Pukekohe railway station

# Pukekohe railway station

## Abstract

Pukekohe railway station is a temporarily closed railway station in Pukekohe, New Zealand. It is the southern terminus (but not for electric services) of the Southern Line of the Auckland railway network.

Pukekohe was 30 mi (48 km) south of Auckland in 1882, or, in 1943, 30 mi 1 ch (48.3 km) via Newmarket, or 32 mi 17 ch (51.8 km) via Ōrākei and 61 m (200 ft) above sea level. In 1913 the station was rebuilt to the south, away from the town centre and it was converted to an island platform in 1941 and rebuilt again from 2016.

## History

The railway from Ōtāhuhu reached West Pukekohe in 1873 and the line opened to Mercer on 20 May 1875, though initially there was no goods service. The station caused the town centre to be refocused along King Street. A rimu and kauri 4th class station and stationmaster's house were built in 1875. Additions were made in 1878 and 1883, so that by 1884 it also had a cart approach to the platform, a 60 ft (18 m) by 30 ft (9.1 m) goods shed, loading bank, cattle yards, weighbridge and urinals. In 1902 the station had an iron roof and contained a ladies' waiting room, public vestibule, railway and postal room, and porter's room. There were four sidings in connection with the station, and the staff consisted of the stationmaster, two cadets, a messenger, and a porter. There was a Post Office at the station from 1883 to 1909, though a conflict between the departments in 1883. Further railway houses were added in 1909, 1911 and 1955.

A wooden section of platform was replaced by bitumen in 1936. In 1978 the platform was 216 m (709 ft) long.

In 1986 the footbridge was shortened and it was proposed to close the station to goods in less than wagon loads and in 1987 tenders were called for removal of the goods shed.

### Upgrades

Until 1912 the station was in a deep cutting and on a heavy grade, but was then moved about 17 ch (0.34 km) south. A new class B station was built in 1913 and part of the old station was used as a goods office.

The 6 mi 11 ch (9.9 km) of track from Paerata, through Pukekohe to Tuakau was doubled from 21 November 1954. Work had started on the doubling in 1938 and the station at Pukekohe converted to an island platform in 1941.

### Patronage

The table and graph below show a slow growth in passenger numbers, with a peak during World War 2. At 269,000, the current numbers far exceed even that 1943 peak of 155,392, but Pukekohe's population has grown from 3,610 in 1947 to 11,676 in 2018. However, there were fewer than 100 passengers a day in 2001, but numbers rose rapidly to over 500 by 2011.

### Pukekohe Racecourse

Franklin Racecourse station, to the south of Pukekohe, was open from about 1921 to 1955. From 1938 there was a siding at Pukekohe Racecourse and the formation was built up to rail level for about 750 ft (230 m), in place of a platform.

## Services

In 1875 Pukekohe had two trains a day in each direction taking about 2 hours from Auckland. In 2019 journeys to Auckland took 1hr 11mins, running half hourly.

Since 2000, the country town of Pukekohe has been the southern terminus for the Southern Line. However suburban trains start or terminate at the former terminus at Papakura (18.2 km north of Pukekohe) because network electrification does not extend beyond Papakura. An hourly diesel train shuttle service operated between Pukekohe and Papakura since July 2015, when EMU electric services were inaugurated for Southern Line services.

ADL class DMUs were utilised for the shuttle. The trains were stabled at Pukekohe station and Westfield depot overnight. In December 2014, the SX train (minus locomotives) and an ADK set (both decommissioned from service following the introduction of EMUs on the Auckland network) were relocated to Pukekohe for storage pending disposal. The stored trains were later relocated to Waitakere and Helensville, and then back to Westfield.

In December 2014, service frequency of the shuttle service was increased to hourly on all days, including weekend services for the first time.

On 12 August 2022, the last train service between Papakura and Pukekohe using DMUs was operated, as the station became closed for redevelopment and conversion to utilise EMUs.

Bus routes 391, 392, 393, 394, 396, 398 and 399 serve Pukekohe Station.

From 30 September 2024, Te Huia will begin to stop at Pukekohe Station.

## Upgrade

In 2011, the Auckland Council agreed to fund an upgrade to the station, along with the construction of a Park and ride facility. In 2014 Auckland Transport announced plans to upgrade Pukekohe station in two stages, with the first stage in 2015 to include a bus interchange and a Park and Ride. The upgrade also included replacement of the wooden sections of platform and a new footbridge and lifts.

Auckland Transport also added a proposal to extend railway electrification to Pukekohe to its 10-year plan.

Electrification of the rail line from Papakura to Pukekohe was announced in 2020; with the upgrade then planned to be completed by 2021 (see also New Zealand Upgrade Programme and Auckland railway electrification).

Electrification work is to commence in 2020 (with three new stations proposed on the route).

To provide space for stabling trains, KiwiRail planned to remove, or demolish, the 1913 station building by November 2021. A 2019 report said that relocating the station would be impractical and could cost almost $2.7m. It has been described as, "one of Pukekohe’s more important heritage buildings". In December 2021, it was announced that the station would be relocated to Matangi for preservation.

On 13 August 2022, KiwiRail began redevelopment of Pukekohe station and the rail line to allow for Auckland Transport's electric trains to travel between Pukekohe and Papakura. Pukekohe Station is closed and the Pukekohe train service is suspended, with reopening estimated in early 2025.

### Bus station

The $15.4 million upgrade, with a new park and ride area, improved bus station facilities and a pedestrian overbridge at the new integrated bus and train station, began construction in July 2017. The 6-bay bus station opened on 6 June 2018.


Runner's diarrhea

# Runner's diarrhea

## Abstract

Runner's diarrhea, also known as runner's colitis or runner's trots is a condition that often affects distance runners characterized by an urgent need for a bowel movement mid-run.

## Causes

The causes of runner's diarrhea remain under debate, although several theories include ischemia and mechanical trauma. The reduced incidence of diarrhea in cyclists would indicate the latter. Diet is often cited as a common cause of diarrhea in distance runners, particularly with meals including berries and dried fruit.

## Treatment

Runner's diarrhea will normally clear up by itself from several hours to two days after running. As with all forms of diarrhea, replacement of fluids and electrolytes is advisable. Methods to prevent runner's diarrhea will vary between individuals, although it is advisable to consider examining the pre-running diet to determine potential trigger foods.

## Notable cases

- At the 1998 London Marathon, winner Catherina McKiernan suffered from recurrent diarrhea during the race.

- At the 2005 London Marathon, winner Paula Radcliffe, in desperate need for a toilet break during the race, stopped by the road in full view of the crowd and live TV cameras and defecated. She later blamed a surfeit of pasta and grilled salmon from the previous night for the incident.

- At the 2008 Göteborgsvarvet half marathon, Mikael Ekvall finished the race in 21st place in spite of being stained with his own excrement. A reporter asked him if he had ever considered stopping to clean off. He explained: "No, I'd lose time. If you quit once, it's easy to do it again and again and again. It becomes a habit."

- At the 2016 Summer Olympics – Men's 50 kilometres walk, Yohann Diniz led the race, but due to gastrointestinal issues, he fainted multiple times midrace. He was able to recover and finish in 8th place, six minutes behind the winner Matej Tóth, however he was disqualified immediately after finishing the race for drinking outside of designated hydration stations.

- At the 2019 Perm International Marathon, Alexander Novikov finished first despite suffering from a bout of diarrhea, which left his clothes sodden.

- At the 2024 Boston Marathon, Davis Clarke finished in 2 hours and 56 minutes after he soiled his shorts toward the end of the race.


Three Billy Goats Gruff

# Three Billy Goats Gruff

## Abstract

" Three Billy Goats Gruff " (Norwegian: De tre bukkene Bruse) is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in their Norske Folkeeventyr, first published between 1841 and 1844. It has an Aarne-Thompson type of 122E. The first version of the story in English appeared in George Webbe Dasent 's translation of some of the Norske Folkeeventyr, published as Popular Tales from the Norse in 1859. The heroes of the tale are three male goats who need to outsmart a ravenous troll to cross the bridge to their feeding ground.

## Characters

The story introduces three billy goats (male goats), sometimes identified as a youngster, father and grandfather, but more often described as brothers. In other adaptations, there is a baby or child goat, mama goat and papa goat. But since they are male, it is either they are all brothers, a youngster, father, and grandfather, or a father and two sons.

"Gruff" was used as their family name in the earliest English translation by Dasent and this has been perpetuated; but this has been pointed out as a mistranslation of the Norwegian name Bruse which was here employed in the sense of "tuft, clump" of hair on the forehead of domesticated livestock. The word can mean "fizz" or "effervescence", but also a "frizzle (of hair)" according to Brynildsen's Norwegian-English dictionary, but the secondary meaning is better explained as "a tuft/clump of hair on a horse (or buck goat)" in the Great Norwegian Encyclopedia (SNL), and Ivar Aasen 's Norwegian-Danish dictionary.

## Plot

Three billy goats live in a valley, all named "Gruff". There is very little grass in the valley, so they must cross a river to get to a meadow to graze and fatten themselves up. But under the bridge lives a fearsome and hideous troll. That is why it is not safe to go across the bridge. Because anyone who tries to cross the bridge, the troll loves to eat goats.

The smallest billy goat goes first. The troll stops him and threatens to "gobble him up". The little goat tells the troll he should wait for his big brother to cross, because he is larger and would make for a more gratifying feast. The greedy troll agrees and lets the smallest goat pass.

Then the medium-sized billy goat approaches the bridge. He is more cautious than his brother, but the troll stops him too. The second goat convinces the troll to wait for their eldest brother, the largest of the three, and the troll lets him pass as well.

Then the largest billy goat steps on to the bridge and meets the troll waiting to devour him. The troll says he is going to gobble him (the largest billy goat gruff) up. After he (the troll) says this, the largest billy goat gruff dares him to try to force him to do so. And then, the largest billy goat throws him into the water with his horns. The troll drowns in the stream, and from then on the bridge is safe. The three billy goats go to eat in the rich fields around the summer farm in the hills, are never again troubled by a troll, and live happily ever after.

## Retellings

Writer Bjørn F. Rørvik and illustrator Gry Moursund has created three books in Norwegian based on this the story. The first one, Bukkene Bruse på badeland (The Three Billy Goats Gruff at the Waterpark), came in 2009 and had by 2014 sold over 110,000 copies in Norway, making it one of the biggest selling picture books in the country. By March 2019 the three books had sold over 450,000 copies in Norway.

