Early life.

Kevin Richardson was born in the Nightingale Clinic in Johannesburg, South Africa, on the 8th of October, 1974. He spent his childhood in the neighbourhood of Orange Grove. His mother, Patricia, worked for Barclays Bank and was also born in South Africa. Richardson's father, who worked for a pharmaceutical company, was born in the United Kingdom and moved to South Africa from Reading, Berkshire. Kevin Richardson is the youngest of four children: he has an older brother and two sisters who are twins. His father died when Richardson was thirteen years old. When he was about sixteen, he met Stan Schmidt and began his career as a "self-taught behaviourist."

Career.

Kevin Richardson owns and operates the Kevin Richardson Wildlife Sanctuary, located an hour northeast of Johannesburg, South Africa. Richardson is a firm opponent of "canned hunting", which is the hunting of lions locked within an enclosed location, making them easier to hunt and kill. To help combat this problematic epidemic, he has a strict no breeding policy at his sanctuary to reduce the likelihood of his lions being bought and sold for that very purpose.  One of the most intriguing aspects of Richardson's sanctuary is his relationship with his lions. Kevin is known for interacting with them within the confines of his sanctuary, and on long enrichment walks throughout the game reserve. Unlike other game reserves and sanctuaries, Richardson does not allow his guests to go on these lion walks with him, as he knows that while his lions are well behaved for him, they are still dangerous animals, and the wild nature within will always be there.  "It comes as a shock to most people that lions are incredibly at risk with less than 20,000 left in the wild and numbers dropping year on year. Wild lions aside, captive lions suffer equally with three lions shot daily in a canned hunt – a practice which forms part of an elaborate economic cycle that capitalizes on the breeding of lions as if they were cattle. Well-meaning, but naïve tourists flock to South Africa each year to bottle feed or pet lion cubs believing they are contributing to the conservation of the species. This is a terrible deception and if a tourist facility is breeding lion cubs and allowing tourists to pet them – they are almost certainly part of the canned lion hunting network." --- Kevin Richardson, September 2019

Facilities.

Richardson worked in a Lion Park in Broederstroom, a town 35 miles north of his hometown, Johannesburg, in South Africa. Whilst primarily specializing in lions, he has also interacted with hyenas and black panthers. The park, which was set up with the help of Rodney Fuhr, is and was built for the set of the movie White Lion. Richardson cares for thirty-nine lions at this facility. Currently, the facility is private, but there are plans in the future to open it to the public. However, the sanctuary is open for guided group tours and has a large volunteering program as of 2014.  As of 2015, the Kevin Richardson Wildlife Sanctuary relocated to Welgedacht Private Game Reserve near Pretoria.

Lion care.

He has slept next to, fed, and lived with lions. He has also worked with cheetahs, leopards, and hyenas. He prefers lions to any other big cat. His relationship with the animals, however, has not been an instant one. He has known all of the lions he works with since they were cubs. He still continues his bond with Tau and Napoleon, the lion brothers who were his introduction to big cats.  Despite his prior involvement in lion cub petting, Richardson rejects the traditional notion that lions should be mastered and dominated, preferring to develop a relationship over time, based on love and respect. "A lion is not a possession; it's a sentient being, so you must pay attention and develop your bond like with any relationship."

Dangers.

Richardson has been scratched, punctured and bitten but is not dissuaded by these dangers. In an interview, he mentions, "Obviously one realizes the danger when working with animals of this calibre, I've weighed the pros and I've weighed the cons, and the pros far outweigh the cons." He warns about following in his footsteps, however. All the pictures of his adventures do not portray his years of experience and bonding. "People like to take things out of context. They don't know the relationship I have with this lion." As a rule, Richardson only interacts with lions he has been with since their birth.  Richardson also differentiates his work from that of zoologists interacting with completely wild animals they have not raised, or that of trainers whose animals are required to perform on stage day after day.

Controversy.

Richardson once worked as a lion handler for the lion park that featured in a 2014 segment of the CBS program "60 Minutes", which revealed that the Lion Park in Lanseria bred lions to ensure a supply of cubs year-round. When the lions reached maturity, they were shipped out to canned hunting operations because they were too dangerous to be near tourists.  Richardson left the park when he discovered the true intentions of the park owner, as he opposes canned hunting.<ref name="IOL/ National Geographic"></ref>

Works/publications.

