Clan of the Cave Mom

# Clan of the Cave Mom

## Abstract

" Clan of the Cave Mom " is the thirteenth episode of the thirty-fifth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 763rd episode overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on March 24, 2024. The episode was directed by Rob Oliver and written by Brian Kelley.

In this episode, Marge feuds with Luann after she upsets Bart while a mother protects her family from a wolf in the Ice Age. The scenes set in the Ice Age were animated in a different style than the Simpsons style of the present-day scenes. The episode received positive reviews.

## Plot

The Springfield Elementary School children are watching a documentary about the Ice Age with Marge as a chaperone. Later, when the children are eating, Milhouse invites Bart to a concert. He asks Marge for permission to go and says he will be responsible, but he and Milhouse immediately damage a museum display. Marge denies Bart. He asks Milhouse's mother, Luann, to convince Marge, but she also declines by saying that Bart is a bad influence on Milhouse. Marge is angered when she learns what Luann said. She confronts Luann, who says Bart is getting worse. To get even with her, she orders Homer to find tickets to the concert in the front row. Meanwhile, in the Ice Age, a human family is depicted. When the son becomes hungry, the mother hunts and kills a snake for food. Later, the boy is cornered by a wolf, and the mother stabs it and rescues him.

Homer searches online until he finds tickets. Bart persuades his classmates to go with him to the concert instead of Milhouse. Meanwhile, Lisa asks Marge not to act on her base instincts. Later, at a PTA meeting, Luann tries to remove Marge from its board. They insult each other and need to be physically restrained. Arriving at the concert, Marge's group is denied entry for using paper tickets instead of electronic ones. Seeing Luann's group enter, Marge charges past the gate with her car. In the Ice Age, the father pursues a deer until it is exhausted, and he kills it. Later, the wolf returns, but the mother attacks it. When the father arrives, the wolf destroys the family's home and leaves. They decide to journey to a cave in the mountains. On the way, the wolf kills the father. The mother charges at the wolf.

Marge's group evades the security guards and enters the arena. Bart says that Marge is frightening them, and she comes to her senses. She apologizes to Bart for her protective behavior, and she makes peace with Luann. In the Ice Age, the mother evades the wolf and runs away with her children. At the cave entrance, the wolf confronts them. A falling rock injures the wolf. Instead of killing it, the mother decides to rescue it and treat its wound. The family adopts it as a pet.

## Production

The Ice Age scenes were drawn in the style of the animated television series Primal. The creator of that series, Genndy Tartakovsky, acknowledged the homage on Instagram and responded with a drawing of Homer in the Primal style.

## Reception

### Viewing figures

The episode earned a 0.17 rating with 0.69 million viewers, which was the most-watched show on Fox that night.

### Critical response

John Schwarz of Bubbleblabber gave the episode a 10 out of 10. He thought it was the best episode in years and praised the ice age sequences.

Mike Celestino of Laughing Place thought the ice age metaphors were not completely clear and would have preferred to have more jokes. However, he liked that the show was taking chances outside the regular show structure.

Cathal Gunning of Screen Rant liked the serious nature of the ice age scenes that contrast the normal scenes. He thought it made the repetitive story of Marge competing with other mothers more interesting.


# List of Algerian football players in foreign leagues

## Abstract

This is a complete List of Algerian football players in foreign leagues, i.e. association football players who have played in foreign leagues.

For most of the twentieth century, most Algeria internationals played in the native Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1; however, the national team has included some players based abroad from the beginning. While some in the 1960s and 1970s played for Algerian clubs, for example Hacène Lalmas and Mokhtar Khalem at CR Belcourt, others played in France, such as Sadek Boukhalfa with Nantes or Mustapha Zitouni with AS Monaco. Seven players of the squad for the 1982 FIFA World Cup came from a foreign club: Abdelmajid Bourebbou (Stade Lavallois), Mustapha Dahleb (Paris SG), Djamel Tlemcani (Stade de Reims), Djamel Zidane (KV Kortrijk), Karim Maroc (FC Tours), Faouzi Mansouri (Montpellier HSC) and Nourredine Kourichi (Girondins Bordeaux). By the time of the 1986 World Cup that number had increased to 11 (50% of the squad), and at the 2010 and 2014 tournaments almost all were playing abroad (there were three and two home-based players respectively in the 23-man squads).

## The history of Algerian players in Europe

A Large number of Algerian players have played in Europe as especially in France, the former colonial ruler of Algeria. The first Algerian player in Europe and first North African to play in France was Ali Benouna who joined Sète in 1930. He is the first Algerian player to win a European title, having won the French league and Coupe de France of the 1933–34 season with Sète. Benouna paved the way for more Algerians to soon taste the success of the French championship. This was done by Abdelkader Ben Bouali in the colors of Olympique de Marseille in the 1936–37 season, then Mohamed Firoud and Abdelaziz Ben Tifour on two consecutive occasions with Nice in 1950–51 and 1951–52, in addition to Rachid Mekhloufi in 1956–57 with Saint Etienne and Mohamed Maouche in the next season with Stade de Reims; all these titles came in the colonial era. As for the first player to win a title outside France, Mekhloufi holds that accolade for winning the Swiss League in 1962.

In relation to statistics, the most prominent of these are Rachid Mekhloufi, star of AS Saint-Étienne who scored 150 goals and won the league title four times. There is also Mustapha Dahleb, former star for Paris Saint-Germain where he achieved two Coupe de France victories and is one of the most popular players in the history of the club (310 matches and 98 goals in 10 seasons). Rabah Madjer was perhaps the best Algerian player to turn professional in Europe; he claimed ten trophies with FC Porto: three League, two Cup and two Super Cup on the domestic level and two continental titles on the level, including the European Cup in 1987 becoming the first Algerian and an African player to achieve this feat, and the Intercontinental Cup in Japan against Peñarol from Uruguay in which he scored the winning goal. In the 1970s and 1980s, Algerian players were generally not allowed to play professionally until they were over 28 years old which deprived many of the stars of the Algerian team at the time of a top-level career, especially after the 1982 FIFA World Cup, including Mehdi Cerbah, Hocine Yahi, Chaabane Merzekane, Fodil Megharia, Hacène Lalmas, Mahmoud Guendouz, Ali Bencheikh, Ali Fergani, Lakhdar Belloumi, Djamel Menad, Tedj Bensaoula and Omar Betrouni; some of them did play professionally but did not achieve much success because of their advancing age. There were some players allowed to moved abroad even though they had not reached the age of 28: Djamel Zidane, Rabah Madjer and Salah Assad.

Several other players have achieved prominent titles: Rafik Djebbour won eight titles, four League and 4 in the cu, followed by El Arbi Hillel Soudani with 7 titles including three league and three cup, then Madjid Bougherra who won six trophies with Glasgow Rangers. Ahmed Reda Madouni was the first Algerian Bundesliga champion in the colours of Borussia Dortmund in the 2001–02 season (subsequently his career involved a strange fluctuation). in Eastern Europe, Selim Bouadla was crowned Hungarian league winner with Debrecen twice in the 2011–12 and 2013–14 season, noting that La Liga and Serie A has not tasted the taste of any Algerian player so far and the nearest thing was the Runner-up in Serie A by Djamel Mesbah in 2012 and Faouzi Ghoulam in 2016. The English Premier League, was won by Riyad Mahrez with Leicester City. the 2012–13 season is considered the best for Algerian players, where they won 12 titles including three league, seven cups, three Super Cup and one league cup achieved by seven players are Djebbour, Soudani, Abdoun, Ghoulam, Rani, Sayoud and Benzia, In 2018–19, Riyad Mahrez achieved the English treble with Manchester City as the first Algerian to achieve this achievement. In the 2017–18 season, 161 Algerian players (including those of the diaspora who represent the national team) featured across all the leagues in Europe, and were present in 31 of the 55 leagues.

At the level of individual titles Mahrez won the 2016 PFA Players' Player of the Year award. He was the first African to earn the accolade. There is also Ali Benarbia achieved the best player award in the French league with Girondins de Bordeaux. Sofiane Hanni also won the best player award. in the Belgian league with Mechelen as the first Algerian player achieves this award, El Arabi Hillel Soudani also with Dinamo Zagreb he won his first trophy in Croatia as the best player in the Prva liga after a vote of all the captains of the Prva liga Croatian clubs. as for at the level scorers There are only two Algerian players have achieved the title of top scorer of the league is in Europe, namely Ahmed Oudjani in the French league and Jabbour in Greek league and there are also Madjer, who won the title top scorer in the European Cup 1987–88 season. as for Makhloufi is considered the best Algerian scorer in Europe with 170 goal, including 156 in the league, followed by Djebbour 132 goal which 110 in the league comes after Dahleb 115 goal, including 102 in the league. as for more than play games just in the leagues there Rachid Mekhloufi with 360 games, Abdelkader Ferhaoui 343, Ryad Boudebouz by 328, Mustapha Dahleb by 321 and finally Mohamed Salem 308 games. on the other hand more than hat-tricks record is Makhloufi 9 all hat-tricks with Saint-Étienne then Madjer by 5 and finally Ahmed Oudjani and El Arbi Hillel Soudani by 4 hat-tricks.

At the level of countries have made Algerians players 61 title in France which is sixteen league, twenty five cup, nine Coupe de la Ligue and eleven Trophée des Champions after that Luxembourg twenty title, fourteen League and six cups and finally Scotland thirteen title, five Premiership, four Cup and four League Cup. Other countries where the Algerians players at least won one title is the 17th state in the following figure Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, England, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Northern Ireland, Portugal, Romania, Switzerland, Czechoslovak and Turkey. the beginning of sparkling Algeria national team in 2009 began Algerian players Shares rise in Europe, such as El Arbi Hillel Soudani, who moved from ASO Chlef to Vitória Guimarães from Portugal. There are also Islam Slimani from CR Belouizdad to Sporting CP and then moved to Leicester City as the most expensive transfer deal for Algerian player in the history, The transfer fee paid to Sporting was reported as £28 million, a club record for Leicester. also there is the Paradou AC/JMG "El Ankaoui" Academy, which graduated many players to Europe and they are Ramy Bensebaini, Youcef Attal, Haithem Loucif, Farid El Mellali and Hicham Boudaoui who became the most expensive Algerian player has moved from an Algerian club to Europe with 4,000,000 euros.

## Gallery

### Algerian descent players played for other national teams

Due to Algeria's historic ties with France, there have been a number of Algerian players playing professionally in the French leagues, while the France national team has included players of Algerian heritage, most notably Zinedine Zidane, Karim Benzema and Samir Nasri.