The following is a list of children's book adaptions of the story into the English language, suitable for the elementary school classroom:

- Arnold, Tim (1993) The Three Billy Goats Gruff Macmillan

- Barnett, Mac (Illustr. by Jon Klassen (2022). "The Three Billy Goats Gruff." Orchard Books.

- Brown, Marcia (1991) The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Harcourt

- Chase, Richard (Illustr. by Berkeley Williams, Jr.) (1948), "Sody Sallyraytus" in Grandfather Tales, Houghton

- Galdone, Paul (1981) The Three Billy Goats Gruff. HMH Books for Young Readers

- Langley, Jonathan (1995) The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Harper Collins

- Loewen, Nancy (Illustr. by Cristian Bernardini) (2018). Listen, my bridge is SO cool!: The Story of the Three Billy Goats Gruff as Told by the Troll. Picture Window Books

- Mortimer, Rachel (Illustr. by Liz Pichon) (2010). The Three Billy Goats Fluff. Scholastic

- Ottolenghi, (Illustr. by Carol Mark Clapsadle) (2009). The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Brighter Child

- Palatini, Margie (Illustr. by Barry Moser)(2005). The Three Silly Billies. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

- Patchett, Ann (Illustr. by Robin Preiss Glasser) (2020) Escape Goat. Puffin Books

- Pinkney, Jerry (2017). The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

- Pye, Katie (Illustr. by Rodrigo Paulo) (2020). Trip Trap Trouble: A Story about the Three Billy Goats Gruffs and Gratitude. Headstart Thinking

- Rounds, Glen (1993). The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Holiday House

- S., Svend Otto (1989) The Three Billy Goats Gruff. D. C. Heath

- Shaskan, Stephen (2013) The Three Triceratops Tuff. Beach Lane Books

- Sims, Lesley (Illustr. by David Semple) (2015). Goat in a Boat. Usborne Publishing Ltd

- Stevens, Janet (1987) The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Harcourt

- Ziefert, Harriet (Illustr. by Laura Rader) (1994) The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Tambourine

Part of the story in the children's book The Troll by Julia Donaldson is based on the tale, with a troll that lives under varying bridges and waits for goats but in this story only other animals walk over the bridges.

Neil Gaiman 's "Troll Bridge" (1993) in the anthology Snow White, Blood Red is also an adaption of the fairy tale, for adults.

Golden Books did a version of the story that was similar to the book. The only difference is that when the troll is washed away by the stream, he is later mentioned to have moved into a cave.

## Media adaptations

### Audiobooks

- Scholastic Corporation produced an audio recording in 1963, with music composed and directed by Arthur Rubinstein, narrated by Bob Thomas, and cover illustration by Susan Blair and Ellen Appleby. It was first made available as a phonograph record, and then on Compact Cassette.

### Films

- The 3 Billy Piñatas (2015) is a version with a Spanish twist, produced by "Team Juan" at the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design at the University of Dundee

### Television

- In 1995, Australian children's TV series Johnson and Friends adapted this fairy tale, with the characters 'roleplaying' and acting out the story in a humorous fashion.

- In 2004, the story is retold on Hi-5. This version has the goats replaced by sheep and instead of the troll wanting to eat them, he just wanted to sleep and was annoyed by their noise. The story ended with the biggest sheep giving him earmuffs made out of wool. In the original Australian version of the show, three sheep crossing a bridge disturb the napping bunyip underneath.

- In 2008, the BBC created a modern adaptation for its Fairy Tales TV series. In this, the story was given a twist in that the troll was presented as a tragic, cruelly maligned victim.

### Music and musicals

Frank Luther wrote a version of "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" geared towards music education for elementary school grade children, published in "Singing on Our Way", Our Singing World Series by the Ginn and Company (c. 1949). It was often played on the BBC Radio programme Children's Favourites, in the 1950s and early 1960s. Some years earlier Yvonne Ravell had recorded a version she wrote in sung (1940), cited as suitable education material for the theatre in one journal.

James Scott Balentine composed Kinderkonzerts, a chamber music setting for string quintet and narrator, with the text adapted by Stephanie Sant'Ambrogio, recorded in the album "Klassics 4 Kids: Cactus Pear Music Festival Artists" (2010).

Gwen Edwards adapted the story into a popular children's musical called Billy, Goat, Gruff: The Musical (summer 2007), at Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia.

A musical adaptation by British composing team George Stiles and Anthony Drewe was commissioned by the Singapore Repertory Theatre. It premiered there in 2015 and made its North American debut in 2017 at the Aurora Theatre in Lawrenceville, Georgia.

### Play productions

- Lazy Bee Scripts published Billy Goat Gruff (2009), a simple play for young children.

### Games

- The Three Billy Goats Gruff (2013) game adaptation for tablets and mobile phones was developed by the Norwegian game studio Agens. The game was made with support from the Norwegian Film Institute.

## In popular culture

Mere allusions are listed here.

- The tale is the inspiration of Kevin P. Futers's novel The Adventures of the Billy Goats Gruff, which is set in seventh-century Northumbria and includes goats named Edgar, Bert, and Frith.

- The tale in brief is incorporated into Gordon R. Dickson 's "3-Part Puzzle" (1962). translated into an ET language as "The THREE (Name) (Domestic Animals) (Name)" (and the (horrendous, carnivorous, mythical creature)). The ET Envoy is puzzled over the glee that children show over this "simple and boring" "lesson in tactics".

- The Billy Goats Gruff make an appearance in Jim Butcher 's book Small Favor (2008), the tenth novel of the Dresden Files series.

- Stephen King 's It (1986) alludes to this story.

- Terry Pratchett 's Discworld novel Lords and Ladies (1992) refers to this story, as does a joke made in the first chapter of Monstrous Regiment (2003).

- Andri Snær Magnason's 's Tímakistan (2013) is a retelling of Snow White features a troll who meets a kid, its mother, and her husband. When the mother goat tells the troll to eat her husband instead of her, "the troll lost his appetite. 'What's the world coming to?', he cried. 'The kid tells me to eat its mother, and she tells me to eat her husband! Crazy family!'." The troll goes home leaving the goats uneaten.

- Bill Willingham 's 2002 comic book Fables contains mention of the goats, and the troll is an ongoing character.

- Pierry Radrik's 2020 One comic book.

- In My Neighbour Totoro (1988) the eponymous creature Totoro is named after misspelling 'Toro-ru', which means 'troll' in Japanese. In the end scene is a book of the story "Three Billy Goats Gruff" with Totoro on it visible, indicating that Totoro is named after this story.

- In Toy Story 4 (2019), it is revealed that Bo Peep 's three-headed sheep, previously unnamed, were named "Billy", "Goat", and "Gruff", after the story.

- In the Norwegian film Trollhunter (2010), the title character attempts to bait a troll by placing three goats on a bridge.

- Mike Flanagan's Kickstarter -funded film Absentia (2011) is a modern-day retelling centred around a tunnel, a series of abductions, and a troll-like creature.

- In 1994, Animaniacs, for its second-season premiere, did its own parody of the story in the short "Take My Siblings, Please!". In the story, the goats are portrayed by the Warner Brothers and their sister, Dot. In the end, Yakko simply whacks the troll with a giant mallet.

- In 1996, the TV show Aaahh!!! Real Monsters told its version of the Three Billy Goats Gruff in the episode "Oblina and the Three Humans". In this telling, the goats are represented by humans and the monster under the bridge is the main character of the story.

- In the April 19, 2015 segment about " patent trolls " of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, it is referenced with "trolls actually do something, they control bridge-access for goats and ask people fun riddles".

- In the TV series Thomas & Friends an episode named "Three Steam Engines Gruff" is a reference to this story.

- Between the Lions had a few episodes about the characters reading the story.

- The tale appears to be cryptically referenced in the song "John Brown" (1988) by indie-rock band Masters of Reality. The lyrics are usually understood to be "John Brown, bring him down; pull his body to the ground. Left him up, for long enough; let me be the Baby Gruff."

- The song "Much Chubbier" by Nerdcore rapper MC Frontalot on his album Question Bedtime (2014) is a retelling of the story.

- In the card game Magic: The Gathering, a card named "Clackbridge Troll" was printed in the 2019 expansion Throne of Eldraine. In its art, a troll is seen looming over three goats on a bridge.

- The tale also comes into play during the first King's Quest (1983) game. A troll is guarding a bridge Graham needs to cross. The optimum solution to the puzzle is to lure a goat over to the bridge. Upon seeing the troll, the goat is angered, and butts it into the river below.

- The tale also comes into play during Magicland Dizzy (1990). A troll is guarding a bridge Dizzy needs to cross. He says the only way to cross is to give him 30 diamonds before kicking Dizzy in the air away from him, but this is a red herring, as there are 30 in the whole game with one behind him and many in the Ice Palace afterwards. The only solution to the puzzle, is to cut the rope holding the goat using the dagger, before hitting him with the stick to make him charge towards the troll. Along his way, the goat butts the troll into the air.

- The tale is also included in the video game Simon the Sorcerer (1993).

- In the video game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011), near a place called Purewater Run, there is a stone bridge near a waterfall. If it is the player's first time there, they will see three goats; upon looking under the bridge, they will find a dead troll.

### Eponymy

- Oak Mountain State Park near Birmingham, Alabama has a hiking trail and bridge named after the eponymous bridge in the story.


Donald Rickles

# Donald Rickles

## Abstract

Donald Newton Rickles (October 7, 1927 – February 19, 1985) was an American radio and television announcer, news anchor, and actor.

## Early life

He was born Donald Newton Rickles in Portland, Oregon on October 7, 1927.

## Career

Rickles began his announcing career at the age of 11 at KBPS (AM) in Portland. Later, he was chief announcer for KUSC-FM in Los Angeles, California. Other stations where he worked early in his career included KGW and KEX in Portland and KVAN in Vancouver, Washington.

In 1949, he became an announcer at KIEV in Los Angeles, and a year later, joined the announcing staff of NBC in Hollywood. He was part of a core group of West Coast announcers for the network who, in his early years, included Don Stanley, Arch Presby, Eddy King, and Frank Barton; by the 1970s, the main core announcing lineup had become Rickles, Stanley, Victor Bozeman, and Peggy Taylor.