Richardson has been featured in many documentaries, movies, and commercials. It was during his stint at the Lion Park that Michael Rosenberg decided to use Richardson in documentaries such as "Dangerous Companions" and "In Search of a Legend". "Growing Up Hyena" is a documentary in which Richardson sets out to change the misconception of the hyena as a feared and loathed scavenger. Richardson's work in the Okavango Delta and Lydenberg had brought forth the documentary concerning black leopards entitled "In Search of a Legend". Because of the frequency of filming, Richardson moved all of the animals to one facility at the Kingdom of the White Lion property.  Richardson's 2010 documentary is entitled "White Lion: Home is a Journey". The film is about a young white lion named, "Letsatsi," who survives against all odds. This film is the first to star native lions instead of the regularly imported ones. Rodney Fuhr and his wife, Ilana, independently funded the movie and served as executive producers. The film was shot at the Kingdom of the White Lion, SA Lion Park, Nash's farm, Glen Afric, and Entabeni Game Reserve. The South African-based company Peru Productions Pty. Ltd.'s first feature film was "White Lion".

Kevin Rene Richardson (born 8 October 1974), known as "The Lion Whisperer", is a South African YouTube personality and self-taught sanctuary owner who works with African lions.


Association team allocation.

A total of 76 teams from 52 of the 53 UEFA member associations participate in the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League (the exception being Liechtenstein, which do not organise a domestic league). The association ranking based on the UEFA country coefficients is used to determine the number of participating teams for each association: Since the winners of the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League, Chelsea, failed to qualify for the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League through their domestic league (finishing sixth in the Premier League), and because of the restriction that no association can have more than four teams playing in the Champions League, Chelsea's entry in the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League as title holders came at the expense of Tottenham Hotspur, the fourth-placed team of the 2011–12 Premier League (who entered the Europa League instead).

Association ranking.

For the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League, the associations are allocated places according to their 2011 UEFA country coefficients, which takes into account their performance in European competitions from 2006–07 to 2010–11.

Distribution.

Tottenham Hotspur were due to enter the Champions League play-off round for non-champions, but instead entered the Europa League because Chelsea won the Champions League the previous season. As this spot in the play-off round was vacated, the following change to the default allocation system was made to compensate:

Teams.

League positions of the previous season, except Chelsea which only qualified as title holders, shown in parentheses.

Round and draw dates.

All draws were held at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland unless stated otherwise.

Qualifying rounds.

In the qualifying rounds and the play-off round, teams were divided into seeded and unseeded teams based on their 2012 UEFA club coefficients, and then drawn into two-legged home-and-away ties. Teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other.

First qualifying round.

The draws for the first and second qualifying rounds were held on 25 June 2012. The first legs were played on 3 July, and the second legs were played on 10 July 2012.

Second qualifying round.

The first legs were played on 17 and 18 July, and the second legs were played on 24 and 25 July 2012.

Third qualifying round.

The third qualifying round was split into two separate sections: one for champions (Champions Route) and one for non-champions (League Route). The losing teams in both sections entered the Europa League play-off round.  The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 20 July 2012. The first legs were played on 31 July and 1 August, and the second legs were played on 7 and 8 August 2012.

Play-off round.

The play-off round was split into two separate sections: one for champions (Champions Route) and one for non-champions (League Route). The losing teams in both sections entered the Europa League group stage.  The draw for the play-off round was held on 10 August 2012. The first legs were played on 21 and 22 August, and the second legs were played on 28 and 29 August 2012.

Group stage.

The draw for the group stage was held in Monaco on 30 August 2012. The 32 teams were allocated into four pots based on their 2012 UEFA club coefficients, with the title holders, Chelsea, being placed in Pot 1 automatically. They were drawn into eight groups of four, with the restriction that teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other.  In each group, teams played against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format. The matchdays were 18–19 September, 2–3 October, 23–24 October, 6–7 November, 20–21 November, and 4–5 December 2012. The group winners and runners-up advanced to the round of 16, while the third-placed teams entered the Europa League round of 32.  A total of 17 national associations were represented in the group stage. Montpellier, Nordsjælland and Málaga made their debut appearances in the group stage.  "See here for tiebreakers if two or more teams are equal on points"

Knockout phase.

In the knockout phase, teams played against each other over two legs on a home-and-away basis, except for the one-match final. The mechanism of the draws for each round is as follows:

Round of 16.

The draw for the round of 16 was held on 20 December 2012. The first legs were played on 12, 13, 19 and 20 February, and the second legs were played on 5, 6, 12 and 13 March 2013.

Quarter-finals.

The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 15 March 2013. The first legs were played on 2 and 3 April, and the second legs were played on 9 and 10 April 2013.

Semi-finals.

The draw for the semi-finals and final (to determine the "home" team for administrative purposes) was held on 12 April 2013. The first legs were played on 23 and 24 April, and the second legs were played on 30 April and 1 May 2013.

Final.

The final was played on 25 May 2013 at Wembley Stadium in London, England.

Statistics.

Statistics exclude qualifying rounds and play-off round.

Prize money.