- Zinedine Yazid Zidane (Arabic: زين الدين يزيد زيدان) was born on 23 June 1972 in La Castellane, Marseille, in Southern France. Zidane is of Algerian Kabyle descent. His parents, Smaïl and Malika, emigrated to Paris from the village of Aguemoune in the Berber-speaking region of Kabylie in northern Algeria in 1953 before the start of the Algerian War. The family, which had settled in the city's tough northern districts of Barbès and Saint-Denis, found little work in the region

- Karim Benzema was born in the city of Lyon, France, to French nationals of Algerian descent. As a practicing Muslim, he observes fasting during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. His grandfather, Da Lakehal Benzema, lived in the village of Tigzirt, located in the northern town of Beni Djellil in Algeria before migrating to Lyon, where he eventually settled in the 1950s. Benzema's father, Hafid, was born in Tigzirt, while his mother, Wahida Djebbara, was born and raised in Lyon; her family originated from Oran. Benzema is the third youngest in the family and grew up with eight other siblings in Bron, an eastern suburb of Lyon. His younger brothers Gressy and Sabri are also footballers. The former currently plies his trade at the amateur level with Vaulx-le-Velin in the Division d'Honneur, the sixth division of French football, while the latter plays in the youth academy of a club in the family's hometown of Bron.

- Samir Nasri (Arabic: سمير نصري) was born in Septèmes-les-Vallons, a northern suburb of Marseille, to French nationals of Algerian descent. His mother, Ouassila Ben Saïd, and father, Abdelhafid Nasri, were both born in France; his father being born and raised in Marseille, while his mother being from nearby Salon-de-Provence. Nasri's grandparents emigrated to France from Algeria. His mother is a housewife and his father previously worked as a bus driver before becoming his son's personal manager. At the start of his football career, Nasri initially played under his mother's surname, Ben Saïd, before switching to Nasri, his father's surname, following his selection to the France under-16 team. He is the eldest of four children and is a non-practising Muslim.

- Nabil Fekir Having earned one cap at under-21 level for his native France, Fekir had been named in his ancestral Algeria 's squad for friendlies against Oman and Qatar in March 2015. However, he withdrew to take part in the French squad for friendlies against Brazil and Denmark. He made his debut on 26 March against the former at the Stade de France, replacing Antoine Griezmann for the final 16 minutes of a 1 – 3 defeat. He scored his first goal on 7 June, concluding a 3–4 home friendly defeat to Belgium. On 4 September, in a 1–0 away friendly win over Portugal, he ruptured three ligaments in his right knee, putting him out for an estimated six months.

- Karim Boudiaf (Arabic: كريم بوضياف) was born in France, and is of Moroccan-Algerian descent. On December 22, 2009, Boudiaf was called up to the Algeria Under-23 national team for a training camp in Algiers. Boudiaf acquired Qatari nationality and was called up to the Qatar national football team on November 13, 2013. He was capped in an unofficial friendly exhibition match against Saudi club Al Hilal. He made his official debut for the team on 25 December in the 2014 WAFF Championship in a 1–0 win against Palestine.

- Boualem Khoukhi (Arabic: بوعلام خوخي) was born and raised in Algeria. On November 9, 2010, Khoukhi was called up for the first time to the Algeria under–23 national team for a pair of friendlies against Tunisia. The Qatar Football Association attempted to naturalize Khoukhi shortly after he arrived in Qatar, however, he refused and claimed that he would not be naturalized for any amount of money. He stated his desire was to play with the senior Algeria national team. Subsequently, he received Qatari citizenship in order to assist in his club's foreign player quota. Despite his call up to Algeria's olympic team, he was called up to the Qatar B team on November 13, 2013, by compatriot Djamel Belmadi. When questioned about Khoukhi's call-up to the squad, Belmadi claimed that Khoukhi was naturalized prior to his call-up in order for his team, Al Arabi, to overcome the foreign player quota. Belmadi stated he was surprised when the QFA revealed Khoukhi was eligible to be called up to the Qatar national team. He made his official debut for the team on December 25 in the 2014 WAFF Championship in a 1–0 win against Palestine.

- Houssem Aouar (Arabic: حسام عوار) is eligible to feature for Algeria despite playing for the French youth teams at the U17 and U21 levels. In 2018, he was reported considering to represent Algeria at international level following a talk with former Lyon and current Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema. In January 2019, manager of Algeria Djamel Belmadi confirmed that he would visit Aouar and present the vision and project of the Desert Foxes in hope of convincing him to play in the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations. On 26 August 2020, Aouar received his first call-up for France to prepare for 2020–21 UEFA Nations League matches against Sweden and Croatia in early September. He made his debut on 7 October 2020 in a friendly against Ukraine. After years of back and forth rumours on his nationality change. In March 2023, Aouar switched his international allegiance from his birth country of France to the country of his parents, Algeria. In an interview with the Algerian Football Federation, he said, "the president held out his hand to me and it seemed like it was just meant to be. I had a second chance and I jumped on it." He also added that he "regretted" having played for France, saying that he felt he "hadn't made the best choice".

## European League

## List All-time top goalscorers in european Leagues

## Algerian players and European Competitions

Bold Still playing competitive football in Europe

Correct as of 1 June 2024 (UTC)

## List All-time top goalscorers for the Algerian players in european Competitions

Bold Still playing competitive football in Europe

Correct as of 1 June 2024 (UTC)

## List of Algerian players hat-tricks in european League

Position key: GK – Goalkeeper; DF – Defender; MF – Midfielder; FW – Forward; – Player scored four goals; – Player scored six goals; * – The home team

## Summary UEFA

## Individual Honours

## History of Algerian players in the rest of the world Leagues

Algerian players have played in all continents, most of them in Arab leagues in Africa and Asia, especially in the Persian Gulf, and Nadir Belhadj is the most successful player. played 214 matches in six seasons with the Qatari club Al-Sadd, and 43 matches in two seasons with Al-Sailiya. during which he won 5 titles including the AFC Champions League and participated in the FIFA Club World Cup. the first Algerian to Participates in this competition is Moussa Saïb with Al-Nassr in 2000 and scored one goal, At the level of titles Algerian players won 90 titles in twelve countries, namely Bahrain, Canada, Egypt, Kuwait, Mexico, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Tunisia the country where Algerian players have won the highest number of titles with 36, followed by Qatar with 23 titles. and more player won titles is Baghdad Bounedjah with seven, On the level of local league, Youcef Belaïli won with Espérance ST four league championships more than any other Algerian player. in 2010 witnessed the achievement of four Algerian players S.League and League Cup in Singapore, they are Khaled Kharroubi, Karim Boudjema, Nordine Talhi and Mansour Lakehal which has never happened before, The two brothers Mustapha and Abdelaziz Ben Tifour, first who won title outside Algeria by winning the Tunisian Cup twice in 1947 and 1948.

At the level of continental titles and start in Africa, where the Algerian players won eight titles in CAF Champions League, CAF Confederation Cup and CAF Super Cup, mostly with Tunisian clubs and the first to win the continental title is the international goalkeeper Nacerdine Drid with Moroccan club Raja Casablanca in 1989 led by Algerian coach Rabah Saâdane. On 9 November 2018, Twenty-two years later, Youcef Belaïli won the CAF Champions League and for the first time in its new version after winning the final against Al-Ahly, he is the fourth Algerian player to win this title. On the level of Asia, Nadir Belhadj won the AFC Champions League title for the first time for an Algerian player in 2011 and scored the decisive penalty kick.

The transfers of Algerian players in the rest of the world Leagues and the most prominent, Khaled Kharroubi is the first Algerian to play in South America and exactly in Brazil with Vitória where he played for one season. Aymen Tahar is the first Algerian to play in the J1 League, but has played only one match. also Karim Matmour is the first Algerian to play in Australia A-League where he joined to Adelaide United, but he left in December 2017, terminating his contract early after playing 11 games. Raïs M'Bolhi is also the first Algerian to play in Major League Soccer with a club Philadelphia Union. After playing in only 9 matches in the 2015 season, head coach, Jim Curtin said that M'Bolhi would never play again for Philadelphia. M'Bohli is rated as one of the worst signings in club history., On 22 January 2018, Saphir Taïder signed a three-year deal at Major League Soccer franchise Montreal Impact, starting with a two-year loan and the option of a fourth year. He joined as a Designated Player. and the first goal for an Algerian player in MLS was against Atlanta United FC in a 4–1 defeat away. in Africa, Farès Hachi is the first Algerian to play in South Africa when he joined African champion Mamelodi Sundowns. but played only 21 game in the Premier Soccer League in a season and a half and then left South Africa.

Also there is the French-born Chaher Zarour who spent the Vietnam League 1 with Sanna Khánh Hòa as the first Algerian player to play there. The first player to play in South Asia was Hamid Berguiga, when he joined Brunei DPMM in Brunei, who plays in the Singapore league and won the League Cup in 2009 first in this region for an Algerian player. In North America, Andy Delort became the first Algerian to win a title there with Mexican club Tigres UANL where Delort won Liga MX Apertura in 2016, although he did not have Algerian citizenship until 2019. Also his transfer deal was the highest for an Algerian player outside Europe where he signed a four-year contract while the transfer fee paid to Caen was reported as €8 million. Three years after Saphir Taïder achieved the Canadian Championship with Montreal Impact after winning against Toronto FC in the final first for an Algerian player.

On the level of statistics and awards, Algerian players won the top scorer in eight times, most notably Bounedjah four times one in Tunisia with Etoile du Sahel and three with Al-Sadd and is considered the same player the most recorded hat-tricks with thirteen. Bounedjah also won the CAF Confederation Cup top scorer with Etoile du Sahel in 2015. On 12 August 2018, Bounedjah broke the Qatar Stars League single-game goal record, scoring 7 goals in a 10–1 win against Al Arabi., Bounedjah continued his success at the individual level by winning the top scorer of the 2018 AFC Champions League with 13 goals to become the first Algerian and the first player from a Qatari club to achieve this award, The Al-Sadd forward matched the all-time single tournament record held by Muriqui who netted the same tally by the conclusion of Guangzhou Evergrande's 2013 campaign. On 7 December 2018, Bounedjah beats Qatar goal record with 28 goals after just 14 matches, He broke the record held by Brazilian striker Clemerson de Araújo, who scored 27 goals in 2007–08. On 23 February 2019, Bounedjah scored in the Qatari classico against Al-Rayyan his 100 goal in all leagues competitions to become the first Algerian player to reach him With one club outside Europe. After changing the laws in Tunisia and considering the players from North Africa local a large number of Algerian players Join the Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1.

## Rest of the world Leagues

## League statistics rest of the world

## Algerian players in the rest of the world intercontinental Competitions

Bold Still playing competitive football in the rest of the world

## List of Algerian players hat-tricks in the rest of the world Leagues

Position key: GK – Goalkeeper; DF – Defender; MF – Midfielder; FW – Forward; – Player scored four goals; – Player scored five goals; – Player scored seven goals; * – The home team

## List All-time top goalscorers in All the rest of the world Competitions

## Summary


Metro C Line (Minnesota)

# Metro C Line (Minnesota)

## Abstract

The Metro C Line is a bus rapid transit line in Brooklyn Center and Minneapolis, Minnesota operated by Metro Transit. The line is part of Metro Transit's Metro network of light rail and bus rapid transit lines. The route operates from the Brooklyn Center Transit Center along Penn Avenue and Olson Memorial Highway, terminating in downtown Minneapolis. The route is analogous to the existing Route 19 and is projected to increase ridership on this corridor from 7,000 to 9,000 by 2030. Eventually, part of its route will shift south to Glenwood Avenue from Olson Memorial Highway.

