Anouar Abdel-Malek (Arabic: أنور عبد الملك), (23 October 1924 – 15 June 2012) was an Egyptian-French political scientist of Coptic descent. He was a pan-Arabist and Marxist.

Anouar Abdel-Malek gained a bachelor's degree in philosophy in 1954 from Ain Shams University before studying for a doctorate at the Sorbonne. He subsequently joined the CNRS, becoming head of research there in 1970.

Works
 Égypte : société militaire, 1962. Translated by Charles Lam Markmann as Egypt: military society; the army regime, the left, and social change under Nasser, 1968.
 Anthologie de la littérature arabe contemporaine, 1964
 Idéologie et renaissance nationale, l'Égypte moderne, 1969
 La Pensée politique arabe contemporaine, 1970. Translated by Michael Pallis as Contemporary Arab political thought, 1983
 (ed.) Sociologie de l'impérialisme, 1971
 La dialectique sociale, 1972. Translated by Mike Gonzalez as Social dialectics, 2 vols., 1980.
 Nation and revolution, 1981
 (ed. with Miroslav Pečujlićand Gregory Blue) Science and technology in the transformation of the world, 1982
 (ed. with Ānisujjāmāna) Culture and thought in the transformation of the world, 1983.

References

1924 births
2012 deaths
Academics from Cairo
Ain Shams University alumni
Egyptian Arab nationalists
Egyptian Marxists
Egyptian people of Coptic descent
French male writers
French people of Coptic descent
French political scientists
University of Paris alumni
Egyptian emigrants to France

Anouar Abdel-Malek


The Australian Border Force Flag is the flag flown by Australian Border Force vessels and sometimes on ABF buildings. Any vessel acting in a customs capacity must fly this flag. The current version is an Australian National Flag with the words "AUSTRALIAN BORDER FORCE" added in bold between the Commonwealth Star and the lower part of the Southern Cross. This flag was adopted by regulations coming into force on 1 July 2015.

History

Colonial customs flags
English law has required customs vessels to fly a distinctive flag since at least 1784. The earliest recorded Customs flag in Australia is the New South Wales Customs House Ensign of 1832, which included in the Code of Signals for the Colony of New South Wales in the NSW Calendar and Post Office Directory for that year. The flag was a British Red Ensign, defaced with a gold crown over the letters CH in the fly.

A later New South Wales Customs Colonial Flag was described by a regulation published in the Supplement to the NSW Government Gazette, No. 193, Friday, 12 May 1882:
"The proper ensign for Customs shall be the red English ensign with the addition of a white cross, being in the form and proportion the same as the white ensign, but with the colours of the flag reversed, and with the letters CH in the outer lower quarter of the flag; and the pendant shall be the red pendant."

Commonwealth customs flags
The Customs Act 1901 was passed soon after federation, and like previous British and colonial legislation, required the use of a customs flag. The first flag appointed under this act was specified in Section 14 of the Customs Regulations, which were gazetted on 1 October 1901 in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette No. 53, page 172:
"The Customs flag shall be the Blue Ensign,
with the addition in the fly of the letters "HMC" in bold
character, and the word 'Australia'".
In 1903, the flag was changed from a defaced British blue ensign, to a defaced Australian blue ensign. An order in Council, dated 16 June 1904, notes that the word "AUSTRALIA" was also removed from the flag. The flag changed again when the Commonwealth star of the national flag gained an extra point in 1908.

The text "HMC" was changed to the word "CUSTOMS" by amendment SR297, published 17 December 1987 and commencing 1 January 1988. When customs functions were taken over by the newly created Australian Border Force on 1 July 2015, the Customs Regulations were changed to replace "CUSTOMS" with "AUSTRALIAN BORDER FORCE". However, on 17 July 2015, the flag seen flying at an ABF building did not contain the word "AUSTRALIAN".

References
P. Chinn & K. Hannan, Flying the Customs flag, Manifest Winter 2005, Australian Customs Service ISSN 1329-7961. Page 27.
A Customs Flag, The Advertiser (Adelaide), 27 October 1903.
Australia has a new flag and it's sending quite the message, Buzzfeed, 17 July 2015.
Customs and Other Legislation Amendment (Australian Border Force) Regulation 2015

External links

Flags of Australia
Southern Cross flags
Flags introduced in 1988

Australian Border Force Flag


Kenneth Malitoli (born 20 August 1966) is a Zambian coach and former footballer. Nicknamed 'Bubble', Malitoli is one of Zambia's most decorated players and was Zambian league top scorer in three consecutive seasons, as well as top scorer in Tunisia in 1993 and 1994. He is regarded as Nkana Football Club's most prolific striker after Bernard Chanda. He won the CAF Champions League with Tunisian club Espérance in 1994 and featured at four CAN tournaments in 1990, 1994, 1996 and 1998. Malitoli is currently coaching Zambian Division I South side Lusaka City Council.

Early life
Malitoli was born in Kitwe and he attended Wusakile Primary and Mindolo Secondary Schools. He first joined Rhokana United's Ajax Youth Academy in 1981 before being promoted to the main team three years later.

Playing career

Club career
Malitoli was still a schoolboy when he made his debut in the 1985 season in a star-studded Rhokana side which had by then been renamed Nkana Red Devils. The centre of Nkana's attack featured Zambian stars Jericho Shinde and Michael Chabala so the teenaged Malitoli had to be content with a place on the wing, fighting it out with Jerry Kaoma, Beston Chambeshi, Golden Kazika and James Jengela for the two wide slots. He won his first piece of silverware that year when Nkana pipped Power Dynamos to the league title. He would go on win four more Zambian league championships in a trophy-laden career with Nkana who dominated the Zambian soccer scene for more than a decade. Malitoli's elder brother Mordon also featured for Nkana as a defender.

Malitoli won the Zambian league's top goal scorer award in 1989 and repeated the feat twice more in succession in 1990 and 1991, and declared that should he not clinch a professional contract outside Zambia in the 1992 season, then he would certainly retain the award as it had become 'personal-to-holder.'

Malitoli's exploits in front of goal brought him to the attention of foreign scouts and 1. FC Union Berlin and after impressing on trial, he was set to join the German club in 1991 but changed his mind and turned back at Lusaka International Airport, deciding that the monetary aspect of the deal was not worthwhile. After more negotiations, Malitoli got an improved offer but when he was left out of Zambia's 1992 CAN squad, the German club, disappointed at not seeing their target in action at the continental showpiece, changed their minds and instead signed on his club mate Gibby Mbasela who impressed at the tournament, with Nkana officials agreeing to swapping the two players on the same contract terms.

To his credit, Malitoli took this development with good grace and wished Mbasela well, who became the first Nkana player to play professional football in Europe. "I'm not bitter at all about losing out on the German deal. Maybe it just wasn't my time but Gibby's and when my time comes, I shall be ready to go," he said, adding that he was not angry with whoever had decided to leave him out of Zambia's Nations Cup squad.

Malitoli instead signed for Tunisian Giants Espérance in the 1992 summer ttransfer window and was top scorer in his first full season with 18 league goals. He repeated the feat the following season when he scored 14 goals to tie with Abdelkader Belhassen as top goal scorer, and became the first Zambian player to win the CAF Champions League when Espérance beat Zamalek of Egypt 3–1 on aggregate in 1994. He also won the 1995 CAF Super Cup when Espérance beat Motema Pemba 3–0.

In 1996, Malitoli left Espérance and signed for Saudi Arabian club El Ettifaq where he stayed for a year before returning to Zambia to rejoin Nkana and played for the Kitwe giants until the beginning of the 2001 season after which moved to Indeni FC of Ndola as player/coach. With the demotion of Indeni from the top league, Malitoli retired from the game and joined promotion side Kitwe United as coach the following season.

International career
With his goal-scoring exploits at club level, it was just a matter of time before he got his call-up to the national team and after featuring for Zambia's U-19 team, he made a dream international debut, scoring twice in a 2–1 friendly win against Zimbabwe in May 1988 in Harare. Despite the auspicious start, Malitoli did not become a regular in the national team as he found it difficult to replicate his club form. As a result, he missed out on the 1988 Olympic Games where Zambia reached the quarterfinals.

He scored twice when Zambia beat Gabon 3–0 in a CAN qualifier in July 1989 and also featured for Zambia at the CECAFA tournament later that year, where Zambia reached the semi-finals. He was in the Zambian squad at CAN 1990 though a mix-up meant that he missed the opening 1–0 win over Cameroon, as his name was not on the initial squad list sent to CAF, but he featured in three of the remaining matches.