Rickles' radio announcing credits included The Whisperer, The Great Gildersleeve, Night Beat, and NBC University Theater. On television, over the next three decades, he handled announcing duties for such programs as Coke Time with Eddie Fisher, The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show, The Dean Martin Show, The Flip Wilson Show, Sanford and Son, NBC Saturday Night at the Movies, NBC Monday Night at the Movies, and Bob Hope specials. He appeared in sketches on, and frequently did voice-over work for, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and in a memorable 1978 episode of The Tomorrow Show, host Tom Snyder and he spent 10 minutes playing the Milton Bradley electronic game Simon. He also handled live booth-announcing duties for the network's Los Angeles owned-and-operated station KNBC.

He had also worked as a newscaster, at one point, anchoring KNBC's 11 pm newscast. In later years, after John Schubeck became anchor, Rickles was one of the rotating announcers for the station's NewsCenter 4, and was thanked on the air by Schubeck at the start of each newscast. As part of his continuity duties, Rickles also anchored out-of-vision for sign-on and sign-off editions of NewsCenter4.

## Death

On February 19, 1985, Rickles died in Glendale, California of a heart attack at age 57.


Sameer Siddiqui

# Sameer Siddiqui

## Abstract

Sameer Siddiqui is an Indian screenwriter and playwright.

His father is Javed Siddiqui, a Hindi and Urdu screenwriter, dialogue writer and playwright. He is also related to Mohammad Ali Jouhar and Maulana Shaukat Ali.

## Films (Written)

- The Sholay Girl, A Film for Zee 5

- Tum Milo Toh Sahi

- Khanna & Iyer

- Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon

## Television (Written)

- Rabb se hai Dua on Zee

- Ishq Mein Marjawan 2 on Voot

- ’’ Ishq Subhan Allah A Daily Soap on Zee TV

- ’’ Ishq Mein Marjawan A Daily Soap on Colours

- Udaan - a daily soap on Colours

- Cloud 9 - 125 episode screenplay

- Dhoom Machao Dhoom

- Ayushmaan

- CID

- Gutur Gu a silent comedy

## English to Hindi Translation

- Bolt

- Race to Witch Mountain

## Theatre, Drama

- Chiller Room - a play based on delinquent children

- Dhakkan - a comic play based on two brothers who break away from their disciplined father but eventually realizing right from wrong, turn back to become just like their father


Amelia Peláez

# Amelia Peláez

## Abstract

Amelia Peláez del Casal (January 5, 1897 – April 8, 1968) was an important Cuban painter of the Avant-garde generation.

## Biography

Amelia Peláez (born-1897) Yaguajay, Cuba, in the former Cuban province of Las Villas (now Sancti Spíritus Province). She was the fifth born of eleven siblings in a family that was part of the Cuban-Creole middle class. Her father was a doctor, Manuel Pelaez y Laredo, and her mother, Maria del Carmen del Casal y Lastra, stayed at home with her children. Amelia's uncle was Julian del Casal, who was a poet and included her family in Cuba's intellectual circles.

In 1917, her family moved to Havana, to the La Víbora district, and this gave her the opportunity to enter the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes "San Alejandro" at the rather late age of 20 years (students at this academy usually start at 12–13 years of age). She was among Leopoldo Romañach 's favorite students. In 1924 she graduated from San Alejandro, and exhibited her paintings for the first time, along with another Cuban female painter, María Pepa Lamarque, at the Association of Painters and Sculptors in Havana. Receiving a small government grant, she travelled to New York City in the summer of 1924 and began six months of study at the Art Students' League. In 1927, after being awarded a larger grant, she began studying in France, while paying short visits to Spain, Italy, and other countries.

## Student life in Paris

Pelaez moved to Paris, accompanied by Cuban writer Lydia Cabrera, after she received a grant from the government in order to pursue art. Both took painting and art history courses at École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts. She also took drawing and art history courses at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière and the École du Louvre. In 1931 Pelaez enrolled, along with Cabrera, in Fernand Léger 's Academie Contemporaine. She then began studying with Russian painter Alexandra Exter, whose friendship and classes in color theory and design were an important influence.

Galerie Zak hosted a solo-exhibition of her paintings in 1933, where she exhibited thirty-eight works. In that same year, she participated in the eleventh Salon des Tuileries and “was also included in an exhibition of illustrated manuscripts by the calligrapher Guido at the Galerie Myrbor”, in which she illustrated Sept Poemes of Leon Paul Fargue. In her years in Paris, her work was highly praised by French critics.

## Life in Havana

In 1934, following a showing at the Salon des Independants, Pelaez returned to live in her mother’s colonial-style house in Cuba. The Cuba Pelaez returned to was in a state of economic uncertainty and political unrest. Beginning in the late 1920s, Cuba was searching for a new art that would reflect the national identity. In response, Pelaez departed from earlier vanguard strategies and turned to new approaches that involved depictions of Afro-Cuban and guajiro (peasant) subjects, while representing them in the adoption of European modernism. According to Ingrid Williams Elliot, Pelaez’s vibrant colors as well as thick lines are derived from Spanish-colonial architecture “integrating domestic objects with architectural decorations”. Peláez uses "Baroque ornamentation in her use of domestic colonial interiors to engage and merge multiple histories and assorted styles -- past and present -- to arrive at a contemporary Cuban idiom.”

In 1935, Pelaez had a solo exhibition at a women’s club in Havana called the Lyceum, which helped gain exposure of her new modernist Cuban style.

During this time, in the mid-thirties, Peláez was experimenting with "patterns, shapes and geometric relationships of tablecloths and fruit dishes, laying the groundwork for the geometric constructions and rhythmic patterns that have been associated with her architectural ornamentation in her work in the forties”, it also shows her awareness of Cubism. Her signature still life paintings were praised for the use of native fruits and flora referencing her Cuban roots.

In 1935-1936, Pelaez focused much of her paintings and drawings to the use of ink and pencil. The treatment of these drawings differs than her previous oil works, by distorting and exaggerating the figure with "sinuous line and light shading" that reference Cubism and European Modernism.

Peláez received a prize in the National Exposition of Painters and Sculptors in 1938, and collaborated on several art magazines in Cuba, such as Orígenes, Nadie Parecía, and Espuela de Plata. In 1950 she opened a workshop at San Antonio de los Baños, a small city near Havana, where she dedicated herself, until 1962, to her favourite pastime of pottery. She sent her paintings to the São Paulo Art Biennial in 1951 and 1957, and participated in 1952's Venice Biennale. In 1958 she was a guest of honour and jury member at the First Inter-American Biennial of Painting and Printmaking in Mexico City, although she pulled out of the raucous and controversial jury discussions based on what she reported to be “an openly Communist bias in the decisions.” Aside from painting and pottery, she dedicated time to murals, located mainly at different schools in Cuba. Her most important works of this type are a ceramic mural at the Tribunal de Cuentas in Havana (1953) and the facade of the Habana Hilton hotel (1957). She had a hard time selling her paintings as a living artists—she and her paintings, later named Amelias, achieved fame much later in life.

Peláez died in Havana in 1968.

## Estrada Palma 261

Amelia lived in her mother's house, which was a mix between a neoclassical design and a more traditional Cuban Creole architectural style house, for the rest of her years after her return to Havana, Cuba. Her house was a main source of inspiration after returning to a reclusive domestic lifestyle. The house was built in 1912, filled with colonial furniture of the baroque style. The house contained marble, crystal, wood, and ceramics in its interior. Amelia would also hang her paintings as decor.

## Exhibitions

- 1924 Amelia Pelaez y Maria Pepa Lamarque, Asociacion de Pintores y Escultores, Havana

- 1933 Amelia Pelaez Del Casal, Galerie Zak, Paris

- 1935 Amelia Pelaez Del Casal, Lyceum, Havana

- 1941 Amelia Pelaez, Norte Gallery, New York

- 1943 Amelia Pelaez: Retrospectiva, Institucion Hispano—Cubana de Cultura, Havana

- 1956 Amelia Pelaez, Nuestro Tiempo, Havana

- 1957 Amelia Pelaez, Lyceum, Havana

- 1959 Pintura de Amelia Pelaez, Instituto Municipal de Cultura, Marianao, Havana

- 1960 Amelia Pelaez, Pintura y Ceramida 1920–1960 Lyceum Havana, Cuba

- 1964 Oleos y Temperas de Amelia Pelaez, Galeria de la Habana, Havana

- 1967 Dibujos de Amelia Pelaez, Museo de Arte Moderno Bogota. Amelia Pelaez; Goaches y Ceramicas, Lyceum, Havana

- 1968 Amelia Pelaez: Exposicion Retrospectiva, Museo Nacional, Havana

- 1977 Amelia Pelaez, Metropolitan Museum & Art Center, Miami

- 1979 La Gran Pintora Cubana Amelia Pelaez, Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City

- 1980 Amelia Pelaez, Museo de Arte Moderno, Bogota

- 1987 Amelia Pelaez, Nineteenth Sao Paulo Biennial, Sao Paolo

- 1988 Amelia Pelaez; A Retrospective, Cuban Museum of Arts & Culture, Miami

- 2013 Amelia Peláez: The Craft of Modernity, Pérez Art Museum Miami

## Collections (selection)

The works of Peláez are held in the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana, the Pérez Art Museum Miami, Moderna Museet in Stockholm, and the Museum of Modern Art, New York.


Raroa railway station

# Raroa railway station

## Abstract

Raroa railway station, one of eight stations on the Johnsonville Branch (a commuter branch-railway north of Wellington in New Zealand 's North Island), serves the suburbs of Raroa and Broadmeadows. It is one of four stations on the line located on a curve.

Electric multiple-unit (EMU) trains operate under the Metlink brand through this station in both directions to Johnsonville (to the north) and to Wellington (to the south).

## History

Raroa came into existence subsequent to electrification to serve the needs of the expanding population north of Wellington and was opened on 17 June 1940. Construction was authorised in February 1940, and when it was opened, so few houses could be seen from the station that a guard with a sense of humour used to call out Snake Gully, five minutes for refreshments (referring to the then-popular Australian radio serial "Dad and Dave from Snake Gully"), until someone complained.

Raroa Station is notable as the terminus for the last freight traffic on the Johnsonville Branch. Because of transport licensing regulations under a 1931 Act of parliament that required rail to be used in preference to road to cart goods over certain distances if there was a rail option, livestock trains were run on the Johnsonville Branch to transport livestock to the railhead closest to the (then Council; now Taylor Preston) abattoir in Ngauranga Gorge. The terminus of this service used to be the stockyards at Johnsonville station; cattle were driven through the streets of Johnsonville and down Fraser Avenue to it. Public pressure in the 1950s resulted in the stockyards being relocated to Raroa, and livestock unloaded there from 2 February 1958. From the stockyards, the livestock were transported by truck to the abattoir. Though the provision relating to the transport of livestock was repealed in 1962, the trains continued to run until about 1973. The siding was not closed until 4 October 1976, and the track was lifted about 1982.

