups. A dominance hierarchy occurs in Harris's hawks, wherein the mature female is the dominant bird, followed by the adult male and then the young of previous years. Groups typically include from 2 to 7 birds. Not only do birds cooperate in hunting, they also assist in the nesting process. No other bird of prey is known to hunt in groups as routinely as this species.

Feeding.

The diet of the Harris's hawk consists of small creatures including birds, lizards, mammals, and large insects. Because it often hunts in groups, the Harris's hawk can also take down larger prey. Although not particularly common, the Harris's hawk may take prey weighing over, such as adult jackrabbits, great blue heron ("Ardea herodias") and half-grown wild turkeys ("Meleagris gallapavo"). The desert cottontail ("Syvilagus auduboni"), the leading prey species in the north of the Harris's hawk range, usually weighs or less. Undoubtedly because it pursues large prey often, this hawk has larger and stronger feet, with long talons, and a larger, more prominent hooked beak than most other raptors around its size. Locally, other buteonine hawks, including the ferruginous hawk, the red-tailed hawk and the white-tailed hawk also hunt primarily cottontails and jackrabbits, but each are bigger, weighing about, and, respectively, more on average than a Harris's hawk.  In the Southwestern United States, the most common prey species (in descending order of prevalence) are desert cottontail ("Syvilagus auduboni"), eastern cottontail ("Syvilagus floridanus"), black-tailed jackrabbit ("Lepus californicus"), ground squirrels ("Ammopsermophilus" spp. and "Spermophilus" spp.), woodrats ("Neotoma" spp.), kangaroo rats ("Dipodomys" spp.), pocket gophers ("Geomys" and "Thomomys" spp.), Gambel's quail ("Callipepla gambelii"), scaled quail ("C. squamata"), northern bobwhite ("Colinus virginianus"), cactus wren ("Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus"), northern mockingbird ("Mimus polyglottos"), desert spiny lizards ("Sceloporus magister"), and skinks ("Eumeces" spp.) In the tropics, Harris's hawks have adapted to taking prey of several varieties, including those like chickens and European rabbits introduced by man. In Chile, the common degu ("Octodon degus") makes up 67.5% of the prey.

Hunting.

While most raptors are solitary, only coming together for breeding and migration, Harris's hawks will hunt in cooperative groups of two to six. This is believed to be an adaptation to the lack of prey in the desert climate in which they live. In one hunting technique, a small group flies ahead and scouts, then another group member flies ahead and scouts, and this continues until prey is bagged and shared. In another, all the hawks spread around the prey and one bird flushes it out. Groups of Harris's hawks tend to be more successful at capturing prey than lone hawks, with groups of two to four individuals having ~10% higher success rates per extra individual.

Breeding.

They nest in small trees, shrubby growth, or cacti. The nests are often compact, made of sticks, plant roots, and stems, and are often lined with leaves, moss, bark and plant roots. They are built mainly by the female. There are usually two to four white to blueish white eggs sometimes with a speckling of pale brown or gray. The nestlings start out light buff, but in five to six days turn a rich brown.  Very often, there will be three hawks attending one nest: two males and one female. Whether or not this is polyandry is debated, as it may be confused with backstanding (one bird standing on another's back). The female does most of the incubation. The eggs hatch in 31 to 36 days. The young begin to explore outside the nest at 38 days, and fledge, or start to fly, at 45 to 50 days. The female sometimes breeds two or three times in a year. Young may stay with their parents for up to three years, helping to raise later broods. Nests are known to be predated by coyotes ("Canis latrans"), golden eagles ("Aquila chrysaetos"), red-tailed hawks ("Buteo jamaicensis"), great horned owls ("Bubo virginianus") and flocks of common ravens ("Corvus corax"), predators possibly too formidable to be fully displaced by the Harris's hawk's cooperative nest defenses. No accounts show predation on adults in the United States and the Harris's hawk may be considered an apex predator, although presumably predators like eagles and great horned owls would be capable of killing them. In Chile, black-chested buzzard-eagles ("Geranoaetus melanoleucus") are likely predators.

Relationship with humans.

Falconry.

Since about 1980, Harris's hawks have been increasingly used in falconry and are now the most popular hawks in the West (outside of Asia) for that purpose, as they are one of the easiest to train and the most social.  Trained Harris's hawks have been used to remove an unwanted pigeon population from London's Trafalgar Square, and from the tennis courts at Wimbledon.

In art.

John James Audubon illustrated the Harris's hawk in "The Birds of America" (published, London 1827–38) as Plate 392 with the title "Louisiana Hawk -"Buteo harrisi"". The image was engraved and colored by the Robert Havell, London workshops in 1837. The original watercolor by Audubon was purchased by the New York History Society where it remains to this day (January 2009).

Harris's hawk ("Parabuteo unicinctus"), formerly known as the bay-winged hawk or dusky hawk, and known in Latin America as peuco, is a medium-large bird of prey that breeds from the southwestern United States south to Chile, central Argentina, and Brazil. Birds are sometimes reported at large in Western Europe, especially Britain, but it is a popular species in falconry and these records almost certainly all refer to escapes from captivity.


Plot.

Vicky and Cristina visit Barcelona for the summer, staying with Vicky's distant relative Judy and her husband Mark. While the two are great friends, Vicky is practical and traditional in her approach to love and commitment and is engaged to the reliable Doug, whereas Cristina imagines herself to be a nonconformist, spontaneous but unsure of what she wants from life or love.  At an art exhibition, Cristina is intrigued by artist Juan Antonio, who Judy says has suffered a violent relationship with his ex-wife. Later, he brazenly approaches the two women to invite them to join him right away for the weekend in the city of Oviedo, in a small plane he flies himself, for sight-seeing, fine eating and drinking, and hopefully, lovemaking. Cristina is won over by the offer almost at once, but Vicky is unimpressed and reluctant; she, however, eventually decides to accompany her friend anyway, mainly to watch over her.  At the end of their first day, Vicky refuses to join Juan Antonio in his hotel room, citing her fidelity to Doug, but Cristina accepts his invitation immediately. Before the lovemaking starts, Cristina suddenly falls ill with digestive complaints, and is put to bed, with food poisoning. Vicky and Juan Antonio proceed to spend the weekend together alone while they wait for Cristina to recuperate. Vicky gradually changes her opinion of Juan Antonio as he tells her about his tumultuous relationship with his former wife, María Elena. Vicky accompanies him to visit his father, an old poet, and then becomes deeply moved by a Spanish guitar performance later that evening. She finally succumbs to Juan Antonio's advances as they walk through a grove of trees in the dark. The next day, with Cristina recovered, the three of them fly back to Barcelona.  Feeling guilty, Vicky does not mention the incident to Cristina, and the two begin to grow apart. Vicky starts throwing herself into her studies while Cristina and Juan Antonio take up a relationship. Cristina then moves in with Juan Antonio and begins to discover more about his past. After learning that María Elena attempted to kill herself, Juan Antonio takes her to his home, where Cristina already lives. After some defiance, the two women grow fond of each other. Cristina realizes that the ex-spouses are still in love, and María Elena suggests that Cristina may be the element that can give balance and stability to their relationship. All three become romantically involved with one another.  In the meantime, Vicky is joined in Spain by an enthusiastic Doug and the two get married. When Cristina describes her new life with Juan Antonio to Vicky, Vicky becomes secretly jealous, and after a few other awkward moments, she realizes she is unsatisfied in her married life and is still attracted to Juan Antonio. Learning that Judy is similarly unhappy in her marriage, she confides to her, and Judy, who sees her younger self in Vicky, decides to bring Juan Antonio and Vicky together. Meanwhile, Cristina becomes restless and at some point decides to leave Juan Antonio and María Elena; without her, their relationship quickly falls apart again.  As the summer winds to a close, Judy arranges for Juan Antonio and Vicky to meet at a party. Juan Antonio begs Vicky to meet him again privately before leaving Spain, which she finally accepts, lying to Doug in the process. At his home, Juan Antonio seduces and wins Vicky over again, but they are interrupted by María Elena who bursts in with a gun, firing wildly as Juan Antonio tries to calm her. Vicky gets shot in the hand in the process, and leaves, shouting they are insane and she could never live like this. She confesses the entire story to Cristina, who never realized how Vicky felt about Juan Antonio, and wishes she could have helped her. Doug, Vicky and Cristina return to the United States; Doug never learns what truly happened, Vicky goes back to her married life, and Cristina is back where she started, still unsure of what she wants from life or love.