He scored a goal when Zambia beat Zimbabwe 3–1 to lift the SADCC cup in Gaborone in August 1990 but was left out of the Zambian team in 1991, missing out on a second CECAFA trophy when Zambia triumphed in Uganda.

Malitoli himself admitted that he would fail to perform for the national team, with fans at Independence Stadium regularly calling for his substitution. He was also left out of Zambia's CAN 1992 squad and as a result lost out on a contract with 1. FC Union Berlin but he got over the disappointment by signing for Tunisian club Espérance. He featured for Zambia against Madagascar in a World Cup qualifier in January 1993, his assist leading to Kelvin Mutale's opening goal in a 3–1 win though his tame performance led to a substitution in the second half raising doubts as to whether his services would be called upon again, with stiff competition for the forward places offered by younger players like Mutale, Moses Masuwa and Kenan Simambe.

Zambian football was then dealt a tragic blow when the national team perished in the plane crash of 27 April 1993 off the Gabonese coast and Malitoli was one of the experienced players called upon to lead a young team. By this time, he was now playing in a deeper midfield role and was more effective, becoming a permanent fixture as Zambia just missed out on 1994 World Cup qualification and reaching the CAN 1994 final in Tunis where he emerged as Zambia's joint top scorer, netting the winning goal against Ivory Coast in the group stage and the last goal in Zambia's 4–0 defeat of Mali in the semi-finals.

He was on the score sheet when Zambia beat Egypt 4–0 in Cairo in August 1994 to win the Egypt '94 tournament and captained the team in Roald Poulsen's first game as Zambian coach, a 1996 CAN Cup qualifier against South Africa in Lusaka. With an out of sorts Zambia trailing to a Doctor Khumalo goal, a rash challenge by Phil Masinga on Happy Sichikolo led to a penalty with four minutes to go. Under the pressure of a restless home crowd, no one seemed particularly interested in taking the penalty so Malitoli stepped up. He later recalled: "There was tension in the stadium. I stepped forward. I said to myself, 'After all, Independence Stadium does not like me so even if I miss, the status quo will continue so if I score, it will be a bonus. Malitoli scored the penalty to tie the game and would go on to captain the Zambian team in Kalusha Bwalya's absence. Malitoli had his best times in a Zambian shirt in this midfield role, scoring more goals than he did as a striker.

He was one of Zambia's key performers at CAN 1996 where the team emerged third and won the inaugural COSAFA Cup the following year. He also featured for Zambia in their first round exit at CAN 1998 under Burkhard Ziese. His last game in a Zambian shirt came when he captained the side in a 7–1 debacle to Honduras in San Pedro Sula on 16 December 1999. When Zambian coach Ben Bamfuchile named his 23-man CAN squad, Malitoli's name was not on the final list.

Coaching career
Malitoli first cut his coaching teeth at Nkana as assistant player-coach to Patrick Phiri in 2000 and then moved to relegation strugglers Indeni as player-coach the following year to replace Dickson Makwaza but when Indeni were demoted from the Zambian Premier League, he retired from the game and joined promotion side Kitwe United as coach early in 2002. He however left in October after a poor run of results and was replaced by Peter Kaumba.

He then moved to Division II North club Flying Bombers of Kitwe. In September 2004, he was appointed coach of Ndola side Forest Rangers where he stayed for two years, and was on the move again in January 2007, when he replaced Jericho Shinde as Head Coach of Nkana, who were then in Division I and aiming to return to the top league and after a flying start that saw them go on a 13 match unbeaten run to open up a 14-point gap. Nkana decided against renewing Malitoli's short term contract for a further six months due to what the club termed budgetary constraints though the move appeared to have been triggered by Nkana picking up just two points in five games after the team was banned from using their home ground due to crowd trouble.

He then joined Nchanga Rangers in September of that year, replacing Dick Ngwenya but the club terminated his contract after two seasons because he had not moved from his home town Kitwe to Chingola which is only 44 km away. He then joined Kalulushi Modern Stars and during his time as Kalulushi coach, he also served as assistant U-17 national team coach.

He left Stars in 2010 and the following year in February, was appointed coach of Livingstone Division I side Livingstone Pirates. In October 2013, Malitoli was suspended following a streak of poor results, with the club explaining that he was still the coach and was just on suspension. However, the club relieved Malitoli of his duties at the end of the season and he moved to Lusaka City Council F.C. mid-way through the 2014 season.

Political career
In 2001, Malitoli ran for election as a member of parliament in Kitwe's Wusakile constituency, on the Heritage Party ticket. From a field of 9 candidates, he polled 11.75% of the votes to emerge second.

He has not been active in politics since then.

Personal life
Malitoli is a widower after he lost his wife Given, with whom he had two children, in October 2003. He also has two children from a previous relationship.

References

1966 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Kitwe
Men's association football forwards
Men's association football midfielders
Zambian football managers
Zambian men's footballers
Zambian expatriate men's footballers
Zambia men's international footballers
1990 African Cup of Nations players
1994 African Cup of Nations players
1996 African Cup of Nations players
1998 African Cup of Nations players
Nkana F.C. players
Espérance Sportive de Tunis players
Al-Ettifaq FC players
Expatriate men's footballers in Tunisia
Zambian expatriate sportspeople in Tunisia
Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia
Zambian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia
Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 players
Saudi Pro League players
Forest Rangers F.C. managers

Kenneth Malitoli


Robert William Smith (December 27, 1926 – July 1, 2011) was an American martial artist and writer, most noted for his prodigious output of books and articles about the Asian martial arts and their masters. Smith's writing was an important factor in the spread of Asian martial arts such as judo, baguazhang, xingyiquan, and tai chi in the postwar United States.

Early life
Born on a farm in Iowa in 1926, he was sent at the age of three to an orphanage due to his family's economic distress.  There he became a voracious reader. In high school, he learned boxing and wrestling. He joined the U.S. Marines at seventeen. While in the Marines, Smith completed his high school requirements through a correspondence course. He was honorably discharged in 1946. Smith attended college on the G.I. Bill, eventually earning an M.A. in History from the University of Washington in 1953. Smith's interest in boxing and pursuit of Asian martial arts (especially judo) continued unabated. After a brief stint with the Red Cross, Smith joined the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency as an Intelligence Officer and moved to Bethesda, Maryland.

Taiwan
From 1959 to 1962 he was posted by the CIA to Taiwan.  The Republican Chinese government led by Chiang Kai-shek had fled to Taiwan (Formosa) after the victory of Mao Zedong and the Communists on the mainland in 1949. Protected by the U.S. Seventh Fleet, Taiwan became the seat of government for the Republic of China - the only Chinese government diplomatically recognized by the U.S. Government until the 1970s. Smith worked as a liaison to the Republican government.

While in Taiwan Smith trained and studied with many masters of Chinese martial arts (e.g., baguazhang, xingyiquan). Most importantly, he met Professor Cheng Man-ch'ing, the  "master of five excellences" - calligraphy, poetry, painting, Chinese medicine, and tai chi. Legend has it that Smith had to keep knocking on Cheng's door for at least six months before Cheng would accept him as his first non-Chinese student. While waiting to study with Cheng, Smith studied with T.T. Liang. Cheng and his students would meet every Sunday in Taiwan for taijiquan and tuishou ("push hands"—which Smith often preferred to translate as "sensing hands"). Cheng moved to the United States in the mid-1960s and lived and taught in New York City for a number of years before returning to Taiwan in the mid-1970s. Smith and Cheng kept in close contact until Cheng's death in 1975.

America
Smith returned to Bethesda in 1962 and initially taught judo at the local YMCA, but later concentrated on taijiquan, baguazhang, and xingyiquan. Starting in 1962, Smith taught a popular free early Saturday morning taijiquan class at the YMCA. This continued for 26 years. During those years he worked, raised a family, taught, and wrote about martial arts. Smith retired from teaching in late 1988 and he and his wife Alice moved to the foothills of the Smoky Mountains.

Over the years Smith befriended many boxers and martial artists and sought many teachers. He was driven by a friendly curiosity that evolved over time into an expertise on Asian martial arts. He was one of the first western writers to introduce Asian martial arts to the West.

Smith's writings

Beginning in the 1950s, Smith wrote articles for such martial arts magazines as Budokwai Quarterly Bulletin, Judo, Strength and Health, Black Belt, and the Journal of Asian Martial Arts, and served on the editorial board for Taijiquan Journal. Smith's articles whetted the appetite of the American martial arts community, which paved the way for Asian masters to then develop followings in the US.