For the 2012–13 season, UEFA awarded €2.1 million to each team in the play-off round. For reaching the group stage, UEFA awarded a base fee of €8.6 million. A win in the group was awarded €1 million and a draw was worth €500,000. In addition, UEFA paid teams reaching the first knockout round €3.5 million, each quarter-finalist €3.9 million, €4.9 million for each semi-finalist, €6.5 million for the runners-up and €10.5 million for the winners.  A large part of the distributed revenue from the UEFA Champions League is linked to the "market pool", the distribution of which is determined by the value of the television market in each country. For the 2012–13 season, Juventus, who were eliminated on quarter-finals, earned nearly €65.3 million in total of which €20.5 million was prize money, compared with the €55.0 million earned by Bayern Munich, who won the tournament and was awarded with €35.9 million of prize money.

The 2012–13 UEFA Champions League was the 58th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 21st season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League.


Early life.

Frederic Baraga was born in the manor house at Mala Vas () no. 16 near the Carniolan village of Dobrnič, in what was then Lower Carniola, a province of the Duchy of Carniola in the Habsburg Monarchy. Today it is a part of the Municipality of Trebnje in Slovenia. Never using his first name, he was baptized Irenaeus Frederic.  He was the fourth of five children born to Janez Baraga and Marija Katarina Jožefa née Jenčič. Upon her father's death, his mother inherited an estate at Mala Vas, plus a substantial fortune. His mother died in 1808, and his father in 1812. Frederic spent his boyhood in the house of Jurij Dolinar, a lay professor at the diocesan seminary at Ljubljana.  Baraga grew up during the Napoleonic Wars, when France had taken over the Slovene Lands from the Austrian Empire for a time. As a result, the official language of instruction in his schools changed several times during his childhood between Slovenian and German. By the time he was nine, he was fluent in French as well. In addition, Latin and Greek were required subjects for all students. Thus, by age 16, Frederic Baraga was multilingual—a skill that would serve him well in later life.

Priesthood.

Baraga attended law school at the University of Vienna, where he graduated in 1821. Influenced by Clement Mary Hofbauer, Baraga then entered the seminary in Ljubljana. At age 26, he was ordained a Roman Catholic priest on September 21, 1823 in the St. Nicholas' Cathedral by Augustin Johann Joseph Gruber, the Bishop of Ljubljana. As a young priest, he was assigned as an assistant first at St. Martin's near Kranj and later at Metlika in lower Carniola. Father Baraga was a staunch opponent of Jansenism. During this time, he wrote a spiritual book in Slovene entitled "Dušna Paša" (Spiritual Sustenance).  In 1830 Baraga answered the request of Bishop Edward Fenwick of Cincinnati for priests to aid in ministering to his growing flock, which included a large mission territory. He left his homeland on October 29, 1830 and arrived in New York on December 31. He arrived in Cincinnati, Ohio on January 18, 1831. During the winter and spring he worked among the German immigrants in the area. At the same time he studied the Ottawa language, a branch of the Algonquian languages. In May 1831 was sent to the Ottawa Indian mission at "Arbre Croche" (present-day Cross Village, Michigan) to finish his mastery of the language. In 1837, he published "Otawa Anamie-Misinaigan," the first book written in the Ottawa language, which included a Catholic catechism and prayer book. After a brief stay at a mission in present-day Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1835 Baraga moved north to minister to the Ojibway (Chippewa) Indians at La Pointe, Wisconsin, at a former Jesuit mission on Lake Superior.  In 1843 Baraga founded a mission at L'Anse, Michigan. During this time he earned the nickname "the Snowshoe Priest" because he would travel hundreds of miles each year on snowshoes during the harsh winters. He worked to protect the Indians from being forced to relocate, as well as publishing a dictionary and grammar of the Ojibway language. Although these works have important historical value, they are not recommended as basic resources for the language today.  Through the texts Baraga published in his missionary years, the Slovenes learned about aspects of Native American culture and the United States.

Bishop.

Baraga was elevated to bishop by Pope Pius IX and consecrated November 1, 1853, in Cincinnati at Saint Peter in Chains Cathedral by Archbishop John Purcell. He was the first bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan, now the Diocese of Marquette.  On July 27, 1852 he began to keep a diary, written in several languages (primarily German, but with English, French, Slovene, Chippewa, Latin, and Italian interspersed), preserving accounts of his missionary travels and his relationship with his sister Amalia. During this time, the area experienced a population explosion, as European immigrants were attracted to work in the copper and iron mines developed near Houghton, Ontonagon, and Marquette. This presented a challenge because he had few priests, and had to attend to the needs of immigrant miners and the Native Americans. Increased development and population encouraged the improvement of transportation on Lake Superior.  The only way to travel in winter was on snowshoes, which Baraga continued to do into his sixties. He was particularly challenged by the wide diversity of peoples in the region, which included the native inhabitants, ethnic French-Canadian settlers, and the new German and Irish immigrant miners. Difficulties in recruiting staff arose because of many languages; while Baraga spoke eight languages fluently, he had trouble recruiting priests who could do the same.  Baraga traveled twice to Europe to raise money for his diocese. On one trip he was presented a jeweled cross and episcopal ring by the Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. The bishop later sold these for his missions.  Baraga wrote numerous letters to the Society for the Propagation of the Faith describing his missionary activities. The Society published them widely as examples of its missions in North America, and they were instrumental in inspiring the priests John Neumann and Francis Xavier Pierz to come to the United States to work. In time, Baraga became renowned throughout Europe for his work. In his last ten years, his health gradually declined; he became intermittently deaf and suffered a series of strokes. In 1865 Baraga wrote to Pope Pius IX in support of the canonization of his former confessor, Clement Hofbauer. He died January 19, 1868 in Marquette, Michigan. He is buried there in the crypt beneath Cathedral of Saint Peter.

