Members.

During its foundation, the coalition consisted of three civil society organizations:

History.

Gordon Bajnai announced his return to politics on 23 October 2012, during the anti-government demonstration of the One Million for Press Freedom (Milla). On the protest, he called for an anti-Orbán coalition so as to form a supermajority in Parliament with the help of which the changes done by Orbán's ruling party, Fidesz could be undone.  In his speech, Bajnai repeatedly used a variant of the term ("We may fail on our own, but together, we shall prove victorious!"), when he proclaimed his support for such a "cooperation between hopeful left-wingers, disappointed rightwingers, politically abandoned free-thinkers and committed Greens" that his organization along with two other civilian body named Together 2014 as a reference to the date of the next general elections in Hungary. In December 2012, Bajnai announced that he intends to be a parliamentarian candidate in the 2014 general election.  According to plans, Together 2014 would have been an umbrella organization of centre-left parties, similar to the Olive Tree in Italy which established against Silvio Berlusconi's right-wing coalition in 1995. However Politics Can Be Different (LMP) had rejected the cooperation in November 2012 and January 2013, and the Hungarian Socialist Party led by Attila Mesterházy gradually took over the initiative.  The Together movement transformed itself into party on 8 March 2013, as only parties could take part in the election according to the rules. Three co-presidents were elected: Viktor Szigetvári (Patriotism and Progress Association), Péter Kónya (Solidarity) and Péter Juhász (Milla). The party was registered as "Together – Party for a New Era" because several other organizations overtaken the name "Together 2014" at the National Election Office.  On 14 January 2014, five opposition parties, including Together, entered into a coalition and formed Unity alliance. Contrary to his earlier plans, Bajnai could not reach to become joint Prime Minister candidate of the left-wing opposition since Attila Mesterházy (MSZP) was appointed to that position. The Unity suffered a heavy defeat and Together won only three mandates within the alliance and was unable to form a parliamentary group. The Together–Dialogue for Hungary alliance received 7.25% of the votes in the 2014 European Parliament election and gained one seat (Benedek Jávor, co-leader of the Dialogue for Hungary).  Following the retirement of Gordon Bajnai in September 2014, Viktor Szigetvári became the only key leader of the party. He was elected sole president in February 2015, against Levente Pápa.  On 24 September 2016, the delegate assembly decided to participate in the next parliamentary election with a separate national list. Together also announced its intention of selection of joint opposition individual candidates through primaries in each constituencies.  On 4 February 2017, Péter Juhász was elected as the party's new leader. On the same day, Balázs Berkecz and Nóra Hajdú were elected as vice-presidents, and Viktor Szigetvári as the leader of the party's National Political Council (the board of the party). Since March, Juhász urged the election cooperation of those "democratic opposition parties", which refuse both the Orbán regime and the former governing left-wing parties, who represent the "world before 2010". Juhász called his concept as "New Pole" ("Új Pólus"), with the possible participation of the Politics Can Be Different (LMP), the Dialogue for Hungary (PM), the Hungarian Two-tailed Dog Party (MKKP) and the Momentum Movement, in addition to his party. With that statement, Juhász refused the cooperation with the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP), the Democratic Coalition (DK) and the Hungarian Liberal Party (MLP). According to a Medián opinion poll published in July 2017, this hypothetical alliance would receive 16 percent of the vote in the next election. While the Together and the PM renewed their alliance in accordance with Juhász's "New Pole" concept on 4 October 2017, both LMP and Momentum Movement had rejected the election cooperation with other parties.  On 23 June 2017, MP Zsuzsanna Szelényi announced that she resigned from her position in the party leadership and quit Together, after losing the election for the party leadership in February against Péter Juhász. She also disagreed with the new direction and method of politics, installed by Juhász and criticized the new president's guerrilla campaign methods and media PR campaigns and "ostentatious performances". She also said that she would retain her parliamentary mandate.  In January 2018, leaders of the party announced that Together will participate in the 2018 national election separately. Former president Viktor Szigetvári was nominated the party's candidate for the position of prime minister. The party failed to reach 5% electoral threshold, receiving 0.66 percent of the vote, albeit an individual candidate Szabolcs Szabó obtained a mandate, becoming his party's only MP. Subsequently, Szabó joined the LMP parliamentary group. According to the laws, Together had to repay the state aid of HUF 150 million to the state budget, as a result Juhász organized a fundraising campaign. The Together ceased to exist on 2 June 2018.

Alliance.

On 8 March 2013, the Dialogue for Hungary (PM) has established an electoral coalition with the Together, which was formed as a political party. Benedek Jávor and Tímea Szabó, co-chairs of the green party also became members of the Together's board. The two parties registered a joint national list for the 2014 European Parliament election too. Dialogue for Hungary broke off the permanent nature of alliance between the two parties on 9 November 2014. The two parties renewed their election cooperation for the 2018 national election on 4 October 2017. However after PM politician Gergely Karácsony became the Socialist Party's prime minister-candidate too, the Together has terminated the cooperation agreement on 8 December 2017.

Party's ideology.

The party's ideology was the Social democracy, Social liberalism, Liberalism and the Pro-Europeanism.

Election results.

For the Hungarian Parliament:  For the European Parliament:

Together (), officially Together – Party for a New Era (), formerly also known as Together 2014 (), was a social-liberal political party in Hungary formed on 26 October 2012 for the 2014 Hungarian parliamentary election by Gordon Bajnai, the former Prime Minister of Hungary, to contrast Viktor Orbán's government. Together was founded as a coalition of left-wing and liberal political movements and civil organizations that transformed itself into a party in March 2013.


Early life.

Allyson Brooke Hernandez was born on July 7, 1993 in San Antonio, Texas, where she was raised by parents Jerry Hernandez and Patricia Castillo. She has an older brother. Brooke was a premature baby, weighing in at one pound and fourteen ounces when she was born. She is of Mexican descent. Brooke did not grow up speaking Spanish, stating that her parents made the decision to prevent her from being discriminated against in school. Brooke said she currently has a Spanish tutor. Brooke attended Cornerstone Christian Elementary School in San Antonio, and completed her high school education through home-schooling. She identifies as Christian.

Career.

"The X Factor" and Fifth Harmony.

Brooke auditioned for The X Factor in Austin, Texas, not far from her hometown in San Antonio, singing "On My Knees" from contemporary Christian and Latin pop singer Jaci Velasquez. For her bootcamp round she sang against Jullia Bullock singing "Knockin' on Heaven's Door". She was eliminated during the bootcamp round of competition, but was brought back along with Dinah Jane, Normani, Lauren Jauregui, and Camila Cabello to form the group now known as Fifth Harmony. The group advanced to the live shows and managed to finish in third place. Her grandfather died during week 4 performance of "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" by Kelly Clarkson.  After the finale of "The X Factor", Fifth Harmony was signed to Syco Music and Epic Records. The group released their first "Extended Play ("EP), "Better Together" in 2013, along with the albums "Reflection" in 2015 and "7/27" in 2016. They released their self-titled third studio album "Fifth Harmony" on August 25, 2017. On March 19, 2018, the group announced an indefinite hiatus to focus on solo projects.

2017–present: Upcoming debut album and "Dancing with the Stars".

Aside from her work with Fifth Harmony, Brooke was also featured on American DJ-duo Lost Kings song "Look at Us Now" along with American rapper ASAP Ferg. The song was released on June 9, 2017. In July 2017, she was set to perform a solo show in São Paulo, but the show was canceled. Brooke joined Plácido Domingo to sing two songs on January 24, 2018 at the Convention Center's Lila Cockrell Theatre in San Antonio, Texas. Brooke collaborated with German DJ Topic for the song "Perfect", released on January 26, 2018 along with its music video. She performed the song during an episode of "Wild 'n Out" in March 2018. In early 2018, Brooke joined the other members of Fifth Harmony in an episode of "Lip Sync Battle", performing a medley of songs by Selena and Jennifer Lopez. In March 2018, she sang a medley of songs from Oscar-winning films such as "Beauty and the Beast" and "My Heart Will Go On" during the "E! News" broadcast of the red carpet pre-show of the 90th Academy Awards. On March 12, 2018, Brooke signed with Maverick Entertainment as a solo artist. She appeared in an episode of season 2 of "Famous in Love" as herself.  In April 2018, Brooke confirmed she is working on her debut solo studio album, with producers 1500 or Nothin'. In August 2018, it was announced that Brooke signed a record deal with Latium Entertainment and Atlantic Records. The company also announced that Brooke would release her debut solo single later in the fall. She debuted a new, Spanish-language song called "Vámonos" at the Fusion Festival in Liverpool, England on September 2, 2018. The song was released on November 23, 2018, as a collaboration with Kris Kross Amsterdam and Messiah; she also performed the song prior to its official release at the 2018 ALMA Awards. Brooke released a cover of "Last Christmas" by Wham! on November 16, 2018, and performed it at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. She then announced her memoir, "Finding Your Harmony", which was set to hit bookshelves on April 2, 2019. It has not yet been released. On December 21, 2018, Brooke released a song called "The Truth Is In There", written by Diane Warren, as part of Weight Watchers International's Wellness That Works campaign. "Low Key", Brooke's official debut solo single from her upcoming album, was released on January 31, 2019. Her debut album is expected to be released in spring 2020. In May 2019, Brooke released the single "Lips Don't Lie" featuring rapper A Boogie wit da Hoodie.  In September 2019, Brooke performed the opening theme song to Nickelodeon's "The Casagrandes", a spin-off of "The Loud House". From September to November 2019, Brooke competed on the 28th season of "Dancing with the Stars", finishing in third place. She released the song and music video for "Higher" with Matoma in September 2019. Brooke danced to her own song "Higher" a few months later while on "Dancing with the Stars," where she received her first perfect score from the judges. In November, Brooke released the single "No Good". On December 8, 2019, she opened the Miss Universe beauty pageant, performing a medley of her singles and a Selena tribute with "I Could Fall in Love" and "Dreaming of You".  In January 2020, she announced her Time To Shine Tour on social media with shows in North America, which kicked off on March 6, 2020 in Chicago, IL at the House of Blues. However, due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic, the tour was cancelled until further notice.  In May 2020, Brooke revealed the cover of her upcoming memoir, "Finding Your Harmony", which was previously scheduled to release in April 2019. The new expected release date for the singer's book is October 2020. The memoir is set to cover aspects of her life, including her childhood and her rise as a solo artist.