Always written with a flair, Smith's numerous books and articles offer martial techniques, history, anecdotes, opinions, humor, and quotes from his wide-ranging personal training, research, and reading. Smith collaborated with his teacher Cheng Man-ch'ing on one of the earliest English taijiquan books (T'ai Chi, Tuttle, 1967), and with Benjamin Lo on a translation of one of the earliest taijiquan books: Chen Weiming's 1929 book T'ai chi ch'uan ta wen—Questions and Answers on T'ai Chi Ch'uan (North Atlantic, 1985).
Smith's memoir, "Martial Musings" (1999) was written much as he taught taijiquan, i.e., with multiple anecdotal stories and a sharp sense of humor. He wrote, co-wrote, edited, co-edited and co-translated fourteen books on the martial arts and over twenty articles with a particular focus on the internal, martial arts of China.

He also wrote three books under the nom de plume of John F. Gilbey. "Gilbey's" first book, Secret Fighting Arts of the World, was a work of fiction parodying various martial arts tall tales, but was widely assumed to be non-fiction when it was first released.  The second Gilbey book, The Way of a Warrior, was effectively a sequel to Secret Fighting Arts and the third, Western Boxing and World Wrestling, was a largely non-fictional compilation of boxing and wrestling anecdotes.
Smith edited the first book in English on Shaolin Temple boxing. In addition, he wrote the first books in English on baguazhang and xingyiquan, as well as the above-mentioned one on tai chi. Smith thus, was a key figure in introducing Western readers to these three "internal" martial arts of China.

Smith was also a frequent contributor of book reviews and opinion letters to Washington-D.C.-area newspapers

"Quotations from Chairman Smith," Sayings lovingly recollected by former students - circa 1978 to 1985
"PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE .... "

"Tai Chi is like swimming in air." Quoting Cheng Man-ch'ing 's "Thirteen Treatises." Treatise Five

"This is the Marine Corps school of T'ai Chi." Said jokingly while students were holding tough postures.

"You may hate me now, but you'll thank me later." Implying that our workouts in class would lead to better relaxation and sleep later.

"It takes at least five years of practicing T'ai Chi to realize you know nothing."

"In T'ai Chi, three factors are very important: correct teaching, perseverance and natural talent. Of the three, correct teaching (or right method) is the most important." From "T'ai Chi" by Cheng and Smith, page 8

"When you're relaxed, you are your true self." He suggested, for example to "always remember moments such as sitting on the beach, watching and listening to the waves, and being totally relaxed."

"Don't underestimate a street fighter. First, you shouldn't be in that part of town to begin with.  Second, don't ever let them get you off your feet.  If they do (get you off your feet), the last thing you know, a foot will be coming for your head."

"Don't forget that scene in 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' when the guy waves the sword around in the air and Indiana Jones pulls out his gun and shoots him. Remember, no man can outrun a bullet."

"Push from the center."

"If you stay in the quiet standing position long enough, you will feel ch'i."

"If you exercise, make sure you do it consistently, whether twice a day or twice a week."

"Go without sleep, go without food, but do not go without T'ai Chi."

"The Cross wasn't a lounge chair."

Selected bibliography

 Chen Weiming. T'ai Chi Ch'uan Ta Wen: Questions and Answers on T'ai Chi Ch'uan, Lo, Benjamin and Robert W. Smith, translators. (1929; translation North Atlantic, 1985) .
 Cheng Man-ch'ing and Robert W. Smith. T'ai Chi. 1967. .
 Draeger, Donn and Robert W. Smith. Asian Fighting Arts, Kodansha International, 1969; re-titled Comprehensive Asian Fighting Arts upon republication, 1980 ().
 Gilbey, John (Robert W. Smith). Secret Fighting Arts of the World. (Tuttle, 1963).
Gilbey, John. "The Way of a Warrior," (Richmond, CA: North Atlantic Books, 1982).
 Guterman, A. and Robert W. Smith. "Neurological Sequalae of Boxing." Sports Medicine, 4:3 (1987), 194–210.
 Mason, Russ. "Fifty Years in the Fighting Arts: An Interview with Robert W. Smith," Journal of Asian Martial Arts, 10:1 (2001), 36–73.
 Martial Arts: The Real Story (Pacific Street Films, 2000). First broadcast on The Learning Channel, July 7, 2000.
 Smith, Robert W. Chinese Boxing: Masters and Methods. 1974, 1990. .
Smith, Robert W. Martial Musings: A Portrayal of Martial Arts in the 20th Century. (Erie, PA:  Media Publishing, 1999).
 ---A Complete Guide to Judo: Its Story and Practice. (Tuttle, 1958).
 ---"Donn Draeger--A Lifelong Embodiment of the Samurai Code." Journal of Asian Martial Arts, 8:3 (1999), 18–33.
 ---Martial Musings. 1999. .
 ---Secrets of Shaolin Temple Boxing''. (Tuttle, 1964).

See also
Cheng Man-ch'ing
Donn F. Draeger
Dong Haichuan
Manuel Velazquez
Gulam
Chen Weiming (scholar)
Ernest John Harrison

References

External links
A more complete bibliography of Robert W. Smith's martial arts writings

1926 births
2011 deaths
American martial artists
American historians
American educators

Robert W. Smith (writer)


Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue is a small chain of barbecue restaurants, catering, private dining facilities, and nationwide shipper of barbecue located in the metropolitan area of Kansas City, Missouri.

Early history

Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue was originally a part of the Fiorella family-owned chain of Smoke Stack Barbecue restaurants, with the original restaurant located in south Kansas City, Missouri on Prospect Avenue. Founded by family patriarch Russ Fiorella in 1957, it eventually opened four more restaurants for the Fiorella family. One of these, Smoke Stack Barbecue of Martin City, was opened in 1974 by the eldest son Jack Fiorella and his wife Delores. The restaurant briefly changed its name to Hatfield and McCoy's in the mid-1980s.

Expansion and name change

In the mid-1990s, Jack and Delores opened their second restaurant location by expanding into neighboring Overland Park, Kansas. They decided to change their name to Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue to set themselves apart from the family chain of Smoke Stack Barbecue restaurants. They also opened a full-service catering operation in Martin City, along with private dining facilities in both Martin City and in their third restaurant location in the historic Freight House building across from Union Station in mid-town Kansas City. In October 2006, they opened a fourth restaurant on The Country Club Plaza. A fifth location opened in Lee's Summit, Missouri early spring 2015.

Seizing upon the opportunity to expand their Kansas City-style barbecue beyond the borders of Kansas City, Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue began shipping their barbecue nationwide in 2000. Media exposure on The Food Network and Modern Marvels on The History Channel helped to introduce the rest of America to Jack Stack's Kansas City-style barbecue. Fiorella's Jack Stack has been rated as some of the best barbecue in the United States by several national organizations and magazines. Most notably, the Zagat Survey named it the "#1 Barbecue House in the Country."

Jack Fiorella has passed restaurant operations along to his son-in-law Case Dorman.

See also
 List of barbecue restaurants

References

External links

Barbecue restaurants in the United States
Restaurants in Kansas City, Missouri
Restaurants established in 1957
1957 establishments in Missouri

Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue


The CFA franc (, , Franc of the Financial Community of Africa, originally Franc of the French Colonies in Africa, or colloquially ; abbreviation: F.CFA) is the name of two currencies, the West African CFA franc, used in eight West African countries, and the Central African CFA franc, used in six Central African countries. Although separate, the two CFA franc currencies have always been at parity and are effectively interchangeable. The ISO currency codes are XAF for the Central African CFA franc and XOF for the West African CFA franc. On 22 December 2019, it was announced that the West African currency would be reformed and replaced by an independent currency to be called Eco.

Both CFA francs have a fixed exchange rate (peg) to the euro: €1 = F.CFA 655.957 exactly, and member countries deposited half of their foreign exchange reserves with the French Treasury. The currency has been criticized for restricting the sovereignty of the African member states, effectively putting their monetary policy in the hands of the European Central Bank. Others argue that the CFA "helps stabilize the national currencies of Franc Zone member-countries and greatly facilitates the flow of exports and imports between France and the member-countries".

In May 2020, the French National Assembly agreed to end the French engagement in the West African CFA franc, including the foreign reserve deposit requirements. The West African CFA franc is expected to be renamed as the "Eco" in the near future.

Usage
CFA francs are used in fourteen countries: twelve nations formerly ruled by France in West and Central Africa (excluding Guinea and Mauritania, which withdrew), plus Guinea-Bissau (a former Portuguese colony), and Equatorial Guinea (a former Spanish colony). These fourteen countries have a combined population of 193.1 million people (as of 2021), and a combined GDP of US$283.0 billion (as of 2021).