Cast.

Spanish actor Joan Pera, who dubbed Allen's voice in his previous films, makes a cameo appearance.

Production.

In 2007, controversy arose in Catalonia (Spain) because the film was partially funded with public money; Barcelona's city hall provided one million euro and the Generalitat de Catalunya (Government of Catalonia) half a million, or ten percent of the film's budget.  This was the third time Johansson and Allen worked together, following "Match Point" (2005) and "Scoop" (2006). This also marked the second time Johansson and Hall worked together, the first time being in "The Prestige" (2006).  The film featured several paintings by Catalan artist and included several examples of the work of architect Antoni Gaudí, including his Park Güell.

Critical reception.

Box office.

, the film grossed $96 million worldwide; in relation to its $15 million budget, it is one of Allen's most profitable films.

Reviews.

"Vicky Cristina Barcelona" garnered the best reviews Allen received since his Academy Award-nominated 2005 film "Match Point" (also starring Johansson), particularly for Cruz's performance. The film has an approval rating of 81% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 208 reviews, with an average score of 6.93/10. The site's consensus reads: "A beguiling tragicomedy, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" charms with beautiful views of the Spanish city and a marvelously well-matched cast".  Scott Tobias wrote in "The A.V. Club" that it was "a witty and ambiguous movie that's simultaneously intoxicating and suffused with sadness and doubt". Richard Roeper suggested that Cruz should receive an Academy Award nomination for her role. Mick LaSalle of the "San Francisco Chronicle" praised the film as "the work of a confident and mature artist", referring to Allen. Manohla Dargis of "The New York Times" wrote "Although "Vicky Cristina" trips along winningly, carried by the beauty of its locations and stars — and all the gauzy romanticism those enchanted places and people imply — it reverberates with implacable melancholy, a sense of loss." Richard Corliss ended his review of the film with "The movie has neither the sardonic heft of Max Ophüls's "La Ronde" nor the emotional precision of Ingmar Bergman's "Smiles of a Summer Night", two films that also dance the change-partners gavotte. But "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" is so engaging so much of the time that it feels like a modest rejuvenation: evidence that a summer in Spain can do wonders for a writer-director who may not have outlived his prime." S. Williams of "Momzone" magazine singled out Johansson's performance for praise, writing, "Johansson's acting is syrup: fluid and sweet." Ian Freer of "Empire" gave the film 4 out of 5, and wrote "within Allen's recent output, Vicky Cristina is a highlight. See it for beautiful locales, an ambivalent look at human relationships and a clutch of great performances, especially from Cruz."

Top ten lists.

The film appeared on many critics' top-ten lists of the best films of 2008.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona is a 2008 romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen. The plot centers on two American women, Vicky and Cristina, who spend a summer in Barcelona, where they meet an artist, Juan Antonio, who is attracted to both of them while still enamored of his mentally and emotionally unstable ex-wife María Elena. The film was shot in Spain in Barcelona, Avilés and Oviedo, and was Allen's fourth consecutive film shot outside the United States.


Early life.

Hering was born and raised in Warmbronn, a district in the town of Leonberg. After finishing his schooling, Hering worked on a farm near his home. From 1907 to 1909, he served in the 20th (2nd Württemberg) Uhlans "King William I" regiment, and then voluntarily stayed on for another three years. Hering then joined the Heilbronn police in 1912. In 1914, Hering married and had one son.  During the First World War, Hering was called to serve in the machine gun company of Grenadier Regiment 123 in 1915, with which he fought on the Western Front in northern France until the armistice in 1918. He attained the rank of sergeant. For his war services he was awarded the Iron Cross First Class. After the First World War, Hering briefly rejoined the "Schutzpolizei" in Heilbronn.

Police and SS career.

Hering began his police career in 1919 as a detective (sergeant) in the criminal police ("Kriminalpolizei", or "Kripo") in Göppingen, near Stuttgart, making officer rank by 1929. In 1920, Hering had joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany. During the Weimar Republic era he initiated vigorous actions against the NSDAP, SA and SS and consequently was called a "Nazi-eater". By the 1933 Nazi Seizure of Power ("Machtergreifung"), Nazi Party members vehemently demanded Hering's dismissal from the police. However, Hering had known Nazi Christian Wirth from official contexts since 1912, and while working in the "Kripo" in Stuttgart, the two became acquaintances, so that Hering was able to continue working despite the violent protests of local SA and SS men. In May 1933 Hering finally joined the NSDAP. In 1934 he was appointed head of the Göppingen "Kripo" and then continued his career in 1939 in Stuttgart-Schwenningen. After the outbreak of World War II, Hering, along with other senior "Kripo" officers, was transferred to Gotenhafen (Gdynia) in December 1939. He was appointed with the task of resettling Volksdeutsche to the General Government.

Action T4.

Beginning in late 1940, Hering held various functions within the Action T4 "euthanasia" program. Having completed the order at Gdynia, he was transferred to work first at Sonnenstein Euthanasia Centre. Hering served as an assistant supervisor (as did Fritz Tauscher) to a police officer by the name of Schemel. After Sonnenstein, Hering became the office manager at Hartheim Euthanasia Centre. He also worked in the special registry offices of Bernburg and Hadamar euthanasia centres.

Operation Reinhard.

After Action T4, Hering was posted briefly to the "Sicherheitsdienst" in Prague in June 1942, and was then transferred to Operation Reinhard in Lublin, Poland. He replaced Christian Wirth as commandant of Bełżec extermination camp at the end of August 1942. He served as the camp's commandant until its closure in.  Rudolf Reder, one of the very few survivors of Bełżec, wrote of Hering's role in the killing of Jews.  Tadeusz Misiewicz, a Pole who lived in the village of Bełżec and worked at the train station, testified about Hering (file No.: Ds. 1604/45 – Zamość. Dated 15 October 1945 / Belzec-OKBZ):

Later career and death.

After the termination of Operation Reinhard and the closure of Belzec in June 1943, Hering remained the commander of the Poniatowa concentration camp reassigned as subcamp of Majdanek from the forced labor camp supporting the German war effort. On 3–4 November 1943, German police killed the remaining Jews at Poniatowa during Aktion Erntefest (). Hering then joined fellow SS men from the Operation Reinhard staff in Trieste, Italy. On 9 October 1945, Hering died of mysterious complications in the waiting room of St. Catherine's Hospital in Stetten im Remstal.

Gottlieb Hering (2 June 1887 – 9 October 1945) was an SS commander of Nazi Germany. He served in Action T4 and later as the second and last commandant of Bełżec extermination camp during Operation Reinhard. Hering directly perpetrated the genocide of Jews and other peoples during The Holocaust.


Early life.

Holt was born in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. At the age of 1 Year she suffers from ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). While growing up, she became a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and played water polo and volleyball.

Career.

In 2006, Holt won the role of Emma Gilbert in the Network Ten children's television series "". The show has earned a Logie Award and Nickelodeon Australia Kids' Choice Award. While the series was renewed for a third season, Holt left the show after series two after signing on for the sequel to the 2007 film "The Messengers", titled "". She was replaced by Indiana Evans. Filming took place in Sofia throughout 2008. Starring alongside Norman Reedus and Heather Stephens, the film was released 21 July 2009 straight-to-DVD.  In addition to television and film roles, Holt has appeared in advertisements for Dreamworld, Sizzler, and Queensland Lifesaving. BuddyTV ranked her number 55 on its TV's 100 Sexiest Women of 2011 list.  In August 2011, Holt was confirmed to be in the TV series "The Vampire Diaries" as Rebekah Mikaelson. On 13 January 2013, The CW announced that Holt had joined the cast for the backdoor pilot of "The Vampire Diaries" spin-off "The Originals", where she reprised her role as Rebekah Mikaelson. She exited the show as a series regular in the sixteenth episode of the first season, which aired in the U.S. on 11 March 2014. Holt returned to her role in the season one finale on 13 May 2014, and continued to periodically guest star on the series until its finale on 1 August 2018.  In 2014, Holt was linked to CBS' "Supergirl", though she chose not to pursue it. She starred in NBC "event series" "Aquarius" as Charmain Tully. In 2016, she was cast in the romantic comedy film "The Divorce Party", playing the role of Susan.  In 2017, Holt had a starring role, Kayla, in the ABC thriller drama television pilot "Doomsday". Also that year, Holt starred as Kate in the underwater survival thriller film "47 Meters Down", opposite Mandy Moore and Matthew Modine, which was released in theaters on 16 June 2017.