Influences.

Growing up, Brooke listened to artists such as Selena, Gloria Estefan, and Jennifer Lopez. She has also cited Justin Timberlake and Bruno Mars as influences.

Philanthropy.

With Fifth Harmony, Brooke was involved with charities DoSomething.org and the Ryan Seacrest Foundation. She has also participated in activities by the ASPCA. Brooke is the Celebrity Ambassador for March of Dimes, a nonprofit organization working to prevent premature birth, birth defects and infant mortality. In December 2016, she had a toy drive in her hometown, San Antonio, benefiting children at local hospitals.

Tours.

Headlining

Allyson Brooke Hernandez (born July 7, 1993) is an American singer. She rose to prominence as part of the girl group Fifth Harmony. Brooke began to establish herself in 2017 as a solo artist, featuring on Lost Kings' "Look at Us Now" with rapper ASAP Ferg in 2017, and collaborating with DJ Topic on the single "Perfect" in 2018. She sang a medley of songs from Oscar-winning films at the "E! News" red carpet pre-show of the 90th Academy Awards. Following the indefinite hiatus of Fifth Harmony in May 2018, Brooke signed a record deal with Atlantic. She released "Vámonos", a collaboration with Kris Kross Amsterdam and Messiah, in November 2018. In January 2019, Brooke released "Low Key" featuring Tyga, her first single from her upcoming debut solo album, expected to be released in spring 2020. She competed in season 28 of "Dancing with the Stars" and placed 3rd alongside her partner Sasha Farber.


Premise.

"Narcos: Mexico" explores the origin of the modern war on drugs, beginning at the time when Mexican traffickers were a loose and disorganized confederation of small-time independent cannabis growers and dealers. The series dramatizes the rise of the Guadalajara Cartel in the 1980s as Félix Gallardo (Diego Luna) unifies the traffickers in order to build an empire. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Kiki Camarena (Michael Peña) moves his wife and young son from California to Guadalajara to take on a new post, and he quickly learns that his assignment will be more challenging than he ever could have imagined.

Production.

Development.

Netflix renewed "Narcos" for two more seasons on September 6, 2016, a few days after the release of the second season. Production on the fourth season began in Mexico in late 2017, following the release of the third season. On July 18, 2018, Netflix announced that the fourth season would instead "reset" with almost an entirely new cast as a new Netflix original series titled "Narcos: Mexico".  The first season was released on November 16, 2018, and Netflix renewed it for a second season on December 5, 2018.

Cast and crew.

In December 2017, Michael Peña and Diego Luna were announced to star in the upcoming series. A few days later, Matt Letscher joined the cast in a regular role. Other key cast members revealed by showrunner Eric Newman include Tenoch Huerta, Joaquín Cosío, Teresa Ruiz, Alyssa Diaz, and José María Yazpik (reprising his role from the third season of "Narcos").  Amat Escalante and Alonso Ruizpalacios directed episodes for the upcoming series, while Colombian Andi Baiz, director of several episodes for the first three seasons of "Narcos", also directed for "Narcos: Mexico".

Murder of location scout.

Carlos Muñoz Portal, one of the show's location scouts, was found murdered with multiple gunshot wounds on September 15, 2017 in central Mexico near the town of Temascalapa. A spokesman for the attorney general in Mexico said that there were no witnesses due to the remote location, but the authorities would continue to investigate. Authorities are considering the possibility of narco gang involvement, but the murder has not been solved.

Factual differences.

Although many of the events and characters are based on true history, some liberties were taken to streamline the story of the Mexican drug war into a cohesive narrative. The murders of John Clay Walker and Albert Radelat were real; however, they were reportedly tortured beforehand. The character of Sofia Conesa, portrayed as the love interest of Rafael Caro Quintero, was named Sara Cosio in real life.

Critical reception.

The first season of "Narcos: Mexico" has a score of 89% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 35 reviews with an average rating of 7.43/10, with the critics consensus stating "Dangerous, thrilling, and highly addictive, "Narcos: Mexico"'s first season expertly expands the franchise by exploring new territory in the drug war's grim history and showcasing electric performances from Diego Luna and Michael Peña." On Metacritic, season one holds a weighted average score of 80 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Narcos: Mexico is an American crime drama web television series created and produced by Chris Brancato, Carlo Bernard, and Doug Miro that premiered on Netflix on November 16, 2018. It was originally intended to be the fourth season of the Netflix series "Narcos", but it was ultimately developed as a companion series. It focuses on the illegal drug trade in Mexico, whereas the parent series centered on the illegal drug trade in Colombia. On December 5, 2018, Netflix renewed the series for a second season, which premiered on February 13, 2020.


Czech Republic in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019

Background.

Prior to the 2019 Contest, Czech Republic had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest seven times since its first entry in. The nation competed in the contest on three consecutive occasions between 2007 and 2009 without qualifying to the final: in 2007 Kabát performing "Malá dáma" placed 28th (last) in the semi-final achieving only one point, in 2008 Tereza Kerndlová performing "Have Some Fun" placed 18th (second to last) in her semi-final scoring nine points, in 2009 Gipsy.cz performing the song "Aven Romale" placed 18th (last) in their semi-final failing to score any points. The Czech broadcaster withdrew from the contest between 2010 and 2014 citing reasons such as low viewing figures and poor results for their absence. In 2015, Czech Republic returned to the contest and once again failed to qualify to the final with the song "Hope Never Dies" performed by Marta Jandová and Václav Noid Bárta, placing 13th in their semi-final with 33 points. In 2016, Czech Republic was represented by Gabriela Gunčíková and the song "I Stand". The country qualified for the final and placed 25th out of 26 entries. This marked the first qualification to the final for the Czech Republic since they debuted in the contest in 2007. In 2018, Czech Republic was represented by Mikolas Josef with the song "Lie to Me". The song finished in sixth place with 281 points, achieving their highest finish in the contest and their first appearance in the top ten.

Before Eurovision.

"Eurovision Song CZ".

"Eurovision Song CZ" was the national selection process organised by Česká televize to select Czech Republic's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2019. The winner was revealed in January 2019.

Format.

The winner was determined, from among eight competing entries, by the combination of votes from a public vote and a ten-member international jury panel. For the public vote, users were able to vote for the winner from 7 January 2019 to 21 January 2019 via the official Eurovision Song Contest app. For first time, both international and Czech users were able to vote. International votes have the same weight like international juror. The international jury panel consisted of ten former Eurovision entrants:

Competing entries.

Česká televize received three hundred song submissions for the Eurovision Song Contest, of which 60 were by Czech musicians. The eight selected finalists were announced on 7 January 2019 and the entries were made available to the public.

Promotion.

Lake Malawi made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "Friend of a Friend" as the Czech Eurovision entry. On 6 April, the group performed at the "Eurovision in Concert" event in Amsterdam to over 4500 spectators. On 14 April, Lake Malawi performed during the "London Eurovision Party" at the Café de Paris venue in London, hosted by Nicki French and Paddy O'Connell. They will also perform "Friend of a Friend" at the "Eurovision Pre-Party Madrid" on 20 April, and at the "Moscow Eurovision Party" on 26 April. They also performed during the Ukrainian Eurovision national final.

At Eurovision.

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big 5" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 28 January 2019, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Czech Republic was placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 14 May 2019, and was scheduled to perform in the first half of the show.  Once all the competing songs for the 2019 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Czech Republic was set to perform in position 6, following the entry from Slovenia and preceding the entry from Hungary.

Semi-final.

The Czech Republic performed sixth in the first semi-final, following the entry from Slovenia and preceding the entry from Hungary. At the end of the show, they were announced as one of the ten countries to qualify for the grand final, making it the country's third qualification overall and second in a row. Subsequently, at the semi-final winners' press conference, the qualifying contestants all drew to see which half of the final they would compete in. The Czech Republic was drawn to compete in the first half. It was later revealed that Czech Republic placed second in the semi-final, receiving a total of 242 points: 86 points from the televoting and 157 points from the juries.

Voting.

Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding two sets of points from 1-8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results will be released shortly after the grand final.

Split voting results.

The following five members comprised the Czech jury:

Czech Republic participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019. The Czech broadcaster Česká televize (ČT) organised a national final in order to select the Czech entry for the 2019 contest in Tel Aviv, Israel.


Background.