Name
Between 1945 and 1958, CFA stood for  ("French colonies of Africa"); then for  ("French Community of Africa") between 1958 (establishment of the French Fifth Republic) and the independence of these African countries at the beginning of the 1960s. Since independence, CFA is taken to mean  (African Financial Community) or Coopération financière en Afrique centrale (see Institutions below).

History

Creation
The CFA franc was created on 26 December 1945, along with the CFP franc. The reason for their creation was the weakness of the French franc immediately after World War II. When France ratified the Bretton Woods Agreement in December 1945, the French franc was devalued in order to set a fixed exchange rate with the US dollar. New currencies were created in the French colonies to spare them the strong devaluation, thereby making it easier for them to import goods from France (and simultaneously making it harder for them to export goods to France). French officials presented the decision as an act of generosity. René Pleven, the French Minister of Finance, was quoted as saying:

Exchange rate
The CFA franc was created with a fixed exchange rate versus the French franc. This exchange rate was changed only twice, in 1948 and in 1994 (besides nominal adaptation to the new French franc in 1960 and the Euro in 1999).

Exchange rate:
 26 December 1945 to 16 October 1948 – F.CFA 1 = 1.70 French franc. This 70 centime premium is the consequence of the creation of the CFA franc, which spared the French African colonies the devaluation of December 1945 (before December 1945, 1 local franc in these colonies was worth 1 French franc).

 17 October 1948 to 31 December 1959 – F.CFA 1 = 2 French francs (the CFA franc had followed the French franc's devaluation versus the US dollar in January 1948, but on 18 October 1948, the French franc devalued again and this time the CFA franc was revalued against the French franc to offset almost all of this new devaluation of the French franc; after October 1948, the CFA followed all the successive devaluations of the French franc)

 1 January 1960 to 11 January 1994– F.CFA 1 = NF 0.02 (1 January 1960: the French franc redenominated, with 100 old francs becoming 1 new franc)

 12 January 1994 to 31 December 1998– F.CFA 1 = F 0.01. An overnight 50% devaluation.

 1 January 1999 onwards – F.CFA 100 = €0.152449 or €1 euro = F.CFA 655.957. (1 January 1999:  the euro replaced FRF at the rate of 6.55957 FRF for 1 euro)

The 1960 and 1999 events merely reflect changes of currency in use in France: the actual relative value of the CFA franc versus the French franc/euro only changed in 1948 and 1994.

Changes in countries using the franc
Over time, the number of countries and territories using the CFA franc has changed as some countries began introducing their own separate currencies. A couple of nations in West Africa have also chosen to adopt the CFA franc since its introduction, despite the fact that they had never been French colonies.

 1960: Guinea leaves and begins issuing Guinean francs.
 1962: Mali leaves and begins issuing Malian francs.
 1973: Madagascar leaves (in 1972, according to another source) and begins issuing its own francs, the Malagasy franc, which ran concurrently with the Malagasy ariary (1 ariary = 5 Malagasy francs).
 1973: Mauritania leaves, replacing the franc with the Mauritanian ouguiya (1 ouguiya = 5 CFA francs).
 1974: Saint-Pierre and Miquelon leaves for French franc, which changed later to the Euro
 1975: Réunion leaves for French franc, which changed later to the Euro
 1976: Mayotte leaves for French franc, which changed later to the Euro
 1984: Mali rejoins (1 CFA franc = 2 Malian francs).
 1985: Equatorial Guinea joins (1 franc = 4 bipkwele)
 1997: Guinea-Bissau joins (1 franc = 65 pesos)

European Monetary Union
In 1998, in anticipation of Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union, the Council of the European Union addressed the monetary agreements France had with the CFA Zone and Comoros and ruled that:
 The agreements are unlikely to have any material effect on the monetary and exchange rate policy of the Eurozone
 In their present forms and states of implementation, the agreements are unlikely to present any obstacle to a smooth functioning of economic and monetary union
 Nothing in the agreements can be construed as implying an obligation for the European Central Bank (ECB) or any national central bank to support the convertibility of the CFA and Comorian francs
 Modifications to the existing agreements will not lead to any obligations for the European Central or any national central bank
 The French Treasury will guarantee the free convertibility at a fixed parity between the euro and the CFA and Comorian francs
 The competent French authorities shall keep the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the Economic and Financial Committee informed about the implementation of the agreements and inform the Committee prior to changes of the parity between the euro and the CFA and Comorian francs
 Any change to the nature or scope of the agreements would require Council approval on the basis of a Commission recommendation and ECB consultation

Criticism and replacement in West Africa
The currency has been criticized for making national monetary policy for the developing countries of French West Africa all but impossible, since the CFA's value is pegged to the euro (whose monetary policy is set by the European Central Bank). Others disagree and argue that the CFA "helps stabilize the national currencies of Franc Zone member-countries and greatly facilitates the flow of exports and imports between France and the member-countries". The European Union's 2008 assessment of the CFA's link to the euro noted that "benefits from economic integration within each of the two monetary unions of the CFA franc zone, and even more so between them, remained remarkably low" but that "the peg to the French franc and, since 1999, to the euro as exchange rate anchor is usually found to have had favourable effects in the region in terms of macroeconomic stability".

Critics point out that the currency is controlled by the French treasury, and in turn African countries channel more money to France than they receive in aid and have no sovereignty over their monetary policies. In January 2019, Italian ministers accused France of impoverishing Africa through the CFA franc, and criticism continued from various African organizations. On 21 December 2019, President Alassane Ouattara of the Ivory Coast and President Emmanuel Macron of France announced an initiative to replace the West African CFA Franc with the Eco. Subsequently, a reform of the West African CFA franc was initiated. In May 2020, the French National Assembly agreed to end the French engagement in the West African CFA franc. The countries using the currency will no longer have to deposit half of their foreign exchange reserves with the French Treasury.

The broader Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which includes the members of UEMOA, plans to introduce its own common currency for its member states by 2027, for which they have also formally adopted the name Eco.

Debate on ending the Central African CFA

On April 25, 2023, the subject of the CFA franc was discussed at the ministerial meeting of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) and France. The French perceive the guarantee provided to the CFA franc, and the assurance of its convertibility, as a pillar of economic stability for the region. France remains "open" and "available" to CEMAC proposals to reform monetary cooperation in Central Africa, as has happened in West Africa.

Institutions
There are two different currencies called the CFA franc: the West African CFA franc (ISO 4217 currency code XOF), and the Central Africa CFA franc (ISO 4217 currency code XAF). They are distinguished in French by the meaning of the abbreviation CFA. These two CFA francs have the same exchange rate with the euro (1 euro = 655.957 XOF = 655.957 XAF), and they are both guaranteed by the French treasury (), but the two currencies are only legal tender in their respective member countries.

West African

The West African CFA franc (XOF) is known in French as the , where CFA stands for  ('Financial Community of Africa') or  ("African Financial Community"). It is issued by the BCEAO (, i.e., "Central Bank of the West African States"), located in Dakar, Senegal, for the eight countries of the UEMOA (, i.e., "West African Economic and Monetary Union"):

These eight countries have a combined population of 134.7 million people (as of 2021), and a combined GDP of US$179.7 billion (as of 2021).

Central African

The Central Africa CFA franc (XAF) is known in French as the , where CFA stands for  ("Financial Cooperation in Central Africa"). It is issued by the BEAC (, i.e., "Bank of the Central African States"), located in Yaoundé, Cameroon, for the six countries of the CEMAC (, i.e., "Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa"):

These six countries have a combined population of 58.4 million people (as of 2021), and a combined GDP of US$103.3 billion (as of 2021).

In 1975, Central African CFA banknotes were issued with an obverse unique to each participating country, and common reverse, in a fashion similar to euro coins.

Equatorial Guinea, the only former Spanish colony in the zone, adopted the CFA in 1984.

Gallery

See also

AM-Franc
Comorian franc
Currencies related to the euro
CFP franc
Réunion franc
Reichmark

References

External links

History of the CFA franc
Franc zone information at Banque de France
 (in French, but more extensive than the English version)
Decision of the Council of Europe on 23 November 1998 regarding the CFA and Comorian francs
"For better or worse: the euro and the CFA franc", Africa Recovery, Department of Public Information, United Nations (April 1999)

Other
Central Bank of Madagascar

The CFA franc zone and the EMU
Aubin Nzaou-Kongo, International Law and Monetary Sovereignty, African Review of Law, 2020

Economy of Benin
Economy of Chad
Currencies introduced in 1945
Fixed exchange rate
French West Africa
Currencies of Cameroon

CFA franc


The Manab Nyaya Shastra () is the first codified law of Nepal. It was written during the Malla Dynasty, which is known to be the 5th dynasty of Nepal. It was written by King Jayasthiti Malla in the 14th century along with the help of five learned persons; Kirtinath Upadhyaya Kanyakubja, Raghunath Jha Maithili, Srinath Bhatta, Mahinath Bhatta, and Ramanath Jha. The Manab Nyaya Shastra was consequently written after the study of Manu Smriti, Yagyawalkya Smriti, Mitachhyara Tika, Brihaspati Smriti, Narad Smriti and other holy texts. It was written concentrating on the practices that prevailed in the society then. The Manab Nyaya Shastra has introduced many legal provisions regarding houses, lands, castes, dead bodies etc. It was the major source of rendering justice during the medieval period. Much influence of religion can be found in the laws then.