Personal life.

In July 2015, Holt became engaged to longtime boyfriend, television producer Matthew Kaplan. The two were married in April 2016. On 27 April 2017, Kaplan filed for divorce from Holt, citing "irreconcilable differences". Holt subsequently filed in response on 2 May 2017, also asking for her name to be changed from Kaplan back to Holt.  On 3 December 2017, Holt announced her engagement to real estate executive Andrew Joblon. On 4 March 2018, Holt revealed on Instagram that she had suffered a miscarriage. Holt and Joblon were married on 18 August 2018. On 11 October 2018, Holt announced on Instagram that she was pregnant, and revealed on 19 November that she was expecting a son. On 28 March 2019, Holt gave birth to her son, James Holt Joblon. On 3 April 2020, Holt announced on Instagram that she was expecting her second child, and revealed on 16 April 2020, that she was expecting a girl.

Claire Lily Holt (born 11 June 1988) is an Australian-American actress, known for her roles as Emma Gilbert in "", Samara Cook in "Pretty Little Liars", Rebekah Mikaelson in "The Vampire Diaries", and its spinoff series "The Originals" and Kate in the 2017 survival horror film, "47 Meters Down".


History.

The monument was located on a huge concrete pedestal, which can still be visited in Letná Park. It was the largest group statue in Europe, measuring high and long. The sculptor was Otakar Švec, who killed himself a few days before the unveiling.  The process of de-Stalinization began shortly after the unveiling of the monument. The monument, therefore, became an increasing source of embarrassment to the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, and was taken down with of explosives.

Later use of site.

In 1990, pirate radio station Radio Stalin operated from a bomb shelter beneath the statue's plinth. The same shelter was also the home of Prague's first rock club in the early 1990s. Since 1991, the marble pedestal has been used as the base of a giant kinetic sculpture of a metronome. In 1996, the pedestal was briefly used as a base for a statue of Michael Jackson as a promotional stunt for the start of his HIStory World Tour. A billboard promoting Civic Democratic Party leader Václav Klaus was erected on the site during the Czech parliamentary elections of 1998 but was removed soon after due to high winds.  A green plaque below the metronome reads:  Metronome Letenské sady The Metronome, the work of sculptor Vratislav Karel Novák, was erected in 1991 atop the massive stone plinth that originally served as the base for the monument to Soviet leader Josef Vissarionovich Stalin. Work began on Prague's Stalin monument towards the end of 1949, and in May 1955, it was finally unveiled. The largest group sculpture in Europe during its existence, the monument had a reinforced-concrete structure faced with 235 granite blocks, weighing 17,000 tonnes and costing 140 million crowns to complete. The gigantic composition, by sculptor Otakar Švec and the architects Jiří and Vlasta <nowiki>[</nowiki>his wife<nowiki>]</nowiki> Štursa, did not tower for long over the medieval centre of Prague: in connection with Soviet criticism of Stalin's "cult of personality," the work was dynamited and removed towards the end of 1962. The City of Prague has been considering several options for redevelopment of the site for years, including a plan to build an aquarium. The remaining socle is a popular meeting point for skateboarders.

Stalin's Monument was a granite statue honoring Joseph Stalin in Prague, Czechoslovakia. It was unveiled on 1 May 1955 after more than years of work, and was the world's largest representation of Stalin. The sculpture was demolished in 1962.


Early life.

Roza Otunbayeva was born in Frunze (now Bishkek), Kyrgyz SSR, USSR into the family of Isak Otunbayev, a member of the Supreme Court of Kyrgyz SSR (1967–1992), and Salika Daniyarova, Teacher. She graduated from the Philosophy Faculty of Moscow State University in 1972 and went on to teach as Senior Teacher and then as Head of the Philosophy Department at Kyrgyz State National University for six years (1975–1981). In 1975 she became Candidate of Sciences after defending her dissertation, "Critique of falsification of Marxist-Leninist dialectic by the philosophers of Frankfurt school". Roza Otunbayeva is a divorced mother of two children. She is fluent in Russian, English, German and French in addition to Kyrgyz. She can also understand a little Chinese.

Political career.

In 1981, she began her political career as the Communist Party's Second Secretary of the Lenin raion council ("raikom") of Frunze (now Bishkek). From 1983 to 1986 Ms. Otunbayeva served as the Secretary of the City Communist Party Committee in Frunze (now Bishkek). In 1986 she was appointed the Deputy to the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, and the same time the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1989 she was appointed as the Executive Secretary and later as the Chairwoman of the USSR UNESCO National Committee, and she also became member of the USSR Foreign Ministry's Board. In 1989–1992 she served as the Vice-President of the UNESCO Executive Council. By 1992, the now independent Kyrgyzstan was led by Askar Akayev, who chose her to be Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister, positions she held until later that year when she became her country's first ambassador to the US and Canada (1992–1994). In May 1994 she was called back to her original post of Kyrgyz Minister of Foreign Affairs, remaining there for three years. From 1997 to 2002, she served as the first Kyrgyz ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. From 2002 to 2004, she was recruited Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary General in the Peacekeeping Mission for Georgia. Upon her return to Kyrgyzstan in late 2004, Otunbayeva became politically active. In December 2004, she and three other opposition parliamentarians founded the Ata-Jurt (Fatherland) public movement in preparation for the February 2005 parliamentary elections.  From March to September 2005 Ms. Otunbayeva served as Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs.

"Tulip Revolution".

Otunbayeva was one of the key leaders of the Tulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan which led to the overthrow of President Akayev. Subsequently, she served for a few months as Acting Foreign Minister in the interim government of then prime minister (and acting president) Kurmanbek Bakiyev. After Bakiyev was elected President and Feliks Kulov became Prime Minister, Otunbayeva failed to receive the required parliamentary support to become Foreign Minister. She then ran unsuccessfully in a parliamentary by-election a few months later. Otunbayeva played a key role in the November 2006 protests that pressed successfully for a new democratic constitution.  She was the co-chairwoman of the country's Asaba (Flag) National Revival Party for a short time. In December 2007, Otunbayeva was elected to the Jogorku Kenesh – the Parliament of Kyrgyzstan – on the list of the Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan. She served as the Leader of the Opposition SDP from 2008 to 2010. In 2009 she became the Leader of People's Front opposition.

2010 uprising and presidency.

On April 7, 2010, Otunbayeva was chosen by opposition leaders as head of the Interim Government of the Kyrgyz Republic, following widespread rioting in Bishkek and the ouster of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev.  Bakiyev fled the Jalal-Abad area as the riots became more violent. Unable to rally support, he resigned as president on April 10, 2010, and left the country for Kazakhstan. Nine days later he went to Minsk, Belarus, where he was given protected-exile status. On April 21 he recanted his resignation and declared that he was still president of Kyrgyzstan. Otunbayeva vowed to bring him to trial.  As interim president, Otunbayeva had four male deputies. Otunbayeva is considered to be unusual as there are few women in politics in Kyrgyzstan. Her first conversation after she came to power was with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Otunbayeva declared that new elections would be called within six months and that she would act as president until then.  With violent protests in support of ousted President Kurmanbek Bakiyev continuing in Jalalabad, the home city of the former president, it was announced on May 19, 2010, by the interim government that elections would be delayed until 2011 and Otunbayeva was named as president. Following a referendum on the new Kyrgyz constitution, she was sworn in on July 3, 2010. Otunbayeva however was prohibited by the new constitution from running in the 2011 presidential election and her term ended on December 31, 2011. The referendum was supported by over 90% and changes the government from a Presidential republic to a Parliamentary republic. Parliamentary elections were held in October and the new parliament elected the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Post-Presidency.

In January 2012 Roza Otunbayeva has established the International Public Foundation "Roza Otunbayeva Initiative". The main objective of the Foundation is to implement programs and projects that will contribute to the social, political and economic development of the Kyrgyz Republic. During a 2016 speech by her successor at a military parade on Ala-Too Square for the 25th anniversary of Kyrgyzstan's independence, Otunbayeva walked off the stage after President Atamabayev repeatedly criticized her government. During a speech by Otunbayeva at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in May 2018, she claimed that the young Kyrgyz generation values freedom above all, saying that they "have been infected by freedom and it runs deep".

Honours and awards.