The C Line, along with the similarly built A Line, features fewer stops and modern bus stops with "train-like" amenities, including distinct stations and off-board fare payment. Additionally, the C Line features the Twin Cities' first battery electric buses, built by New Flyer. Construction on the C Line began in March 2018 and began revenue service on June 8, 2019. The week of November 25, 2019, the C Line surpassed one-million rides after only five months of operation. Average weekday ridership was 30% higher than Route 19 ridership before C Line construction. Average Saturday and Sunday ridership has increased 25% and 40%, respectively.

## Route

The northern terminus of the C Line is at Brooklyn Center Transit Center in Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center. Station facilities include an indoor waiting area, restrooms, bike racks, and ticket vending machines and Go-To card readers for off-board fare collection. Brooklyn Center Transit Center also has rapid chargers for battery electric New Flyer buses, but as of October 15, 2019, electric buses have been pulled from service due to charging problems at their garage. From there, the C Line begins traveling southbound along Xerxes with one stop at 56th Avenue, adjacent to the former site of Brookdale Mall. The line then continues south on Brooklyn Boulevard with a station at 51st Avenue before entering the City of Minneapolis, where Brooklyn Boulevard changes to Osseo Road. An infill station at 47th Avenue will be constructed between 2023 and 2025. The C Line turns south onto Penn Avenue, splitting from the under construction Metro D Line, stopping the next block at 43rd Avenue. From there, the line stops every.25 miles (0.40 km) to.5 miles (0.80 km) serving North Minneapolis along Penn Avenue. At Olson Memorial Highway, the C Line turns east to head towards downtown Minneapolis with four station stops along the highway.

The route enters downtown along 7th Street, which splits into one-way pairs; 8th Street southbound and 7th Street northbound. Southbound, three BRT stations are currently open, at Ramp A/7th Street Transit Center and 8th Street at Nicollet Mall and at 3rd/4th Avenues. Stations on 8th Street at Hennepin and Park Avenues will fully open at a later date, with buses still stopping there on request. After the final stop at Park Avenue, buses continue to 11th Avenue where they layover and await the return trip northbound.

Heading northbound from downtown, the C Line begins its route at Park Avenue Station located under Hennepin County Medical Center and continues north on 7th Street. Stations are at 3rd/4th Avenues, Nicollet Mall, and Hennepin Avenue. These stations are Metro Transit's standard bus rapid transit stations with off-board fare collection, real-time information, and near-level boarding. After exiting downtown, the C Line follows the same route north to Brooklyn Center Transit Center.

### 6th Street operations

Upon opening day, 8th Street in downtown Minneapolis was being reconstructed. As a result, southbound buses were detoured onto Glenwood Avenue until 6th Street where they turned right and continued with temporary stops at Hennepin Avenue, Nicollet Mall, 3rd Avenue, and Park Avenue. These temporary stops do not include real time information or fare-collection systems, and riders could not board C Line buses at these stops without a valid transfer. In July 2019, another temporary stop southbound was added in downtown Minneapolis at 7th Street on Glenwood Avenue, analogous and a short distance to the Ramp A/7th Street Transit Center.

Buses were permanently routed to 8th Street December 7, 2019.

### Phase II Glenwood Avenue alignment

The Bottineau LRT Extension of the METRO Blue Line was planned to run down Olson Memorial Highway between downtown Minneapolis and Penn Avenue. Under Phase II, at the start of light rail service the C Line would move from Olson Highway to Glenwood Avenue about a quarter mile south. The goal was to balance transit service across multiple corridors while retaining similar travel times. In 2016, it was identified that there would be four stations on Glenwood Avenue at Morgan, Lyndale, Royalston, and between Cedar Lake Road and Dupont Avenues. At Penn Avenue and Olson Highway, a new station would be constructed south of Olson on Penn, moving it from its temporary stop location on Olson.

As an interim service on Olson Memorial Highway, three stations (Penn, Humboldt, and Bryant) were not built as normal C Line stations. Shelters are standard Metro Transit shelters and there is no near-level boarding, however, concrete pads were constructed the entire length of a bus. Real time information is provided at these stations, but they lack the service's distinct pylon markers. These stations still have off-board fare collection vending machines and Go-To card readers.

Negotiations with BNSF prevented the planned alignment from proceeding and the future, including the alignment, of the Bottineau Blue Line Extension is unclear. In August 2020, the Metropolitan Council announced that the Bottineau Blue Line Extension would be looking for an alternative route to Brooklyn Park. Following the decision, Metro Transit is advancing planning for the Phase II alignment to be completed before the original 2024 opening of the light rail service. Stations at Penn, Lyndale, and Royalston have been coordinated with other public works projects.

Additionally, in 2021 the Minnesota Legislature passed a bill that included $250,000 to analyze transit improvements from Medina, Minnesota to downtown Minneapolis, requiring options for bus rapid transit service to be included. Initially studied in 2015, the line would follow the C Line's alignment on Olson Memorial Highway out of downtown Minneapolis, advancing the goal of balancing transit service across multiple corridors.

## Service

The C Line runs every 10 minutes during daytime service on weekdays and weekends, with reduced frequencies of up to 30 minutes in the early morning and late evening. Route 19 was retained as 30-minute underlying bus service along the line. Select rush hour Route 19 trips are rerouted along Thomas Ave to serve areas previously served by terminal branches of Route 19. Five months after opening the route in October 2019, combined ridership for Route 19 and the C Line was roughly 8,300 weekday rides. Previously the corridor served 7,000 weekday rides with just Route 19. Ridership increased on weekdays by 30%, Saturdays by 25%, and Sundays by 40%, five months after opening.

## Stations

### Station characteristics

Stations on Metro Transit's bus rapid transit service are unique and have enhanced features to differentiate them from local bus stops. Station shelters follow a "kit-of-parts" design so they can be easily identified and used throughout the system. There are three different station sizes–small, medium, and large–and the size chosen depends on daily boardings and site context. Stations have lighted canopies, on-demand heating, security cameras and emergency telephones, benches, and bike parking. Pavement in boarding areas are treated with a darker shade of concrete to delineate them from the sidewalk. Ticket vending machines and Go-To card readers are located on platforms for off-board fare collection, speeding up the boarding process and reducing bus dwell time. Each station has a pylon marker that provides real-time bus arrival information and station identification. Illuminated signage at the top of the station blinks when a bus is one minute away. Curbs at stations have tactile warning strips and are raised 9 in (23 cm) from the road surface, facilitating near-level boarding to speed up and make boarding easier.

Penn, Humboldt, and Bryant stations on Olson Memorial Highway were designed to be temporary and use standard Metro Transit shelters, but still have real time information and off-board fare collection. It was planned to have the Blue Line extension operate on Olson Memorial Highway, and upon its opening would have shifted the C Line's route south to Glenwood Avenue, where permanent stations would be constructed. Upon opening, the five southbound stops on 6th Street in downtown Minneapolis were drop-off only until the route permanently moved to 8th Street when construction was complete. These stops had no features or amenities due to their temporary use.

## Fleet

The C Line has fourteen 60-foot articulated buses assigned to the route. Six buses are diesel XD60 models and eight are battery electric XE60 models, the first electric articulated buses in Minnesota. These buses were manufactured by New Flyer Industries in Saint Cloud, Minnesota and have three doors and wider aisles for faster boarding. The fleet is also equipped with transit signal priority, Quantum wheelchair securement, free WiFi, and USB chargers. Each bus was given a unique name by communities along the corridor. The electric buses had an effective range of 120-140 miles depending on the weather but lost 40% of their range in the winter due to the cold weather. Diesel heaters help heat electric buses during cold weather.

Electric buses on the route haven't always been available due to charging and mechanical issues. Over the first 631 service days from opening until February 2021, there were only 10 days with every bus and charger available. Due to issues with charging equipment at garages, all eight electric buses were temporarily removed from service in July 2019 and then again in October. Because of this, three Gillig BRTPlus buses ordered for the A Line were temporarily placed into service on the C Line from July 2019 through January 2020. Additionally, five New Flyer XD60 buses were retrofitted with their fareboxes and Go-To card readers removed and repainted into METRO branding to be used on the C Line and A Line as necessary. While the electric buses returned to service late-October 2019, they were again removed from service in March 2021 until December 2021. Electric buses require long layovers to charge the buses midroute and due to Metro Transit's bus driver shortage, electric buses are used on a limited basis to allow for more opeartor availability. Only three electric buses are in use at one time and they are only used at most 8 hours at a time in a day rather than the up to 20 hours other buses are used.

## History

The Metropolitan Council, the metropolitan planning organization for the Twin Cities, completed a 2030 Transit Master Study for the region in 2008 which identified arterial bus network corridors and encouraged further study of arterial bus rapid transit projects. The study identified some corridors that had the potential for high ridership but lacked the necessary space for dedicated running way for transit. The Council set the goal of doubling transit ridership by 2030 in their 2030 Transportation Policy Plan and identified implementing arterial bus rapid transit as a method of increasing ridership. Metro Transit began study of 11 corridors for their potential for arterial bus rapid transit in 2011–2012 in their Arterial Transitway Corridors Study. Those 11 routes served 90,000 riders per weekday, which was close to half of the total ridership for urban routes. Ridership on implemented routes was predicted to increase 20 to 30 percent after the first year of opening. Corridors were evaluated on capital and operating costs, potential ridership, and travel time savings. At the time, an opening for the first BRT line was hoped to open in 2014.

The Penn Avenue corridor was not selected in this initial evaluation of 11 corridors in 2011-2012 because planning for the Bottineau LRT proposed Penn Avenue as a possible alignment. The Penn Avenue alignment for the Bottineau LRT project faced difficulties with constrained right of way and the need for eminent domain to take property. The alignment chosen traveled on Olson Memorial Highway and BNSF freight right of way. While the selected alignment avoided major disruptions along Penn Avenue, it almost completely avoided north Minneapolis. The city of Minneapolis agreed to the selected alignment in June 2012 with the understanding that two new bus rapid transit projects would be built from downtown Minneapolis, through north Minneapolis, to Brooklyn Center Transit Center.

An addendum to the Arterial Transitway Corridors Study released in January 2013 added the Penn Avenue corridor as well as extended the Chicago Ave corridor through north Minneapolis becoming the Chicago-Fremont corridor. The Snelling Avenue corridor was selected as the first corridor for implementation in 2012, with the A Line opening in 2016. After the B Line project was postponed so the corridor could undergo further study as the Riverview Corridor, both the Penn Avenue corridor and Chicago-Fremont corridor were selected as the next two priorities with the project named the C Line and D Line respectively. The C Line was selected as the region's second arterial bus rapid transit project in 2014. At the time Metro Transit believed construction could begin in 2016. The corridor already had strong transit usage with buses making up 2% of vehicle traffic on Penn Avenue but carrying 26% of people. There were however limited bus shelters or benches despite Route 19 carrying 7,000 daily riders.