Legacy and veneration.

Baraga was declared venerable by Pope Benedict XVI on May 10, 2012. His cause was opened in 1952 by Thomas Lawrence Noa, the diocese's eighth bishop, and the formal canonization process began in 1973. The diocese planned to relocate his remains to a more accessible new chapel for veneration in the upper portion of the cathedral. At the time of his veneration, the Vatican was investigating a possible miracle for beatification.

Irenaeus Frederic Baraga (June 29, 1797 – January 19, 1868; ) was a Slovenian Roman Catholic missionary to the United States and a grammarian of Native American languages. He became the first bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Marquette, Michigan, originally sited at Sault Sainte Marie, which he led for 15 years.


Park creation and history.

The first protected reserve in the area of the Slovak Paradise was founded in 1890. The first protected plant was the edelweiss in 1936.  The name "Slovenský raj" first appeared in 1921 in the "Krásy Slovenska" magazine and replaced many names used until that period. On 21 August 1964 the first protected landscape area in Slovakia was established in the Slovak Paradise. The area was recategorized into a national park on 18 January 1988. In 2000 Dobšinská Ice Cave became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Parts of the park also belong to the Natura 2000 network since 2004.

Geography.

The National Park is situated in the Banská Bystrica Region (district of Brezno), Prešov Region (district of Poprad) and Košice Region (districts of Rožňava and Spišská Nová Ves).  The Slovak Paradise creates the northern part of the Spiš-Gemer Karst ("Spišsko-gemerský kras"). It is bordered by the Low Tatras ("Nízke Tatry") in the west, central part of the Slovenské rudohorie Mountains in the south (Stolické vrchy and Volovské vrchy) and the Hornád basin ("Hornádska kotlina") in the north and north east.  Rivers and streams have formed many gorges, canyons, valleys, caves, and waterfalls in the Slovak Paradise, with the Hornád River being most important to the area. The core of the national park is a karst plateau cut into several smaller plateaux by deep rocky gorges. The most famous gorges are "Veľký Sokol", which is also the longest at 4.5 km, "Suchá Belá", "Piecky", and "Kyseľ", all of which have numerous waterfalls. "Prielom Hornádu" is the longest canyon at 11,7 km, and also contains the greatest diversity of species. The highest waterfall is "Závojový vodopád" (literally Veil Waterfall) at 70 m. The largest water reservoir is "Palcmanská Maša", finished in 1956, which covers an area of 0.85 km. It is used for swimming, water sports, fishing and other recreational activities.  The highest peak is Predná hoľa at 1,545 m AMSL. "Havrania skala" (literally Raven Rock) at 1,153 m offers a panoramic view. A rock shelf known as "Tomášovský výhľad" is popular with both climbers and visitors for its unique view situated at 680 m. The lowest point is at the Hornád's surface at 470 m.

Geology.

The geological formation of the Slovenský raj mountains is rather complicated. The majority of the territory is built by two basic units. The small, western one is the Bebrava unit separated from the eastern, larger Northern Gemer unit by the Muráň fault. Both of them are comparatively homogeneous, as the Mesozoic sedimentary rocks such as dolomite and sandstone prevail. As they were built by carbonate rock prone to karstification, the character of the Slovenský raj mountains is that of a karstic plateau. The relatively flat and rather short mountains of the Slovenský raj mountains were lifted up in the Tertiary and Quaternary periods. This caused the local river network to erode and create narrow and deep valleys.

Biology and ecology.

The Slovak Paradise has the highest concentration of butterflies in Slovakia with 6.06 butterflies per km. "Kopanecké lúky" (literally Kopanecké meadows) contain exceptionally rich biodiversity in vascular plants with 75 species per m.  The National Park contains about 4,000 species of invertebrates, which include more than 2,100 species of butterflies, 400 species of bugs and 150 species of molluscs. Vertebrates are represented by about 200 species, of which 130 are protected. Forty species of mammals include the bear, fox, wolf, European wildcat, deer, boar, and marten. The National Park is home to 65 endangered species, including the saker falcon, European otter and European ground squirrel.  Forests cover 90% of the park. The most widespread trees are the beech, spruce, fir and pine. The park is home to 930 species of plants, of which 35 are protected. The park contains 6 endemic plants, which are exclusively native to it and 19 endemic plants exclusively native to the West Carpathians.