According to Ukrainian law, the election of the President of Ukraine must take place on the last Sunday of March of the fifth year of the term of the incumbent president. Thus the 2019 Ukrainian presidential election should take place on 31 March 2019. The Ukrainian parliament had to approve the date of the presidential election no later than 100 days before the election day. On 26 November 2018 the parliament set the presidential vote for 31 March 2019.  34,544,993 people were eligible to vote in the elections. However, the March 2014 annexation of Crimea by Russia and the occupation of parts of Donetsk Oblast and Luhansk Oblast by separatists (since April 2014) made roughly 12% of eligible voters unable to participate in the elections. The Ukrainian Central Election Commission closed all five foreign polling stations in Russia ahead of the vote.  Analysis of candidates by the Ukrainian NGO "Chesno" found that Petro Poroshenko had the largest election fund (415 million Ukrainian hryvnia (UAH), about $15.4 million), followed by Yulia Tymoshenko with UAH 320 million and Volodymyr Zelensky with UAH 102.8 million and Serhiy Taruta with UAH 98.4 million. By comparison, in the 2010 Ukrainian presidential election, then winner Viktor Yanukovych spent over $40 million and runner-up Yulia Tymoshenko spent $36 million.  A total of 2,369 international observers from 17 countries and 19 organizations were officially registered to monitor the elections. A record number of 139 non-governmental Ukrainian organizations are registered as observers.

Candidates.

According to Ukrainian law, a presidential candidate must be a citizen of Ukraine who is at least 35 years old, can speak the (state) Ukrainian language and has lived in Ukraine for the last ten years prior to election day. Candidates were nominated by a political party, or by self-nomination. Candidates also had to submit a declaration of income for the year preceding the election year. This document was then scrutinized by the National Agency for Prevention of Corruption, which subsequently published the results of the audit. Nominations could be submitted from 31 December 2018 to 4 February 2019. The end of the registration period was 9 February 2019. After a potential candidate provided the required documentation to the Central Election Commission (CEC), this body had five days to register the candidate or to refuse to do so.  Candidates were required to pay a nomination deposit of 2.5 million hryvnias (approx. 90,000 US dollars); only the two candidates that progress to the second round of voting will get this deposit returned (the other deposits will be transferred to the state budget).  By the end of the registration period on 9 February 2019, the Central Election Commission (CEC) had registered 44 candidates for the elections. This meant that the largest number of candidates participated in the elections. In total, 92 people submitted documents to the CEC to participate in the elections. Five candidates withdrew. The CEC refused to register 47 people, most for their failure to pay the deposit.  Candidates could withdraw their candidacy, but not later than 23 days before the election. On 8 March, the CEC approved the final list of candidates. There were a total of 39 candidates for the first round of the election.

Registration denied.

The CEC rejected 47 applications (mostly for failure to pay the deposit of 2.5 mln hryvnias (approx. 90,000 US dollars)) of potential candidates, including:

Ukrainian television coverage.

During the 2019 Ukrainian presidential election, various Ukrainian television channels supported a candidate for President of Ukraine.  Five groups supported Poroshenko:  Petro Poroshenko's Channel 5 and Pryamiy supported Poroshenko and were very critical of Volodymyr Zelensky and Yulia Tymoshenko.  Dmytro Firtash's very powerful Inter supported Yuriy Boyko and Poroshenko.  Rinat Akhmetov's TRK Ukraina, which is owned by Akhmetov's System Capital Management Holdings, supported Poroshenko, Oleh Lyashko, and Oleksandr Vilkul. Akhmetov's Opposition Bloc nominated Vilkul.  Pro-Russia Viktor Medvedchuk's Channel 112 and Yevheniy Murayev's supported Poroshenko, Lyashko, and Boyko. Medvedchuk's Opposition Platform — For Life nominated Boyko. The godfather of Medvedchuk's daughter is Vladimir Putin.  Petro Dyminskyi's supported Poroshenko's allies allowing them to explain their story while they were under investigation.  Three TV groups were very critical of Poroshenko:  Ihor Kolomoisky's 1+1 media group supported Volodymyr Zelensky. Zelenesky worked for Kolomoisky's channel.  Andriy Sadovyi's, supported Anatoliy Hrytsenko and opposed Poroshenko.  Pro-Russia Yevheniy Murayev's supported pro-Russia Vilkul and was against Poroshenko but neutral to Tymoshenko and Lyashko.  Under the state-owned, was critical of Poroshenko.  Victor Pinchuk's ICTV, Novyi Kanal and STB were neutral.

Results.

With a voter turnout of 62.8%, about 18.9 million people voted in the first round of elections on 31 March. Volodymyr Zelensky of the Servant of the People and the incumbent President Petro Poroshenko both advanced to the second round of elections on 21 April. In the first round, Zelensky earned 30% of the votes compared to Poroshenko's 16%. Exit polls during the second round of voting predicted that Zelensky would win with more than 70% of the votes. With only 3% of the votes counted, the CEC confirmed similar preliminary results. Poroshenko conceded the results of the election in a speech soon after the polls closed and exit-poll data was released. He wrote on Twitter: "We succeeded to ensure free, fair, democratic and competitive elections... I will accept the will of Ukrainian people."  According to the CEC, preliminary results with about 99.27% of the votes counted indicates that Zelensky received about 73.19% of the votes to the incumbent president's 24.48%.

Reactions.

Poroshenko is reported to have tweeted that "a new inexperienced Ukrainian president... could be quickly returned to Russia's orbit of influence." Some of Zelensky's critics have expressed concerns over his close ties with billionaire oligarch Ihor Kolomoyskyi, doubting whether Zelensky will be able to stand up against the country's influential oligarchs and the Russian President Vladimir Putin. Several European Union nations offered their congratulations and hopes of continued partnerships in the future. British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said that Zelensky "will now truly be the Servant of the People." Similar sentiments were expressed by Andrzej Duda, President of Poland, Donald Tusk, the President of the European Council, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Russia's deputy foreign minister, Grigory Karasin, stated that "The new leadership now must understand and realise the hopes of its electors" in both domestic and foreign policy.  Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau congratulated Zelensky and thanked the Canadians among the observers overseeing the elections. The President of the United States, Donald Trump, called the president-elect to congratulate him and "the Ukrainian people for a peaceful [and] democratic election."  Jonah Fisher of BBC News described the preliminary result as a "massive protest vote" and "a humiliation" for the incumbent president, but commented that it would be difficult for Zelensky to put his "vague policies" into action.  A joint letter of congratulations was issued by both Tusk and Jean Claude Juncker, the President of the European Commission. The European Union (EU) leaders stated that they hoped Zelensky's victory would speed up the implementation of the remaining parts of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, including the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area.

The 2019 Ukrainian presidential election was held on 31 March and 21 April in a two-round system. There were a total of 39 candidates for the election on the ballot. The 2014 annexation of Crimea by Russia and the occupation of parts of Donetsk Oblast and Luhansk Oblast prevented around 12% of eligible voters from participating in the election. As no candidate received an absolute majority of the vote, a second round was held between the top two candidates, Volodymyr Zelensky, who played the role of Ukraine's president in a popular television comedy and the incumbent president, Petro Poroshenko, on 21 April 2019. According the Central Election Commission, Zelensky won the second round with 73.22% of the votes.


Qualified teams.

<onlyinclude> </onlyinclude>

Format.

There was no automatic qualifying berth, and all 55 UEFA national teams, including the 12 national teams whose countries would stage matches, had to compete in the qualifiers for the 24 places at the finals tournament. As the host cities were appointed by UEFA in September 2014, before qualifying, it was possible for the national teams from the host cities to fail to qualify for the finals tournament.  With the creation of the UEFA Nations League starting in 2018, the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League was linked with UEFA Euro qualifying, providing teams another chance to qualify for the tournament. The qualifying process guaranteed that at least one team from each division of the previous Nations League season would qualify for the final tournament (either directly or through the play-offs).  The main qualifying process began with the qualifying group stage in March 2019, instead of late 2018 immediately following the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and ended in November 2019. The qualifiers were played on double matchdays in March, June, September, October and November 2019. As with the 2016 qualifying tournament, the group stage decided 20 of the 24 teams that advanced to the final tournament. Following the admission of Kosovo to UEFA in May 2016, it was announced that the 55 teams will be drawn into 10 groups after the completion of the League phase of the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League, and the draw seeding will be based on the overall rankings of the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League. There were five groups of five teams, and five groups of six teams, with the four UEFA Nations League Finals participants guaranteed to be drawn into groups of five teams (so they can compete in the Nations League Finals in June 2019). The top two teams in each of the 10 groups qualified for the final tournament.  Following the qualifying group stage, the qualifying play-offs will take place to determine the remaining 4 teams for the finals tournament. Unlike previous editions, the participants of the play-offs will not be decided based on results from the qualifying group stage. Instead, 16 teams will be selected based on their performance in the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League. These teams will be divided into four paths, each containing four teams, with one team from each path qualifying for the final tournament. Each league will have its own play-off path if at least four teams have not already qualified in the conventional qualifying group stage. The Nations League group winners will automatically qualify for the play-off path of their league. If a group winner has already qualified through the qualifying group stage, they will be replaced by the next best-ranked team in the same league. However, if there are not enough non-qualified teams in the same league, then the spot will go to the next best team in the overall ranking. However, group winners cannot face teams from a higher league.  Each play-off path will feature two single-leg semi-finals, and one single-leg final. The best-ranked team will host the fourth-ranked team, and the second-ranked team will host the third-ranked team. The host of the final will be decided by a draw, with semi-final winner 1 or 2 hosting the final. The four play-off path winners will join the 20 teams that have already qualified for the final tournament. The UEFA Executive Committee approved the use of the video assistant referee system for the play-offs during their meeting in Nyon, Switzerland on 4 December 2019, the first time the technology will be used in the qualifying competition.

Tiebreakers for group ranking.

If two or more teams are equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following tie-breaking criteria are applied:  Notes

Criteria for overall ranking.

To determine the overall rankings of the European Qualifiers, results against teams in sixth place are discarded and the following criteria are applied:

Schedule.