References

Law of Nepal
History of Nepal
14th century in Nepal

Manav Nyaya Shastra


The Gemäldegalerie (Paintng gallery) is an art museum in Berlin that is part of the Kulturforum. It houses one of the largest collections of European paintings from the 13th to 18th centuries in Europe. The museum has a comprehensive German, Early Netherlandish, and Italian collection with about 1250 works.

Paintings and art were collected by the Prussian government, not through a royal dynasty. It's collection intended to give a European overview. The collection first opened in 1830 and expanded throughout the 19th century, adding over 1000 paintings and artworks. In 1904, the museum moved to Kaiser Friedrich Museum, today Bode Museum. Several art pieces that were not stored in shelters like larger altars were destroyed or looted during World War 2. The collection was separated into East and West Germany and reunited at the Kulturforum with the German reunification.

Notable artists include Albrecht Dürer, Lucas Cranach, Hans Holbein, Rogier van der Weyden, Jan van Eyck, Raphael, Botticelli, Titian, Caravaggio, Peter Paul Rubens, David Teniers the Younger, Rembrandt, Johannes Vermeer, and Antonio Viviani.

Art museums
Museums in Berlin

Gemäldegalerie, Berlin


Benjamin John Saunders (born 5 August 1977 in Plymouth) is an English polar explorer, endurance athlete, and motivational speaker. He led the first return journey to the South Pole on foot via Shackleton and Scott's route in 2013–14, and skied solo to the North Pole in 2004. Saunders has skied more than 3,700 miles (6,000 km) on polar expeditions since 2001. He holds the record for the longest human-powered polar journey in history (2,888 km) and for the longest solo Arctic journey by a Briton (1,032 km).

Biography

The elder of two boys, Saunders grew up in Devon and Kent, was educated at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, and worked as an instructor at the John Ridgway School of Adventure. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, an Ambassador for the Prince's Trust, a Patron of British Exploring, a supporter of The Duke of Edinburgh's Award and the Orchid Cancer Appeal, a past Honorary Vice-President of the Geographical Association, and an honorary member of the Cordon Rouge Club. In July 2016 Saunders was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the University of Northampton.

Saunders has contributed to publications including Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century and 'The Middle of Nowhere''' published by Lonely Planet. He also spoke at the 2005 and 2014 main stage TED conferences.

Expeditions

North Pole
Saunders first attempted to reach the North Pole in 2001 on a two-man unsupported expedition led by Pen Hadow that started from the Arctic Cape in Siberia, Russia. The pair were unsuccessful in attaining the Pole but reached a point close to 87° North, after 59 days on the Arctic Ocean.

In April 2003, Saunders completed a 240 km solo round-trip to the North Pole from the temporary Russian ice station, Barneo.

In spring 2004, he set out to make a solo and unsupported crossing of the Arctic Ocean on foot, following a planned route from the Arctic Cape to Ward Hunt Island, Canada, via the North Pole. Saunders was dropped off by a Russian Mil Mi-8 helicopter on 5 March 2004, reached the North Pole on 11 May 2004, and was picked up on the Canadian side of the Arctic Ocean by a Kenn Borek Air Twin Otter ski plane on 14 May 2004.

Saunders' claim to have reached the North Pole solo in 2004 is disputed by ExplorersWeb, a website maintained by explorers Thomas and Tina Sjögren, who consider only expeditions that begin their journey on land to be valid. His 2004 expedition started 70 km north of Siberia's Cape Arktichevsky, with his online journal reporting 50 km of open water north of the Russian coastline that prevented him starting from land. ExplorersWeb listed Saunders' 2004 journey to the North Pole as a "partial expedition" on their database of expedition records.

In 2004, Australian explorer Eric Philips argued that this categorization of expeditions may have been a factor in the death of Finnish explorer Dominick Arduin, who died at the Arctic Cape in March 2004: "I can't help but think that this tragedy permeated as a result of the pressure placed on adventurers to have their expeditions regarded as unsupported. Again, Explorers Web and others are placing undue pressure on the adventuring community by categorizing expeditions on their achievements... we should not be pressured into feeling that our efforts fall short of somebody else's parameters."

On 27 March 2008, Saunders set out from Ward Hunt Island, Canada, with the aim of setting a speed record. The current record, 36 days 22 hours, was set in 2005 by a team guided by Canadian Matty McNair using dog sleds and numerous air-drops of food. In contrast, Saunders set out solo, unsupported, and on foot; he was halted after eight days, on 4 April 2008, due to a broken ski binding.

A second speed record attempt in March 2010 was unable to start due to a three-week period of adverse weather conditions on the far north of Canada's Ellesmere Island.

 South Pole

Between October 2013 and February 2014, Saunders and Tarka L'Herpiniere made the first return journey to the South Pole from Ross Island on the same route attempted by Sir Ernest Shackleton on the Nimrod Expedition, and by Robert Falcon Scott on the Terra Nova Expedition. At 1,795 miles (2,888 km) the Scott Expedition is the longest human-powered polar journey in history. Saunders and L'Herpiniere set out from Ross Island on 26 October 2013, reached the South Pole on 26 December 2013 and finished their expedition at Ross Island again on 7 February 2014. The journey was not unsupported, since some supplies had to be delivered by air on their return journey.

Robert Swan OBE and Falcon Scott (Captain Scott's grandson) were patrons of the expedition.

Publications

See also
 Ed Stafford, British adventurer
 Bruce Parry, British adventurer
 Børge Ousland, Norwegian explorer
 Henry Cookson, British adventurer
 Ranulph Fiennes, British adventurer

References

External links
 Ben Saunders' website
 The Scott Expedition website

 "Why did I ski to the North Pole?" (TED2005)
 "Why bother leaving the house?" (TEDSalon London Fall 2012)
 "To the South Pole and back – the hardest 105 days of my life" (TED2014)
 This Much I Know by Jane Oddy, The Observer, 29 February 2004
 New York Times article on Ben Saunders
 Recording of Ben Saunders' speech to PopTech conference in Maine
 Terra Cognita by Joanne Ramos, Intelligent Life, December 2007
 Ben Saunders by Andy Bull, Guardian'', March 2008

1977 births
Living people
English explorers
Explorers of the Arctic
English bloggers
English motivational speakers
People from Plymouth, Devon
English polar explorers
Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
British male bloggers

Ben Saunders (explorer)


Sergei Viktorovich Fyodorov (; born December 13, 1969) is a Russian former professional ice hockey player and the current head coach of CSKA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). During his playing career, for which he is best known for his 13 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings, Fedorov was primarily a centre, but occasionally played as a winger or defenceman.

Fedorov was one of the first hockey players to defect from his native Soviet Union in order to play in the National Hockey League (NHL). While playing with Detroit, he won the Stanley Cup three times, as well as the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player in 1994. After leaving the Red Wings in the summer of 2003, Fedorov played stints with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Columbus Blue Jackets and Washington Capitals before retiring from the NHL in 2009. He played in over 1,200 NHL games and scored 483 goals in the NHL. He is a three-time Olympian, the first European-trained player to win the Hart Trophy and is considered to be one of the best playoff performers in NHL history. In 2017, Fedorov was named one of the "100 Greatest NHL Players" in history.

Fedorov was considered one of the best players in the world from the 1990s to the early 2000s. He last played for Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL, where he was made captain in early September 2011. He was also an ambassador for Russia at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Fedorov was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 9, 2015, and to the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame in 2016.

Playing career

Defection and career with the Red Wings
When he was just 16, Fedorov was already playing for CSKA Moscow in the Soviet Union with future NHL Hall-of-Famer Pavel Bure and Alexander Mogilny, among others. In 1989, Mogilny became the first Soviet superstar to defect in order to play in the NHL. Less than two months later, Fedorov was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the fourth round, 74th overall, of the 1989 NHL Entry Draft. Red Wings general manager Jim Devellano had consulted team captain and future Hall-of-Famer Steve Yzerman about Fedorov, knowing that the two had played against each other in the World Championships. Yzerman told Devellano, "He's better than me."