Roza Otunbayeva was listed as one of the 150 Most Influential Women in the World by "Newsweek"/"Daily Beast" 2011 Edition.  Otunbayeva has received France's "Legion of Honour" Award with the degree of Commander, as well as the highest order of Mongolia's "Polar Star" Award. She was awarded the Premio Minerva Medallion, which is presided over by the President of the Italian Republic, "For occupying the highest institutional role in Kyrgyzstan, and for her international activities promoting democracy and peace".  In 2011, Otunbayeva received an International Women of Courage Award, which is presented annually by the United States Department of State to women around the world who have shown leadership, courage, resourcefulness, and the willingness to sacrifice for others, especially while promoting women's rights. On December 13, 2012, the Eurasia Foundation (USA) awarded her with the 2012 Bill Maynes Award for demonstrating visionary leadership throughout Kyrgyzstan's constitutional transition and providing a lifelong example of public service.  Otunbayeva is a member of: She is an Honorary Professor at the: She is also an Honorary Professor at:

Roza Isakovna Otunbayeva (Kyrgyz: Роза Исаковна (Исак кызы) Отунбаева, Roza İsaqovna (İsaq qızı) Otunbayeva; born August 23, 1950) is a Kyrgyz diplomat and politician who served as the President of Kyrgyzstan from 7 April 2010 until 1 December 2011. She was sworn in on July 3, 2010, after acting as interim leader following the 2010 April revolution which led to the ousting of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev. She previously served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and as head of the parliamentary caucus for the Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan.


Plot.

Ten years ago, a mysterious spatial anomaly now known as "Heaven's Gate" appeared in South America, shortly followed by the opening of "Hell's Gate" in Tokyo altering the sky and wreaking havoc on the landscape. The real stars disappeared, replaced by false stars. During this time, people possessing various special abilities—called "Contractors"—emerged, each capable of different supernatural feats. Each Contractor has a corresponding fake star, which reacts to their activities. As such, Contractors are usually identified by their star's Messier catalogue number. Kept secret from the masses, these individuals are known to murder in cold blood, smothering unnecessary emotions with logic and rationality. Their incredible abilities, however, are gained at the cost of their humanity; Contractors are thus named because of an involuntary compulsion to "pay the price" each time their power is used, which can range from eating particular foods or completing meaningless tasks, to self-harm or changing their bodies in peculiar ways. Various nations and organizations around the world train and utilize Contractors as spies and assassins, resulting in violent battles for valuable objects and information.  Following the disastrous Heaven's War, the United States lost its dominant position as a superpower to a mysterious organization named the Syndicate. The story revolves around a Chinese contractor codenamed "Hei" as he undertakes various espionage and assassination missions in Tokyo under the direction of the aforementioned Syndicate. It eventually reveals a plan of the Syndicate to erase the existence of contractors, and a resistance put up by contractors from the Syndicate itself and various espionage agencies.

Media.

Anime.

Season one.

"Darker than Black" was conceptualized by Tensai Okamura and produced by Bones and Aniplex. The series premiered on Tokyo Broadcasting System and Mainichi Broadcasting System's Thursday late night anime broadcasting timeslot, replacing the Sunrise series "" on April 5, 2007, and similar to "Code Geass" incorporated corporate sponsorship of Japan News Network partners Pizza Hut and Nifty, where episodes of the series was streamed every week during the series' broadcast run. It completed its initial run on September 27, 2007, and received its broadcasting satellite premiere on Animax from May 8, 2007 to October 23, 2007. The series was also aired in English on Animax Asia, Animax's English language networks in Southeast Asia and South Asia from December 2008 onwards. The series made its North American television debut when it started airing on the Funimation Channel September 6, 2010.  The series has been released in Japan by Aniplex across nine DVDs, each containing three episodes, except for the first DVD, which had only two. The ninth and final DVD included an original video animation, which expanded upon the romantic relationships between characters. The DVDs were released between July 25, 2007 and March 26, 2008 by Aniplex. FUNimation received the license for the series in Region 1 and has released one DVD compilation with two more coming in the future. The first English DVD was released on November 25, 2008 and the second and third DVDs were released on January 20, 2009 and March 10, 2009 respectively. Volume 4 was released on May 5, 2009 with Volume 5 released on June 23, 2009. Volume 6 was released on August 11, 2009 and is now available. In May 2010, Funimation released the entire first season in a complete box set; it was originally released in March, but was recalled due to a defective disk. The Blu-ray Box was released in Japan on September 30, 2009 with a guidebook with several unreleased music tracks not available in the OSTs. The opening themes are "HOWLING" by abingdon boys school (eps 1-14) and "Kakusei Heroism ~The Hero Without A Name~" by An Cafe (eps 15-23,25) and the ending themes are "Tsukiakari" by Rie fu (eps 1-14) and "Dreams" by HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR (eps 15-24).

Season two.

A document containing information about Bones staff and production details, was leaked onto the Japanese filesharing site uploader.jp, within the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet format, on July 2008. Among other details, including confidential contact information in regards to Bones staff members, it revealed that a second "Darker than Black" and "Fullmetal Alchemist" series was in production and were being directed by Tensai Okamura and Yasuhiro Irie respectively. This information regarding "Fullmetal Alchemist", which had never been previously released, was later proven to be true on January 2009. In an official statement posted on Bones' official website, co-founder and president Masahiko Minami claimed that the document was not released by the studio themselves but by an unnamed third-party. In a later statement, Minami also stated in regards to the two new series, "It hasn't been decided yet. We are interested in doing them. As original science-fiction works, they were extremely fascinating. With these kinds of dramatic story lines, I feel that there's a lot we could do potentially." Six months later, however, the second series for "Fullmetal Alchemist" was confirmed to be in production with Yasuhiro Irie as director, thus confirming the document's validity. The second Darker than Black series was confirmed in the 12th issue of Square Enix's Young Gangan Magazine. In the 14th issue of Young Gangan, the title was revealed as. The sequel began airing in October 2009 and ended in December 2009. At Anime Expo 2010, Funimation Entertainment announced that they had licensed the second season. The opening theme is "Tsukiakari no Michishirube" (ツキアカリのミチシルベ; "Guidepost of the Moonlight") by Stereopony (eps 2-) and the ending theme is "From Dusk Till Dawn" by abingdon boys school.

OVA.

These OVAs, also known as, are set in the time between the two series. Hei and Yin have left Tokyo and are on the run from the Syndicate. In the first episode, conflict ensues in Okinawa, where the agents from the Syndicate attempt to abduct Yin but are eventually unsuccessful. Hei and Yin then leave for Hong Kong. There are 4 OVAs in total, filling the gap with Hei and Yin left between season 1 and 2. The ending theme is "DARKER THAN BLACK" by Yasushi Ishii.

Manga.

A manga, illustrated by Nokiya, was serialized in Monthly Asuka. Naoshi Komi released the series to two "tankōbon" on August 8, 2007 and January 26, 2008 respectively. The series has been licensed for a North American release by Yen Press. A second manga, illustrated by Yuji Iwahara, the original character designer for the anime, finished serializing in Square Enix's Young Gangan seinen magazine under the title in March 2011. This is a separate one from the first and it is a new story taking place one year after the events of season 1 and it replaces the events of both the OVAs and season 2 completely.

Music.

The original soundtrack was composed by Yoko Kanno in 2007 and contains a total of 20 tracks including the first opening and ending themes performed by Abingdon boys school and Rie fu. Other non-instrumental songs were written by Tim Jensen and performed by Mai Yamane (tracks 8, 10) and James Wendt (tracks 14, 19). It peaked at number 57 on the Oricon albums chart.

Reception.

The series has received positive reviews, with praise directed at its use of noir themes and plot development compared to other action anime. The anime also was awarded Best Original Anime of The Year by GoGoplex, a popular magazine for teens. In the 2007 Japan Media Arts Festival, it was one of the jury's recommendations from the category "Animation Division/Long Animation."

Darker than Black, also known as, is an anime television series created and directed by Tensai Okamura and animated by Bones. It premiered across Japan from April 5, 2007 on MBS, TBS, and its affiliated broadcast stations, with its satellite television premiere in Japan on Animax in May 2007. The music for the series is composed by Yoko Kanno. The series has also been adapted into two manga series, which are serialized in "Monthly Asuka" and in "Young Gangan".


History.

Career: 1925–1945.