## Services

Trains run in both directions through this station, departing at half-hourly intervals, supplemented by a 13/13/26 schedule at peak times on week days.

There are no bus connections with this station.

The train station is close to Raroa Intermediate and Onslow College; which can be reached by an overbridge and footpath to Burma Road.

## Facilities

This station has a single side platform and passenger shelter. Access to the station is from Fraser Avenue, with pedestrian access from Haumia Street via a walkway, and from Burma Road (Onslow College and Raroa Intermediate School), Raroa Park and Tuapapa Street via a footbridge.

There are ten park and ride commuter car parks on Fraser Avenue, and with the loss of car parks at Johnsonville railway station during replacement of the Broderick Road overbridge in 2014-15, a further 35 car parks were provided across Fraser Avenue.


Censorship of LGBT issues

# Censorship of LGBT issues

## Abstract

Censorship of LGBT issues is practised by some countries around the world. It may take a variety of forms, including anti-LGBT curriculum laws in some states of the United States, the Russian gay propaganda law (on "promotion of non-traditional sexual relationships"), and the Hungarian anti-LGBT law (on "content portraying or promoting sex reassignment or homosexuality"), and laws in Muslim-majority states such as Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Malaysia prohibiting advocacy that offends Islamic morality.

## Current laws

### Afghanistan

On 21 November 2021, Afghanistan's Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice promulgated an order prohibiting TV channels from broadcasting media that are against the Taliban 's interpretation of Sharia and Afghan culture.

### Algeria

Article 333 bis of the Penal Code, as amended on 13 February 1982 by Law n° 82-04, criminalizes the distribution of anything against "decency" with up to 2 years in prison and a fine up to 2,000 dinars. Article 333, also amended in 1982, criminalizes indecent exposure of any "act against the order of nature with an individual of the same sex" with up to 3 years in prison and a fine up to 10,000 dinars.

### Brazil (sub-national)

Since 2014, at least 217 bills have been introduced at the federal, state, and municipal levels in Brazil to ban teaching " gender ideology ", "information on sexual orientation", "information on sexual diversity", "orienting the sexuality of students" and "ideological indoctrination" in Brazilian schools. At least 47 of these bills were passed into law, but many of them were struck down by the courts. As of 2022, 21 laws, including 1 on state level and 20 on municipal level, remain in force.

### Bulgaria

On 7 August 2024, Bulgaria's parliament approved an amendment to the education law that prohibits the “propaganda, promotion, or incitement in any way, directly or indirectly, in the education system of ideas and views related to non-traditional sexual orientation and/or gender identity other than the biological one”. The amendment was introduced by Revival party. It defines "non-traditional sexual orientation” as "contrary to Bulgaria's legal concept of emotional, romantic, sexual or sensual attraction between persons of opposite sexes", alluding to Bulgaria's constituion which defines marriage as a heterosexual union. The amendment was supported by most of the MPs from GERB party, as well as all MPs from the Bulgarian Socialist Party and There is Such a People party. The Movement for Rights and Freedoms was split over the vote. On 15 August, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev has signed the bill into the law.

### China

On 31 December 2015, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) of the People's Republic of China announced a new rule that banned any television show and film depicting "unnormal sexual relationships", including homosexuality. As a result of this new rule, many popular web television series at the time like Addicted and Go Princess Go were immediately pulled from broadcasting. Online streaming services including LeTV and Tencent Video followed the new rule by deleting or censoring web series with LGBT characters.

In 2017, an LGBT conference was scheduled to be held in Xi'an. Western reports, using the organisers blog as their source, claimed the police had detained the organisers and threatened them.

In March 2018, Oscar-winning drama Call Me By Your Name has been pulled from the Beijing International Film Festival 's lineup. It was widely speculated that the organizer of this festival was under political pressure to not show the film.

On 14 April 2018, Sina Weibo, the equivalent of Twitter in China, announced a crackdown on LGBT content, as pursuant to the China Internet Security Law and other government regulations.

In May 2018, the European Broadcasting Union blocked Mango TV, one of China's most watched channels, from airing the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 after it edited out Irish singer Ryan O'Shaughnessy 's performance, which depicted two male dancers, and blacked out rainbow flags during Switzerland's performance.

Days before the International Day Against Homophobia in 2018, two women wearing rainbow badges were attacked and beaten by security guards in Beijing. The security company dismissed the three guards involved shortly thereafter.

Mr. Gay China, a beauty pageant, was held in 2016 without incident. In 2018, the event host passively cancelled their engagement by not responding to any communications. Mr Gay World 2019 announced the cancellation of the Hong Kong event after communication began to deteriorate in early August. No official censorship notice was issued but some articles blamed the Chinese Government for the cancellation. That same year, a woman who wrote a gay-themed novel was sentenced to 10 years and 6 months in prison for "breaking obscenity laws".

### Georgia

On 4 June 2024, Speaker of the Georgian Parliament and one of the leaders of the ruling Georgian Dream party Shalva Papuashvili said that the party initiated a package of legislation called, "On Family Values and Protection of Minors", consisting of one main law and 18 related draft laws that amend the Civil Code, the Labor Code, the legislation on education, and other codes. Proposed changes in the package included outlawing the registration of any union other than between a man and a woman, adoption of a minor to people who do not identify "as their gender" or are not heterosexual, all surgical operations or medical interventions for gender reassignment, and putting any gender "different from his own" on any state or identity documents. The changes also included restrictions on media and publishing, outlawing the radio or television broadcasting of information, programs, advertising, or "propaganda" aimed at "promoting a person's belonging to a gender different from his or her gender, same-sex relationship or incest", including sexual acts with "members of the same sex or a scene of incest", outlawing public gatherings or demonstrations aimed at promoting gender identity, non-heterosexual relationships, or incest, and voiding any public or private institution labor obligations "aimed at neglecting biological sex". The package would also designate May 17th as a holiday for the "sanctity of the family and respect for parents". On 27 June 2024, the Parliament of Georgia passed the proposed bill in the first reading.

On 4 September 2024, the Parliament of Georgia voted 81-0 for the proposed bill in the second reading. The Legal Affairs Committee of the Parliament of Georgia made several changes to the legislative package, including a new article defining the "popularisation of queer relationships or of gender transitioning" and a prohibition on adopting to any "person who does not assign themself to any biological sex".

The bill was supported by the Georgian Dream and People's Power parties, which make up parliamentary majority. The opposition For Georgia party said that although it did not attend the vote, it still opposes the "propaganda directed at children, especially LGBT propaganda". The Girchi party expressed its opposition to the bill. Other opposition parties did not vote or take part in the parliamentary discussions.

### Hungary

In June 2021, the government of Hungary introduced a bill prohibiting the showing of "any content portraying or promoting sex reassignment or homosexuality" to minors, similar to the Russian gay propaganda law. On 15 June, the National Assembly approved the law by a vote of 157–1. The President of Hungary signed the bill into law on 23 June.

### Indonesia

On 23 February 2016, the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) released the "Circular to All Broadcasting Companies on Effeminate Men", banning the portrayal of sexual and gender diversity in men by the broadcasting companies. In the same month, the KPI also banned TV and radio programs that "promoted homosexual lifestyle" claiming that they constituted a violation of the 2012 Broadcasting Program Standards.

### Iran

Iran has extensive public morality law which is used against newspapers and websites with the content related to the sexual orientation. Article 6 of the 1986 Press Law bans press which "undermines Islam's bases and commandments", including the spread of "fornication and forbidden practices" and "publishing photographs, pictures, and material which violate public chastity". The violation of this provision is punished under the Article 698 of the Islamic Penal Code with imprisonment of between two months to two years and flogging of up to74 lashes. Article 14 of the 2009 Law on Computer Crimes (Law No. 71063) punishes with imprisonment and fines the use of computer systems, telecommunications systems or data carriers to publish or distribute "immoral content", or storage of such material "with the intention of corrupting society". Article 640 of the Penal Code bans public display, production or storage of "any writing or design, gravure, painting, picture, newspapers, advertisements, signs, film, cinema movie" which corrupts "public prudency and morality".

Under these laws, operators of the website of Avizoon were arrested and charged with "pornography and publishing sexual ideas including homosexuality". The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, which enforces the press laws, bans any positive portrayals of homosexuality. Publishers are not allowed to obtain licences to publish such material since gay and lesbian acts are considered as corrupt and morally bankrupt.

In 2002, a book entitled Witness Play by Cyrus Shamisa was banned from shelves (despite being initially approved) because it said that certain notable Persian writers were homosexuals and bisexuals.

In 2004, the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art loaned a collection of artwork that formerly belonged to Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi that had been locked away since the Revolution in 1979 to the Tate Britain. The artwork included explicit homoerotic artwork by Francis Bacon and the government in Iran stated that upon its return, it would also be put on display in Iran.

In 2005, the Iranian Reformist paper Shargh was shut down by the government after it interviewed an Iranian author, living in Canada. While the interview never mentioned the sexual orientation of Saghi Ghahreman, it did quote her as stating that, "sexual boundaries must be flexible... The immoral is imposed by culture on the body". The conservative paper Kayhan attacked the interview and the paper, " Shargh has interviewed this homosexual while aware of her sick sexual identity, dissident views and porno-personality." To avoid being permanently shut down, the paper issued a public apology stating it was unaware of the author's "personal traits" and promised to "avoid such people and movements."

### Iraq

LGBT issues could be censored in Iraq under extensive public morality law namely, paragraph 215, 220, 376, 401, 402, 403, 404 and 408 of the Iraqi Penal Code.

In August 2023, the Iraqi Communications and Media Commission issued the directive which banned media outlets from using the terms "homosexuality" and "gender". Instead, they must use the term "sexual deviance".

### Kuwait

Article 21 of the Press and Publications Law (Law No. 3) (2006) bans publishing content which is deemed as insulting to public morals.

A Disney movie The Beauty and the Beast has been banned in Kuwait for containing "an exclusively gay moment".

### Kyrgyzstan

On 14 August 2023, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov signed a law which banned promotion of non-traditional sexual relationships among minors.