Detroit sportswriter Keith Gave was asked by Wings executive vice-president Jim Lites to pass a secret message to Fedorov at an exhibition game in Helsinki where the Soviet national team was scheduled to play a Finnish elite-level club. Gave agreed to the mission, and in August 1989, managed to meet with Fedorov and teammate Vladimir Konstantinov, whom the Wings had also drafted, and slip them each a Red Wings media guide with a letter hidden inside. The letters made it clear that the Red Wings wanted both of them in Detroit and were willing to help them get there.

By July 1990, Fedorov had decided to defect. The Soviet national team came to North America to play in the 1990 Goodwill Games, and had scheduled an exhibition match in Portland's Memorial Coliseum on July 22, 1990. Jim Lites came to Portland, picked up Fedorov outside his hotel after the game, and brought him to Detroit in Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch's private jet.

Fedorov was described as "three great players in one". In his career, he "once held claim to the title of top player on the planet". Former Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman said Fedorov was the "best skater I've ever seen". During the 1993–94 season, Fedorov's outstanding play earned him the "oldest and most prestigious individual award in hockey", the Hart Memorial Trophy (awarded to the NHL's most valuable player), the Frank J. Selke Trophy (top defensive forward) and the Lester B. Pearson Award (awarded to the most outstanding player as selected by NHL players). He finished second in scoring behind the Los Angeles Kings' Wayne Gretzky with 56 goals and 120 points.

During the 1993–94 season, being interviewed before his game, Gretzky was talking about a December 17 game between the Red Wings and New York Rangers, saying, "[H]e had never seen a player dominate the game the way Sergei did." Later in the season, Gretzky also commented that he thought Fedorov was "the best player in the game at this point." Fedorov was introduced to Gretzky by Paul Coffey during the 1994 NHL All-Star Game, which led to him staying over at his Los Angeles home with his family for two weeks that year.

Playing in his second game after coming back from an injury, Steve Yzerman was asked about Fedorov's play during the season: "I've only seen two other players that can dominate a game like Sergei, and that's Wayne and Mario ... In my opinion, he's the best player in the League. He is different than Wayne and Mario because he dominates with his speed, and unbelievable one-on-one moves." Red Wings head coach Scotty Bowman was also asked in an interview during the season where he thought Fedorov ranked among the players and teams he has coached in his career: "He's right at the top. He's got the greatest leg strength I've seen in a player. His legs are phenomenal."

In the lockout-shortened 1994–95 season, Fedorov finished second on the Red Wings in points with 50 (20 goals and 30 assists) in 42 games. That season, in a game against Los Angeles on February 12, Fedorov scored all four of Detroit's goals in a 4–4 tie. Although the Red Wings lost the Stanley Cup Finals that year to the New Jersey Devils, Fedorov led the playoffs in all scoring with 24 points (seven goals and 17 assists). He also led the Stanley Cup Finals in goals and led the Red Wings in points.

Fedorov won another Selke Trophy in 1996 after scoring 39 goals and 107 points in 78 games, while playing stellar defensively. He finished in the top five for Hart Trophy voting and led Detroit in scoring, and helped them win the Presidents' Trophy. That season, Detroit set an NHL record for wins in a season with 62. He also signed a four-year deal that season to become the first non-North American spokesman for Nike, in which he made the "white skates" famous. The skates were different due to their unique colours and design, and he promoted it through a series of commercials for Nike. Steve Yzerman, speaking to a reporter on Fedorov a few weeks after turning the tide on a January 30 game that season that ended in a 4–2 victory for the Red Wings over the Toronto Maple Leafs, said, "Sergei is a game-breaker for us anytime he's on the ice ... He's the most talented player I've ever seen." The Red Wings' season ended in disappointment when they were defeated by the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Finals, four games to two. Fedorov finished tied for the team lead with 20 points in 19 playoff games.

In the 1996–97 season, Fedorov played before the preseason started in August and September for Russia at the 1996 World Cup of Hockey. Later in the NHL season, he was a member of the Red Wings' first Stanley Cup championship team since 1955, leading the team playoff scoring with 20 points in 20 games, including 8 goals. He led the Stanley Cup Finals in points and in goals for a second time. Goaltender Mike Vernon won the Conn Smythe Trophy, "but many hockey insiders believe that Sergei deserved that honor". During the regular season, Fedorov had achieved the rare feat of scoring five goals in a single game, as he registered all of Detroit's goals in a 5–4 overtime win against the Washington Capitals on December 26, 1996. It was also the first time in NHL history that a player completed a quintet of goals in overtime, a feat since equaled only by the Rangers' Mika Zibanejad on March 5, 2020, also against the Capitals.

In the mid-1990s, Fedorov became part of the Red Wings' Russian Five, together with Igor Larionov at center, Vyacheslav Kozlov at left, and Viacheslav Fetisov and Vladimir Konstantinov on defense. The Wings won the Stanley Cup in 1997 and 1998.

After a lengthy holdout to start the 1997–98 season, Fedorov, a restricted free agent, signed an offer sheet with the Carolina Hurricanes worth up to $38 million, including bonuses. The Red Wings matched the offer on February 26, 1998, ending Fedorov's holdout. The offer included $14 million for signing and $2 million for 21 regular-season games. However, the most controversial part of the contract was a $12 million bonus payable immediately if Fedorov's team reached the 1998 conference finals—at the time, Detroit was already a Stanley Cup contender while Carolina was almost certain to miss the playoffs, so the clause was criticized for creating an unfair disadvantage for Detroit. Nevertheless, the Red Wings matched the offer and paid the bonus. The $28 million Detroit paid Fedorov for 43 total games in 1997–98 remains the largest single-season amount paid to an NHL player. Fedorov led the playoffs in goals and helped the Red Wings win their second consecutive Stanley Cup.

On February 14, 1999, Fedorov announced his entire base salary for the 1998–99 season—$2 million—would be used to create the Sergei Fedorov Foundation, a charity to assist Detroit-area children. During the 1990s, Fedorov was third in playoff scoring with 126 points, behind only Mark Messier (126) and Mario Lemieux (136). Fedorov is only the third player in NHL history to have four consecutive 20+ point playoffs, along with Mike Bossy and Bryan Trottier. He also led the NHL in plus-minus in the 1990s with a +221.

In 2001–02 season, Fedorov played with a star-studded roster that included newcomers Dominik Hašek, Luc Robitaille and Brett Hull, culminating with Fedorov winning his third Stanley Cup, where he led the Stanley Cup Finals again in points for a second time. During an interview with Hull days after the Red Wings' 2002 Stanley Cup championship win, he commented on Fedorov as a player and person: "[Fedorov's] maturity—not only on the ice, but off the ice—has grown immensely, and, like Stevie said, there's not too many guys in this league, if any, that have the skill that he does. And he's learned to use it over the years. I think everyone can see that." In the 2002–03 season, Steve Yzerman was injured for most of the season, and Fedorov led the team in scoring with 36 goals and 83 points in 80 games, also winning the inaugural Kharlamov Trophy, at the time awarded yearly to the top Russian player in the NHL.

At the 2002 NHL All-Star Game SuperSkills Competition, Fedorov slapped the puck 101.5 mph in the net to win "Hardest Shot". Dominik Hašek later remarked of Fedorov's shot, "I know his shot, and I'm not surprised that he won it ... He can shoot from the blue line and he can score from the blue line." After an October 25, 2002, game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit, talking to reporters about Fedorov, Mario Lemieux said, "He was awesome. The way he skates, he's just dominating out there. Especially in the neutral zone, he picks up a lot of speed. You can't defend against that."

Fedorov signed a free-agent contract with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim for less than the Red Wings offered him after Detroit lost to Anaheim in the first round of the playoffs in 2003. Fedorov is currently fourth all-time in many offensive categories in Red Wings history, behind Gordie Howe, Steve Yzerman and Alex Delvecchio. Only Howe, Yzerman, Delvecchio, Nicklas Lidström, Tomas Holmström and Kris Draper have played more games as a Red Wing than Fedorov.

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
In the 2003 off-season, Fedorov signed with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim after a long contract dispute with the Red Wings in which he rejected five-year, $50 million and four-year, $40 million contract offers. On December 3, 2003, Fedorov returned to Detroit for the first time since signing with the Ducks; he was booed heavily by Detroit fans every time he touched the puck in an eventual 7–2 Red Wings victory, during which he scored one of Anaheim's goals. He remained with Anaheim from 2003 to 2005. It was with the Ducks that Fedorov registered his 1,000th point in the NHL, becoming the first Russian-born and fifth European-born player to do so.