"Berlin" was built by Bremer Vulkan at Vegesack, Germany (Yard 614) and was completed in March 1925. She was launched on 25 March 1925, and commissioned on 17 September 1925. The ship was long, had four decks and a volume of. She originally operated the Bremen – Southampton – Cherbourg – New York City run for the North German Lloyd Line.  The ship's main route was between Bremerhaven, Southampton and New York, which she began on 26 September 1925 and operated until May 1939 when she was laid up in Bremerhaven for refitting. On 12 November 1928, "Berlin" rescued the passengers and crew of the liner, which sank off the coast of Virginia en route from New York City to Barbados. An estimated 113 people died in the sinking.  "Berlin" was chartered by the Nazis in 1939 as a Strength Through Joy (Kraft durch Freude, KdF) workers' cruising ship and was used as a hospital ship later on in World War II.

World War II.

"Berlin" was one of eight German ships commissioned as hospital ships ("Lazarettschiffe") during World War II. Most, if not all, of these ships also served in other capacities during the war after being decommissioned as hospital ships, mainly as accommodation or transport ships for military personnel. All German hospital ships were given alphabetic identifiers, "Berlin"s being 'A'. On 16 July 1939, "Berlin" began her conversion to hospital ship and entered service with the "Kriegsmarine" as Lazarettschiff A, Sanitätsamt Ost on 23 August 1939. The ship had berthing for 400 patients, with a crew of 165. Initially serving in Norwegian waters, she was identified as "Field Post Number 07520". By January 1945, "Berlin" was assigned to Operation Hannibal, the transport of refugees and soldiers from the Eastern Baltic. On 31 January 1945, while forming up in convoy to head east, "Berlin" struck a mine off Swinemünde, and was put in tow for Kiel. She then hit another mine and was beached (23.53 hr, at position 54°02.6 N/14°19 E, in shallow waters). There was one fatality. All usable equipment was salvaged by 5 February 1945, and the ship was abandoned.

Soviet service.

She was refloated and salvaged by the Soviets in 1949 and renamed "Admiral Nakhimov" after Admiral Pavel Nakhimov, a 19th-century Russian naval commander who played a prominent role in the Crimean War. After her conversion, her size was increased to. She entered passenger service for the Black Sea Steamship Company in 1957. In 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the ship was used to transport soldiers to Cuba.  During the peak summer travel season, "Admiral Nakhimov" operated cruises on the Black Sea between Odessa and Batumi, a six-day round trip. She carried an average of 1,000 people per voyage. She was the flagship of the Black Sea passenger fleet for several years until more modern liners entered service.

Sinking.

At 10:00 p.m. Moscow Time on 31 August 1986, "Admiral Nakhimov" sailed from Novorossiysk en route to Sochi, its next stop. There were 888 passengers and 346 crew members aboard. Most of the passengers were Ukrainian, with others from Russia, Moldova, the Baltic republics and Central Asia. The captain of the ship was Vadim Markov.  Just minutes into the voyage, the ship's pilot noticed that the large bulk carrier "Pyotr Vasev" was on a collision course with "Admiral Nakhimov". "Pyotr Vasev" was a Japanese-built, 18,604-ton freighter recently acquired by the Soviet Union, and was carrying a cargo of oats and barley from Canada. The pilot radioed a warning to "Pyotr Vasev", and the freighter responded, "Don't worry. We will pass clear of each other. We will take care of everything."  Despite the message, Captain Viktor Tkachenko of "Pyotr Vasev" did nothing to slow his ship or change course. Convinced that the freighter would pass without incident, Captain Markov of "Admiral Nakhimov" retired to his cabin, leaving his second mate Alexander Chudnovsky in charge. From 11:00 p.m., Chudnovsky radioed "Pyotr Vasev" several times, asking about her course and her further actions. Chudnovsky changed the ship's course 10 degrees portside. At 11:10 p.m., Chundovsky cried on VHF to the freighter, "Immediately reverse full astern!" When it was clear that the freighter was headed directly for the ship, "Pyotr Vasyov"s engines were thrown in reverse. "Admiral Nakhimov" turned hard to port, but it was too late.  At 11:12 p.m., "Admiral Nakhimov" was struck by "Pyotr Vasev" from the port at Novorossiysk and from shore, at While many passengers had gone to bed by this time, some were on deck listening and dancing to music. They could only watch helplessly as the freighter rammed into the starboard side of the ship at a speed of about. "Admiral Nakhimov" continued forward with the freighter's bow in its side, ripping a hole in the hull between the engine and boiler rooms.  "Admiral Nakhimov" immediately took on a list on her starboard side, and her lights went out upon impact. After a few seconds, the emergency diesel generator powered on, but the lights went out again two minutes later, plunging the sinking ship into darkness. People below decks found themselves lost in the dark and rapidly canting hallways.  There was no time to launch the lifeboats. Hundreds of people dived into the oily water, clinging to lifejackets, barrels and pieces of debris.  "Admiral Nakhimov" sank in only eight minutes. Rescue ships began arriving just 10 minutes after the ship went down. "Pyotr Vasev" was not badly damaged, and assisted in the rescue effort. Sixty-four rescue ships and 20 helicopters rushed to the scene, and 836 people were pulled from the water. Some people were so slick with fuel oil that they could not keep hold of the hands of their rescuers. Sailors had to jump into the water to save people.  "Admiral Nakhimov" lacked proper ventilation, which was the reason all 90 windows in the cabins were open during the accident. The bulkheads that would have prevented the ship from sinking were removed during the conversion.  Passengers and crew had little time to escape, and 423 of the 1,234 on board perished. Sixty-four of those killed were crew members and 359 were passengers.  The event was not reported in the news for forty eight hours. The survivors were only allowed to send telegrams saying "Alive and well in Novorossiysk."  The wreck of "Admiral Nakhimov" lies on its starboard side in of water in Tsemes Bay off Novorossiysk.  "Pyotr Vasev" was renamed and operated under other flags until 2012.

Investigation.

The Soviet government formed a commission of inquiry to investigate the disaster. It determined that both Captain Markov of "Admiral Nakhimov" and Captain Tkachenko of "Pyotr Vasev" had violated navigational safety rules. Despite repeated orders to let "Admiral Nakhimov" pass, Tkachenko refused to slow his ship and only reported the accident 40 minutes after it occurred. Captain Markov was absent from the bridge. The inquiry took place in 1987 in Odessa. Both Captains Markov and Tkachenko were found guilty of criminal negligence and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Both were released in 1992.

SS "Admiral Nakhimov (), launched in March 1925 and originally named SS "Berlin, was a passenger liner of the German Weimar Republic later converted to a hospital ship, then a Soviet passenger ship. On 31 August 1986, "Admiral Nakhimov" collided with the large bulk carrier "Pyotr Vasev" in the Tsemes Bay, near the port of Novorossiysk, Russian SFSR, and quickly sank. In total, 423 of the 1,234 people on board died.


Plant physiology.

The flowers of "Cannabis sativa" are unisexual and plants are most often either male or female. It is a short-day flowering plant, with staminate (male) plants usually taller and less robust than pistillate (female or male) plants. The flowers of the female plant are arranged in racemes and can produce hundreds of seeds. Male plants shed their pollen and die several weeks prior to seed ripening on the female plants. Under typical conditions with a light period of 12 to 14 hours both sexes are produced in equal numbers because of heritable X and Y chromosomes. Although genetic factors dispose a plant to become male or female, environmental factors including the diurnal light cycle can alter sexual expression. Naturally occurring monoecious plants, with both male and female parts, are either sterile or fertile but artificially induced "hermaphrodites" can have fully functional reproductive organs. "Feminized" seed sold by many commercial seed suppliers are derived from artificially "hermaphroditic" females that lack the male gene, or by treating the plants with hormones or silver thiosulfate.

Pharmacology.

Although the main psychoactive constituent of "Cannabis" is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the plant is known to contain more than 500 compounds, among them at least 113 cannabinoids; however, most of these "minor" cannabinoids are only produced in trace amounts. Besides THC, another cannabinoid produced in high concentrations by some plants is cannabidiol (CBD), which is not psychoactive but has recently been shown to block the effect of THC in the nervous system. Differences in the chemical composition of "Cannabis" varieties may produce different effects in humans. Synthetic THC, called dronabinol, does not contain cannabidiol (CBD), cannabinol (CBN), or other cannabinoids, which is one reason why its pharmacological effects may differ significantly from those of natural "Cannabis" preparations.

Chemical constituents.