### Lebanon

The Lebanese Penal Code contains many articles which are used against homosexuality, including Article 209, 521, 526, 531, 532, 533 and 534. Article 531 and 532 ban violating public morals by public actions, movements, speaking and screaming. Article 533 bans manufacturing, exporting, supplying, or acquiring "writings, drawings, manual or photographic images, suggestive films, or other indecent items with the intention to trade or distribute them, or announce or inform how to obtain them".

Several films have been banned in Lebanon for LGBT content.

In 2018, prosecutor of Beirut suspended the scheduled activities of Beirut Pride, and initiated criminal proceedings against its founder Hadi Damien for organizing events "that incite to debauchery".

### Lithuania

On 16 June 2009, the Lithuanian Parliament approved an amendment to the Law on the Protection of Minors against the Detrimental Effects of Public Information (Lithuanian: Nepilnamečių apsaugos nuo neigiamo viešosios informacijos poveikio įstatymas), which would have effectively banned the "promotion of homosexual relations". The amendment was scheduled to go into effect on 1 March 2010. Even though it was vetoed by the President citing "lack of definitions", the veto was overturned by the Parliament. The wording of the law forbade the "propaganda of homosexual, bisexual or polygamous relations". According to some politicians who voted in favor, the possibility of defining "propaganda" should be left to lawyers.

On 17 September 2009, the European Parliament passed a resolution condemning the law and requesting the EU Fundamental Rights Agency issue a legal opinion on it. On 10 November 2009, the Lithuanian Parliament (Seimas) answered by adopting a resolution requesting the Government to seek the invalidation of the EP Resolution, which it condemned as an unlawful act. The EU Fundamental Rights Agency wrote to the European Parliament that it was not going to submit the requested legal opinion, given that it had no mandate to evaluate the legislation of member states.

Newly elected President Dalia Grybauskaitė expressed her strong disapproval of the law and formed a commission to elaborate a draft to repeal the discriminatory provisions. On 22 December 2009, the clauses banning the promotion among minors of "homosexual, bisexual, and polygamous relations" were eliminated, but as a compromise, the paragraph was replaced by a "ban to spread information that would promote sexual relations or other conceptions of concluding a marriage or creating a family other than established in the Constitution or the Civil Code". It has been argued that this provision is the first step towards instituting a ban on criticizing the Government and its decisions and thus – a menace to democracy in the country. Proponents of the law claimed to be led by a desire to protect traditional family and children, some of them have expressed an opinion that the law would ban any information in public about homosexuality, regardless of its accessibility to minors or ban any public discussions and LGBT-related events. (So we propose to establish a limit that the promotion in public places is not possible to protect the mentioned three articles of the Constitution, but without doubt in some interior premisses those people have the right to organize events, to promote, to discuss) The new version was signed by the President, satisfied that "the homophobic provisions been repealed".

Significantly, the same law forbids mocking and bullying on the grounds of sexual orientation. It also possesses a number of other amendments, such as prohibiting the promotion of unhealthy nutrition to minors, a ban on information that "profanes family values", the depiction of hypnosis, etc.

The amendment has been sometimes compared to Section 28, the act which prohibited discussion of homosexuality in British schools.

Since coming into effect, there have been several attempts to apply the law. It has been unsuccessfully cited to ban the Gay Pride parade in 2010, and in 2013, and successfully referenced to declare one advertisement related to the Vilnius Gay Pride 2013 as appropriate to be broadcast at night time only and with the adult content logo. The reason given by the Board of Experts of Journalism Ethics Inspector Service was that one person in the advertisement had a T-shirt with an inscription in Lithuanian "For the diversity of families". In their opinion, it encourages a different conception of family and marriage than established in Lithuanian laws.

In 2014, based on similar grounds, the same institution recommended restricting the distribution of a children's book of tales titled "Gintarinė širdis" ("Amber Heart") published by the Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences, because two stories in it were related to same-sex relationships. The Board ordered the book to be labelled "Not suitable for children under 14 years" and referring to this recommendation, the Ministry of Culture banned the book altogether. The case have been escalated to the European Court of Human Rights in November 2019, and was heard by the Grand Chamber on 23 March 2022. In January 2023, the Court ruled that the government's actions were in violation of article 10, the right to freedom of expression, of the treaty.

In 2014, a video clip of a gay rights organisation promoting tolerance towards LGBT people was refused to air by all major Lithuanian TV stations despite not having any overt sexuality-related content, fearing a potential breach of the Law on the Protection of Minors. The breach was later unanimously confirmed by the Board of Experts of Journalism Ethics Inspector Service.

### Malaysia

Malaysia has laws which prohibit distributing, displaying or creating materials which are considered as "obscene" or "against public decency". Section 7(1) of the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 confers to Minister of Home Affairs absolute discretion to censor publications which are prejudicial to public order, morality, security, public or national interest, may "alarm public opinion" or are contrary to any law. This provision has been used to ban at least six LGBT-themed books.

Pro-LGBTQ+ demonstrations are banned as "insulting behaviour" and "contradictory to Islamic morality". Section 14 of the Minor Offences Act 1955, which prohibits "insulting behaviour", has been used against pro-LGBTQ+ protesters.

In 2023, Malaysian authorities seized Pride-themed watches made by Swatch. Eleven shopping malls with Swatch outlets around Malaysia, including in the capital Kuala Lumpur, were raided in May. Home Minister cited Printing Presses and Publications Act of 1984 and said that "the Malaysian government is committed to preventing the spread of elements that are harmful or may be harmful to morals".

In 2010, the Film Censorship Board of Malaysia announced it would only allow depiction of homosexual characters as long as the characters "repent" or die. In 2017, Malaysia tried to censor Beauty and the Beast over some gay moments but eventually relented and let the movie be shown. The censorship board also had no objections to the screening of Power Rangers even with a lesbian scene in the movie.

### Moldova (sub-national)

Since 2012, several cities have enacted bans on "propaganda" of homosexuality (which do not include any kind of administrative sanctions or fines). These cities are:

- Bălți, enacted on 23 February 2012, and struck down on 28 February 2013

- Drochia, enacted on 27 March 2012

- Cahul, enacted on 29 March 2012

- Ceadîr-Lunga, enacted on 10 April 2012

- Glodeni, later repealed

- Rîșcani, later repealed

- Soroca

Similar bans were also enacted in the following districts:

- Anenii Noi, enacted on 1 March 2012

- Basarabeasca

- Fălești

Similar provisions were enacted by the following villages of Făleşti District:

- Bocani, later repealed

- Chetriș, repealed on 22 February 2012

- Hiliuți

- Pîrlița, later repealed

#### Gagauzia

On 30 April 2013, the Parliament of Gagauzia approved a bill to forbid the "propaganda" of homosexuality, bisexuality and transgenderism such as same-sex marriage and adoption by same-sex couples. The bill didn't include any kind of administrative sanctions or fines but some of its provisions banned any LGBT-related organizations from being registered in the region. Another provision was intended to ban any LGBT-related clubs and entertainment establishments. On 20 June 2013, these provisions were invalidated by a court decision, which held that these laws violated freedom of speech and human rights.

In May 2022, the People's Assembly of Gagauzia adopted a resolution banning "propaganda of non-traditional relations". The bill states that the "traditional family" is the basis of Gagauz society and bans local media from publishing anything that promotes same-sex couples. The Coalition for Inclusion and Non-discrimination has taken the resolution to the court, saying that it violates Moldova's constitution.

### Oman

Articles of the Publications and Publishing Law (1984) ban any publication which "calls people to embrace" or "promotes" anything against Islam, or might prejudice "public code of conduct" or "moral norms". The use of telecommunication services with information "contrary to the public order or morality", infringing "religious practice" or "promoting" anything against the law, is outlawed by the regulations passed under the Telecommunications Regulation Law (2002).

In 2013, The Week newspaper was shut down for one week after publishing article about Oman's LGBT community.

### Pakistan

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has authority to remove or block any content if it is "in the interest of the glory of Islam, public order, decency, or morality" under the Section 34 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (2016). The law has been used to ban LGB-related content online and in the media.

### Paraguay

On 5 October 2017, the Minister of Education and Science Enrique Riera signed Resolution N° 29664, which prohibits the use of printed and digital materials referring to " gender theory and/or ideology " in educational institutions. Enrique Riera later said he would volunteer to "burn the books in a public square if they contained gender ideology".

### Russia

In Russia, the Law for the Purpose of Protecting Children from Information Advocating for a Denial of Traditional Family Values was unanimously approved by the State Duma on 11 June 2013 (with just one MP abstaining— Ilya Ponomarev), and was signed into law by President Vladimir Putin on 30 June 2013.

The Russian government's stated purpose for the law is to prevent children from being exposed to homosexuality—content presenting homosexuality as being a norm in society—under the argument that it contradicts traditional family values. The statute amended the country's child protection law and the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offenses, to make the distribution of "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relationships " among minors, an offence punishable by fines. This definition includes materials that "raises interest in" such relationships; cause minors to "form non-traditional sexual predispositions"; or " distorted ideas about the equal social value of traditional and non-traditional sexual relationships." Businesses and organisations can also be forced to temporarily cease operations if convicted under the law, and foreigners may be arrested and detained for up to 15 days then deported, or fined up to 5,000 rubles and deported.

The Kremlin's backing of the law appealed to the Russian nationalist far-right, and also gained broad support among the Russian public and the Russian Orthodox Church, with 70% of Russians officially being Russian-Orthodox. The law was condemned by the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe (of which Russia is a member), by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child and by human rights groups, such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. The statute was criticised for its broad and ambiguous wording (including the broadly worded "raises interest in" and "among minors"), which critics described as an effective ban on publicly promoting the rights and culture of the LGBT community. The law was also condemned for leading to an increase in, and justification of, homophobic violence, while the implications of the law in relation to the then-upcoming 2014 Winter Olympics being hosted by Sochi were also cause for concern, as the Olympic Charter contains language explicitly barring various forms of discrimination.

### Saudi Arabia

The Saudi government censors the media with fines, imprisonment and, for foreigners, deportation for any person possessing, importing, distributing or producing media without governmental approval. Media content, including advertising, cannot be seen as insulting the royal family or conflicting with Islamic teachings and values.

Radio and TV programs are banned from expressing support for LGBT rights, but homosexuality and cross-dressing can be discussed as long as the negative attitudes and biases are reinforced. A call-in TV show may feature a discussion about the immorality or "illness" of homosexuality, or, as in the case of Mirel Radoi, coverage may focus on a celebrity, in this case a Romanian-born football player, implying, as a false insult, that another football player was gay.