Tourism.

The best known tourist centres and resorts are "Čingov" and "Podlesok" in the north, Dedinky in the south and the only tourist centre located inside the National Park, "Kláštorisko", with ruins of the Carthusian monastery. The most visited places in the park are the Dobšinská Ice Cave and the "Suchá Belá" Gorge.  The park offers about 300 km of hiking trails and several bike trails. One of the most visited routes is "Prielom Hornádu". In the northern part of the Slovak Paradise two main tourist centres of this region are situated: Čingov and Podlesok. They are connected by a 15 km long marked route, leading through the canyon along the Hornád river.

Slovak Paradise National Park () is one of the nine national parks in Slovakia, situated in East Slovakia. The National Park protects the area of the Slovak Paradise mountain range, which is located in the north of the Slovenské rudohorie Mountains (Slovak Ore Mountains).


History.

The first seat of the Congregation from 1585–1622 was the church of Santa Maria ad Martires, better known as the Pantheon. Successive relocations were to the church of San Paolino alla Colonna (1622–52), Santa Cecilia in Trastevere (1652–61), San Nicola dei Cesarini (1661–1663), Chiesa della Maddalena (1663–85), and, finally, San Carlo ai Catinari in 1685. During the first century of existence, the Congregation was the workshop of a number of prominent musicians and composers of the day, including Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. The institution in that period was often in rivalry with the other important musical organization of Papal Rome of the day, the Sistine Choir. Rivalry centred on the rights to control access to the musical profession, to train musicians, and to publish music. The rivalry never really ended and can be said to have lasted through the entire existence of the Papal States, that is, until 1870, when the "temporal power of the Church" was ended by military action of the new nation state of Italy.  The early 18th century is considered to have been a particularly glorious time for the Accademia. Among names associated with the organization during that period are Arcangelo Corelli, Alessandro and Domenico Scarlatti, and Niccolò Jommelli. In 1716, Pope Clement XI decreed that all musicians practising their profession in Rome were required to become members of the Congregation. The Accademia suspended operations during the revolutionary period of the Napoleonic Wars but opened regularly again in 1822 a few years after the Restoration brought about by the Congress of Vienna.  The years between that reopening and the end of the Papal States in 1870 were ones of great change. The organization opened its membership to hitherto excluded categories, such as dancers, poets, music historians, musical instrument makers, and music publishers. In 1838, the Congregation of Santa Cecilia was officially proclaimed an Academy and then a Papal Academy. The list of active and honorary members of the Accademia during that period is formidable and includes Cherubini, Mercadante, Donizetti, Rossini, Paganini, Auber, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Berlioz, Gounod, and Meyerbeer. Among the crowned heads of Europe who were honorary members was Queen Victoria.  After the unification of Italy, the Accademia reestablished itself with the formation of a permanent symphony orchestra and choir, beginning in 1895. It went from being the seat of a Liceo musicale—a music "high school"—to being a full-blown conservatory; also, it hosts the "Eleonora Duse" Drama School, as well as a centre for experimental cinema. The most recent innovation has been the digitisation and cataloguing of centuries of musical documents—including an important collection of traditional music in the ethnomusicological archives—and their preservation and eventual display in the Accademia's multimedia library and archive also available to the public online. The Accademia also maintains a musical instruments museum (the MUSA).

The Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia () is one of the oldest musical institutions in the world, founded by the papal bull "Ratione congruit", issued by Sixtus V in 1585, which invoked two saints prominent in Western musical history: Gregory the Great, for whom the Gregorian chant is named, and Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of music. Since 2005 it has been headquartered at the Renzo Piano designed Parco della Musica in Rome.


Early life.

Wayne was born in Muskegon, Michigan, to Richard and Darlene Wells.  He grew up in Shelby, Michigan before moving to Chicago, Illinois and California. He was three years old when he received his first toy guitar. His parents decided at age seven to get him his first real guitar, an S12 beginner model. He was given lessons, which paid off a year later when he won a talent contest playing "Skip to My Lou". He later played in his first band at the age of 12 and decided he wanted to be a musician. In high school, he played in a band for the dances with classmates. He attended Shelby High School and had summer jobs which included working as an asparagus picker and in a cherry canning factory.

Career.