Below is the schedule of the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying campaign.  Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, the qualifying play-offs, originally scheduled for 26 and 31 March 2020, were postponed by UEFA on 17 March 2020. Afterwards, UEFA tentatively scheduled for the matches to take place on 4 and 9 June 2020. However, the play-offs were later postponed indefinitely by UEFA on 1 April 2020. The scheduling of the play-offs was reviewed by the UEFA Executive Committee during their meeting on 17 June 2020. At the meeting, UEFA decided to stage the play-off semi-finals on 8 October 2020, and the finals on 12 November 2020. To facilitate this, an additional matchday was added to both international windows, allowing for triple-headers to be played in order to complete the league phase of the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League as scheduled.  The fixture list was confirmed by UEFA on 2 December 2018 following the draw.

Draw.

The qualifying group stage draw was held on 2 December 2018, 12:00 CET (11:00 local time), at the Convention Centre Dublin in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. The 55 teams were drawn into 10 groups: five groups of five teams (Groups A–E) and five groups of six teams (Groups F–J).  The teams were seeded based on the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League overall ranking. The four participants of the 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals in June 2019 were placed in a separate pot and drawn into Groups A–D which only have five teams so that they only have to play eight qualifying matches, leaving two free matchdays to play in Nations League Finals. The following restrictions were also applied with computer assistance:

Seeding.

The teams were seeded based on the November 2018 UEFA Nations League overall rankings. Teams in "italics" are final tournament hosts. Teams in bold qualified for the final tournament.

Groups.

Matches took place from 21 March to 19 November 2019.

Play-offs.

Teams that failed in the qualifying group stage may still qualify for the final tournament through the play-offs. Each league in the UEFA Nations League will be allocated one of the four remaining final tournament spots. Four teams from each league that have not already qualified for the European Championship finals will compete in the play-offs of their league. The play-off berths were first allocated to each Nations League group winner, and if any of the group winners had already qualified for the European Championship finals, then to the next best ranked team of the league, etc.

Overall ranking.

The overall rankings were used for seeding in the final tournament draw. Results against sixth-placed teams were not considered in the ranking.

Team of the European Qualifiers.

Following the completion of the qualifying group stage, UEFA released a "Team of the European Qualifiers" on 29 November 2019. The team featured 11 players based on accumulated scores from the FedEx Performance Zone player rankings, which was based on form from qualifying. Additional weighting was given for teams that played only eight matches.

The UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying tournament is a football competition that is being played from March 2019 to November 2020 to determine the 24 UEFA member men's national teams that will advance to the UEFA Euro 2020 final tournament, to be staged across Europe in June and July 2021. The competition is linked with the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League, giving countries a secondary route to qualify for the final tournament. For the first time since 1976, no team will automatically qualify for the UEFA European Championship as the host country.


Prelude.

The conference was planned to be held in Brazil in November 2019, but a year before the planned start, newly-elected President Jair Bolsonaro withdrew the offer to host the event, citing economic reasons. Then Chile stepped up and became the new host, but social unrest in the lead-up to the meeting forced it late October 2019 to withdraw from hosting. Then by mutual agreement between the UN, Chile, and Spain, the latter became the new host.  Various climate activists had set out from Europe to South America by sailboat, before the decision had been taken to relocate COP25 to Madrid. In mid-November, some of these activists joined an alternative conference, the "Forest COP", near the centre of the Amazon jungle, in Terra do Meio. The event was attended by indigenous leaders, scientists and academics such as Eduardo Góes Neves, and activists such as Nadezhda Tolokonnikova. After the Forest COP, a follow-on event, ""Amazônia Centro do Mundo"" (Amazon: The Centre of the World) took place on 17 November in nearby Altamira.

Event planning.

In November, Teresa Ribera, the Spanish Minister for the Ecological Transition, announced the conference would be held at the IFEMA facilities in Madrid. The Spanish government divided the COP25 into two zones, one blue and one green. The blue zone hosted sessions for negotiation between the parties of the COP. This included the 15th session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol and the 2nd session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement. The blue zone also hosted events and activities run by NGO actors and side events organized by states other than Spain. The green zone was dedicated to civil society initiatives aiming to promote social participation. This area was divided into three thematic sub-zones: one involving youth events, the second designated to indigenous peoples, and the third focused on science and innovation. The green zone was intended to be an open-dialogue pavilion for all types of civil actors, ranging from NGOs to businesses, academia and sponsors.

Participants.

Harjeet Singh, of environmental group ActionAid International, said that moving the summit from Chile to Spain with only four weeks' notice presented "real barriers to participation" for delegates from the southern hemisphere.  In August 2019, youth climate change activist Greta Thunberg and her father Svante sailed from Plymouth, England across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas in sailboat "Malizia II" to participate in the UN Climate Action Summit in New York City in September. At that time it was not clear how she was going to return to Europe, but she was planning to go on to Chile for the conference. With the move of the conference to Madrid, the need to return to Europe became more urgent. Teresa Ribera, as Spain's environment minister, offered her help in finding a way to travel to the conference. Riley Whitelum and his wife, Elayna Caraus, two Australians who had been sailing around the world aboard their catamaran, "La Vagabonde", took Thunberg back across the Atlantic. On 13 November 2019, Thunberg set sail from Hampton, Virginia for Lisbon, Portugal. Her departing message was the same as it has been since she began her activism: "My message to the Americans is the same as to everyone – that is to unite behind the science and to act on the science."  Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi led a 15-member Congressional delegation to the talks to demonstrate continued U.S. support for the negotiations, despite the Trump administration's decision to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement.  Ecuadorian environmental activist Helena Gualinga participated. She spoke about her concern on the Ecuadorian government authorizing oil extraction in indigenous land. She said: "Our country's government is still granting our territories to the corporations responsible of climate change. This is criminal." She criticized the Ecuadorian government for claiming interest in protecting the Amazon during the conference instead of attending indigenous Amazon women's demands brought to the government during the 2019 Ecuadorian protests. She also expressed her disappointment towards world leaders' lack of interest to discuss topics brought by indigenous peoples to the conference.

Negotiations.

The last part of the Paris regime that remains to be resolved is "Article 6", which describes rules for a carbon market and other forms of international cooperation. In the COP24 conference no agreement could be reached on this topic. Several politically difficult decisions have to be made for this article. Negative emissions could be traded under the Kyoto Protocol to offset emissions by developed countries, but many of these negative emission projects would have happened anyway without the extra incentive from the Kyoto Protocol, so that this mechanism was described as 'hot air'. International trading of carbon can make overall emission cuts cheaper. If negotiations about this fail, it will come up again in 2020's COP26 (postponed to 2021).  According to scientists, talks focused on some of the rules for implementing the 2015 Paris agreement, but the overriding issue of how fast the world needs to cut greenhouse gas emissions has received little official attention. Urgent UN talks on tackling the climate emergency are still not addressing the true scale of the crisis, one of the world’s leading climate scientists has warned.  Negotiations concluded on 15 December 2019, two days after the stated deadline.

News.

News during the conference included:

Results.

The results of the conference were disappointing at a time when climate action and concrete measures are considered urgent. Alden Meyer, director of strategy and policy for the Union of Concerned Scientists who has attended climate negotiations since 1991, stated that he had never seen before the almost total disconnect between what the science requires and what the climate negotiations are delivering in terms of meaningful action. Greenpeace executive director Jennifer Morgan summarized the prevalent opinion: “Climate blockers like Brazil and Saudi Arabia, enabled by an irresponsibly weak Chilean leadership, peddled carbon deals and steamrolled scientists and civil society”. The decisions about the carbon market and emissions cuts were delayed to the next climate conference in Glasgow. The United States, Russia, India, China, Brazil and Saudi Arabia were the main opponents of these measures.  On the other side, the European Union reached an agreement about "The European Green New Deal" that should lower its emissions to zero by 2050. Also, many commitments were made by countries, cities, businesses and international coalitions. For example, the Climate Ambitious Coalition contains now "73 countries committed to net zero emissions by 2050, as well as a further actors (regions, cities, businesses, investors) who have pledged the same goal". All the information about the pledges (governmental and non-governmental) is streamed to the Global Climate Action portal.

The 2019 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP25, is the 25th United Nations Climate Change conference. It was held in Madrid, Spain, from 2 to 13 December 2019 under the presidency of the Chilean government. The conference incorporated the 25th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the 15th meeting of the parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP15), and the second meeting of the parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA2).


Premise.

"Legacies" follows Hope Mikaelson, the daughter of Klaus Mikaelson and Hayley Marshall, who is descended from some of the most powerful vampire, werewolf, and witch bloodlines. Two years after the events of "The Originals", 17-year-old Hope attends the Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted. The school provides a haven where supernatural beings can learn to control their abilities and impulses.

Production.

Development.

In August 2017, it was announced that early discussions on the development of a spinoff of "The Originals" focusing on Hope Mikaelson, the daughter of Klaus Mikaelson and Hayley Marshall, were taking place with Julie Plec, creator of "The Originals" and co-creator of "The Vampire Diaries". In January 2018, it was revealed that a pilot for the spinoff had been ordered; Plec penned the pilot script and is credited with creating the series. It was announced in March 2018 that the spinoff had been ordered to pilot, but instead of a traditional pilot, a fifteen-minute pilot presentation of the series would be presented to The CW.  On May 11, 2018, it was announced that the spinoff, titled "Legacies", had been ordered to series for the 2018–19 U.S. television season. In June 2018, it was announced that the series would premiere on October 25, 2018. On October 8, 2018, The CW announced that they had ordered three additional scripts for the series, bringing the first season total script order to sixteen episodes.  On January 31, 2019, The CW renewed the series for a second season. The second season premiered on October 10, 2019. On January 7, 2020, the series was renewed for a third season, set to air in January 2021.  In March 2020, production was shut down following the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 26, 2020, it was announced that the sixteenth episode that aired that same night would serve as a spring finale as the production team had run out of episodes to air following the production shut down.