The government does allow public movie theaters to exist, since 2018, but the films are censored, as are the DVDs purchased in many retail stores. LGBT themes are generally one of the themes edited out of movies. Customs agents keep a list of films or TV shows that are not allowed to be brought into the kingdom.

Government regulation of the Internet generally falls under the Royal Decrees on Anti-Cyber Crime (2007). Article 6 prohibits creating, distributing or accessing online content or webpages that the government deems to be pornographic or in violation of religious values or public morals or is a threat to public health, safety or order.

The Saudi government has frequently blocked Internet users in the kingdom from accessing web pages or other online content that express support for LGBT rights. The restrictions on the Internet extend to blogs, social media and video upload webpages.

In 2010, a 27-year-old Saudi man was charged with homosexuality and impersonating a police officer when he posted a comical video of himself online, where he discusses popular culture, shows off his chest hair and flirts with the camera man. He was sentenced to a year in prison, with 1,000 lashes, and ordered to pay a fine of 5,000 rials (US$1,333).

In a crackdown across stores in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, according to the Saudi state-run TV channel al-Ekhbariya, government officials seized rainbow-colored clothing, products, toys, etc. The officials claimed that the June 2022 move was aimed at curbing the direct and indirect promotion of homosexuality in the country. An unnamed official from the Ministry of Commerce claimed that they were looking out for "slogans that violate the rules of Islam and public morals like promoting homosexuality colors, targeting the young generation." The items seized in the crackdown included hair accessories for children, backpacks, pencil cases, and rainbow stripes featured on crayon packs. When asked for comments from the Saudi authorities, none were received. In December 2022, authorities in neighboring Qatar carried out a similar purge.

### Singapore

Singapore has a series of laws and regulations that restrict LGBT topics in the media. The Infocomm Media Development Authority bans any film, television program, advertisement or video game which "promote or glamorize homosexuality", if the "homosexual content is discreet in treatment and not gratuitous" they can instead be classified as restricted to people aged 18 or over. Films can also be restricted to people aged 21 or over if their main themes are same-sex marriage or parenting.

### Turkey

In December 2020, the Advertisement Board of Turkey's Trade Ministry ruled that LGBT-themed merchandise that is sold online has to bear 18+ rating. Article 24 of Turkey's 2015 Regulation on Commercial Advertisement and Unfair Commercial Practices protects children from material that would "negatively affect the physical, mental, moral, psychological and social development characteristics of children" and that items "cannot contain elements to disrupt, change or denigrate cultural, moral and positive social behaviours".

Even though there are not any laws explicitly forbidding LGBT-related protests, the Istanbul Pride parade has been banned by the Istanbul governorship several times: in 2015, 2016, 2017, and in 2018, where people held an event regardless and some were arrested. It was banned again in 2019. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was held online with no official interference.

In 2017, the capital city of Ankara banned all LGBT or LGBT rights related events, under the pretext of providing "peace and security", with officials saying that such "exhibitions" could cause different groups of society to "publicly harbor hatred and hostility" towards each other; on the other hand news media noted that the ban came in the context of the steady erosion of civil liberties in Turkey following the failed 2016 coup attempt.

In Ankara, all public LGBTI -related discussions are banned. In November 2017, the Ankara governor's office under state of emergency imposed an indefinite ban on LGBTI-focused public events. The emergency rule ended in July 2018; however, the ban was still not lifted. In October 2018, the government extended the ban to LGBTI-focused events generally without giving any idea about the end date. In May 2019, police in Ankara violently ended a student-led Pride march at the Middle East Technical University (METU). According to a report from Amnesty International, authorities arrested 25 students during that.

In June 2019, the 7th Izmir Pride, the 3rd Antalya Pride and the 27th Istanbul pride were banned by the cities governors. Amnesty International last week called for Turkey to lift the Pride bans. However, days later a court suspended Izmir pride week ban. In June 2019, 17 people were detained during press statement over Pride ban in Turkish police dispersed a crowd gathered in the city of Izmir for a public press statement over the governorate's pride parade ban and detained 17 people, after the group read their press statement.

On 25 June 2019, the Governorship of Mersin banned all LGBT events to be held in the province for 20 days under the Turkish Law on Meetings and Demonstrations "with the aim of maintaining public well-being and public peace, preventing crimes and protecting public health, public morality and safety of life and property of citizens." The ban went in effect in the 5th Mersin Pride Week, which was to be held between 1–7 July.

### Uganda

In 2023, Uganda passed Anti-Homosexuality Act ("An Act to prohibit any form of sexual relations between persons of the same sex; to prohibit the promotion or recognition of sexual relations between persons of the same sex; and for related matters") which makes the promotion (including normalisation) of homosexuality punishable by imprisonment for up to 20 years and fines.

### United Arab Emirates

The Government in the United Arab Emirates has restricted access to various websites and monitors chat rooms, instant messages and blogs. There were only a few reports of prosecutions and punishments but many people on the internet have been censored their conversations and identity in gay chat rooms. The country's only internet service provider has a proxy server which blocks any website that goes against the country's moral values. Sites regarding dating or marriage, LGBT issues, the Bahá’í Faith or sites related to unblocking the censorship are all inaccessible. Some reports or sites related to unblocking the censorship are all inaccessible. Reports even suggest that any site with the word "gay" or "sex" is blocked.

The UAE's Media Regulatory Office banned the screening of Pixar's Lightyear in cinemas in June 2022, stating that the movie violated the Emirates' media content standards. The movie was opposed for depicting a same-sex relationship. Later that month, Majid, a popular Arabic-language comic book series for children, came under investigation by the UAE authorities for allegedly promoting homosexuality. The magazine withdrew its May 2022 edition, which depicted a multi-colored character. In one dialogue the character said, "Amazing, I have the capability to colour things... Ali will wish to become like me." According to The New Arab, a number of social media users had complained that Majid had intentionally used the Arabic word مثلي (mithli) in this character's speech, a word which means both a "homosexual" and "like me".

In June 2023, the UAE banned Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, a week ahead of its expected release in the region. The movie failed to pass the Emirates' censorship requirements, due to a scene that depicted a glimpse of a transgender flag displaying the words "Protect Trans Lives".

### United States (sub-national)

Several U.S. states have laws which prohibit or limit the mention or discussion of gay and transgender issues in public schools. In theory, these laws mainly apply to sex education courses, but they can also be applied to other parts of the school curriculum as well as to extracurricular activities and groups such as gay–straight alliances.

These explicit anti-LGBT curriculum laws can be found in six US states, namely Florida (for kindergarten to grade 3 and instruction that is considered "not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students" in any grade), Alabama (For kindergarten to grade 5), Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas. Five other states (Montana, Arizona, Arkansas, Tennessee and Florida) require parental notification of instruction on LGBTQ issues and allows parents to opt-out of such instruction.

They are similar to the now-repealed section 28 of the British Local Government Act 1988, which prohibited local authorities from "intentionally promoting homosexuality, publishing material with the intention of promoting homosexuality, or promoting the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship."

States that have repealed their anti-LGBT curriculum laws include Alabama (since 29 April 2021), Arizona (since 1 July 2019), North Carolina (since 2006), South Carolina (since 12 March 2020) and Utah (since 1 July 2017).

### Yemen

The government blocks access to webpages that express support of LGBT rights. This policy of censorship also extends to publications and magazines in Yemen.

In 2012, the magazine Al Thaqafiya was shut down by the government for publishing a review of the Egyptian film titled, Heena Maysara (translates to "Till things get better"). The reviewer, a Yemeni filmmaker named Hamid Aqbi, expressed some support for LGBT rights while discussing the film.

In 2004, the Yemem Times, an English-language magazine, was allowed to publish an opinion piece opposing legal recognition of gay marriage.

In 2003, the Week, an Arabic-language magazine, published an article that included interviews with Yemeni men imprisoned for homosexuality. The three journalists involved with the article were convicted by the government.

## Repealed laws

### Australia (sub-national)

In December 1989 in the state of Western Australia, the Parliament of Western Australia passed the Law Reform (Decriminalisation of Sodomy) Act 1989 which decriminalised private gay sex while making it a crime for a person to "...promote or encourage homosexual behaviour as part of the teaching in any primary or secondary educational institutions..." or make public policy with respect to the undefined promotion of homosexual behaviour. It was repealed in 2002 via the Acts Amendment (Gay and Lesbian Law Reform) Act 2002, which also repealed the laws with respect to promotion of homosexual behaviour in public policy and in educational institutions.

### Romania

"Article 200" (Articolul 200 in Romanian) was a section of the Penal Code of Romania that criminalised homosexual relationships. It was introduced in 1968 under the communist regime of Nicolae Ceauşescu. Under pressure from the Council of Europe, it was amended on 14 November 1996, when homosexual sex in private between two consenting adults was decriminalised. However, the amended Article 200 continued to criminalise same-sex relationships if they were displayed publicly or caused a "public scandal". It also continued to ban the promotion of homosexual activities, as well as the formation of gay-centred organisations (including LGBT rights organisations). It was repealed by the Năstase government on 22 June 2001.

In June 2023, the Romanian Senate approved the draft law prohibiting spreading a theory that gender is different from biological sex and that there are more than two genders, but the President of Romania appealed to the Constitutional Court to review the draft law.

### South Korea

In 2001, South Korea 's Ministry of Information and Communication 's Information and Communications Ethics Committee began censoring online LGBT content, but it stopped the practice in 2003.

### United Kingdom

"Section 28" or "Clause 28" of the Local Government Act 1988 caused the addition of "Section 2A" to the Local Government Act 1986, which affected England, Wales and Scotland. The amendment was enacted on 24 May 1988, and stated that a local authority "shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality" or "promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship".

The law's existence caused many groups to close or limit their activities or self-censor. For example, a number of lesbian, gay and bisexual student support groups in schools and colleges across Britain were closed owing to fears by council legal staff that they could breach the act.

It was repealed on 21 June 2000 in Scotland by the Ethical Standards in Public Life etc. (Scotland) Act 2000, one of the first pieces of legislation enacted by the new Scottish Parliament, and on 18 November 2003 in the rest of the United Kingdom by section 122 of the Local Government Act 2003.