After moving to Chicago, Wells created the band Deep Blue Dream in 1987 with drummer Ken Jay, bass player Eric Harris and Billy Corgan; later of the Smashing Pumpkins. The group was short lived as they relocated to California. In California, Wells and Jay Formed Static-X along with Tony Campos on bass and Koichi Fukuda on guitar. It was at this point Wells adopted the name Wayne Static.  Static was recognizable for his unusual hairstyle; his hair was held up in a vertical position, a process that took about 20 minutes to complete (45 minutes, according to his mother). He was also known for his signature "chintail" beard.  Static announced in July 2007 that he would begin a side project, Pighammer, but in a December 2007 interview with Ultimate-Guitar.com, Static stated: "The Pighammer thing will happen when I have time. At the moment though, Static-X will remain my main priority." Static appears on the cover of the 2009 Static-X release, "Cult of Static".  His solo album "Pighammer" was released on October 4, 2011. As part of his "Pighammer" solo-project, Static formed a new line-up consisting of Brent Ashley on bass, Sean Davidson on drums, and Ashes on guitar. In 2012, this line-up went under the name Static-X for the Noise Revolution tour. However, in October 2012, the remainder of the tour was cancelled due to Static requiring medical treatment.  In an interview done on November 26, 2013, it was confirmed that Static-X disbanded on June 2013. According to Static, the disputes between himself and the band's former bassist Tony Campos over the rights to the band name had gone too far, forcing him to disband the four-piece.  He had been set to play a co-headlining tour in the U.S. with Powerman 5000 in November 2014 with American Head Charge supporting them.

Equipment.

Guitars.

Static installed a single Seymour Duncan SH-6B 'Distortion' humbucker in all his guitar's bridge positions; until switching to EMG 81's in 2012 after signing with Dean. His signature Epiphone, ESP LTD, and Dean guitars did not come with neck pickups as he did not use them.  Wayne used a Gibson Flying V from early in his career; seen in the videos up until 2003.  In 2004, Epiphone released a Wayne Static signature Flying V Guitar. “Special features on the Static model include a single volume control and one toggle switch for the two Epiphone USA pickups, no pickguard, Ebonal fingerboard with no inlays, black hardware, Plain Black satin finish and the Static-X logo on the headstock”.  In 2007, ESP produced the ESP Ltd Static-600 Wayne Static Signature Guitar. It featured an angular body Explorer shaped body, single Seymour Duncan Distortion humbucker and nickel diamond plate scratchplate covering the entire mahogany body, as seen in live photographs.  In 2009, ESP produced the ESP LTD Static-600V GMB as Wayne’s new signature guitar. It featured a Flying-V shaped body with diamond plate metal screwed the front of the body, black hardware and Static X logo at the 12th fret.  In 2012, Static joined Dean guitars and started playing custom ML Modifier. Until his death Static played Dean guitars as an endorsee. While Dean did not release a Static signature model, Dean did produce a series of custom models for Static; fitted with his standard single bridge humbucker and single volume control.

Amps.

For his live tone, Wayne used a simple Marshall MG100HDFX. The MG100HDFX was one of the cheapest solid state amps made by Marshall during Wayne’s touring time with Static X. On tour Wayne could easily and cheaply get a replacement if the amp broke. Amps breaking wasn’t a common problem as solid state amps like the MG100HDFX are less prone to breaking than tube amps, another reason for its selection.  Wayne's cabinet of choice was the Marshall 1960A.

Personal life.

Static was an atheist and pescatarian. After a brief courtship, he married adult film actress Tera Wray in Las Vegas on January 10, 2008. They lived in Joshua Tree, California. Static appeared as a mystery guest on an adult film Wray hosted called "Radium Vol 2".  On January 13, 2016, Static's widow, Tera Wray, died in her friend's Joshua Tree, California apartment from an apparent suicide. Her body was discovered January 14, 2016.

Death.

Static died on November 1, 2014 in Landers, California, three days before his 49th birthday. He had consumed half of an oxycodone pill as well as alcohol that morning before going to bed with his wife Tera Wray. She woke up later that day to find that he had died in his sleep. His family issued a statement stating that rumors of his death being drug-related were false, noting that he and Wray had stopped using illicit drugs in 2009. An autopsy later confirmed that Static had died of multiple prescription drug toxicity, consisting of the painkillers oxycodone, hydromorphone, and the anti-anxiety medication alprazolam combined with alcohol, though the report also noted that years of past "chronic prescription drug and alcohol abuse" was a contributing factor. Former Static-X members Koichi Fukuda and Tony Campos paid tribute to Static. Static was cremated in California. A memorial rock show followed in Los Angeles, and a family service followed in Illinois.

Wayne Richard Wells (November 4, 1965 – November 1, 2014), known professionally as Wayne Static, was an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, guitarist, keyboardist and music sequencer for metal band Static-X. He released his only solo studio album, "Pighammer", on October 4, 2011.


Association team allocation.