Some hockey legends in interviews throughout the years have commented on Fedorov's abilities, such as former Red Wings teammate Nicklas Lidström: "I think he's the best player in the League. He's real tough to defend against. He's got quickness to best you if you step up to him. It's tough to stop him." Former Boston Bruins legend Ray Bourque once said, "Sergei is a dominating player, a franchise player. When he makes a move on you, he has the ability to maintain his speed or even go faster. There aren't many defensemen who can keep up with him." Steve Yzerman and Wayne Gretzky speaking to Fox Sports columnist and Detroit radio host Art Regner in past interviews said they thought "Fedorov is the most talented player they've ever seen." After leaving the Red Wings (his first season with Anaheim, in which he scored 31 times), Fedorov had multiple injuries and his tally of 18 goals in 2006–07 was the most he scored until his retirement from the NHL in 2008–09.

Columbus Blue Jackets

In an unanticipated move, on November 15, 2005, Fedorov (along with a fifth-round draft pick) was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for forward Tyler Wright and rookie defenceman François Beauchemin. As a Blue Jacket, Fedorov played his 1,000th NHL game on November 30, 2005, becoming the 13th European-born player to reach 1,000 NHL games and the 205th player overall to do so.

Brian Burke, who had just joined the team as general manager, found that Fedorov was less interested in contributing to the team, as he had with the Red Wings, than he was enjoying the nightlife in Los Angeles where he would be riding back in limos at 3 to 4am even on game days. Burke was so concerned that Fedorov 'was a bad influence in the dressing room,' and that 'other players were starting to follow his lead,' that he sent rookies Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry to the Ducks' AHL minor league team solely to get them away from Fedorov.

In a 2006 interview, former Detroit Red Wings head coach Scotty Bowman said, "[Fedorov was] one of my favorite players as a coach because he can do anything [asked of him on ice]." Bowman coached nine of Fedorov's 13 seasons with Detroit. During the late 1990s, Bowman experimented by using Fedorov on defense and pairing him with Larry Murphy. Red Wings Senior Vice-president Jim Devellano said, "I'm convinced if we left him there, he'd have won a Norris Trophy." Although he was effective playing defense, Fedorov stated he would rather play as a forward, though this did not prevent then-Blue Jackets head coach Ken Hitchcock from moving Fedorov to defense on occasion.

Washington Capitals
Approaching the NHL trade deadline in 2008, Fedorov was traded to the Washington Capitals in exchange for prospect Theo Ruth.

The following summer, Fedorov signed a one-year, $4 million contract with Washington. In 2008–09, what would become his final season in the NHL, Fedorov passed Alexander Mogilny for most goals scored by a Russian-born hockey player, a record previously held by Mogilny, who scored 473 goals.

In a 2009 interview, Scotty Bowman recalled a conversation between Wayne Gretzky and himself: "I talked to Wayne Gretzky about that six or seven years ago and he said to me: 'I couldn't play forward and defence. Mario couldn't do it. Jagr couldn't play defence. But Sergei could. He was a hell of a player.'" A few years later, in a 2015 interview, Bowman stated he thought Fedorov "could have been an all-star defenceman, but he developed his offensive skills".

On April 28, 2009, in one of his final games in the NHL, after scoring the game-winning goal in the 2009 playoffs against the New York Rangers in a 2–1 Game 7 contest, then-Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau stated in a press conference, "Let's face it, sometimes experience pays off. He knew what he had to do, when to do it, and that's what makes him one of the greatest players, ever." Teammate Alexander Ovechkin added, "He's our leader ... He's our best guy in the locker room. He showed it. He's our best guy. He has more experience than anybody in this locker room. He knows how to play like that. He just shows his leadership."

In his book, Jeremy Roenick spoke about Fedorov being one of his top ten favourite players to play against: "He was a horse, bigger than you'd think he was. He could skate, handle the puck like a magician, and check you until you hated him. You didn't get a break when you played centre against Detroit in those days." He added, "Today we talk about Evgeni Malkin and Alex Ovechkin, but neither of those guys could skate with [Alexander] Mogilny or Fedorov or [Pavel] Bure."

Kontinental Hockey League
For the 2009–10 season, Fedorov returned to Russia, signing a two-year deal with Metallurg Magnitogorsk. He said that he wanted to fulfill his father's lifelong dream of having his two sons play on the same team. Early in the season, Fedorov scored his 1,500th point in official games.

Fedorov announced he would be returning to CSKA Moscow as a player on October 9, 2013. "The legs are still good," and, "I still train twice a week," Fedorov said in response to questions of him continuing his playing career. He would appear in his last two games of his career for CSKA at the 2013 Spengler Cup, registering three shots and one goal. However, he never appeared in a KHL game for the team.

International play
In the (U-20) 1987 World Junior Championships, Fedorov made his national team debut for the Soviet Union. The Soviet team was ejected (as well Canada) for their part in the infamous "punch-up in Piestany" bench-clearing brawl during the final game. The fight is famous for officials having turned off the arena lights in a desperate attempt at ending the 20-minute melee. He played again with CSKA Moscow teammate Alexander Mogilny in the 1988 World Junior Championships; both made the tournament All-Star Team, finishing with a silver medal.

The Bure–Fedorov–Mogilny line made its international debut at the 1989 World Junior Championships in Anchorage, Alaska. The top line of CSKA Moscow teammates combined for a total 38 points and led the Soviet Union over Canada for the gold medal. The combination of the three formed was promising for head coach Viktor Tikhonov, with expectations to replace the previous top Soviet line, the K–L–M combination of Vladimir Krutov, Larionov and Makarov.

Later that year, Fedorov made his senior debut with the Soviet national team as a 19-year-old at the 1989 World Championships in Sweden. He played with the full roster Soviet Union team that won the gold medal over Canada in their final game, and played along aside club teammates Mogilny and Vladimir Konstantinov. He also led the team in goals (6) and was second in points (9). The Soviet Union would repeat gold at the 1990 World Championships in Switzerland against Czechoslovakia, with Pavel Bure playing on Fedorov's wing.

In the 1991 Canada Cup, the team representing the Soviet Union was missing most of its top stars due to severe political turmoil at home. Many players were declining to play for the team, and some were purposely left off the roster (such as Pavel Bure and Vladimir Konstantinov) for fears of defection. It was not known until weeks before the start of the tournament that they would even send a team. This was the final major senior event in which a team representing the Soviet Union would play. Fedorov was asked to join the team (one year after defection), which he accepted to represent his country. Though the team finished in fifth place, he did help hold an undefeated Canada to a 3–3 tie in Quebec City in their last game, where Fedorov was paired against tournament scoring leader Wayne Gretzky.

In the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, Russia had played five preliminary games in order to set the groupings for the main tournament stage. Russia was the only team that went undefeated (winning against Finland (Moscow), Germany (Landshut), Sweden (Stockholm), USA (Detroit) and tied against Canada (Calgary). The United States, Sweden and Finland games saw the Bure–Fedorov–Mogilny line for the first (and only) time internationally at senior level, which was considered "perhaps the best forward line on earth" at the time. With Pavel Bure injured at the end of the game against the Americans, he was not able to play in the main tournament. One of Fedorov's goals came in the round robin of the tournament in the second period against Canada in Vancouver on a breakaway pass off the boards from defencemen Darius Kasparaitis, where he sprinted to the puck and shot it over the blocker of goaltender Curtis Joseph to tie the game. Fedorov and Mogilny played on the same line but it was Fedorov that led the team in scoring, although Russia would lose in the semi-finals against the United States after defeating Finland 5–0 in the quarter-finals.

On a team that was missing many of their top stars due to players declining and injuries, Fedorov with Pavel Bure and Mikhail Shtalenkov carried the team to a silver medal with Russia in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano. In the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Fedorov and the Russians eliminated the Czech Republic in the quarter-finals 1–0, and ended the tournament winning a bronze medal in their final game, against Belarus.

In response on his decision to play hockey at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Fedorov said, "I don't think it is appropriate to delay my decision about the Olympics any further. As much as I would enjoy representing my country in Italy, I'm afraid that at this point in the season my focus has to remain with the Columbus Blue Jackets... I feel that the most important thing is for me to continue to work towards being 100 percent healthy. My main priority and responsibility is to the Columbus Blue Jackets and I don't believe participating in the Olympics, which is a short, intense tournament, would be the best thing to do."

The Washington Capitals' trio of Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin and Fedorov competed on the same line for Russia and won the gold medal at the 2008 World Championships, 5–4 in overtime against Canada; Fedorov passed to Ilya Kovalchuk to set up the game-winning goal. The tournament was held for the first time in Canada (in Quebec City) for the 100th anniversary celebrations. At the 2009 World Championships, Russia would repeat as champions after again defeating Canada in the final.