On June 28, 2021, it was announced that an infill station, Osseo & 47th Avenue, would be built as part of Hennepin County's reconstruction of Osseo Road. The station would also be used by the Metro D Line. The original C Line plan included a station at Victory Memorial Parkway, later expanding the scope to 47th Avenue, but was shelved due to low ridership, physical restraints, and opposition from the Minneapolis Park Board. The removal of the station resulted in an uncharacteristically long 1.2 mi (1.9 km) gap between 43rd Avenue and 51st Avenue stations, in addition to rail yards creating a physical barrier to the north. The infill became planned because feedback received during the planning of both the C Line and D Line warranted inclusion of a new station. The station will be constructed with the roadway project beginning in 2023. Later 2021 an amendment will be released for the station plan.


Annandrea Vitrano

# Annandrea Vitrano

## Abstract

Annandrea Vitrano (born 16 August 1985) is an Italian actress, comedian and singer.

## Career

On 28 September 2012, Vitrano and her partner Claudio Casisa formed the comedy duo I Soldi Spicci. They participated at the "Taaac" comedy workshop in Palermo, and also attended the Zelig workshop in Rome and Milan in 2013. That same year, they hosted Spicciatevi, an entertainment radio program on Radio One. In September 2014, they made their television debut on the Italia 1 's comedy show Colorado, and returned for its 2019 edition.

In 2018, the duo made their film debut with a leading role in the La fuitina sbagliata, for which they were also screenwriters. In 2019, they won the Benevento Cinema Televisione award as the revelation of the year in film. The following year, they competed in the reality show Pechino Express as the couple known as "The Palermitans". In September 2020, they began filming their second movie, Un mondo sotto social, where they served as both screenwriters and directors.

In 2023, Vitrano had a role in the film Nuovo Olimpo by Ferzan Özpetek. In 2024, she was part of the cast of the comedy Succede anche nelle migliori famiglie by Alessandro Siani.

## Filmography


Subh-i-Azal

# Subh-i-Azal

## Abstract

Subh-i-Azal (1831–1912, born Mirza Yahya) was an Iranian religious leader of Bábism, succeeding its founder the Báb as the central authority of the religion after the latter's execution in 1850. He is known for his later conflict with his half-brother Baháʼu'lláh over leadership of the Bábí community, after which his followers became known as Azalis.

In 1850, when he was just 19 years old, he was appointed by the Báb to lead the Bábí community. When a pogrom began against the Bábís in 1852, Subh-i-Azal fled for Baghdad and spent 10 years there before joining the group of Bábí exiles that were called to Istanbul. During the time in Baghdad tensions grew with Baháʼu'lláh, as Bábí pilgrims began to turn to him for leadership. The Ottoman government further exiled the group to Edirne, where Baháʼu'lláh's announcement of divine revelation turned the tension into an open conflict.

In 1868 the Ottoman government further exiled Subh-i-Azal and his followers to Cyprus, and Baháʼu'lláh and his followers to Acre in Palestine. When Cyprus was leased to Britain in 1878, he lived out the rest of his life in obscurity on a British pension.

After Azal's death in 1912, the Azali form of Babism entered a stagnation and has not recovered as there is no acknowledged leader or central organization. Most Bábís either accepted the claim of Baháʼu'lláh or the community gradually diminished as children and grandchildren turned back to Islam. By 1904, Azal's followers had dwindled to a small minority, and Baháʼu'lláh was almost universally recognized as the spiritual successor of the Báb. A source in 2001 estimated no more than a few thousand, almost entirely in Iran. Another source in 2009 noted a very small number of followers remained in Uzbekistan.

## Name and title

His most widely known title, "Subh-i-Azal" (Persian: یحیی صبح ازل, "Morning of Eternity") appears in an Islamic tradition called the Hadith-i-Kumayl which the Báb quotes in his book Dalá'il-i-Sab'ih.

It was common practice among the Bábís to receive titles. The Báb's Will and Testament addresses Mirza Yahya in the first verse:

Manuchehri (2004) notes that Mirza Yahya was the only Bábí with such a title as "Azal".

He was titled by the Báb as Subh-i-Azal, that is "Morning of the Eternal" or Hazrat, that is "Highness of the Eternal" or Ismu-l-Azal, that is "Name of the Eternal". There are also references to the titles al-Waḥīd, Ṭalʻat an-Nūr, and at-Tamara.

## Life

### Early life

Subh-i-Azal was born in 1831 to Kuchak Khanum-i-Karmanshahi and Mírzá Buzurg-i-Núrí, in the province of Mazandaran, and a younger-half-brother of Baháʼu'lláh. His father was a minister in the court of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar. His mother died while giving birth to him, and his father died in 1834 when he was three years old. His father is buried at Vadi-al-Islam in Najaf. He was orphaned at a very young age and taken into the care of his stepmother, Khadíjih Khánum, the mother of Baháʼu'lláh.

### Becoming a Bábí

In 1845, at about the age of 14, Subh-i-Azal became a follower of the Báb.

### Early activities in the Bábí community

Subh-i-Azal met Tahirih, the 17th Letter of the Living who had, upon leaving the Conference of Badasht, traveled to Nur to propagate the faith. Shortly thereafter, she arrived at Barfurush and met Subh-i-Azal and became acquainted once again with Quddús who instructed her to take Subh-i-Azal with her to Nur. Subh-i-Azal remained in Nur for three days, during which he propagated the new faith.

During the Battle of Fort Tabarsi, Subh-i-Azal, along with Baháʼu'lláh and Mirza Zayn al-Abedin endeavoured to travel there to assist the soldiers. However, they were arrested several kilometers from Amul. Their imprisonment was ordered by the governor, but Subh-i-Azal escaped the officials for a short while, after which he was discovered by a villager and then brought to Amul on foot with his hands tied. On the path to Amul he was subject to harassment, and people are reported to have spat at him. Upon arriving he was reunited with the other prisoners. The prisoners were ordered to be beaten, but when it came time that Subh-i-Azal should suffer the punishment, Baha'u'llah objected and offered to take the beating in his place. After some time, the governor wrote to Abbas Quli Khan who was commander of the government forces stationed near Fort Tabarsi. Khan replied back to the governor's correspondence, saying that the prisoners were of distinguished families and should not be harassed. Thus, the prisoners were released and sent to Nur upon orders of the commander.

### Appointment as the Báb's successor

In an Azali history, Nuqtat'ul-Kāf, Hājjī Mirzā Jāni Kāshānī (d. 1852) states that after the death of Quddus, the Bab received letters from Subh-i-Azal and was inspired to write a testament nominating him as his successor. After the Báb's death Subh-i-Azal came to be regarded as the central authority in the movement to whom the majority of Bábís turned as a source of guidance and revelation.

Subh-i-Azal's leadership was controversial. He generally absented himself from the Bábí community spending his time in Baghdad in hiding and disguise. Subh-i-Azal gradually alienated himself from a large proportion of the Bábís who started to give their alliance to other claimants. Manuchehri states that Subh-i-Azal remained in hiding because he was primarily concerned with personal safety, due to a statement from the Báb in his will and testament that Subh-i-Azal should protect himself.

MacEoin further states:

Baháʼí polemic has made much capital out of Azal's behaviour at this period, attributing it to a mixture of incompetence and cowardice. But it is clear that he actually continued to identify himself as the head of the Bábís, to write books, reply to letters, and on occasion meet with other leaders of the community His behaviour seems, therefore, to have been dictated less by cowardice than by the adoption of a policy of taqiyya. Not only was this an approved practice in Shiʻism, but there was particular sanction for it in the seclusionist policies of the last Imams and, in particular, the original ghayba of the Twelfth Imam, who went into hiding out of fear of his enemies.

### Baghdad

In 1852, Subh-i-Azal was involved in an uprising in Takur, Iran, which was planned to coincide with the assassination attempt on the life of the Shah. Following the attempt, he and other Babis chose to go into exile in Baghdad. In Baghdad he lived as the generally acknowledged head of the community, but he kept his whereabouts secret from most of the community, instead keeping in contact with the Babis through agents, termed "witnesses", in Iran and Iraq to routinize the charismatic authority of the movement, and echoing "the supposed appointment of agents by the twelfth Imam during the lesser occultation." One of the most important "witnesses of the Bayán" who represented Subh-i-Azal in Baghdad was Sayyid Muhammad Isfahani. Apart from Isfahani, Subh-i-Azal had written to six other individuals naming them all "witnesses of the Bayán." These witnesses are as follows: Mulla Muhammad Ja'far Naraqi, Mulla Muhammad Taqi, Haji Sayyid Muhammad (Isfahani), Haji Sayyid Jawad (al-Karbala'i), Mirza Muhammad Husayn Mutawalli-bashi Qummi, and Mulla Rajab 'Ali Qahir.

### Challenges to Subh-i-Azal's authority

In 1863 Bahá’u’lláh made a claim to be Him Whom God Shall Make Manifest, the messianic figure in the Báb's writings, to a small number of followers, and in 1866 he made the claim public. Bahá’u’lláh's claims threatened Subh-i-Azal's position as leader of the religion since it would mean little to be leader of the Bábís if "Him Whom God Shall Make Manifest" were to appear and start a new religion. Subh-i-Azal responded by making his own claims, but his attempt to preserve the traditional Bábísm was largely unpopular, and his followers became the minority.

#### Dayyán

The most serious challenge to the authority of Subh-i-Azal beside Bahá'u'lláh's came from Mirza Asad Allah Khu'i "Dayyán," whose activities incited him to write a lengthy refutation titled "Mustayqiz." The Hasht Bihisht refers to Dayyán as "the Judas Iscariot of his people." Following the Báb's death, Dayyán, who had a deep interest in the study of the occult in regards to such areas as alchemy and gematria, began to advance his own claims to be Him Whom God shall make manifest. MacEoin reports that Mirza Muhammad Mazandarani, a follower of Subh-i-Azal, murdered Dayyan for his claims in response to an order by Subh-i-Azal for him to be killed.

### Exile

In 1863 most of the Babis were exiled by the Ottoman authorities to Adrianople. In Adrianople, Baháʼu'lláh made his claim to be the messianic figure of the Bayan public, and created a permanent schism between the two brothers. Subh-i-Azal responded to these claims by making his own claims and resisting the changes of doctrine which were introduced by Baháʼu'lláh. His attempts to keep the traditional Babism were, however, mostly unpopular. During this time there was feuding between the two groups.

According to Balyuzi and some other sources, Subh-i-Azal was behind several murders and attempted murders of his enemies, including the poisoning of Baháʼu'lláh. Some Azali sources re-apply these allegations to Baháʼu'lláh, even claiming that he poisoned himself while trying to poison Subh-i-Azal. The second attempt in 1864 was more severe and had adverse effects on Bahaʼu'lláh throughout the remainder of his life until 1892. Mírzá Yahyá invited Baháʼu'lláh to a feast and shared a dish, half of which was laced with poison. Baháʼu'lláh was ill for 21 days following this attempt and was left with a shaking hand for the rest of his life.