A total of 193 teams from 53 UEFA member associations participate in the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League. The association ranking based on the UEFA country coefficients is used to determine the number of participating teams for each association: The winners of the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League are given an additional entry as title holders if they do not qualify for the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League or Europa League through their domestic performance. However, this additional entry is not necessary for this season since the title holders qualified for European competitions through their domestic performance.

Association ranking.

For the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League, the associations are allocated places according to their 2011 UEFA country coefficients, which takes into account their performance in European competitions from 2006–07 to 2010–11.

Distribution.

Due to the following reasons, changes to the default allocation system had to be made: The following changes to the default allocation system were made to compensate for these vacated spots:

Redistribution rules.

A Europa League place is vacated when a team qualifies for both the Champions League and the Europa League, or qualifies for the Europa League by more than one method. When a place is vacated, it is redistributed within the national association by the following rules:

Teams.

The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round:

Round and draw dates.

All draws are held at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland unless stated otherwise.  Matches in the qualifying, play-off, and knockout rounds may also be played on Tuesdays or Wednesdays instead of the regular Thursdays due to scheduling conflicts.

Qualifying rounds.

In the qualifying rounds and the play-off round, teams were divided into seeded and unseeded teams based on their 2012 UEFA club coefficients, and then drawn into two-legged home-and-away ties. Teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other.

First qualifying round.

The draws for the first and second qualifying rounds were held on 25 June 2012. The first legs were played on 3 and 5 July, and the second legs were played on 10 and 12 July 2012.

Second qualifying round.

The first legs were played on 19 July, and the second legs were played on 26 July 2012.

Third qualifying round.

The draw for the third qualifying rounds was held on 20 July 2012. The first legs were played on 2 August, and the second legs were played on 9 August 2012.

Play-off round.

The draw for the play-off round was held on 10 August 2012. The first legs were played on 22 and 23 August, and the second legs were played on 28 and 30 August 2012.

Group stage.

The draw for the group stage was held in Monaco on 31 August 2012. The 48 teams were allocated into four pots based on their 2012 UEFA club coefficients, with the title holders, Atlético Madrid, being placed in Pot 1 automatically. They were drawn into twelve groups of four, with the restriction that teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other.  In each group, teams played against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format. The matchdays were 20 September, 4 October, 25 October, 8 November, 22 November, and 6 December 2012. The group winners and runners-up advanced to the round of 32, where they were joined by the eight third-placed teams from the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League group stage.  A total of 25 national associations were represented in the group stage.  "See here for tiebreakers if two or more teams are equal on points."

Knockout phase.

In the knockout phase, teams played against each other over two legs on a home-and-away basis, except for the one-match final. The mechanism of the draws for each round is as follows:

Bracket.

<section begin=bracket />

Round of 32.

The draws for the round of 32 and round of 16 were held on 20 December 2012. The first legs were played on 14 February, and the second legs were played on 21 February 2013.

Round of 16.

The first legs were played on 7 March, and the second legs were played on 14 March 2013.

Quarter-finals.

The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 15 March 2013. The first legs were played on 4 April, and the second legs were played on 11 April 2013.

Semi-finals.

The draw for the semi-finals and final (to determine the "home" team for administrative purposes) was held on 12 April 2013. The first legs were played on 25 April, and the second legs were played on 2 May 2013.

Final.

The final was played on 15 May 2013 at the Amsterdam Arena in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Statistics.

Statistics exclude qualifying rounds and play-off round.

The 2012–13 UEFA Europa League was the 42nd season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 4th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League.


Career.

Lasitskene won her first international medal at the 2009 World Youth Championships in Athletics, where she cleared a personal best of 1.85 m to take the silver medal behind Italian Alessia Trost. She was also the silver medallist at the 2009 European Youth Olympic Festival and 2009 Gymnasiade.  In the inaugural 2010 Summer Youth Olympics, Lasitskene won a gold medal in the girls' high jump with a clearance of 1.89 m, ahead of Alessia Trost.  She started her 2011 season with a major scalp in the form of Yelena Slesarenko, who she defeated with an indoor best jump of 1.90 m. A greater effort soon followed on the Moravia High Jump Tour meet in Třinec, as she cleared 1.97 m to claim the world junior indoor best which Desislava Aleksandrova had held since 1994.  Lasitskene has also won an ex-aequo gold medal at the 2014 World Indoor Championships and a silver at the 2014 European Championships. At the 2015 European Indoor Championships she won gold as she did later at the 2015 World Championships with a personal best of 2.01 m.  Following her world championships win, she was considered a favorite to win the Olympic title at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. However, she was barred from competing when the CAS upheld their decision to ban the Russian Track and Field Federation from the Games for systematic doping. At a domestic competition she jumped a height of 2.00 m—a height that would've easily won gold in Rio. In April 2017, her application to compete as a neutral athlete until Russia is reinstated was accepted; this allows Lasitskene to resume competition despite the Federation's ban. Her first competition back was the third Diamond League in the series at Eugene. She won the women's high jump with a personal best and world leading height of 2.03 m.  She improved to 2.04 m on 11 June 2017 in Hengelo. On 6 July 2017 she set a new personal best at the Diamond League in Lausanne with a height of 2.06 m, a Diamond League record. She followed up her strong performances in the Diamond League competitions by defending her world title later in London on 12 August 2017 with a height of 2.03 m.  Lasitskene wrote on Instagram that she was “totally not surprised about this outcome” and planned to compete under a neutral flag. “The only thing that confuses us is that the athletes are alone in their struggle, and the leaders of our sport all this time have been protecting us only in words,” Lasitskene said.