Casting.

It was announced in March 2018 that "The Vampire Diaries" veteran Matt Davis would reprise the role of Alaric Saltzman and that Danielle Rose Russell would star as Hope Mikaelson. Quincy Fouse, Jenny Boyd, Kaylee Bryant, and Aria Shahghasemi were also set to star. Shahghasemi would debut in the twelfth episode of the fifth season of "The Originals" as Hope's friend Landon. It was revealed at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2018 that Paul Wesley would direct an episode and that Zach Roerig would appear in the series. Steven R. McQueen was revealed to be reprising his role as Jeremy Gilbert in the series' third episode.  In July 2019, it was announced that Thomas Doherty would appear in the second season, and that Alexis Denisof would recur in the second season as Professor Vardemus. In August 2019, Bianca Santos, Bianca Kajlich, and Leo Howard were cast in recurring roles for the second season. In September 2019, it was reported that Riley Voelkel will be reprising her role as Freya Mikaelson for the sixth episode of the second season. In November 2019, it was announced that Chris Wood is set to reprise his role of Kai Parker in the twelfth episode of the second season. The same month, it was reported that Chris Lee has been promoted as a series regular during production on the second season and that Olivia Liang was cast in a recurring role for the second season. On January 20, 2020, Charles Jazz Terrier was cast in a recurring capacity.

Home media.

A manufacture-on-demand DVD for the first season was released by the Warner Archive Collection on October 22, 2019.

Reception.

Critical response.

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 82% based on 11 reviews, with an average rating of 8.0 out of 10. The website's critic consensus states: "A fun and fast-paced addition to The CW's stable of supernatural high school series, "Legacies" emerges from the shadows of its sister shows an unexpected delight." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 59 out of 100 based on 5 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Legacies is an American fantasy drama television series, created by Julie Plec, that premiered on The CW on October 25, 2018. It is a spin-off of "The Originals" and features characters from both that series and its predecessor, "The Vampire Diaries". Danielle Rose Russell stars as the 17-year-old Hope Mikaelson, continuing the role she originated in the fifth and final season of "The Originals". Matt Davis also features prominently in the series, reprising his role as Alaric Saltzman from "The Vampire Diaries". In January 2019, The CW renewed the series for a second season which premiered on October 10, 2019. In January 2020, The CW renewed the series for a third season, set to premiere in January 2021.


History.

Inspired by the original Luncheon Voucher, a concept launched in the United Kingdom in 1954, Jacques Borel created Ticket Restaurant on the French market in 1962. A French government decree, passed in 1967, officially recognized the meal voucher as an employee benefit. The concept was launched outside France starting in 1976.  Employee benefits continued to grow worldwide, first in Europe and then in Latin America, thanks to two programs: Ticket Restaurant and Ticket Alimentación. The Ticket Restaurant® entity, which had been a subsidiary of the Accor Group since 1983, set itself a new course in 1998, when it became Accor Services.  From the 2000s, the pace of growth increased, giving rise to "incentive and rewards" solutions, in Europe and Asia, in addition to Expense management, solutions, with the development of Ticket Car in Latin America.  Following the split of Accor's hotel and prepaid services businesses, Accor Services became Edenred in June 2010. The new group became independent, defined its corporate mission project and was listed on NYSE Euronext Paris on July 2, 2010. Jacques Stern was appointed chairman and chief executive officer.  The group sped up its transformation by making digital technology a pillar of its strategy and launched the Ticket Restaurant® card in France in April 2014. As of 2015, 78% of the group's business volume around the world was generated from digital solutions.  Edenred also launched new solutions including Ticket Plus Card in Germany (staple goods: food, fuel, meals) and Ticket Cultura® in Brazil (cultural goods and services).  Moreover, Edenred consolidated its development strategy for its Expense management activity, by finalizing the acquisition of a 34% stake in UTA in Germany and by establishing a major partnership in Brazil with Daimler in 2015.  Bertrand Dumazy became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Edenred on October 26, 2015.  On May 31, 2016, Edenred finalized its acquisition of Embratec's operations in Brazil, creating a leading player in this fast-growing segment.  In January 2017, Edenred takes over UTA majority, one of the leading providers of fuel and service cards in Europe.  On June 14, 2017, Edenred unveiled its new global identity. The group will market all of its solutions in 42 countries under the Edenred brand.

Ownership.

According to the company website: 94.6% institutional investors, 4.8% individual shareholders, 0.6% own shares.

Expansion.

Edenred currently operates in 45 countries and over 8,000 employees. Has been operating in Venezuela for 26 years. The group has moved into new countries since 2010: Finland in 2011, Japan in 2012, Russia, the United Arab Emirates in 2014 and Moldova in 2018.

Governance.

Chairman and CEO  2010-2015: Jacques Stern  Since October 26, 2015: Bertrand Dumazy

Edenred is a French company specialised in prepaid corporate services. The Group is independent since June 2010 following the split with Accor. Formerly known as Accor Services, Edenred is the inventor of Ticket Restaurant, created in 1962, and a leading distributor of meal vouchers. Today, Edenred offers solutions for employee benefits, fleet and mobility and corporate payment. 44 million employees use Edenred services worldwide.


History.

On March 4, 2016, news broke that Microsoft had considered bidding $8 billion for Slack, but that Bill Gates was against the purchase, stating that the firm should instead focus on improving Skype for Business. Qi Lu, EVP of Applications and Services, was leading the push to purchase Slack. After the departure of Lu later that year, Microsoft announced Teams to the public as a direct competitor to Slack on November 2, 2016.  Slack ran a full-page advertisement in the "New York Times" acknowledging the competing service. Though Slack is used by 28 companies in the Fortune 100, "The Verge" wrote executives will question paying for the service if Teams provides a similar function in their company's existing Office 365 subscription at no added cost. ZDNet reported that the companies were not competing for the same audience, as Teams, at the time, did not let members outside the subscription join the platform, and small businesses and freelancers would have been unlikely to switch. Microsoft has since added this functionality. In response to Teams' announcement, Slack deepened in-product integration with Google services.  On May 3, 2017 Microsoft announced Microsoft Teams would replace Microsoft Classroom in Office 365 Education (formerly known as Office 365 for Education). On September 7, 2017, users began noticing a message that stated "Skype for Business is now Microsoft Teams". This was confirmed on September 25, 2017, at Microsoft's annual Ignite conference.  On July 12, 2018, Microsoft announced a free version of Microsoft Teams, offering most of the platform's communication options for no charge but limiting the number of users and team file storage capacity.  In January 2019, Microsoft released an update targeting "Firstline Workers" in order to improve interoperability of Microsoft Teams between different computers for retail workers.  On November 19, 2019, Microsoft announced Microsoft Teams reached 20 million active users. This is an increase from 13 million in July. It announced a "Walkie Talkie" feature in early 2020 that uses push-to-talk on smartphones and tablets over Wi-Fi or cellular data. The feature was designed for employees who speak with customers or run day-to-day operations.  On March 19, 2020, Microsoft announced Microsoft Teams had hit 44 million daily users, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Microsoft reported that by April 2020, Microsoft Teams had hit 75 million daily users. On a single day in April, it logged 4.1 billion meeting minutes.

Features.

Teams.

Teams allows communities, groups, or teams to join through a specific URL or invitation sent by a team administrator or owner. Teams for Education allows admins and teachers to set up specific teams for classes, professional learning communities (PLCs), staff members, and everyone.<ref

Microsoft Teams, also referred to as simply Teams, is a unified communication and collaboration platform that combines persistent workplace chat, video meetings, file storage (including collaboration on files), and application integration. The service integrates with the Office 365 subscription office productivity suite and features extensions that can integrate with non-Microsoft products. Microsoft Teams is a competitor to services such as Slack and is the evolution and upgrade path from Microsoft Skype for Business.


Early life and education.

Christina was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and raised in Jacksonville, North Carolina, by parents Barbara Johnsen of Frederick, Maryland, and Ronald Hammock of Jacksonville. Koch's childhood dream was to become an astronaut.  Koch graduated from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in Durham in 1997, and then enrolled at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, from which she earned two Bachelor of Science degrees, in electrical engineering and physics (2001), and a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering (2002). In 2001, she became a graduate of the NASA Academy program at GSFC.

Research and training.

Koch has worked in the space science instrument development and remote scientific field engineering fields. During her time working as an electrical engineer at NASA GSFC's Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics, she contributed to scientific instruments on several NASA missions that studied astrophysics and cosmology. During this time, she also served as Adjunct Faculty at Montgomery College in Maryland and led a Physics Laboratory course.  Koch worked as a Research Associate in the United States Antarctic Program from 2004 to 2007, spending three-and-a-half years traveling the Arctic and Antarctic regions. She completed a winter-over season at the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station where she experienced minus-111 degree Fahrenheit (-79.4 C) temperatures. She completed an additional season at Palmer Station. While in Antarctica, Koch served as a member of the Firefighting Teams and Ocean/Glacier Search and Rescue Teams. She has described her time in the South Pole as challenging mentally and physically: "[This] means going months without seeing the sun, with the same crew, and without shipments of mail or fresh food. The isolation, absence of family and friends, and lack of new sensory inputs are all conditions that you must find a strategy to thrive within."  From 2007 to 2009, Koch worked as an Electrical Engineer in the Space Department of the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University focusing on space science instrument development. She contributed to instruments studying radiation particles for NASA missions, including the Juno and Van Allen Probes. The following year, Koch completed tours of Palmer Station in Antarctica and multiple winter seasons at Summit Station in Greenland. In 2012, she worked at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in two capacities: first as a Field Engineer at NOAA's Global Monitoring Division Baseline Observatory in Barrow Alaska, and then as Station Chief of the American Samoa Observatory.