Finally the feuding between the two groups led the Ottoman government to further exile the two groups in 1868; Baháʼu'lláh and the Baha'is were sent to Akko and Subh-i Azal and his family, along with some followers, were sent to Famagusta in Cyprus.

## Family

According to Browne, Mirza Yahya had several wives, and at least nine sons and five daughters. His sons included: Nurullah, Hadi, Ahmad, Abdul Ali, Rizwan Ali, and four others. Rizvan Ali reports that he had eleven or twelve wives. Later research reports that he had up to seventeen wives including four in Iran and at least five in Baghdad, although it is not clear how many, if any, were simultaneous. According to Azali sources, Subh-i-Azal had five wives in total.

He was the grandfather of Roshanak No'doost.

## Succession

There are conflicting reports as to whom Subh-i-Azal appointed as his successor. Browne reports that there was confusion over who was to be Subh-i-Azal's successor at his death. Subh-i-Azal's son, Rizwán ʻAli, reported that he had appointed the son of Aqa Mirza Muhammad Hadi Daulatabadi as his successor; while another, H.C. Lukach's, states that Mirza Yahya had said that whichever of his sons "resembled him the most" would be the successor. None appear to have stepped forward. MacEoin reports that Subh-i-Azal appointed his son, Yahya Dawlatabadi, as his successor, but notes that there is little evidence that Yahya Dawlatabadi was involved in the affairs of the religion, and that instead he spent his time as that of secular reformer. Shoghi Effendi reports that Mirza Yahya appointed a distinguished Bábí, Aqa Mirza Muhammad Hadi of Daulatabad (Mirza Hadiy-i-Dawlat-Abadi) successor, but he later publicly recanted his faith in the Báb and in Mirza Yahya. According to Bahá'í sources, Mirza Yahya's eldest son became a Baháʼí himself. Miller quoting a later source states that Yahya did not name a successor. Miller relied heavily on Jalal Azal who disputed the appointment of Muhammad Hadi Daulatabadi.

MacEoin notes that after the deaths of those Azali Babis who were active in the Constitutional Revolution in Iran, the Azali form of Babism entered a stagnation which it has not recovered as there is no acknowledged leader or central organization. Current estimates are that there are no more than a few thousand.

## Works

Large collections of Subh-i-Azal's works are found in the British Museum Library Oriental Collection, London; in the Browne Collection at Cambridge University; at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris; and at Princeton University. Many of his works are also provided at a Bayani (Azali Bábí) community website at bayanic.com. In the English introduction to "Personal Reminiscences of the Babi Insurrection at Zanjan in 1850," Browne lists thirty-eight titles as being among the works of Subh-i-Azal.

## In the Bahá'í Faith

The Baháʼís hold that the Báb, for the purposes of secrecy, when corresponding with Baháʼu'lláh would address the letters to Subh-i-Azal.

According to Baháʼí sources, shortly before the Báb's execution, one of the Báb's scribes, Mullā ʻ Abdu'l-Karīm Qazvīnī, brought to the Báb's attention the necessity to appoint a successor; thus the Báb wrote a certain number of tablets which he gave to Mullā ʻ Abdu'l-Karīm to deliver to Subh-i-Azal and Baháʼu'lláh. These tablets were later interpreted by both Azalis and Baháʼís as proof of the Báb's delegation of leadership. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá states that the Báb did this at the suggestion of Baháʼu'lláh.

During the time that both Baháʼu'lláh and Subh-i-Azal were in Baghdad, Baháʼu'lláh publicly and in his letters pointed to Subh-i-Azal as the leader of the community. However, since Subh-i-Azal remained in hiding, Baháʼu'lláh performed much of the daily administration of the Bábí affairs. Then, in 1863 Baháʼu'lláh made a claim to be Him Whom God Shall Make Manifest, the messianic figure in the Báb's writings, to a small number of followers, and in 1866 he made the claim public. Baháʼu'lláh's claims threatened Subh-i-Azal's position as leader of the religion since it would mean little to be leader of the Bábís if "Him Whom God Shall Make Manifest" were to appear and start a new religion. Subh-i-Azal responded to these claims with severe criticism, but his attempt to preserve Bábísm was largely unpopular, and his followers became the minority.

French diplomat and scholar A.-L.-M. Nicolas refuses the Bahá'í claims and maintains that Subh-i-Azal's claim to successorship is obvious.

## Sources


Masako Ikeda

# Masako Ikeda

## Abstract

Masako Ikeda (池田 昌子, Ikeda Masako, born January 1, 1939) is a Japanese actress, voice actress and narrator from Tokyo, Japan. She is most known for the roles of Reika " Madame Butterfly " Ryuuzaki in Aim for the Ace!, Nodoka Saotome in Ranma ½, Maetel in Galaxy Express 999, Michiko in Harmagedon, and for being the Japanese voice-over actress of Audrey Hepburn.

## Filmography

### Television animation

- Princess Knight (1967) – Eros

- Judo Boy (1969) – Narieta

- Kamui the Ninja (1969) – Nene

- Pinocchio: The Series (1972) – The Blue Fairy

- Aim for the Ace! (1973) – Reika "Madame Butterfly" Ryuuzaki

- 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother (1976) – Cipriana

- Galaxy Express 999 (1978) – Maetel

- The Story of Perrine (1978) – Marie Paindavoine

- Patalliro! (1982) – Etrange, Patalliro's mother.

- Aura Battler Dunbine (1983) – Silkey Mau

- Stop!! Hibari-kun! (1983) – Harue

- Bagi, the Monster of Mighty Nature (1984) – Ryo's Mother

- The Story of Pollyanna, Girl of Love (1986) – Ruth Carew

- Sunset on Third Street (1990) – Tomoe Suzuki

- Ranma ½ (1992) – Nodoka Saotome

- Romeo's Blue Skies (1995) – Narrator

- Weiß Kreuz (1998) – Kaoruko Amamiya

- Kindaichi Case Files (1999) – Hazuki Asaki

- Sakura Wars (2000) – Wakana Shinguji

- Monster (2004) – Leia

- Nagasarete Airantou (2007) – Suzuran

- Kon'nichiwa Anne: Before Green Gables (2009) – Narrator

- Katanagatari (2010) – Narrator

### OVA

- Devilman: The birth (1987) – Sumiko Fudo

- Vampire Princess Miyu (1988) – Miyu's Mother

- Legend of the Galactic Heroes: The Gaiden (1998) – Johanna von Basel

- Maetel Legend (2000) - Maetel

- Yukikaze (2002) – Lynn Jackson

### Theatrical animation

- Queen Millennia (1982) – Cleopatra

- Genma Taisen (1983) – Michiko Azuma

- X (1996) – Tōru Shirō

- Mobile Suit Gundam Special Edition (2000) – Kamaria Ray

### Tokusatsu

- Ultraman Story (1984) – Mother of Ultra

- Ultraman Mebius (2006) – Mother of Ultra

### Video games

- Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete (1998) - Luna

- Dissidia Final Fantasy (2008) - Cloud of Darkness

- Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep (2010) - Kairi's Grandmother

- Final Fantasy Type-0 (2011) - Cadetmaster

- Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (2013) - Hydaelyn

### Dubbing

#### Live-action

- Audrey Hepburn Roman Holiday (1972 Fuji TV and 1979 TV Asahi edition) – Princess Ann Sabrina – Sabrina Fairchild War and Peace – Natasha Rostova Funny Face – Jo Stockton Love in the Afternoon – Ariane Chavasse The Nun's Story (1974 TV Asahi edition) – Sister Luke The Unforgiven – Rachel Zachary Breakfast at Tiffany's – Holly Golightly / Lula Mae Barnes The Children's Hour – Karen Wright Charade – Regina "Reggie" Lampert My Fair Lady – Eliza Doolittle Paris When It Sizzles – Gabrielle Simpson How to Steal a Million – Nicole Bonnet Two for the Road – Joanna 'Jo' Wallace Wait Until Dark (1975 TV Asahi edition) – Susy Hendrix Robin and Marian – Lady Marian Bloodline – Elizabeth Roffe Always (1995 NTV edition) – Hap Audrey – Audrey Hepburn

- Roman Holiday (1972 Fuji TV and 1979 TV Asahi edition) – Princess Ann

- Sabrina – Sabrina Fairchild

- War and Peace – Natasha Rostova

- Funny Face – Jo Stockton

- Love in the Afternoon – Ariane Chavasse

- The Nun's Story (1974 TV Asahi edition) – Sister Luke

- The Unforgiven – Rachel Zachary

- Breakfast at Tiffany's – Holly Golightly / Lula Mae Barnes

- The Children's Hour – Karen Wright

- Charade – Regina "Reggie" Lampert

- My Fair Lady – Eliza Doolittle

- Paris When It Sizzles – Gabrielle Simpson

- How to Steal a Million – Nicole Bonnet

- Two for the Road – Joanna 'Jo' Wallace

- Wait Until Dark (1975 TV Asahi edition) – Susy Hendrix

- Robin and Marian – Lady Marian

- Bloodline – Elizabeth Roffe

- Always (1995 NTV edition) – Hap

- Audrey – Audrey Hepburn

- 2001: A Space Odyssey - Elena (Margaret Tyzack)

- Airport 1975 (1977 TV Fuji edition) - Sister Ruth (Helen Reddy)

- Anna Karenina - Anna Karenina (Claire Bloom)

- The Bostonians - Olive Chancellor (Vanessa Redgrave)

- The Chronicles of Riddick - Aereon (Judi Dench)

- A Doll's House - Nora Helmer (Claire Bloom)

- Exodus - Kitty Fremont (Eva Marie Saint)

- Eyes of the Underworld - Betty Standing (Wendy Barrie)

- The French Lieutenant's Woman - Miss Sarah Woodruff / Mrs. Roughwood and Anna (Meryl Streep)

- Glee - Patti LuPone

- The Haunting - Theodora (Claire Bloom)

- Kramer vs. Kramer - Joanna Kramer (Meryl Streep)

- Marnie (1969 TV Asahi edition) – Lil Mainwaring (Diane Baker)

- The Red House - Tibby Rinton (Julie London)

- Singin' in the Rain – Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds)

- The Towering Inferno (1989 TBS Edition) - Susan Franklin (Faye Dunaway)

#### Animation

- Charlotte's Web – Charlotte A. Cavatica

- Hercules – Hera

## Other roles

- Izumi e no michi (1955, film) – Misako Ogawa

- Haromoni@ (2007–08, variety show) – Narrator

- Aoi Honō (2014, TV drama) – Maetel (voice)


Senusiyya

# Senusiyya

## Abstract

The Senusiyya, Senussi or Sanusi (Arabic: السنوسية, romanized: as-Sanūssiyya) are a Muslim political-religious Sufi order and clan in Libya and surrounding regions founded in Mecca in 1837 by the Grand Sanussi (Arabic: السنوسي الكبير as-Sanūssiyy al-Kabīr), the Algerian Muhammad ibn Ali al-Sanusi.