## Rejected proposals

### Armenia

In August 2013, Armenian police briefly introduced a bill which would have banned "public promotion of non-traditional sexual relationships". According to Armenian police, "preserving the traditional Armenian family represents the pillar of national survival". The bill was removed from consideration after several days.

### Kazakhstan

On 26 May 2015, the Constitutional Council of Kazakhstan declared a pending bill, which would have banned the "propaganda of nontraditional sexual orientation", unconstitutional. The council rejected it because of its vague wording. The bill passed the Senate, Parliament 's upper house, in February 2015 and was sent to President Nursultan Nazarbayev for signature. It had already been approved by the lower house.

### Moldova (national)

On 23 May 2013, the Parliament of Moldova passed a bill which bans the propaganda of prostitution, paedophilia and "any other relations than those related to marriage and family in accordance with the Constitution and the Family Code". The bill also includes fines. The bill was signed into law on 5 July 2013 and came into effect on 12 July 2013. The law did not explicitly prohibit the "propaganda" of homosexuality, but it could have been interpreted as such by judges. On 11 October 2013, the Parliament passed a bill intended to remove the content which could have been interpreted as a ban on "homosexual propaganda".

In April 2016, lawmakers introduced a similar bill, which was approved in committee in May 2016. The bill would amend the Law on the Rights of the Child and the Code of Administrative Offenses and ban spreading "homosexual propaganda" to minors "through public meetings, the media, the Internet," and other means. The second draft law of 24 March 2017 envisaged amending the Law on Protection of Children from the Negative Impact of Information with a view to censor public dissemination of information about non-heterosexual relations/persons. The parliament refused to adopt the amendments in both cases.

### Ukraine

A draft law that would make it illegal to talk about homosexuality in public and in the media and to import, distribute, and broadcast video, photo, and audio products that "encourages homosexuality" (with penalties of up to five years in prison and fines for up to ₴ 5,000 (US$616)) was passed in first reading in the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) on 2 October 2012. An estimated 20 community activists representing several organizations protested outside of the Verkhovna Rada building during the vote. On 4 October 2012, a second vote was tentatively scheduled for 16 October. In January 2015, the bill was removed from the agenda.

A petition was subsequently started by anti-gay groups, calling for "measures to be taken to stop the propaganda of homosexuality and for defending family values". In March 2018, Ukraine's Anti-Discrimination Ombudsperson removed the petition from the electronic petitions section. By then, the petition had received 23,000 signatures and support from various religious organisations. The Ombudsman described the petition as "anti-freedom", and deleted it due to "containing calls to restrict human rights".

### Haiti

In August 2017, a bill to jail same-sex couples who get married for three years, with a fine of $8,000, passed the Haitian Senate, but never became law. In 2017, the Senate voted to ban "any public demonstration of support for homosexuality and proselytizing in favour of such acts". The fate of this bill remains unknown.

## Legal restrictions on LGBT expression by jurisdiction

The data is provided by ILGA (with the exception of data on Kyrgyzstan and Iraq) and highlights the legal restrictions on LGBT expression by jurisdiction.

The ILGA classifies laws as the ones which explicitly censor LGBT issues and the ones which censor them non-explicitly.

In addition, Spartacus International Gay Guide also includes a censorship section on their index.


Frédéric Bonin-Pissarro

# Frédéric Bonin-Pissarro

## Abstract

Frédéric Bonin-Pissarro or Frédéric Pissarro (born in 1964 in Paris) is a French painter. Since 2002, he has been a citizen of the United States.

## Family

Frédéric Bonin-Pissarro is the son of Sylvie and Claude Bonin-Pissarro, also a painter. He is a great-grandson of the "father of Impressionism", Camille Pissarro. His sister is named Lila. Married, he has three sons.

## Biography

Frederic began learning the art of painting with his father. Jean Edelmann also exerted a major influence on his style. In 1983–1984 Frédéric Bonin-Pissarro studied at the Ecole de Sèvres, then from 1984 to 1988 he studied at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts (ENSBA). There, he attended masterclasses of Jacques Yankel and of Antonio Segui. After his studies, he settled in Cincinnati (Ohio, USA). In 1989–90, Bonin-Pissarro worked on stage sets for the Théâtre Populaire des Cévennes in Paris. From 1991 to 1994, he drew up various projects for the Planète Magique amusement park in Paris. From 1995 to 1997, he taught at the art school Faire in Gisors. Since 1998, he has taught setting color, character design, writing scenario, illustration, composition and layout at the Art Institute of Cincinnati (AIC College of Design). In 2009, The Art Institute of Cincinnati has conferred him an associate degree in graphic design. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts and a Master in Arts, with mention summa cum laude from the Morehead State University in 2015 and 2017 respectively.

In 2017, he was appointed Visiting Lecturer at College of Fine Arts of University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

## Works

Frédéric Bonin-Pissarro first enrolled in the Neo-Impressionist painting, to which he incorporated elements of fauvisme; then by adopting a clear line and more pronounced colors, his compositions have become more complex; patterns, dots and lines have appeared in his works, now considered part of the modern Abstract Art. His early paintings show the expressive face of representations of wildlife art and still life with oil paintings or acrylic. He himself describes his style as "expressive figurative ".

### Pictorial works (selection)

- Mouffetard St Market, Paris

- Two Minds, One Vision

- Cow Love

- Keeping It Together

- The Flip Side Of Love

- Urban Bird

- Sending Love

- Happy Projections

- Innocence

- Lady With Bird

- Modern Beauty

- Petit Mother

- Doubletake

- Family Bliss

- Takes Two To Tango

- Family Love

- Peace With Nature

- Love Bird

- Connected

- Maternite

- Amaman

- Modern Family

- Complex Relationships

- Party Bird

### Exhibitions (selection)

Frédéric Bonin-Pissarro has exhibited at the following exhibitions:

- Salon des Indépendants, Société des Artistes Indépendants; Paris 1990

- Salon Comparaison; Paris 1992

- Salon de May, Paris 1993

- Salon de Mars; Paris 1993

- Salon de Bagneux (juried); Paris 1994

- Galerie de Synthese; Paris 1994

- Galerie de Beaux-Arts, Paris 1994

- Salon de Vitry; Paris 1995

- Galerie du C.R.O.U.S.; Paris 1996

- Galerie Jeanne Masson, Paris 1997

- Opus Gallery; Cleveland (Ohio) 1998

- Marquette Gallery, Cincinnati (Ohio) 1998

- Gallery Adrienne; San Francisco (California) 1999

- Fourway Gallery; Martha's Vineyard (Massachusetts) 1999

- Debruyne Gallery; Naples (Florida) 2000

- Art Factory; Rockford (Illinois) 2000

- Wally Findlay Gallery; Chicago (Illinois) 2001

- Marquette Gallery; Madeira (Ohio) 2001

- Wally Findlay Gallery; Chicago, New York, Palm Beach, London 2002–2009

- Titus Fine Art; Beverly Hills (California) 2005–2012

- The Pinacle; East Tsimshatsui (Hong Kong) 2011

- Festival International d'Art Singulier Contemporain, Grand Baz'Art à Bézu; Bézu-Saint-Éloi 2011

- Musee Prive; Paris 2011

- Outsider Gallery; French Town (New Jersey) 2011

- Greenwich Gallery; Cincinnati (Ohio) 2011

- Kings Wood Art Print Edition, dreijähriger Vertrag 2012

- Inauguration Galerie 30; Cannes 2012

- The Nursery Rhyme Project, Curator of Dion Hitchings; New Jersey 2012

- Gallery Artisti; Paris 2012

- Commission for last Pei building, Bangkok 2012

- Lille International Contemporary Art Fair (10 Gemälde), Lille 2012

- Acala Gallery (Einzelausstellung); Bangkok 2012

- The TOY Show, kuratiert von Dion Hitchings; New Jersey 2012

- Artop Gallery, Lille 2013

### Publications

Frédéric Bonin-Pissarro made illustrations for the following books:

- Matt Ackermann: Antoine's Ault Park Adventure. 2008

- Missy Griffin : Gigi's Window. 2010

- Marion K. Allman" Hi! My Name is Casey. 2010

## Prize

The Key of the City of Cincinnati in 2001


Sclerophyll

# Sclerophyll

## Abstract

Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaves, short internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is parallel or oblique to direct sunlight. The word comes from the Greek sklēros (hard) and phyllon (leaf). The term was coined by A.F.W. Schimper in 1898 (translated in 1903), originally as a synonym of xeromorph, but the two words were later differentiated.

Sclerophyllous plants occur in many parts of the world, but are most typical of areas with low rainfall or seasonal droughts, such as Australia, Africa, and western North and South America. They are prominent throughout Australia, parts of Argentina, the Cerrado biogeographic region of Bolivia, Paraguay and Brazil, and in the Mediterranean biomes that cover the Mediterranean Basin, California, Chile, and the Cape Province of South Africa.

In the Mediterranean basin, holm oak, cork oak and olives are typical hardwood trees. In addition, there are several species of pine under the trees in the vegetation zone. The shrub layer contains numerous herbs such as rosemary, thyme and lavender. In relation to the potential natural vegetation, around 2% of the Earth's land surface is covered by sclerophyll woodlands, and a total of 10% of all plant species on Earth live there.

## Description

Sclerophyll woody plants are characterized by their relatively small, stiff, leathery and long-lasting leaves. The sclerophyll vegetation is the result of an adaptation of the flora to the summer dry period of a Mediterranean-type climate.

Plant species with this type of adaptation tend to be evergreen with great longevity, slow growth and with no loss of leaves during the unfavorable season. As a result, the thickets that make up these ecosystems are of the persistent evergreen type, in addition to the predominance of plants, even herbaceous ones, with "hard" leaves, which are covered by a thick leathery layer called the cuticle, that prevents water loss during the dry season. The aerial and underground structures of these plants are modified to make up for water shortages that may affect their survival.

The name sclerophyll derives from the highly developed sclerenchyma from the plant, which is responsible for the hardness or stiffness of the leaves. This structure of the leaves inhibits transpiration and thus prevents major water losses during the dry season. Most of the plant species in the sclerophyll zone are not only insensitive to summer drought, they have also used various strategies to adapt to frequent wildfires, heavy rainfall and nutrient deficiencies.

## Ecology

The type of sclerophyllic trees in the Palearctic flora region include the holm oak (Quercus ilex), myrtle (Myrtus communis), strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo), wild olive (Olea europaea), laurel (Laurus nobilis), mock privet (Phillyrea latifolia), the Italian buckthorn (Rhamnus alaternus), etc.