Astronaut career.

Koch graduated from the NASA Academy program at GSFC in 2001. She worked as an Electrical Engineer in the Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics at GSFC from 2002 to 2004.  In June 2013, Koch was selected by NASA as part of Astronaut Group 21. She completed training in July 2015, making her available for future missions. Her Astronaut Candidate Training included scientific and technical briefings, intensive instruction in International Space Station systems, spacewalks, robotics, physiological training, T‐38 flight training, and water and wilderness survival training. On March 14, 2019, Koch launched to the International Space Station on Soyuz MS-12, alongside Aleksey Ovchinin and Nick Hague, to join the Expedition 59/60/61 crew.  Koch was scheduled to perform her first EVA on March 29; this would have been the first all-female spacewalk alongside Anne McClain, but spacesuit sizing issues resulted in it being reassigned from McClain to Hague. Koch performed the first all-female spacewalk with Jessica Meir on October 18, as part of a lengthy series of upgrades to the ISS’ power systems and physics observatories. Koch and Meir followed the historic walk with two more female team walks in January 2020.  On April 17, 2019, due to reassignment schedules with the Commercial Crew Development program, her mission was extended to February 2020, returned to Earth on Thursday, Feb. 6 after 328 days – which is the longest single continuous stay in space for a woman, exceeding Peggy Whitson's 289 days. In addition, for a first-time astronaut, this NASA mission change has never happened before. Koch's extended mission is being used to study the physical, biological, and mental effects of long-term space travel on women.

Personal life.

Koch resides in Texas with her husband, Robert Koch. She enjoys backpacking, rock climbing, paddling, sailing, running, yoga, community service, photography, surfing and travel.

Awards and honors.

Koch has won a number of awards during her tenure at NASA and Johns Hopkins, including the NASA Group Achievement Award, NASA Juno Mission Jupiter Energetic Particle Detector Instrument, 2012; Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Invention of the Year nominee, 2009; United States Congress Antarctic Service Medal with Winter‐Over distinction, 2005; NASA Group Achievement Award, NASA Suzaku Mission X‐ray Spectrometer Instrument, 2005; Astronaut Scholar, Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, 2000 to 2001.

Christina Hammock Koch (; born January 29, 1979) is an American engineer and NASA astronaut of the class of 2013. She received Bachelor of Science degrees in Electrical Engineering and Physics, and a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from North Carolina State University. She also did advanced study while working for the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). Just before becoming an astronaut, she served with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as Station Chief for American Samoa.


Background.

is the Alsatian dialect name of the Christmas market in Strasbourg, held annually on the square in front of the Strasbourg Cathedral since 1570. In 2000, a bombing plot was foiled by the French and German police when Al-Qaeda-linked operatives had planned to detonate pressure cookers rigged as bombs in the crowd at the. Since then, the market has been under reinforced security. In 2016, several people were arrested in Marseille and Strasbourg for planning a terrorist attack; officials considered cancelling the Christmas market, but it was ultimately held as scheduled.  On the morning of 11 December 2018, the police raided the home of Chérif Chekatt in with the intention of arresting him on suspicion of attempted murder. He was not at home, but they found a stun grenade, a loaded.22 calibre rifle, four knives, and ammunition.

Attack.

The attack started at approximately 19:50 (18:50 UTC) near, where the "" was being held. entered the area through, then went through, opening fire and stabbing people in three different locations, first at, then. The attack lasted ten minutes and took place in multiple streets, during which time was heard shouting "" as he attacked members of the crowd. He then exchanged fire with soldiers of, and then with the National Police; a soldier was hit in the hand, and was shot in the arm. A 45-year-old Thai tourist was hit in the head in front of a restaurant and died, despite a passersby attempting to resuscitate him; ambulances took over 45 minutes to arrive.  Initially, 350 men of the security forces hunted for Chekatt, supported by air units. Five hundred more men joined the next day, with a further 1,300 planned to join as reinforcements. The incident led to the closure of locations around the city, including the European Parliament building. Police used Twitter to relay information to the public. The French government raised their security threat level to the highest possible as the search continued, though Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet stated on that a state of emergency would not be declared for the incident. Five thousand people were stranded in a sports facility used as temporary shelter, and the European Parliament was put on lockdown. President Antonio Tajani tweeted that the European Parliament "will not be intimidated by terrorist or criminal attacks" and will "continue to work and react, strengthened by freedom and democracy against terrorist violence". The incident was declared an act of terrorism by French authorities.

Victims.

Five people were killed; two died at the scene and three others in hospital, while 11 others were injured, four critically. The first of the dead to be identified was a 45-year-old male tourist from Thailand who was shot multiple times and died at the scene. He was on holiday with his wife, who was also shot, but survived. The others were a French 61-year-old former bank employee; a 45-year-old local male mechanic and Muslim originally from Afghanistan who died two days later, Antonio Megalizzi, a 29-year-old journalist from Italy covering the European Parliament plenary session, who died on 14 December; and a 36-year-old French-Polish national who died on 16 December.

Attacker.

The perpetrator was (), a 29-year-old Strasbourg-born man of Algerian ancestry and French citizenship, characterised as a "hardened criminal" who "converted to rigorous Islam".  According to French authorities, Chekatt had been known to police since the age of 10 and he had his first criminal conviction by age 13. He was known to security services for a total of 27 convictions in France, Germany, and Switzerland, arising from 67 recorded crimes in France alone. His criminal activities started with petty crime, robbery and drug dealing.  French police considered him a "gangster-jihadist", a term referring to people convicted of various crimes and "radicalised" in prison. Chekatt was released from prison in France in 2015, then received a prison sentence for theft in Singen, Germany and was expelled to France after his release in 2017.  Chekatt was tagged with a ("State Security" file), a type of extra-judiciary document that French State Security uses to keep track of suspect individuals while not necessarily keeping surveillance on them. He was listed for his recent "religious radicalisation" and for "Islamic extremism". Neighbours said that he seemed quite ordinary, comparing him to his more traditional brother. His German lawyer told media that "he was just an ordinary criminal. It was no special case. We didn't notice any radicalisation." Secretary of State Laurent Nuñez stated that Chekatt had become a "terrorism apologist" in prison, but had not been expected to perform an attack. On the morning of the attack, local police had attempted to arrest him in relation to an attempted murder, but they could not locate him, because Chekatt's father had warned him by SMS that the gendarmes were about to arrest him.  Investigators subsequently concluded that Chekatt had made extensive preparations for the attack. He told fellow inmates in 2015 that he would "commit a robbery before departing for Syria or die a martyr", and became "very interested in seeking weapons, according to a friend of the jihadist, Audrey Mondjehi."

Manhunt and Chekatt's death.

An investigation was initiated for "murder and acts of terrorism in relation to a criminal enterprise". Four people close to Chekatt were detained for questioning after the shooting, namely his father, who is tagged with a as well because of his religious fundamentalism, his mother, and two of his brothers, both known for their local Salafist affiliation, and a fifth person was taken into custody on 13 December. A search warrant was issued in Algeria for a "very radicalised" third brother, who has his own record because of radicalisation and "contacts with Islamist circles in Strasbourg".  On the evening of 13 December, police found in Strasbourg between and the Stade de la Meinau. He fired on officers when they tried to question him and they returned fire, killing him.  Soon after his death, the Islamic State claimed him as one of their "soldiers" through their propaganda outlet, Amaq. Christophe Castaner, France's interior minister, dismissed the claim as "completely opportunistic". In an interview for France 2 Chekatt's father said his son had been an Islamic State supporter. Nine days after Chekatt's death, a USB key containing a video of him pledging allegiance to the Islamic State was found among his belongings judicial sources said.

Reactions.

The leader of the (RN) party, Marine Le Pen, described the attack as an "Islamist massacre". Laurent Wauquiez, leader of the conservative party, called for a strengthening of the laws.  Border controls were increased due to Strasbourg's proximity to Germany. The Christmas market was closed on the day after the attack.

Conspiracy theories.

Conspiracy theorists and some members of the yellow vests movement, which was ongoing at the time of the attack, commented on social media that the shooting was a false flag conspiracy by the French president, to distract attention from the movement's protests. This prompted angry denials from cabinet ministers, who called the claims "disgusting".

On the evening of 11 December 2018, a terrorist attack occurred in Strasbourg, France, when a man attacked civilians in the city's busy (Christmas market) with a revolver and a knife, killing five and wounding 11 before fleeing in a taxi. Authorities called the shooting an act of terrorism.


Early life and literary contributions.