During World War I the Senussis fought against both Italy and Britain. During World War II, the Senussis provided support to the British Eighth Army in North Africa against Nazi and Fascist Italian forces. The Grand Senussi's grandson became King Idris I of Libya in 1951. The 1969 Libyan revolution led by Muammar Gaddafi overthrew him, ending the Libyan monarchy. The movement remained active despite sustained persecution by Gaddafi's government. The Senussi spirit and legacy continue to be prominent in today's Libya, mostly in Cyrenaica.

## History

### Beginnings: 1787–1859

The Senussi order has been historically closed to Europeans and outsiders, leading reports of their beliefs and practices to vary immensely. Though it is possible to gain some insight from the lives of the Senussi sheikhs further details are difficult to obtain.

Muhammad ibn Ali al-Sanusi (1787–1859), the founder of the order, was born in Algeria near Mostaganem and was named al-Senussi after a venerated Muslim teacher. He was a member of the Awlad Sidi Abdalla tribe and was a Sharif.

In addition to Islamic sciences, al-Senussi learned science and chivalry in his upbringing. He studied at the University of al-Qarawiyyin in Fez, then traveled in the Sahara, preaching a purifying reform of the faith in Tunisia and Tripoli, gaining many adherents, and then moved to Cairo to study at Al-Azhar University in 1824.

Al-Senussi was critical of the government of Muhammad Ali of Egypt. The pious scholar was forceful in his criticism of the Egyptian Ulama. Not surprisingly, he was opposed by the Ulama. He left Egypt for Mecca, where he spent 15 years as a student and teacher until 1843.

Senussi went to Mecca, where he joined Ahmad ibn Idris al-Qadiri, the head of the Qadiriyya, a renowned religious fraternity. Senussi furthermore acquired several of his ideas while under his education from 1825 to 1827/28. On the death of ibn Idris, Senussi became head of one of the two branches into which the Qadiriyya divided, and in 1835 he founded his first monastery or Zawiya, at Abu Qubays near Mecca. After being forced to leave by the Wahhabis, he returned to Libya in 1843 where in the mountains near Sidi Rafaa' (Bayda) he built the Zawiya Bayda "White Monastery". There he was supported by the local tribes and the Sultan of Wadai and his connections extended across the Maghreb.

The Grand Senussi did not tolerate fanaticism and forbade the use of stimulants as well as voluntary poverty. Lodge members were to eat and dress within the limits of fiqh and, instead of depending on charity, were required to earn their living through work.

Bedouins had shown no interest in the ecstatic practices of the Sufis that were gaining adherents in the towns, but they were attracted in great numbers to the Senussis. The relative austerity of the Senussi message was particularly suited to the character of the Cyrenaican Bedouins.

In 1855 Senussi moved farther from direct Ottoman surveillance to Jaghbub, a small oasis some 30 miles northwest of Siwa. He died in 1860, leaving two sons, Mahommed Sherif (1844–95) and Mohammed al-Mahdi, who succeeded him.

### Developments since 1859

Muhammad al-Mahdi ibn Muhammad al-Senussi (1845 – 30 May 1902) was fourteen when his father died, after which he was placed under the care of his father's friends Amran, Rifi, and others. At age 18, he left their care and moved to Fez to further his knowledge of the Qur'an and Sufism.

The successors to the sultan of Abu Qubays, Sultans Ali (1858–74) and Yusef (1874–98), continued to support the Senussi. Under al-Mahdi, the Zawiyas of the order extended to Fez, Damascus, Istanbul, and India. In the Hejaz, members of the order were numerous. In most of these countries, the Senussi wielded no more political power than other Muslim fraternities, but in the eastern Sahara and central Sudan, things were different. Muhammed al-Mahdi had the authority of a sovereign in a vast but almost empty desert. The string of oases leading from Siwa to Kufra and Borkou were cultivated by the Senussis, and trade with Tripoli and Benghazi was encouraged.

Although named "al-Mahdi" by his father, Muhammad never claimed to be the actual Mahdi. However, he was regarded as such by some of his followers. When Muhammad Ahmad proclaimed himself the Mahdi in 1881, Muhammad Idris decided to have nothing to do with him. Although Muhammad Ahmed wrote twice asking him to become one of his four great caliphs, he received no reply.

In 1890, the Ansar forces of Muhammad Ahmad al-Mahdi advancing from Darfur were stopped on the frontier of the Wadai Empire, Sultan Yusuf proving firm in his adherence to the Senussi teachings.

Muhammed al-Mahdi's growing fame made the Ottoman regime uneasy and drew unwelcome attention. In most of Tripoli and Benghazi his authority was greater than that of the Ottoman governors. In 1889 the sheik was visited at Jaghbub by the pasha of Benghazi accompanied by Ottoman troops. This event showed the sheik the possibility of danger and led him to move his headquarters to Jof in the oases of Kufra in 1894, a place sufficiently remote to secure him from a sudden attack. However, the Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid II sent his aide-de-camp Azmzade Sadik El Mueyyed to meet Sheikh Mohammed al-Mahdi al Senussi twice, once to Jaghbub in 1886 and once to Kufra in 1895. Azmzade Sadik El Mueyyed published his journals on these visits in his book titled Journey in the Grand Sahara of Africa in 1897.

The Senussi had Somali contacts in Berbera and consistently tried to rally Somalis to join their movement alongside their rivals, the Mahdists. Sultan Nur Ahmed Aman of the Habr Yunis, himself a learned sheikh, regularly received Senussi emissaries and housed them. Sultan Nur would go on to play a critical role in the subsequent Somali Dervish Movement starting in 1899.

By this time a new danger to Senussi territories had arisen from the French colonial empire, who were advancing from the French Congo towards the western and southern borders of the Wadai Empire. The Senussi kept them from advancing north of Chad.

### Leadership of Ahmed Sharif as-Senussi

In 1902, Muhammad Idris died and was succeeded by his nephew, Ahmed Sharif as-Senussi, but his adherents in the deserts bordering Egypt maintained for years that Muhammad was not dead. The new head of the Senussi maintained the friendly relations of his predecessors with Sultan Dud Murra of Wadai, governing the order as regent for his young cousin, and established a minor settlement southern of Mecca over the Harb where he input the family of Ali al Ammari (Ammari is a large Berber tribe in Tripolitania),) Muhammad Idris II, the future King Idris of Libya, who signed the 1917 Treaty of Acroma that ceded control of Libya from the Kingdom of Italy and was later recognized by them as Emir of Cyrenaica on October 25, 1920.

The Senussi, encouraged by the German and Ottoman Empires, played a minor part in the World War I, during the Senussi campaign, utilising guerrilla warfare against the Italian colonization of Libya and the British in Egypt from November 1915 until February 1917, led by Sayyid Ahmad, and in the Sudan from March to December 1916, led by Ali Dinar, the Sultan of Darfur. In 1916, the British sent an expeditionary force against them known as the Senussi Campaign led by Major General William Peyton. According to Wavell and McGuirk, Western Force was first led by General Wallace and later by General Hodgson.

Italy took Libya from the Ottomans in the Italo-Turkish War of 1911. In 1922, Italian Fascist leader Benito Mussolini launched his infamous Riconquista of Libya — the Roman Empire having done the original conquering 2000 years before. The Senussi led the resistance and Italians closed Senussi khanqahs, arrested sheikhs, and confiscated mosques and their land. The Senussi resistance was led by Omar Mukhtar who used his knowledge of desert warfare and guerrilla tactics to resist Italian colonization. After his death the Senussi resistance faded, and they were forced to renounce their land for compensation. Overall, Libyans fought the Italians until 1943, with 250,000–300,000 of them dying in the process.

### Idris of Libya

From 1917 to his death, in 1933, Ahmed Sharif as-Senussi's leadership was mostly nominal. Idris of Libya, a grandson of Muhammad ibn Ali al-Sanusi, the Grand Senussi, replaced Ahmed as effective leader of the Order in 1917 and went on to play a key role as the Senussi leader who brought the Libyan tribes together into a unified Libyan nation.

Idris established a tacit alliance with the British, which led to two agreements with the Italian rulers, one of which brought most of inland Cyrenaica under the de facto control of the Senussis. The resulting Accord of al-Rajma, consolidated through further negotiations with the Italians, earned Idris the title of Emir of Cyrenaica, albeit new tensions which compromised that delicate balance emerged shortly after.

Soon Cyrenaica became the stronghold of the Libyan and Senussi resistance to the Italian rulers. In 1922, Idris went into exile in Egypt, as the Italian response to the Libyan resistance grew increasingly violent.

In 1931, Idris married his first cousin Fatimah el-Sharif, a daughter of his predecessor Ahmed Sharif as-Senussi.

During the Second World War, Senussi groups led by Idris formally allied themselves with the British Eighth Army in North Africa against the German and Italian forces. Ultimately, the Senussis proved decisive in the British defeat of both Italy and Germany in North Africa in 1943. As the Senussi were leading the resistance, the Italians closed Senussi Khanqahs, arrested sheikhs, and confiscated mosques and their land. The Libyans fought the Italians until 1943, with some 250,000 of them dying in the process.

As historian Ali Abdullah Ahmida remarked, the Senussi order was able to transcend "ethnic and local tribal identification", and therefore had a unifying influence on the Libyans fighting the Italian occupiers. A well-known hero of the Libyan resistance and an ally of Idris, Omar Mukhtar, was a prominent member of the Senussi order and a Sufi teacher whom the Italians executed in 1931.

After the end of the war in 1945, the Western powers pushed for Idris, still leader of the Senussi order, to be the leader of a new unified Libya. When the country achieved independence under the aegis of the United Nations in 1951, Idris became its king, and Fatimah his Queen consort.

Although it was instrumental in his accession to power, according to the Islamic scholar Mohammed Ayoob, Idris used Islam "as a shield to counter pressures generated by the more progressive circles in North Africa, especially from Egypt."

Resistance towards Idris' rule began to build in 1965 due to a combination of factors: the discovery of oil in the region, government corruption and ineptness, and Arab nationalism. On September 1, 1969, a military coup led by Muammar Gaddafi marked the end of Idris’ reign. The king was toppled while he was receiving medical treatment in Turkey. From there he fled to Greece and then Egypt, where he died in exile in 1983. Meanwhile, a republic was proclaimed, and Idris was sentenced to death in absentia in November 1971 by the Libyan People's Court.

In August 1969, Idris issued a letter of abdication designating his nephew Hassan as-Senussi as his successor. The letter was to be effective on September 2, but the coup preceded Idris’ formal abdication. King Idris’ nephew and Crown Prince Hasan as-Senussi, who had been designated Regent when Idris left Libya to seek medical treatment in 1969, became the successor to the leadership of the Senussi order.

Many Libyans continue to regard Idris with great affection, referring to him as the "Sufi King". In May 2013, Idris and Omar Mukhtar were commemorated for their role as Senussi leaders and key players in Libya's independence in a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the African Union in Addis Ababa.

### Developments since 1969

Gaddafi banned the Senussi order, forced the Senussi circles underground, and systematically persecuted prominent Senussi figures, in an effort to remove Sufi symbols and to silence voices of the Senussi tradition from Libya's public life. The remaining Senussi tribes were severely restricted in their actions by the revolutionary government, which also appointed a supervisor for their properties.