"Beside cannabinoids, Cannabis" chemical constituents include about 120 compounds responsible for its characteristic aroma. These are mainly volatile terpenes and sesquiterpenes.

Difference between "C. sativa" and "C. indica".

Human intervention has produced variation within the species and some authorities only recognize one species in the genus that has had divergent selective pressure to either produce plants with more fiber or plants with greater THC content. Large variability exists within either species, and there is an expanding discussion whether the existing paradigm used to differentiate species adequately represents the variability found within the genus "Cannabis". There are five chemotaxonomic types of "Cannabis": one with high levels of THC, one which is more fibrous and has higher levels of CBD, one that is an intermediate between the two, another one with high levels of cannabigerol (CBG), and the last one almost without cannabinoids.  "Cannabis" strains with relatively high CBD:THC ratios are less likely to induce anxiety than vice versa. This may be due to CBD's antagonistic effects at the cannabinoid receptors, compared to THC's partial agonist effect. CBD is also a 5-HT receptor (serotonin) agonist, which may also contribute to an anxiolytic-content effect. The effects of "sativa" are well known for its cerebral high, while "indica" is well known for its sedative effects which some prefer for night time use. Both types are used as medical cannabis. "Indica" plants are normally shorter and stockier than "sativas". "Indicas" have broader, deeply serrated leaves and a compact and dense flower cluster.

Common uses.

"Cannabis sativa" seeds are chiefly used to make hempseed oil which can be used for cooking, lamps, lacquers, or paints. They can also be used as caged-bird feed, as they provide a source of nutrients for most animals. The flowers and fruits (and to a lesser extent the leaves, stems, and seeds) contain psychoactive chemical compounds known as cannabinoids that are consumed for recreational, medicinal, and spiritual purposes. When so used, preparations of flowers and fruits (called marijuana) and leaves and preparations derived from resinous extract (e.g., hashish) are consumed by smoking, vaporising, and oral ingestion. Historically, tinctures, teas, and ointments have also been common preparations. In traditional medicine of India in particular "C. sativa" has been used as hallucinogenic, hypnotic, sedative, analgesic, and anti-inflammatory agent.

Cultivation.

A "Cannabis" plant in the vegetative growth phase of its life requires more than 12–13 hours of light per day to stay vegetative. Flowering usually occurs when darkness equals at least 12 hours per day. The flowering cycle can last anywhere between nine and fifteen weeks, depending on the strain and environmental conditions. When the production of psychoactive cannabinoids is sought, female plants are grown separately from male plants to induce parthenocarpy in the female plant's fruits (popularly called "'sin semilla' which is Spanish for 'without seed'" ) and increase the production of cannabinoid-rich resin.  In soil, the optimum pH for the plant is 6.3 to 6.8. In hydroponic growing, the nutrient solution is best at 5.2 to 5.8, making "Cannabis" well-suited to hydroponics because this pH range is hostile to most bacteria and fungi.  Tissue culture multiplication has become important in producing medically important clones, while seed production remains the generally preferred means of multiplication. Sativa plants have narrow leaves and grow best in warm environments. They do, however, take longer to flower than their Indica counterparts, and they grow taller than the Indica cannabis strains as well.

Cultivars.

Broadly, there are three main cultivar groups of cannabis that are cultivated today:

Cannabis sativa is an annual herbaceous flowering plant indigenous to eastern Asia but now of cosmopolitan distribution due to widespread cultivation. It has been cultivated throughout recorded history, used as a source of industrial fiber, seed oil, food, recreation, religious and spiritual moods and medicine. Each part of the plant is harvested differently, depending on the purpose of its use. The species was first classified by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. The word "sativa" means things that are cultivated.


Life.

Richard Henkes was born in mid-1900 in Ruppach-Goldhausen as one of eight children to a stonemason.  His father often worked abroad as a stonemason so religious instruction to the eight children fell to their mother who used to sprinkle each of them with anointed water each night before the children went to bed. His teacher Hans gave Henkes good reports when he was at school. On one occasion a Pallottine priest who served in the Cameroon missions came to the parish where he spoke of his work. This enthralled Henkes who began desiring joining the missions himself.  Henkes entered the Pallottines in Limburg in 1919 not long after he completed his studies (passing his Abitur) under them which had begun earlier in Vallendar in 1912. He felt homesick when he moved to Vallendar but his friends there provided him with enough support to continue on with his studies. Henkes' spiritual director at this time was the Servant of God Joseph Kentenich. In 1918 he passed his exams in Montabaur before being summoned at that time to Griesheim and Darmstadt for service; he returned to Vallendar in late 1918.  Between his first vows in 1921 and his ordination he suffered from a spiritual crisis that he later resolved. He received his ordination to the priesthood on 6 June 1925 in Limburg from the local bishop Augustinus Kilian. Henkes became a teacher following his sacerdotal ordination and taught in Pallottine and Schoenstatt schools from 1926. From 1931 he served in Katscher and Frankenstein as well as in Branitz to teach and minister to the faithful. He became a noted preacher in the pulpit but was also known amongst girls and religious sisters as a noted retreat-master. His preaching never faltered when the Nazis were present during his sermons to observe him since he had been known for making criticisms against Nazism and the actions that the regime did. He criticized the Nazis for their killing disabled people and condemned murder and other atrocities.  Sometime around 1927 he began to demonstrate signs of exhaustion and so was sent to recuperate and regain his strength. But he was later sent to a hospital for evaluation in which doctors told him to rest. Henkes refused this which irritated his doctors who believed Henkes' excessive work would aggravate his condition. He was later diagnosed with tuberculosis for the lungs and was sent to recover in a sanatorium. His provincial superior wanted to send him to South Africa since he believed that the favorable climate would prove beneficial to Henkes' health. The doctors advised against his transfer due to the seriousness of his condition. In 1928 he recovered enough to the point that he could resume teaching.  The Nazis arrested Henkes on 7 March 1937 in Roppach following a sermon he made in which he denounced the Nazi regime. Henkes was to be hauled before a special court in Breslau but was released. But this did not make him exempt from future suspicion or observation. But he did collaborate to some extent with the German Resistance though had an indirect role in it. He continued his strong denouncements of the Nazis to a point that often concerned his superiors who worried for the schools that Henkes was teaching in. This was not due to his teaching methods or views on Nazism. But it was rather because his strong denouncements could jeopardize the schools themselves. The Nazis soon had enough of his critical statements and so arrested him on 8 April 1943 in Branitz for abusing the pulpit to make politicized statements. Henkes was imprisoned first in Ratibor and then on 10 July 1943 moved to the Dachau concentration camp where he was forced to do manual labour on the S.S. plantation. In the camp he befriended the future cardinal Josef Beran. The latter taught Henkes the basics of the Czech language since Henkes wanted to master it in order to use it to speak with Czech people.  In the second-half of 1944 he served as a canteen-keeper for the inmates in Block XVII. Henkes volunteered in December 1944 to work with patients in Block XVII who had contracted an acute disease. He became infected with the disease himself due to prolonged exposure to the ill. Henkes died around eight weeks or so later in the camp. His remains were cremated but his ashes were smuggled out in secret so as to receive a proper burial on 7 June 1945 in Limburg; his ashes were then transferred in 1990 to another location in Limburg.

Beatification.

The order's General Chapter in Rome in 1947 expressed their favor in launching a beatification process for Henkes and several other priests slain during the war. But the beatification and canonization of the order's founder Vincenzo Pallotti caused the order to almost forget about Henkes' potential cause due to the order's work with the Pallotti cause. In 1980 former inmates from Dachau who knew Henkes met with Pope John Paul II in Fulda (during the pope's apostolic visit) and mentioned Henkes to him; that same group of priests in 1995 applied to the Bishop of Limburg Franz Kamphaus and asked for the cause to be opened. But the Pallottines themselves had not made a decision on the cause but decided to approve it due to later developments and support. The Bishop of Plzeň (in the Czech Republic) sent a letter on 17 January 2001 to the Pallottines indicating his support to the cause if it were to be opened.  The formal petition to the Limburg diocese was accepted as was a formal application made to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. The latter department launched the beatification cause on 4 September 2002 in the decree declaring "nihil obstat" and titling Henkes as a Servant of God. The diocesan process was launched in Limburg on 25 May 2003 and concluded later on 23 January 2007. The investigation was handed over to the C.C.S. in Rome who validated the process on 13 March 2009 and later received the 680-page Positio dossier for assessment. Historians approved the dossier on 19 November 2013 as did theologians sometime during 2017. The C.C.S. members approved it as well later on 11 December 2018. Pope Francis confirmed on 21 December 2018 that Henkes would be beatified; it was celebrated in the Limburg Cathedral on 15 September 2019 with Cardinal Kurt Koch presiding over the celebration on the pope's behalf.  The current postulator for this cause is the Pallottine priest Jan Korycki.