He was born on January 5, 1844 in Lima to a wealthy, conservative, Spanish family. His education began at the English school in Valparaiso, continued in a seminary, and once his father refused to let him travel to Europe, he enrolled at the University of San Marcos in Lima, studying law. He was an original partner in the Lima Literary Club and he participated in the foundation of the Peruvian Literary Circle, a vehicle to propose a Literature based on science and the future. His most famous book, "Free Pages", caused a public outcry that brought González Prada dangerously close to excommunication from the Catholic Church. His mother, a devout Catholic, died in 1888 and his criticism became more vitriolic afterwards. He said the Church "preached the sermon on the mount and practiced the morals of Judas." In fact González Prada was part of a group of social reformers that included Ricardo Palma, Juana Manuela Gorriti, Clorinda Matto de Turner and Mercedes Cabello de Carbonera. These important authors were concerned with the enduring influence of Spanish colonialism in Peru. González Prada was perhaps the most radical of them all. The most radical work he published during his lifetime was "Hours of Battle", translated as "Hard Times".  Besides being a philosopher and a significant political agitator, González Prada is important as the first Latin American author to write in a style known as modernismo (modernista in Spanish, different from Anglo-American modernism) poet in Peru, anticipating some of the literary innovations that Rubén Darío would shortly bring to the entire Hispanic world. He also introduced new devices such as the triolet, rondel and Malayan pantun which revitalized Spanish verse. Besides his poetry, he cultivated the essay, and most recently Isabelle Tauzin Castellanos has published some of his hitherto unknown fiction. His intellectual and stylistic footprint can be found in the writing of Clorinda Matto de Turner, Mercedes Cabello de Carbonera, José Santos Chocano, Aurora Cáceres, César Vallejo, José Carlos Mariátegui and Mario Vargas Llosa.  One of the most interesting literary personalities of Peru, and a bitter critic of the society in which he lived. An atheist, a follower of Darwin, Spencer, and Comte, Manuel González Prada was a powerful polemicist whose targets were the Catholic Church, the Spanish tradition, and, generally, any form of conservatism. His books "Minúsculas" (1901) and "Exóticas" (1911) are often considered as "modernista" although his work transcends the scope of that movement. Some critics have suggested that his poetry is "pre-proletarian". "Baladas peruanas" (1935), perhaps his best book, is a vindication of the Indian. His metrical and rhythmical innovations and experiments are remarkable in Spanish-American poetry. "Horas de lucha" (1908) is a good example of his prose.

Politics.

After Peru's defeat in the War of the Pacific, he stayed in house for three years, refusing to look at the foreign invaders. He had been a member of the Civilista Party but left to found with his friends, a radical party known as the National Union, a party of "propaganda and attack." This party named him as a presidential candidate, but he fled to Europe following persecution. He stood as his party's Presidential Candidate in the Presidential election of 1899 and came third with 0.95% of the vote. After his failure in the Presidential election he was asked to work for the newly formed government. He took up the post of director of the National Library of Peru, on Abancay Avenue and helped to improve and reorganise the library to one of international stature. He died of a cardiac arrest on July 22, 1918.  Although he didn't consider himself a Communist, Gonzalez Prada was close to Marx in economic theory. He opposed the Russian Revolution in 1917 and rejected the rigidity of the Communist party. More precisely he was close to Pierre-Joseph Proudhon and also to Bakunin and their brand of anarchism. He criticized the aristocratic class (of which he was a member) for its crimes and its wasting opportunity. Gonzalez Prada called on workers, students and Andean people to take over and reform Peru.

Quotes by Gonzalez Prada.

On Peru:"We have never initiated a reform, never announced a scientific truth, nor produced an immortal book. We do not have men but mere echoes of men, we do not express ideas but repetitions of decrepit and moth-eaten phrases."  On Revolution: "Revolutions come from above but are carried out from below. Their way lighted by the gleam on the surface, those who are oppressed in the depths see justice clearly and thrust forward to conquer it, without hesitating as to the means nor feeling fear as to the consequences. While the moderates and theoreticians imagine geometric evolutions or get all tangled up in the details of form, the multitude simplifies matters, taking them down from the nebulous heights and confining them to earthly practice. They follow the example of Alexander; they do not untie but cut the knot which binds them."  On Liberty: believed "that all liberty was born bathed in blood...Rights and freedom are never granted; they must be taken. Those who command give only what they must, and nations which sleep trusting their rulers to arouse them with the gift of liberty are like fools who build a city in the midst of a desert hoping that a river will suddenly flow through its barren streets."

"Anarquía".

"[[:es:Anarquía (libro)|Anarquía" (posthumous 1936)

External links.

[[Category:1844 births]] [[Category:1918 deaths]] [[Category:People from Lima]] [[Category:Peruvian people of Spanish descent]] [[Category:Modernismo]] [[Category:Peruvian essayists]] [[Category:Peruvian male poets]] [[Category:Peruvian anarchists]] [[Category:National Union (Peru) politicians]] [[Category:Candidates for President of Peru|*]] [[Category:Social critics]] [[Category:Male essayists]]

Jose Manuel de los Reyes González de Prada y Ulloa (Lima, January 5, 1844 – Lima, July 22, 1918) was a Peruvian politician and anarchist, literary critic and director of the National Library of Peru. He is well remembered as a social critic who helped develop Peruvian intellectual thought in the early twentieth century, as well as the academic style known as modernismo. He was close in spirit to Clorinda Matto de Turner whose first novel, "Torn from the Nest" approached political indigenismo, and to Mercedes Cabello de Carbonera, who like González Prada, practiced a positivism sui generis.


Explosion.

The explosion occurred at about 8:35 a.m. on Thursday, November 21, 1996 in the middle of a bustling commercial sector of Río Piedras. The six-story building that housed the Humberto Vidal shoe store, a jewelry store, a music shop store and the head offices of Humberto Vidal was virtually destroyed; it was later demolished.  The immediate theory was that the explosion was caused by a bomb planted by clandestine paramilitaries or even arson because of previous deliberate acts. However, there was no trace of explosives, nor were there flammable materials an arsonist could have used.  United States President Bill Clinton declared Puerto Rico a disaster area, which ensured the receipt of federal aid to help the victims, including the assistance of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which launched an investigation. San Juan Gas Company, owned by Enron Corporation, denied any responsibility, claiming that the building had no gas service at the time of the explosion.

Casualties.

The explosion killed 33 victims and wounded 69 others. Most of the victims were inside the building at the moment of the explosion, but others were in the streets surrounding the building. After the explosion, bodies of victims were placed on the pavement in front of the nearby La Milagrosa church, where Cardinal Luis Aponte Martínez administered last rites. "There were just parts of bodies lying in the street, torsos, bones, cars blasted against the building," Police Chief Pedro Toledo said. The owners of the shoe store claimed that they had reported a gas leak to the San Juan Gas Company several days before the explosion.

Investigation.

The NTSB's investigation revealed that several persons had reported a gas leak in the building in the days leading up to the explosion, complaining about a bad smell in the store's basement. The store had no gas supply, so another nearby gas line appeared to be the culprit. It was discovered that a gas pipe carrying the heavier-than-air propane gas was broken. A few years earlier, a water main was installed below, which bent the pipe in the process. When the pipe had been installed, it was tightly bent, adding to its stress levels. The addition of the water main caused it to break.  The explosive gas reached the shop basement by migrating around and over pipes, causing the foul odor. However, gas company technicians were unable to detect the gas before the blast. Investigators discovered that holes used to detect gas below ground were only deep when the gas was about down; therefore, there was no way that the gas could be detected in this manner. Perhaps the most crucial error in detection occurred when a technician turned on his equipment while in the building rather than in fresh air as required, causing a failure to detect gas. The ignition source was found to be an air-conditioning switch with heated wiring.  The San Juan Gas Company vehemently denied responsibility and suggested that the blast could have been caused by sewer gas. However, the lighter-than-air sewer gas collects in the ceiling, while propane collects on the floor. The investigation showed that stored shoes were tossed up by the explosion, meaning that the fuel had to be at ground level. An upward-bent beam was also crucial to determining that the blast had come from below.

Aftermath.

The San Juan Gas Company was sued by the victims' families and owners of the businesses affected. There were a total of 1,500 lawsuits presented. Through the process, the company admitted no wrongdoing. Of all the lawsuits, 725 were settled out of court, while 101 were ruled against the company. The remaining lawsuits were settled in 2002 for $28 million. There was also criticism of the company's training practices, which management promised to rectify.  According to a city resolution, all underground gas lines in Río Piedras were removed to avoid further tragedies. The area of the explosion now has a mural in remembrance of those who died.

Dramatization.

The disaster was examined in the "Puerto Rico Gas Explosion" episode of the documentary series "Seconds From Disaster" on the National Geographic Channel.

The Humberto Vidal explosion (sometimes also referred to as the Río Piedras explosion) was a gas explosion that occurred on November 21, 1996 at the Humberto Vidal shoe store in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico. The explosion killed 33 and wounded 69 others when the building collapsed. It is one of the deadliest disasters to have occurred on the island.


History.

The company was founded in 2001 by Grant Petty and produced their first product in 2002, a capture card for macOS called DeckLink that was the first to offer uncompressed 10-bit video. The company later released new versions of the card and added color correction capabilities, support for Microsoft Windows, and full support for Adobe Premiere Pro and Microsoft DirectShow.  In 2005 the company released several products, including the Multibridge family of PCIe bi-directional converters and the FrameLink family of DPX-based software. In 2006 the company released Blackmagic On-Air television production software.  At the 2012 NAB Show Blackmagic announced their first Cinema Camera. In 2018, Blackmagic Design also partnered with Apple to create the Blackmagic eGPU which was sold exclusively through the Apple Store for its first 6 months upon release. This was followed by the Blackmagic eGPU Pro which was also solely sold through the Apple Store.  In 2018, Blackmagic also became a participant in Netflix's all four categories for its Post Technology Alliance which includes both URSA cinema cameras and Davinci Resolve.

Products.

Broadcast Hardware.

Blackmagic's first and main products have been broadcast video hardware, including live production switchers, real-time compositing processors, Cintel scanners, signal converters, and video monitors. The company then began producing similar products for the filmmaking industry, including cinema cameras and video monitors with integrated recording options.

Cameras.

Blackmagic Design offer two lines of cameras: Digital Film and Live Production.

Editing software.