Fedorov also played for Russia at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, the oldest player in the tournament at age 40. Although Russia entered the competition ranked number one in the world, Russia was eliminated in the quarter-finals. Fedorov nonetheless finished the Olympics at a point-per-game pace and tied Alexander Ovechkin for second overall in team scoring.

On December 27, 2013, Fedorov played for CSKA Moscow in the 2013 Spengler Cup—in two games, he scored one goal.

Post-playing career
On November 9, 2015, Fedorov was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. During the weekend festivities, many of his past coaches and teammates commented on Fedorov's career. Scotty Bowman was speaking about having to put Sergei on defence when injuries were piling up: "He was the best defenseman in the league for a six-week period." Former teammate Brendan Shanahan said, "I'm convinced if Sergei played defense, he could have won a Norris Trophy ... He was so talented, so strong." Wayne Gretzky spoke on their friendship: "He was one of my closer friends that played on another team. Actually, the year he won the Hart Memorial Trophy I think it was, he lived with us for six weeks in the offseason and we trained together and spent a lot of time together." Alexander Ovechkin said he was "the best player I've ever played with. He was unbelievable. You put him in every position and he was going to be the best. His hockey sense was unbelievable. His shot and vision, unbelievable".

CSKA Moscow
Fedorov was general manager of CSKA Moscow from the 2012-13 KHL season to the 2016-17 KHL season.

On July 14, 2021, Fedorov was named head coach of CSKA. In his first season, he brought CSKA back from a 3–1 series deficit to win the Gagarin Cup in 7 games.

Personal life
Fedorov was born to Viktor and Natalia Fedorov in Pskov. Fedorov claimed he and tennis star Anna Kournikova were married in 2001. Kournikova's representatives deny any marriage to Fedorov, however Fedorov's agent, Pat Brisson, claims that although he doesn't know when they got married, he knew "he [Fedorov] was married". Although she claims to have never married the hockey superstar, she did turn over her South Beach condo as part of the divorce. Fedorov was also romantically linked to actress Tara Reid in 2004.

Fedorov is presently married to Corrina Fedorov. Together they have a daughter named Aleksandra.

Fedorov also had a cereal named after him called Fedorov Crunch.

In 2006, Fedorov appeared in Soccer Aid, a football game that takes place in England pitting celebrities against each other to benefit UNICEF UK. He competed for the "rest of the world" squad.

On July 24, 2009, Fedorov filed a lawsuit against Joseph Zada for defrauding on an agreement to pay him $60 million to compensate him for the $43 million Fedorov invested with Zada over the past 11 years. The lawsuit was filed by Fedorov in Michigan. Fedorov won the suit but has been unable to collect on the judgment from Zada.

Fedorov continues his philanthropic endeavours via the Sergei Fedorov Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation, which has donated over $800,000 to charities that mostly benefit children in need.

Fedorov currently serves as the head coach of CSKA Moscow. He resides in Moscow during hockey season and splits his summers between Detroit and Miami.

Sergei is the brother of former professional hockey player Fedor Fedorov.

Awards and achievements
 World Junior Championships – 1988 All-Star Team
 NHL All-Rookie team – 1991
 NHL first All-Star team – 1994
 NHL All-Star Game – 1992, 1994, 1996, 2001, 2002, 2003
 KHL All-Star Game – 2010, 2011, 2012
 NHL All-Star Game SuperSkills Competition – "Fastest Skater" Winner (1992, 1994), "Hardest Shot" Winner (2002)
 Hart Memorial Trophy – 1994
 Lester B. Pearson Award – 1994
 Frank J. Selke Trophy – 1994, 1996
 Master of Sport Award (Ice Hockey) – 1998
 Kharlamov Trophy – 2003
 Faith Towards Hockey Award – 2011
 1994 NHL Player of the Year by The Sporting News
 3-time NHL Stanley Cup Champion: 1997, 1998 and 2002
 Inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2016

NHL records and accomplishments
 [[List of NHL records (individual)
 Previously tied the record for Regular season overtime goals (15)
 First European-trained player to win the Hart Memorial Trophy
 First Russian player to reach 1,000 NHL points
 Largest single season amount paid to an NHL athlete ($28 million, 43 total games) (1997–98)
 Previously tied the record for "Fastest Skater" in the 1996 NHL All-Star Game SuperSkills Competition (13.510s '93 Gartner).
 Won the Hardest Shot Contest in the 2002 All-Star game with a recorded speed of 101.5 MPH
 The only player in NHL history with Frank J. Selke Trophy and Hart Memorial Trophy in the same year - 1994.
 Oldest player in NHL history to score a Game 7 game-winning goal (39 years, 136 days, Washington–New York on April 28, 2009).

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Bolded numbers indicate season/playoff leader

International

NHL All-Star Games

See also
 List of NHL statistical leaders
 Notable families in the NHL
 List of NHL players with 1,000 points
 List of NHL players with 1,000 games played
 List of NHL players with 100-point seasons
 List of NHL players with 50-goal seasons
 List of Eastern Bloc defectors

Notes and references

External links

 Fedorov retires

1969 births
Living people
American people of Russian descent
Columbus Blue Jackets players
Detroit Red Wings draft picks
Detroit Red Wings players
Frank Selke Trophy winners
Hart Memorial Trophy winners
HC CSKA Moscow players
HC Dinamo Minsk players
Hockey Hall of Fame inductees
Ice hockey players at the 1998 Winter Olympics
Ice hockey players at the 2002 Winter Olympics
Ice hockey players at the 2010 Winter Olympics
IIHF Hall of Fame inductees
Lester B. Pearson Award winners
Medalists at the 1998 Winter Olympics
Medalists at the 2002 Winter Olympics
Metallurg Magnitogorsk players
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim players
National Hockey League All-Stars
Olympic bronze medalists for Russia
Olympic ice hockey players for Russia
Olympic medalists in ice hockey
Olympic silver medalists for Russia
Sportspeople from Pskov
Russian ice hockey centres
Soviet defectors to the United States
Soviet expatriate ice hockey players
Soviet expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Soviet ice hockey centres
Stanley Cup champions
Washington Capitals players

Sergei Fedorov


The Church of St. Euphemia, often known as the Basilica of St. Euphemia (although it is not formally a basilica minor) and by locals as the Church of St. Fuma, is a Baroque church located in the heart of the historic part of Rovinj, Croatia.

Description
This three-nave church was built from 1725 to 1736, over the remains of older, early Christian structures. The dedication was originally to Saint George, later to Saints George and Euphemia; the present building is dedicated to Euphemia only. Its façade dates from 1883.

The relics of Saint Euphemia are preserved in a Roman sarcophagus from the sixth century (but adapted in the 15th century). The church contains several treasures and works of art: Gothic statues from the 15th century, paintings from the 16th and the 17th centuries: Last Supper and Christ in the Gethsemane.

The bell tower resembles the tower of St Mark's Basilica in Venice. It was built during 1654–1680, to the plans by Antonio Manopola. On top of this 60 m-high tower stands the statue of Saint Euphemia, serving as a wind vane.

The church is described by Alice Lee Moqué in Delightful Dalmatia:
"At first glance it is seen that the tower with its golden angel is almost an exact copy of the campanile in Venice, only this angel is Saint Eufemia, the little town's patron saint...whose marvelous experiences are plainly depicted upon the walls of the chapel."

Legend of the sarcophagus

Recorded by Alice Lee Moqué, an American suffraget and travel writer, is the local legend of how the sarcophagus was received by the Church. The legend begins with two fisherman caught in a storm who, having lost control of their ship, fall to their knees in earnest prayer. Their prayers are answered and they wake safely near Rovinj's shore to see a shining white light over an object that sinks into the sea. Unable to retrieve the object, they hurry to tell the townspeople of the miracle, but none can move the heavy object until a pious widow makes a plan to retrieve the gift with oxen. The oxen pull the sarcophagus from the water and carry it up the mountain. A skeptic is struck unconscious in the presence of the sarcophagus, later revealing that he'd received a vision from Saint Euphemia that the sarcophagus contained her bones. In the town's folklore, it is said that the hill has been named the "Hill of St Euphemia" ever since, even as the relics were stolen by the Genoese, who lost them to the Venetians, not being returned to the town until the 14th century.

References

Sources

External links

 Cathedral of SS George and Euphemia
 Church of St. Euphemia at InfoRovinj
 The legend of St. Euphemia at InfoRovinj

Roman Catholic churches completed in 1736
Buildings and structures in Istria County
Tourist attractions in Istria County

18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Croatia
Baroque church buildings in Croatia

Church of St. Euphemia, Rovinj