Richard Henkes (26 May 1900 - 22 February 1945) was a German Roman Catholic priest and professed member from the Pallottines. Henkes served as a teacher but was best known for his preaching abilities in the pulpit where he made strong-worded condemnations of Nazism and the actions the Nazis were said to have made. Henkes offered indirect assistance to the German Resistance during World War II and was one of the more vocal German priests to condemn Nazism. This often worried his superiors who believed that Henkes placed his schools at great risk. He was critical of the regime's murder of the disabled and other atrocities which forced the S.S. to arrest him. His first arrest in 1938 saw him released but his second arrest in 1943 saw him sent to the Dachau concentration camp. It was during that time that he befriended Josef Beran (future cardinal) who taught him the Czech language.


Early life.

Shklovsky was born in Hlukhiv, a city in the Ukrainian part of the Russian Empire, into a poor Ukrainian Jewish family. After graduating from the seven-year secondary school, he worked as a foreman on building Baikal Amur Mainline. In 1933 Shklovsky entered the Physico-Mathematical Faculty of the Moscow State University.  There he studied until 1938, when he took a Postgraduate Course at the Astrophysics Department of the Sternberg State Astronomical Institute and remained working in the Institute until the end of his life. He died in Moscow, aged 68.

Research.

He specialized in theoretical astrophysics and radio astronomy, as well as the Sun's corona, supernovae, and cosmic rays and their origins. He showed, in 1946, that the radio-wave radiation from the Sun emanates from the ionized layers of its corona, and he developed a mathematical method for discriminating between thermal and nonthermal radio waves in the Milky Way. He is noted especially for his suggestion that the radiation from the Crab Nebula is due to synchrotron radiation, in which unusually energetic electrons twist through magnetic fields at speeds close to that of light. Shklovsky proposed that cosmic rays from supernova explosions within 300 light years of the sun could have been responsible for some of the mass extinctions of life on earth.  In 1959 Shklovsky examined the orbital motion of Mars's inner satellite Phobos. He concluded that its orbit was decaying, and noted that if this decay was attributed to friction with the Martian atmosphere, then the satellite must have an exceptionally low density. In this context he voiced a suggestion that Phobos might be hollow, and possibly of artificial origin. This interpretation has since been refuted by more detailed study, but the apparent suggestion of extraterrestrial involvement caught the public imagination, though there is some disagreement as to how seriously Shklovsky intended the idea to be taken. However, Shklovsky and Carl Sagan argued for serious consideration of "paleocontact" with extraterrestrials in the early historical era, and for examination of myths and religious lore for evidence of such contact.  His 1962 book, Вселенная, жизнь, разум ("Universe, Life, Intelligence"), was expanded upon and reissued in 1966 with American astronomer Carl Sagan as co-author under the title "Intelligent Life in the Universe" (1966). This was the first comprehensive discussion of this field. Discussing the biological as well as astronomical issues of the subject, its unique format, alternating paragraphs written by Shklovsky and Sagan, demonstrated the deep mutual regard between the two and allowed them to express their views without compromise.  In 1967, before the discovery of pulsars, Shklovsky examined the X-ray and optical observations of Scorpius X-1 and correctly concluded that the radiation comes from an accreting neutron star.

Quotes.

In the September 1965 issue of Soviet Life, he made the following statement regarding prospects for the future of humanity:

Personal life.

His memoir, "Five Billion Vodka Bottles to the Moon: Tales of a Soviet Scientist," was published posthumously in 1991 by W.W. Norton & Co.  In "Five Billion Vodka Bottles to the Moon", Shklovsky recalled his visit to Philip Morrison, who in 1959 had co-authored with Cornell University colleague Giuseppe Cocconi the paper in Nature magazine which marks the beginning of the modern search for extraterrestrial life, and their discussion of such issues. Bitter over Soviet anti-semitism, of the five pioneer investigators of the field, Cocconi, Morrison, Cornell University's Frank Drake (of the 1961 Project Ozma and the Drake equation), Sagan, and Shklovsky, Shklovsky was quite aware of sharing his Jewish identity with Sagan. Indeed, Sagan's Jewish heritage was also Ukrainian Jewish.  He was known for his sharp wit and extreme likability. Colleagues in the astronomy department at the University of California, Berkeley, remember fondly his visit there in the 1970s. Well known for his "Intelligent Life in the Universe", he was asked by a graduate student if UFO sightings are as common in the Soviet Union as in the United States. "No," he replied. "In this area the Americans are far more advanced than us."

Iosif Samuilovich Shklovsky (; sometimes transliterated "Josif, Josif, Shklovskii, Shklovskij") (1 July 1916 – 3 March 1985) was a Soviet astronomer and astrophysicist. He is remembered for work in theoretical astrophysics and other topics, as well as for his 1962 book on extraterrestrial life, the revised and expanded version of which was co-authored by American astronomer Carl Sagan in 1966 as "Intelligent Life in the Universe".


Playing career.

Bødker was brought up in the highly regarded youth hockey program of Rødovre SIK. In 2005, at the age of 15, he moved to Frölunda HC in Sweden, where he played on Frölunda's junior team. He had an impressive 2006–07 season with 49 points (19 goals and 30 assists) in 39 games. The team won the national junior championships and Bødker also made his debut with the men's team in the Swedish Elite League.  After the season, Bødker was drafted by the Kitchener Rangers in the 2007 CHL Import Draft and he joined the team for the 2007–08 season. He had a successful first season in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), where he played on the Rangers' second line. He scored 29 goals and 44 assists for a total of 73 points in 62 regular season games. In the playoffs, he enjoyed even more success, with 35 points in 20 games en route to helping the Rangers winning the OHL playoff championship. In the Memorial Cup, he had six points in five games as the Rangers finished runner-up, losing in the finals to the Western Hockey League (WHL)'s Spokane Chiefs.  Bødker scored his first NHL goal on 12 October 2008, against Jean-Sébastien Giguère of the Anaheim Ducks. Bødker also played in the NHL YoungStars Game in 2009 at the year's All-Star weekend festivities in Montreal, Quebec.  In the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs, Bødker had an impressive showing, scoring two straight overtime-winning goals in Games 3 and 4 of the first round series against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Coyotes would go on to a franchise-record-setting playoff run to the Western Conference Finals, where the team ultimately lost to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings in five games. Bødker scored four goals and four assists during the Coyotes' playoff run. On 15 October 2014, Bødker, scored his first career NHL hat-trick against the Edmonton Oilers to lead the Coyotes to the 7–4 victory.  Following the 2014–15 NHL season Bødker became a restricted free agent under the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement. The Arizona Coyotes made him a qualifying offer to retain his NHL rights and, on 5 July 2015, Bødker filed for Salary Arbitration.  In the 2015–16 season Bødker became the first player ever to record two hat tricks in one season against the Ottawa Senators. His first came against the Senators in Ottawa on 24 October 2015 in a 4–1 win. His second hat trick against the Senators came on 28 November 2015 in Arizona in a 4–3 win.  On 29 February 2016, Bødker was traded to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Alex Tanguay, Conner Bleackley and prospect Kyle Wood, to assist the Avalanche in their playoff pursuit. Ultimately though, Colorado would not qualify for the post-season.  With the Avalanche unable to come to terms with Bødker, he left as a free agent in the off-season in signing a four-year $16 million contract with Stanley Cup finalists, the San Jose Sharks on 1 July 2016.  On 19 June 2018, he was traded by the Sharks alongside Julius Bergman and a sixth-round pick of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Mike Hoffman, Cody Donaghey and a fifth-round pick in the 2020 Draft.  On May 19, 2020, Bødker agreed to a two-year deal with HC Lugano of the National League (NL), beginning in the 2020–21 season.

International play.

Bødker's older brother Mads is a former defenceman with SønderjyskE Ishockey in the Danish league Metal Ligaen and a regular player with the Danish national team. The two brothers teamed up on the Danish junior national team at the 2007 Division I World Junior Championships and helped Denmark gain promotion to the top division for the first time. Playing against opponents up to two years older, Mikkel Bødker scored one goal in five games.  Bødker again played for Denmark at the 2008 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. He finished second in team scoring behind Lars Eller, notching two goals and four assists in six games.