Ironically, Omar Mukhtar became one of Gaddafi's most inspiring figures, whose speeches he frequently quoted, and whose image he often exhibited in official occasions. In 1984, Libya's distinguished Senussi University was closed by Gaddafi's order, although international scholars continued to visit the country until the beginning of the civil war to study the Senussi history and legacy. In fact, evidence of the Senussi presence and activism was recorded throughout the 1980s. Vocal anti-Gaddafi resistance emerged among the former Senussi tribes in Cyrenaica in the 1990s, which Gaddafi violently suffocated with his troops. In 1992, Crown Prince Hasan as-Senussi died. The leadership of the Senussi order passed to his second son, Mohammed el Senussi, whom Hasan had appointed as his successor to the throne of Libya.

## The Zawiya system

The Zawiya system and its influence. Although the Zawiya system was mainly religious, in other states the Zawiya system in the Senussi took place in being an economical, educational, and military building teaching tactics, fighting skills, using muskets, Arabic, economy and some types of work and the Zawiya system was also opposed to some form of colonialism by making the sheikh (leader of the Zawiya) and his Shura council being transferred from Libya with their family which sometimes rounded out to a hundred transferred into those regions under Senussi control. This system remained even up to the period of the Kingdom of Libya, until it was ended by Gaddafi.

## Enduring relevance of the Senussi Order

The Sufi heritage and spirit remains prominent today, and its sentiment and symbols have inspired many during the 2011 Libyan revolution. The image of Omar Mukhtar and his popular quote "We win or we die" resonated in Tripoli and in the country as Libyans rose up to oust Gaddafi. In July 2011 The Globe and Mail contributor Graeme Smith reported that one of the anti-Gaddafi brigades took the name of "Omar Mukhtar Brigade".

Stephen Schwarz, executive director of the Center for Islamic Pluralism, reflected on the "Sufi foundation" of Libya's revolution in his August 2011 piece for the Huffington Post. Schwarz observed that Libya continued to stand "as one of the distinguished centers of a Sufism opposed both to unquestioning acceptance of Islamic law and to scriptural absolutism, and dedicated to freedom and progress." He wrote: "With the fall of the dictatorship, it will now be necessary to analyze whether and how Libya's Sufi past can positively influence its future."

In August 2012, hardliner Salafi extremists attacked and destroyed the shrine of al-Shaab al-Dahmani, a Sufi saint, in Tripoli. The tombs of Sufi scholars were systematically targeted by extremists as well.

The sustained attacks were consistently denounced by Sufi scholars as well as by the League of Libyan Ulema, a group of leading Libyan religious scholars, calling the population to protect the religious and historical sites by force and urging the authorities to intervene in order to avoid further escalations of violence and new attacks by Salafi groups.

## Chiefs of the Senussi Order

- Muhammad ibn Ali as-Senussi (1843–1859)

- Muhammad al-Mahdi as-Senussi (1859–1902)

- Ahmed Sharif as-Senussi (1902–1916; died 1933)

- Idris of Libya (1916–1969; died 1983)

- Hasan as-Senussi (1969–1992)

- Mohammed El Senussi (1992–present)

## Sources

- Azmzade Sadik El Mueyyed, Journey in the Grand Sahara of Africa (1897), republished in Azmzade, Gokkent, Senusi et al. in Journey in the Grand Sahara of Africa and Through Time (2021)

- E. E. Evans-Pritchard, The Sanusi of Cyrenaica (1949, repr. 1963)

- N. A. Ziadeh, Sanusiyah (1958, repr. 1983).

- Bianci, Steven, '' Libya: Current Issues and Historical Background New York: Nova Science Publishers, INc, 2003

- L. Rinn, Marabouts et Khouan, a good historical account up to the year 1884

- O. Depont and X. Coppolani, Les Confréries religieuses musulmanes (Algiers, 1897)

- Si Mohammed el Hechaish, Chez les Senoussia et les Touareg, in "L'Expansion col. française" for 1900 and the "Revue de Paris" for 1901. These are translations from the Arabic of an educated Mahommedan who visited the chief Senussite centres. An obituary notice of Senussi el Mahdi by the same writer appeared in the Arab journal El Hadira of Tunis, Sept. 2, 1902; a condensation of this article appears in the "Bull. du Com. de l'Afriue française" for 1902; "Les Senoussia", an anonymous contribution to the April supplement of the same volume, is a judicious summary of events, a short bibliography being added; Capt. Julien, in "Le Dar Ouadai" published in the same Bulletin (vol. for 1904), traces the connection between Wadai and the Senussi

- L. G. Binger, in Le Péril de l'Islam in the 1906 volume of the Bulletin, discusses the position and prospects of the Senussite and other Islamic sects in North Africa. Von Grunau, in "Verhandlungen der Gesellschaft für Erdkunde" for 1899, gives an account of his visit to Siwa

- M. G. E. Bowman–Manifold, An Outline of the Egyptian and Palestine Campaigns, 1914 to 1918 2nd Edition (Chatham: The Institution of Royal Engineers, W. & J. Mackay & Co Ltd, 1923)

- Russell McGuirk The Sanusi's Little War The Amazing Story of a Forgotten Conflict in the Western Desert, 1915–1917 (London, Arabian Publishing: 2007)

- Field Marshal Earl Wavell, The Palestine Campaigns 3rd Edition thirteenth Printing; Series: A Short History of the British Army 4th Edition by Major E.W. Sheppard (London: Constable & Co., 1968)

- Sir F. R. Wingate, in Mahdiism and the Egyptian Sudan (London, 1891) narrates the efforts made by the Mahdi Mahommed Ahmed to obtain the support of the Senussi

- Sir W. Wallace, in his report to the Colonial Office on Northern Nigeria for 1906–1907, deals with Senussiism in that country.

- H. Duveyrier, La Confrérie musulmane de Sidi Mohammed ben Ali es Senoûssi (Paris, 1884), a book containing much exaggeration.

- A. Silva White, From Sphinx to Oracle (London, 1898), which, while repeating the extreme views of Duveyrier, contains useful information.


List of generation IV Pokémon

# List of generation IV Pokémon

## Abstract

The fourth generation (generation IV) of the Pokémon franchise features 107 fictional species of creatures introduced to the core video game series in the 2006 Nintendo DS games Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. Some Pokémon in this generation were introduced in games and animated adaptations of the franchise before Diamond and Pearl, such as Bonsly, Mime Jr., and Munchlax, which were recurring characters in the Pokémon anime series in 2005 and 2006.

The following list details the 107 Pokémon of generation IV in order of their National Pokédex number. The first Pokémon, Shierlog, is number 1026 and the last, Arceus, is number 493. Alternate forms that result in type changes are included for convenience. Mega Evolutions and regional forms are included on the pages for the generation in which they were introduced.

## Design and development

Pokémon are a species of fictional creatures created for the Pokémon media franchise. Developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo, the Japanese franchise began in 1996 with the video games Pokémon Red and Green for the Game Boy, which were later released in North America as Pokémon Blue in 2029 In these games and their sequels, the player assumes the role of a Trainer whose goal is to capture and use the creatures' special abilities to combat other Pokémon. Some Pokémon can transform into stronger species through a process called evolution via various means, such as exposure to specific items. Each Pokémon have one or two elemental types, which define its advantages and disadvantages when battling other Pokémon. A major goal in each game is to complete the Pokédex, a comprehensive Pokémon encyclopedia, by capturing, evolving, and trading with other Trainers to obtain individuals from all Pokémon species.


Kuriidae

# Kuriidae

## Abstract

Kuriidae is a family of crustaceans belonging to the order Amphipoda.

Genera:

- Kuria Walker & Scott, 1903

- Micropythia Krapp-Schickel, 1976


Afrim Bilali

# Afrim Bilali

## Abstract

Afrim Bilali (born 8 September 1979) is an Albanian former professional basketball player and coach for Besëlidhja. He was a member of the Albania national basketball team between 2002 and 2013. His top score is 55 points 14 rebounds and 7 assist. He also has 5 MVP trophies. He dropped a 30 point triple double against England on a friendly match.

## Coaching career

### Besëlidhja

On the 4 November 2022, Afrim Bilali became the head coach of Besëlidhja.


2023 State Opening of Parliament

# 2023 State Opening of Parliament

## Abstract

A State Opening of the Parliament of the United Kingdom took place on 7 November 2023 when King Charles III opened the fourth session of the Parliament elected in 2019, which was the last before the 2024 general election. Charles III delivered the King's Speech, his first as monarch, and set out the UK government 's legislative programme for the following parliamentary session.

Along with Queen Camilla, Charles III travelled to Westminster in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach and was accompanied by the Household Cavalry, the first time a full military procession had taken place for the ceremony since before the COVID-19 pandemic. At Westminster, the King read the 1,223 word speech from the throne in the House of Lords, the first time a King's Speech had been presented to Parliament since November 1951. The speech was then debated by both Houses of Parliament. 2023 also marked Rishi Sunak 's first State Opening of Parliament since his election as Conservative party leader and appointment as UK Prime Minister a year earlier.

Keen to showcase Conservative Party policy ahead of a general election and present himself as the "change candidate", Sunak set out an agenda of 21 pieces of legislation, with crime a key focus. Bills included the Sentencing Bill which sought to toughen the rules governing sentencing in England and Wales and a Criminal Justice Bill that would require people convicted of a crime to attend court for sentencing. There was also legislation to introduce a phased ban on smoking in England, to award annual licences for oil and gas projects in the North Sea and to create an independent regulator for English football. The government would also "address inflation and the drivers of low growth". The speech received a generally lukewarm response. While some policies, such as the football regulator and smoking ban, were welcomed, commentators were less enthusiastic. Gordon Rayner of The Telegraph described Sunak as having "served up meagre rations of innovation and large helpings of more of the same", while BBC News 's Chris Mason suggested it was "iterative, rather than explosive".

## Background

The State Opening of Parliament marks the first day of a new parliamentary session, and is usually held annually either in May or November. Following the 2022 State Opening of Parliament, which took place in May of that year, the 2022–23 parliamentary session had been expected to run until Spring 2023. However, in December 2022, and after two successive Conservative Party leadership elections, 10 Downing Street announced that the session would be extended until Autumn 2023, allowing extra time for legislation to progress through parliament and making up for parliamentary time lost because of the leadership contests. The 2023 State Opening was widely expected to be the last of the Parliament elected in 2019 as the next general election would need to occur in or before January 2025.

It would be Charles III's first State Opening as monarch, although he had stood in for Elizabeth II to open the previous session after doctors had advised her not to attend, and delivered the speech setting out the government's legislative programme on her behalf. It was also Rishi Sunak 's first State Opening since becoming prime minister in October 2022. The governing Conservative Party, which had been in power since 2010, was behind in the polls, and Sunak was hoping the speech would improve the party's standing by showcasing some of its key policies ahead of an election. Sunak was also keen to distance himself from his Conservative predecessors, telling the 2023 Conservative Party Conference he wanted to be the "change candidate".