- In central and southern California, the coastal hills are covered in sclerophyll vegetation known as chaparral. The flora of this ecoregion also includes tree species Scrub oak (Quercus dumosa), California buckeye (Aesculus californica), San Gabriel Mountain liveforever (Dudlea densiflora), Catalina mahogany (Cercocarpus traskiae), and the threatened jewelflower (Streptanthus albidus ssp. Peramoenus).

- In South Africa, in the Cape region, there are Mediterranean open forests known as fynbos. The abundance of endemics is so extraordinary (68% of the 8600 vascular plant species in the area) that the South African sclerophyll area, the cape flora, forms the smallest of the six flora kingdoms on earth. Plants include Elegia, Thamnochortus, and Willdenowia and proteas such as king protea (Protea cynaroides) and blushing bride (Serruria florida).

- In most of Australia, sclerophyll vegetation such as eucalyptus trees, melaleucas, banksias, callistemons and grevilleas dominate the mallee and woodland areas of its cities, including those lacking a Mediterranean climate, such as Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart and Brisbane.

- In Chile, south of the desert areas, there is evergreen bushland called matorral. Typical species include Litre (Lithraea venenosa), Quillay or Soapbark Tree (Quillaja saponaria), and bromeliads of genus Puya.

## Climate

The sclerophyll regions are located in the outer subtropics bordering the temperate zone (also known as the warm-temperate zone). Accordingly, the annual average temperatures are relatively high at 12–24 °C (54–75 °F); An average of over 18 °C (64 °F) is reached for at least four months, eight to twelve months it is over 10 °C (50 °F) and no month is below 5 °C (41 °F) on average. Frost and snow occur only occasionally and the growing season lasts longer than 150 days and is in the winter half-year. The lower limit of the moderate annual precipitation is 300 mm (12 in) (semi-arid climate) and the upper limit 900–1,000 mm (35–39 in).

Generally, the summers are dry and hot with a dry season of a maximum of seven months, but at least two to three months. The winters are rainy and cool. However, not all regions with sclerophyll vegetation feature the classic Mediterranean climate; parts of eastern Italy, eastern Australia and eastern South Africa, which feature sclerophyll woodlands, tend to have uniform rainfall or even a more summer-dominant rainfall, whereby falling under the humid subtropical climate zone (Cfa / Cwa). Furthermore, other areas with sclerophyll flora would grade to the oceanic climate (Cfb); particularly the eastern parts of the Eastern Cape province in South Africa, and Tasmania, Victoria and southern New South Wales in Australia.

## Soils

Sclerophyll plants are also found in areas with nutrient-poor and acidic soils, and soils with heavy concentrations of aluminum and other metals. Sclerophyll leaves transpire less and have a lower CO uptake than malacophyllous or laurophyllous leaves. These lower transpiration rates may reduce the uptake of toxic ions and better provide for C-carboxylation under nutrient-poor conditions, particularly low availability of mineral nitrogen and phosphate. Sclerophyllous plants are found in tropical heath forests, which grown on nutrient-poor sandy soils in humid regions in the Rio Orinoco and the Rio Negro basins of northern South America on quartz sand, in the kerangas forests of Borneo and on the Malay Peninsula, in coastal sandy areas along the Gulf of Guinea in Gabon, Cameroon, and Côte d'Ivoire, and in eastern Australia. Since water drains rapidly through these soils, sclerophylly also protects plants against drought stress during dry periods.

Sclerophylly's advantages in nutrient-poor conditions may be another factor in the prevalence of sclerophyllous plants in nutrient-poor areas in drier-climate regions, like much of Australia and the Cerrado of Brazil.

## Distribution

The zone of the sclerophyll vegetation lies in the border area between the subtropics and the temperate zone, approximately between the 30th and 40th degree of latitude (in the northern hemisphere also up to the 45th degree of latitude). Their presence is limited to the coastal western sides of the continents, but nonetheless can typical in any regions of a continent with scarce annual precipitation or frequent seasonal droughts and poor soils that are heavily leached.

The sclerophyll zone often merges into temperate deciduous forests towards the poles, on the coasts also into temperate rainforests and towards the equator in hot semi-deserts or deserts. The Mediterranean areas, which have a very high biodiversity, are under great pressure from the population. This is especially true for the Mediterranean region since ancient times. Through overexploitation (logging, grazing, agricultural use) and frequent fires caused by people, the original forest vegetation is converted. In extreme cases, the hard-leaf vegetation disappears completely and is replaced by open rock heaths.

Some sclerophyll areas are closer to the equator than the Mediterranean zone—for example, the interior of Madagascar, the dry half of New Caledonia, the lower edge areas of the Madrean pine-oak woodlands of the Mexican highlands between 800 and 1800/2000 m or around 2000 m high plateaus of the Asir Mountains on the western edge of the Arabian Peninsula.

### Land use

While the winter rain areas of America, South Africa and Australia, with an unusually large variety of food crops, were ideal gathering areas for hunter gatherers until European colonization, agriculture and cattle breeding spread in the Mediterranean area since the Neolithic, which permanently changed the face of the landscape. In the sclerophyll regions near the coast, permanent crops such as olive and wine cultivation established themselves; However, the landscape forms that characterize the degenerate shrubbery and shrub heaths Macchie and Garigue are predominantly a result of grazing (especially with goats).

In the course of the last millennia, the original vegetation in almost all areas of this vegetation zone has been greatly changed by the influence of humans. Where the plants have not been replaced by vineyards and olive groves, the maquis was the predominant form of vegetation on the Mediterranean. The maquis has been degraded in many places to the low shrub heather, the garigue. Many plant species that are rich in aromatic oils belong to both vegetation societies. The diversity of the original sclerophyll vegetation in the world is high to extremely high (3000–5000 species per ha).

## Australian bush

Most areas of the Australian continent able to support woody plants are occupied by sclerophyll communities as forests, savannas, or heathlands. Common plants include the Proteaceae (grevilleas, banksias and hakeas), tea-trees, acacias, boronias, and eucalypts.

The most common sclerophyll communities in Australia are savannas dominated by grasses with an overstorey of eucalypts and acacias. Acacia (particularly mulga) shrublands also cover extensive areas. All the dominant overstorey acacia species and a majority of the understorey acacias have a scleromorphic adaptation in which the leaves have been reduced to phyllodes consisting entirely of the petiole.

Many plants of the sclerophyllous woodlands and shrublands also produce leaves unpalatable to herbivores by the inclusion of toxic and indigestible compounds which assure survival of these long-lived leaves. This trait is particularly noticeable in the eucalypt and Melaleuca species which possess oil glands within their leaves that produce a pungent volatile oil that makes them unpalatable to most browsers. These traits make the majority of woody plants in these woodlands largely unpalatable to domestic livestock. It is therefore important from a grazing perspective that these woodlands support a more or less continuous layer of herbaceous ground cover dominated by grasses.

Sclerophyll forests cover a much smaller area of the continent, being restricted to relatively high rainfall locations. They have a eucalyptus overstory (10 to 30 metres) with the understory also being hard-leaved. Dry sclerophyll forests are the most common forest type on the continent, and although it may seem barren dry sclerophyll forest is highly diverse. For example, a study of sclerophyll vegetation in Seal Creek, Victoria, found 138 species.

Even less extensive are wet sclerophyll forests. They have a taller eucalyptus overstory than dry sclerophyll forests, 30 metres (98 ft) or more (typically mountain ash, alpine ash, rose gum, karri, messmate stringybark, or manna gum, and a soft-leaved, fairly dense understory (tree ferns are common). They require ample rainfall—at least 1000 mm (40 inches).

### Evolution

Sclerophyllous plants are all part of a specific environment and are anything but newcomers. By the time of European settlement, sclerophyll forest accounted for the vast bulk of the forested areas.

Most of the wooded parts of present-day Australia have become sclerophyll dominated as a result of the extreme age of the continent combined with Aboriginal fire use. Deep weathering of the crust over many millions of years leached chemicals out of the rock, leaving Australian soils deficient in nutrients, particularly phosphorus. Such nutrient deficient soils support non-sclerophyllous plant communities elsewhere in the world and did so over most of Australia prior to European arrival. However such deficient soils cannot support the nutrient losses associated with frequent fires and are rapidly replaced with sclerophyllous species under traditional Aboriginal burning regimens. With the cessation of traditional burning non-sclerophyllous species have re-colonized sclerophyll habitat in many parts of Australia.

The presence of toxic compounds combined with a high carbon : nitrogen ratio make the leaves and branches of scleromorphic species long-lived in the litter, and can lead to a large build-up of litter in woodlands. The toxic compounds of many species, notably Eucalyptus species, are volatile and flammable and the presence of large amounts of flammable litter, coupled with an herbaceous understorey, encourages fire.

All the Australian sclerophyllous communities are liable to be burnt with varying frequencies and many of the woody plants of these woodlands have developed adaptations to survive and minimise the effects of fire.

Sclerophyllous plants generally resist dry conditions well, making them successful in areas of seasonally variable rainfall. In Australia, however, they evolved in response to the low level of phosphorus in the soil—indeed, many native Australian plants cannot tolerate higher levels of phosphorus and will die if fertilised incorrectly. The leaves are hard due to lignin, which prevents wilting and allows plants to grow, even when there is not enough phosphorus for substantial new cell growth.

## Regions

These are the biomes or ecoregions in the world that feature an abundance of, or are known for having, sclerophyll vegetation:

- Cumberland Plain Woodland

- Sydney Sandstone Ridgetop Woodland

- Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub

- Tasmanian dry sclerophyll forests

- Aegean and Western Turkey sclerophyllous and mixed forests

- California chaparral and woodlands

- California coastal sage and chaparral

- Chilean Matorral

- Mallee Woodlands and Shrublands

- Italian sclerophyllous and semi-deciduous forests

- Eastern Mediterranean conifer–sclerophyllous–broadleaf forests

- Southwest Iberian Mediterranean sclerophyllous and mixed forests

- Tyrrhenian–Adriatic sclerophyllous and mixed forests

- Canary Islands dry woodlands and forests

- Mediterranean acacia–argania dry woodlands

- Mediterranean dry woodlands and steppe

- Southeastern Iberian shrubs and woodlands

- Cyprus Mediterranean forests

- Crete Mediterranean forests

- Cape Floristic Region

- Southern Anatolian montane conifer and deciduous forests

- Albany thickets

- Northwest Iberian montane forests