Mikkel Bødker (surname alternately spelled Boedker; born 16 December 1989), is a Danish professional ice hockey right winger currently playing for HC Lugano of the National League (NL). He was selected eighth overall by the Phoenix Coyotes in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, making him the highest-ever drafted Danish player. He also features on the cover of the video game "NHL 10" in Denmark and Norway.


History.

The town of Zvečan is located near Mitrovica. It was mentioned for the first time in connection with the border clashes between the Serbs and Byzantines between 1091 and 1094. There is also an inscription that Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja, after the victory over the Byzantines in 1170, ordered that a prayer for the successful outcome of the battle be held in the church of St George at Zvečan.  In the 13th and 14th centuries Zvečan was one of the royal residences of the Serbian court. Queen Theodora died there in December 1322, and nine years later her husband, Stefan Uroš III was imprisoned and strangled there.  First, the Musić, then the Vojinović noble family, held the fortified city and region during the Serbian Empire of Uroš V (r. 1355–1371). As imperial power collapsed Zvečan was in a disputed zone being held by Miloš Pović in 1370 but claimed by Nikola Altomanović.  In 1389, after the Battle of Kosovo, it was integrated into the Ottoman Empire and later became part of the Sanjak of Novi Pazar.  From 1878 to 1908 it, along with the rest of the Sanjak, was administered by the Austro-Hungarian Empire as a result of the Congress of Berlin. But in 1908 it was returned to Turkey.  On the highest spot, i.e., the Upper Town, there are remains of St George's church, cistern and the main octagonal tower. The ramparts of this part of the fort are reinforced by massive towers. The main entrance to the town was on the western side.

Demographics.

According to the 2011 estimations by the Government of Kosovo, Zubin Potok has 1,838 households and 7,481 inhabitants. In 2015 report by OSCE, the population of Zvečan municipality stands at 16,650 inhabitants.

Ethnic groups.

The majority of Zvečan municipality is composed of Kosovo Serbs with around 16,000 inhabitants (95.1%). Also, there are 500 Kosovo Albanians and 300 inhabitants of other ethnicity. About 3,750 Kosovo Serbs are located in the municipality as Internally displaced persons (IDPs) as well as 250 refugees from Croatia. Most of Kosovo Albanians live in the villages of Boletin (Boljetin), Lipë (Lipa) and Zhazhë (Žaža).  The ethnic composition of the municipality of Zvečan, including IDPs:

Economy.

The largest employer in Zvečan is the lead and zinc melting factory “Trepča”. Its large smokestack is with 306 meters the tallest structure in Kosovo. Due to the serious environmental pollution from the factory, however, UN and KFOR shut it down and the only ongoing operation is alloy production for batteries and battery recycling. Once employing up to 4,000, the very low operations of “Trepča” has had a devastating effect on the local economy. Today, in the municipality only about 500 people are working at 60 small private companies and 150 shops.

Culture and education.

The Faculty of Arts, part of the University of Priština at Mitrovica, is situated at Zvečan.  Zvečan has hosted annually two international music festivals: The "North City, Jazz & Blues Festival", and international rock festival "Overdrive", as well as international art colony "Sokolica" and children song festival "Cvrkuti sa Ibra" ("Chirrups from the Ibar River").  The Zvečan Fortress and Sokolica Monastery, both from the Middle Ages, have been located in the Zvečan area.

Zvečan () or Zveçan (), is a town and municipality located in the Mitrovica District in Kosovo. As of 2015, it has a population of 16,650 inhabitants. It covers an area of, and consists of a town and 35 villages.


Design.

The frigates were originally intended as a replacement for the aging s, with a primary focus on anti-submarine warfare (ASW). Eventually, the need for a robust anti-aircraft defense as well as the possibility of incorporating the Naval Strike Missile surface-to-surface missile produced by Norwegian company Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace led to a more multi-role design. The selection of Navantia as prime contractor led to the design being very similar to the Spanish Navy's s, including the incorporation of Lockheed Martin's AEGIS combat system.

Improvements.

The "Fridtjof Nansen"-class frigates are larger, and have more personnel and equipment than the "Oslo"-class frigates. Compared to the "Oslo"-class vessels, the new vessels are 35 meters longer, nine meters taller and two meters deeper below water. They are also five meters broader and have three times the water displacement of the old ships. The frigates also operates six new NFH NH90 helicopters, with the role as an extended "arm" of the frigates' ASW and ASuW capabilities.

Service history.

On 26 February 2009, the Norwegian government decided to deploy "Fridtjof Nansen" to the Gulf of Aden, thereby participating in the ongoing Operation Atalanta, the European Union's counter-piracy campaign in Somalia. "Fridtjof Nansen" joined the campaign in August 2009.  "Fridtjof Nansen"s engagement in Operation Atalanta was carried out without a permanently stationed helicopter. Mainly due to delays in delivery of the new NH-90, the ship was equipped with two fast RHIBs for its onboard contingent of maritime special operations forces (Marinejegerkommandoen).  In November 2009 she became involved in a firefight with suspected pirates after being attacked while inspecting a fishing vessel.  In December 2013 HNoMS "Helge Ingstad" and the Danish support ship were sent to the Syrian port of Latakia to escort the Norwegian registered RoRo cargo ship and the Danish cargo ship, which transported Syrian chemical weapons to Italy where they were handed over to a United States Navy ship for destruction in international waters.  In 2018, while returning from participation in Exercise "Trident Juncture", "Helge Ingstad" was involved in a collision with a Maltese-registered oil tanker, "Sola TS", that severely damaged the frigate and caused a severe list that placed it in serious danger of sinking in spite of its position. The frigate was successfully beached to prevent it sinking and allow the crew to be evacuated. In the early hours of 13 November the vessel partially sank with only smaller sections of the superstructure remaining above water. The vessel was recovered but with the cost of repair prohibitive it has been decommissioned and will be scrapped.

Ships in class.

The ships are named after explorers Fridtjof Nansen, Roald Amundsen, Otto Sverdrup, Helge Ingstad and Thor Heyerdahl.

The "Fridtjof Nansen"-class frigates are a class of frigates that are the main surface combatant units of the Royal Norwegian Navy. The ships are named after famous, with the lead ship of the class bearing the name of Fridtjof Nansen, the Norwegian scientist, explorer and humanitarian. Five ships were ordered from Spanish shipbuilder Bazan (now Navantia). The total projected cost for all five ships is (about USD ). As of November 2018, four are in active service and one has sunk and has been decommissioned.


History.

"Urban Terror" started out in 1998 as a planned map pack for "Quake III Arena", in which real world environments would be featured. It expanded from this idea to a full total conversion featuring realistic weapons and gameplay similar to "Action Quake 2". Development group "Silicon Ice Development" was formed in spring 2000 and was made of several international developers, many whom were familiar with modifying Quake III Engine games; hence progress was made quickly. When its first version, beta 1.0, was released at QuakeCon 2000, "Urban Terror" was the realism mod with the most features and graphics completed.  Frozensand began development on Urban Terror HD in 2009 and was set to release an alpha version in 2010 but soon abandoned the project and switched engines from idtech3 to Unreal Engine 4 due to licensing complications of idtech3.  The most recent version, 4.3.4, was released on June 21, 2018.

Gameplay.

"Urban Terror" is billed by FrozenSand as a "Hollywood tactical shooter." It blends elements from games such as "Quake III Arena", "Unreal Tournament" and "Counter-Strike". The realism in the mod is introduced through a number of changes: The number of weapons and other gear that can be carried is limited. Damage is also more realistic than in "Quake III Arena", based on dividing the player target into discrete areas.  Numerous game modes are featured, including classic first-person shooter modes such as Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, and Last Man Standing. Additionally, "Urban Terror" has a nonviolent "jump mode," in which players utilize the game's unique mechanics to progress through movement-based "jump maps" of varying difficulties.

Urban Terror is a freeware multiplayer first-person shooter video game developed by FrozenSand. Originally a total conversion of id Software's "Quake III Arena", FrozenSand released "Urban Terror" as a free standalone game in 2007 utilizing ioquake3 as a game engine. While the game engine is licensed under the open-source GPL, "Urban Terror"'s game code is closed source and its assets are freeware but not open content.