DaVinci Resolve was merged with Fusion from version 15.  Blackmagic RAW is a free and modern codec that combines the quality and benefits of RAW with the ease of use, speed and file sizes of traditional video formats. The advanced technology also won Blackmagic Design Cinema5D's IBC 2018 Technological Innovation Award. The company has a Blackmagic RAW video player application for macOS and the file format is compatible with Davinci Resolve, Adobe Premiere Pro, Media Composer, Assimilate Scratch, Edius, Lightworks and Colorfront Transkoder. Blackmagic RAW is currently available internally on the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4k, Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6k, URSA Broadcast cameras, URSA Mini Pro G1 and G2. Blackmagic RAW is also compatible with the Panasonic EVA1 and Canon C300 MkII cameras via external recording through a Blackmagic Video Assist 12G HDR monitor. The format is intended to be supported by a broader number of cameras utilising the Blackmagic Video Assist 12G HDR monitors for recording.  Blackmagic also offers a free mobile camera control application as well as widely used Blackmagic Disk Speed Test and Blackmagic RAW Speed Test applications.

Blackmagic Design is an Australian digital cinema company and manufacturer based in Port Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It designs and manufactures broadcast and cinema hardware, most notably digital movie cameras, and also develops video editing software, such as the DaVinci Resolve application.


Biography.

Bright lived in Bristol, England, one of nine children born to Richard Bright (1754–1840) and Sarah Heywood Bright. Her father was a wealthy merchant and banker, and he is known to had a strong interest in science. In 1823 he was one of the founders of the Bristol Institution for the Advancement of Science, Literature and the Arts. As of summer 2015, little else is known about Sarah Anne Bright's life.  Her role as an early photographer was discovered after a group of photographs known as the Quillan Collection was offered for sale at Sotheby's auction house in New York in 2008. The collection was assembled during 1988–1990 by private photography dealer Jill Quasha.  Initially one of the photographs in the collection, a photogram now known as ‘’The Quillan Leaf’’, was thought to have been produced by William Henry Fox Talbot, but when Fox Talbot expert Larry Schaaf examined it he declared that it definitely was not by Fox Talbot. Due to some speculation about who might have created the image, Sotheby's listed it in the sale catalog under "Photographer Unknown". The catalogue entry included three pages of documentation and notes by Schaaf.  At the time of the auction the image had a clear provenance as coming from an album that originally belonged to Henry Bright of Ham Green, Bristol, England. The original album included seven photograms and several watercolors and drawings, but only the photograms had survived at the time of the auction.  The print had a clearly marked "W” on the recto, along with other writing that appeared to be the initials "H.B.". After carefully studying the print, Schaaf speculated that the "W” might be the initial of Thomas Wedgwood and that the print possibly could have been produced as early as 1805. Based upon the uncertainty surrounding its authorship and age, Sotheby's withdrew the print from the sale pending further research.  Schaaf began to explore the possible connections with Henry Bright and known photographers in the Bristol area. He determined that the "W” on the print was a mark of William West, a man who was known to have made early photographic papers in Bristol. Further research led him to discover that what has appeared to be the initials "H.B." on the leaf print were actually the letters "S.A.B.", and that the handwriting matched initials on watercolors that were known to be by Sarah Anne Bright. Schaaf concluded that Bright had made the image and announced his findings at a lecture at the University of Lincoln in June 2015.

Sarah Anne Bright (1793–1866) was a 19th-century English artist and photographer who produced the earliest surviving photographic images taken by a woman. Images she had produced were not attributed to her until 2015 when her initials were discovered on a photogram that was previously consigned to an auction at Sotheby's in New York.


History.

The proposal for a renewal of the Élysée Treaty was first made by Emmanuel Macron on 26 September 2017 in his. At the 55th anniversary of the Élysée Treaty, both Macron and Angela Merkel again spoke out in favour of deepening the cooperation in business, society, politics and technology.  The coronation hall of the historic Aachen City Hall was chosen for the signing of the new treaty by President Macron and Chancellor Merkel on the (22 January 2019), the 56th anniversary of the Élysée Treaty, because Aachen, as the main residence of Charlemagne (Charles the Great), represents a common history.  Besides Macron and Merkel the ceremony was also attended by other high-ranking politicians, f.e. Klaus Johannis (President of Romania, chairing the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2019), Jean-Claude Juncker (European Commission President), Donald Tusk (President of the European Council) and Armin Laschet (Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia).

Contents.

The Aachen Treaty consists of a total of 28 articles. The six main chapters of the treaty are labeled:  Among other topics the aim of the contract is to strengthen the cultural diversity (§9) as well as to align security interests of both countries. The Goethe-Institut and the Institut Français plan to jointly open cultural institutions in Erbil, Bishkek, Rio de Janeiro and Palermo on the basis of the Aachen Treaty.  In addition, the contract aims to intensify the cooperation of the defense politics of both countries, including the mutual assistance in potential crisis situations.  The treaty was a factor in the formation of the Franco-German Parliamentary Assembly.

Critique.

Several criticisms have been heard since the creation of the Treaty:

Context.

Other multilateral cooperations of certain EU states include the Benelux states (1958), the Visegrád Group (1991), the Eurozone (1999), the Central European Defence Cooperation (2010) and the EU Med Group (2016).

The so-called Aachen Treaty, formally Treaty on Franco-German Cooperation and Integration, and also known as the Treaty of Aachen (,, ) is a bilateral agreement between the Federal Republic of Germany and the French Republic, which has not entered into force. It was signed by Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Emmanuel Macron in the coronation hall of the Aachen City Hall on 22 January 2019.


Early life.

Dinah Jane grew up in Santa Ana, California and is the daughter of Gorden Hansen and Milika Amasio. She is the eldest of 7 children and grew up in a 4-bedroom-house along with 23 other people. Jane also has an older sister who is an adopted cousin. Jane is predominantly of Tongan descent with Samoan, Fijian and Danish admixture. Jane is Mormon.  Raised in a musical family, Jane performed in public for the first time while singing the national anthem at the age of seven. She attended Orange County School of the Arts and graduated in 2015. She has cited artists Patti LaBelle, Beyoncé, Leona Lewis, Mariah Carey and Etta James among her musical influences.

Career.

2012–2018: "The X Factor" and Fifth Harmony.

In 2011, she recorded her first single "Dancing Like a White Girl". Jane auditioned for "The X Factor" in 2012 singing "If I Were a Boy" by Beyoncé. For her bootcamp solo performance she sang "Hero" by Mariah Carey and is the only member from Fifth Harmony to have it aired. She sang against Diamond White for her bootcamp round singing "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" during which she forgot some of the lyrics. She was eliminated during the bootcamp round of competition, but was brought back along with Ally Brooke, Normani, Lauren Jauregui, and Camila Cabello to form the group now known as Fifth Harmony. The group made it all the way to the finals and landed in third place.  Fifth Harmony released their debut EP, "Better Together" in 2013, their first album "Reflection" in January 2015, and their second album "7/27" in May 2016. Their first two albums generated the singles "Worth It" and "Work from Home", respectively, which reached the top 10 in several international charts. The group also contributed music to the soundtrack of the animated film "Hotel Transylvania 2" with their song "I'm in Love with a Monster". They released their third self-titled third studio album, and first as a four member group on August 25, 2017. On March 19, 2018, the group announced an indefinite hiatus to focus on solo projects.

2015–present: Solo work and "Dinah Jane 1".

In 2015, Jane auditioned for the role of the main character in the then-upcoming animated film "Moana;" the role eventually went to Auliʻi Cravalho. Fuse's website included Jane on an article of the faces of future Asian and then the Pacific history, naming the most promising entertainers of the region in 2017. She was featured in RedOne's song "Boom Boom" along with Daddy Yankee and French Montana. The single was released in October 2017. The following month, Jane sang the Tongan national anthem "Ko e fasi 'o e tu'i 'o e 'Otu Tonga" at the 2017 Rugby League World Cup semi-final game. Jane released a Christmas medley with singer Leona Lewis in December 2017.  In August 2018, it was announced that Jane had signed a solo record deal with Hitco Entertainment, founded by L.A. Reid and Charles Goldstuck. She released her debut solo single "Bottled Up" featuring Ty Dolla Sign and Marc E. Bassy, along with its lyric video, on September 21, 2018. She performed the single on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" in October 2018. Jane performed two new songs "Retrograde" and "I Don't Mind" at the Jingle Bash on December 3, 2018. On March 26, 2019, Jane released the music video to her then-unreleased song "Retrograde". On March 28, she announced a music project that will be released on April 19, 2019, later revealed to be her debut solo extended play, "Dinah Jane 1". Jane released a song titled "Heard It All Before", followed by its music video, as the EP's lead single on April 19, 2019. In May, Jane officially released "Retrograde" for digital download and streaming, followed by "SZNS" featuring A Boogie wit da Hoodie in July. On January 2020, she announced her second solo tour following her first few headline shows during 2019. Titled the Dinah Jane World Tour, it was supposed to begin in Arizona in April 2020 and have Jane travel across the United States before performing in selected cities in Europe. Indonesia singer, songwriter Angez Mo was to be her opening act. Coinciding with her tour announcement, Jane announced a new single to be released on Valentine's Day titled "Missed a Spot". However, the single was pushed and released April 2, with an animated visualizer released the following day. The tour was also postponed due to the ongoing 2019-20 coronavirus pandemic.

Artistry.

Jane has described her music as "urban R&B... meets '90s to 2000s". Her musical influences are Beyoncé, Leona Lewis, Mariah Carey and Etta James.

Dinah Jane Milika Ilaisaane Hansen (; born June 22, 1997) is an American singer, songwriter, and a former member of multi-platinum girl group Fifth Harmony. In October 2017, she featured in RedOne's single "Boom Boom" with Daddy Yankee and French Montana. After the group's hiatus announcement in 2018, Jane signed as a solo artist with L.A. Reid's HitCo Entertainment. Her debut solo single "Bottled Up" featuring Ty Dolla Sign and Marc E. Bassy was released on September 21, 2018, followed by her debut extended play, "Dinah Jane 1", in early 2019.