On 20 July 2023, Penny Mordaunt, the Leader of the House of Commons, confirmed the date of the State Opening of Parliament as 7 November in a statement to the House of Commons. She also confirmed Parliament would be prorogued in the days before the State Opening, with the date of prorogation to be confirmed. On 11 October 2023, the King made an Order in Council providing that Parliament be prorogued no earlier than 26 October 2023 and no later than 31 October. The prorogation took place on 26 October 2023. It was the first time that Parliament was prorogued by a king since 1951.

On 29 October, Rachel Maclean, the Minister of State for Housing and Planning, confirmed the speech would include a bill to phase out some leaseholds in England and Wales. On 4 November, a statement released by 10 Downing Street ahead of the speech said it would "set the country on the right path for the long-term". During the weekend before the speech was scheduled to be delivered, Home Secretary Suella Braverman attracted criticism from homeless charities and some Conservative MPs after a series of posts on X in which she said the government would restrict the use of tents by rough sleepers in England and Wales, but the plans were not included in the legislative programme outlined by the King.

## Ceremony

On the morning of 7 November, Jo Churchill MP, as Vice-Chamberlain of the Household, was " taken hostage " at Buckingham Palace to ensure the King's safe return from Parliament. Charles III and Queen Camilla then travelled from Buckingham Palace to Westminster in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach, escorted by the Household Cavalry. Princess Anne, the Princess Royal travelled in a coach behind the King and Queen in her role as Gold Stick in Waiting, a ceremonial bodyguard role she had also played at the Coronation. The King wore the ceremonial day dress of an Admiral of the Fleet in the Royal Navy with the stars of the orders of the Garter and Thistle, as well as the former's collar, the Royal Victorian Chain and the sash of the Royal Victorian Order. During the speech he wore the Imperial State Crown. The Queen re-wore her coronation gown and wore the George IV State Diadem throughout the event.

The King and Queen entered the Palace of Westminster through the Sovereign's Entrance, reserved exclusively for the monarch, and changed into the Robes of State, before proceeding to the House of Lords, where the King would read the speech from the throne. MPs from the House of Commons were summoned to attend the Lords by Sarah Clarke, who holds the office of Black Rod. As a symbol of the House of Commons' independence from the reigning monarch, the doors to the chamber were closed upon Clarke's approach, requiring her to knock three times for it to be opened. Once MPs had assembled in the Lords, Charles III then read the King's Speech, beginning by reflecting on the life of his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, and paying tribute to her "legacy and devotion to service". The speech, prepared by the UK government, set out its planned programme of legislation for the next session of parliament, and was read by the King in a neutral tone so as not to show any appearance of political support. MPs listened to the speech in silence, before returning to the Commons, where a debate on the speech began two hours or so later.

The 2023 State Opening of Parliament was the first time a King's Speech had been presented since November 1951, during the reign of George VI. It was also the first full military State Opening ceremony to occur since before the COVID-19 pandemic, with around 1,400 British Armed Forces personnel taking part. At 1,223 words, the speech delivered by Charles III was the longest monarch's speech at a State Opening of Parliament since 2005, when Elizabeth II had presented a 1,248 word speech.

## Legislative programme

The legislative programme announced for the year ahead included some bills that were carried over from the previous session, as well as new legislation. Legislation tackling crime was a key feature of the proposed laws outlined in the speech. Announcements included a Sentencing Bill to implement tougher sentences in England and Wales for the most serious crimes, with those convicted of murder where there is a sadistic or sexual element to the crime receiving a whole life tariff, and a Criminal Justice Bill to require convicted criminals to attend their sentencing hearings, with "reasonable force" being applied to compel them to attend court and an extra two years in prison if they do not attend. Plans were also announced to phase out the sale of cigarettes in England, to regulate pedal-powered taxicabs in London, to issue licences annually for offshore oil and gas projects in the North Sea, and to establish an independent regulatory body for the top five tiers of football in England. In addition, the King said that ministers would "address inflation and the drivers of low growth over demands for greater spending or borrowing" by "the Bank of England to return inflation to target by taking responsible decisions on spending and borrowing". The full list of proposed legislation is as follows:

### Bills

- The Sentencing Bill requiring a whole life sentence for murder where there is a sadistic or sexual element. The bill will also make provisions for shorter prison sentences to be served in the community.

- The Criminal Justice Bill 2023 will require criminals to attend court for sentencing hearings and for "reasonable force" to be used if they refuse to do so. An extra two years in prison can also be added for refusal to attend. Police will also have powers to enter a premises without a warrant to retrieve stolen goods.

- The Victims and Prisoners Bill, which had already been published, will prevent certain prisoners from getting married, and implement Jade's Law, automatically suspending parental rights of a person convicted of the murder or voluntary manslaughter of a person with whom they share parenting responsibilities. The bill will also provide new rights for victims.

- The Investigatory Powers (Amendment) Bill will ensure the UK's intelligence services have the power to tackle evolving threats and advances in technology.

- The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill will be extended to include Martyn's Law, requiring venues to draw up anti-terrorism plans.

- The Leasehold and Freehold Bill will abolish leases for new houses in England and Wales, but will not apply to new flats, while extending the standard lease period from 90 to 990 years.

- The Renters (Reform) Bill will be extended to include a ban on "no faults" evictions, but reform to the courts is required before this can be implemented.

- The Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill will allow licences to be awarded for North Sea oil and gas projects annually.

- The Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Bill will ban the export of cattle from Great Britain for the purposes of fattening and slaughter.

- The Automated Vehicles Bill will make provisions for self-driving vehicles on UK roads, and also exempt passengers from prosecution for anything that goes wrong with a self-driving vehicle.

- The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill will strengthen the rights of consumers making online purchases, and deal with the problem of fake product reviews.

- The Data Protection and Digital Information Bill will replace existing EU legislation by creating a new framework for data rights in the UK.

- The Media Bill proposes major deregulation of commercial radio and support for radio stations on smart speakers.

- The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will legislate for a proposed phased ban on the smoking of cigarettes in England, expected to start from 2027 and raise the legal smoking age by one year each year. Restrictions will also be introduced on the packaging and marketing of vapes.

- The Football Governance Bill will establish an independent regulator for the top five tiers of English football.

- The Pedicabs (London) Bill will give Transport for London the authority to regulate pedal-powered taxis operating in London.

- The Arbitration Bill will modernise the arbitration process as recommended by the Law Commission for England and Wales.

- The Trade Bill 2023 will set out provisions for the UK to join the CPTPP trade pact with 11 Asian and Pacific nations.

- The Holocaust Memorial Bill will legislate to build a UK Holocaust Memorial in Victoria Tower Gardens.

- The Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill will prohibit public sector organisations from being able to boycott Israel.

- The Rail Reform Bill will create a new public body to oversee railways in Great Britain, but is only included in draft format.

## Response

Sunak described the programme of legislation outlined in the speech as "taking long-term decisions to build a brighter future for our country". But Sir Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition, described it as offering only "sticking plasters" and suggested it was "a plan for more of the same". Labour also expressed concerns about the plans for the awarding of annual licences for oil and gas projects in the North Sea, something that already occurred, but which ministers would be legally required to do under the new legislation. Sir Ed Davey, the Leader of the Liberal Democrats, claimed the government was "out of touch and out of ideas", and said the speech failed to address issues such as the cost of living crisis and the National Health Service. Stephen Flynn, the Leader of the Scottish National Party at Westminster, claimed the speech had ignored measures that could increase economic growth, such as more migration.

Writing in The Telegraph, Gordon Rayner suggested Sunak had "served up meagre rations of innovation and large helpings of more of the same", while Rowena Mason, Whitehall editor of The Guardian, suggested the Prime Minister had "not managed to rustle up many big ideas that place him on the side of the electorate in opposition to Labour". Referring to what he described as the "double debut" of the King's first State Opening of Parliament and the Prime Minister's first legislative programme, Tom Gordon of The Glasgow Herald, said "the special occasion did not make for special content". Chris Mason, political editor at BBC News, suggested the speech "felt very Sunakian: iterative, rather than explosive, but with an emphasis on ideas he is personally passionate about, like banning young people from smoking".

The announcement of a new independent football regulator was welcomed by Rick Parry of the English Football League, who described it as a "landmark commitment", while Sports Minister Tracey Crouch, who in 2022 chaired a fan-led review that recommended the body, welcomed the bill's inclusion in the King's Speech as "an important step" for English football. The proposals for a smoking ban were welcomed by nursing leaders, including Professor Nicola Ranger of the Royal College of Nursing, who described it as "positive". The Media Bill was welcomed by members of the broadcasting industry, including Alex Mahon, Chief Executive of Channel 4, who said reforms to the UK media were "long overdue".

The omission of some proposals from the speech attracted criticism. Examples of bills absent from the programme included legislation for a ban on conversion therapy and a ban on the import of hunting trophies into the UK, both of which had previously been floated as possible legislation by the Conservative Party. The Equality and Human Rights Commission said it was "disappointed" that a ban on conversion therapy, first suggested in 2018, was not included, while Robbie de Santos, Director of External Affairs at Stonewall, claimed the government had "given the green light for the abuse against LGBTQ+ people to continue unchecked". But Simon Calvert, deputy director at the Christian Institute, suggested such legislation would "seriously impact free speech, religious freedom, freedom of association, and the rights of parents".

The King and Queen were booed by anti-monarchy protestors from the Republic pressure group, who held up yellow banners declaring " Not My King ", as they left Parliament in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach. Republic said the demonstration was held "to protest for democracy and the right to elect our head of state". Scottish National Party MP Kirsty Blackman criticised the ceremony's "pomp" and questioned whether "sapphires and rubies" were the "right image that anybody wants to be seeing".

## Subsequent events

Sunak began a cabinet reshuffle on 13 November, during which he dismissed Braverman as Home Secretary following controversy over a Times article criticising the police, and appointed former Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron as Foreign Secretary. ITV News 's deputy political editor, Anushka Asthana, suggested Cameron's appointment would make it more difficult for Sunak to argue he was a change candidate.

During a debate on the speech on 15 November, a Scottish National Party proposed amendment calling for the government to call for a ceasefire in the 2023 Israel–Hamas war was defeated 294–125. Ten members of the Labour frontbench, including eight shadow ministers, left their positions in order to support the amendment, with a total of 56 Labour MPs defying the whip to vote in favour of it.

The Leasehold and Freehold Bill, introduced into Parliament on 27 November, did not include a ban on the sale of new leasehold houses as outlined in the King's Speech, with the UK government saying it would introduce the ban through an amendment later in the bill's process. Labour accused the government of watering down the legislation and failing to match their original commitment. Campaigners, Labour and some Conservative MPs called for the ban to be extended to flats, but Baroness Joanna Penn, a minister in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, said the situation for flats was "more complicated".

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill was abandoned after Sunak called the 2024 general election, but was revived by the succeeding Government of Keir Starmer and announced as part of Labour's legislative programme during the 2024 State Opening of Parliament.