Winning streak (45).

From 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2018 Lasitskene won 45 tournaments in a row. On 13 July 2018, the streak breaking was interrupted in Rabat, one of the IAAF Diamond League meetings, where she claimed bronze.

Personal life.

Lasitskene was awarded the rank of senior lieutenant after winning the 2017 Diamond League.  Russian sports journalist and Eurosport commentator of Lithuanian descent Vladas "Tashev" Lasitskas married Mariya on 17 March 2017. She then took her husband's family name.

Mariya Aleksandrovna Lasitskene (; born 14 January 1993), née Kuchina, is a Russian athlete who specialises in the high jump. She won the gold medal at the 2015, 2017 and the 2019 World Championships.


Early life.

De Colo was born in Sainte-Catherine-lès-Arras, France to parents who were both born and raised in Portugal. He attended Lycée Fernand Renaudeau in Cholet, and made his first appearance on the Cholet Under-20 team in 2004–05.

Professional career.

Early career.

De Colo made his professional debut during the 2006–07 season with Cholet Basket of the LNB Pro A. Under supervision of head coach Erman Kunter, he helped the team win the 2008 Semaine des As (French A Leaders Cup) and reach the finals of the 2008 French Cup and of the 2009 EuroChallenge.  On 1 June 2009, he parted ways with Cholet. On 25 June 2009, he was selected with the 53rd overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft by the San Antonio Spurs.  On 13 July 2009, he signed a three-year deal with Valencia of Spain. He went on to win the 2010 EuroCup title with Valencia.

San Antonio Spurs.

On 10 July 2012, De Colo announced he would not be re-signing with Valencia in order to play in the NBA. On 13 July 2012, he signed a two-year deal with the San Antonio Spurs. During his rookie and sophomore seasons, he had multiple assignments with the Austin Toros of the NBA D-League. de Colo reached the 2013 NBA Finals with the Spurs, but the team lost to the Miami Heat in seven games.

Toronto Raptors.

On 20 February 2014, De Colo was traded to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Austin Daye.

CSKA Moscow.

On 9 July 2014, De Colo signed a two-year deal (with the third year being optional) with the Russian club CSKA Moscow of the VTB United League. In May 2015, he was chosen to the All-EuroLeague Second Team, for his performances over the season.  In the 2014–15 season, CSKA Moscow managed to advance to the EuroLeague Final Four, for the fourth straight season, after eliminating Panathinaikos for the second straight season in the EuroLeague quarterfinals playoffs series, with a 3–1 series victory. However, in the EuroLeague Final Four's semi-final game, despite being dubbed by the media as an absolute favorite to advance to the Finals, CSKA once again lost to Olympiacos. The final score was 70–68, after a great Olympiacos comeback in the 4th quarter, which was led by Vassilis Spanoulis. CSKA Moscow eventually won the third place game, after defeating Fenerbahçe, by a score of 86–80. In his second EuroLeague season, De Colo averaged a career-high 14.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game, over 28 games played. On 21 May 2015, De Colo won the VTB United League MVP Award. CSKA Moscow finished the season by winning the VTB United League championship, after eliminating Khimki, with a 3–0 series sweep in the league's finals series.  On 3 May 2016, De Colo was awarded with the Alphonso Ford EuroLeague Top Scorer Trophy, an annual award given to the EuroLeague's top scorer of the season. Nine days later, he was named the EuroLeague MVP. On 15 May, CSKA won the EuroLeague title, and De Colo was named the EuroLeague Final Four MVP.  On 15 June 2016, De Colo signed a new three-year contract with CSKA. He was named the 2016 by Eurobasket.com.  In May 2018, he was named the All-EuroLeague First Team for the 2017–18 season. On June 9, 2018, he won his third VTB United League MVP award.  In the 2018–19 season, De Colo won his second EuroLeague title with CSKA after defeating Anadolu Efes in the championship game of the Final Four. Moscow also went on to win the VTB United League once again, making it his fifth league title.

Fenerbahçe.

On July 6, 2019, de Colo signed with Fenerbahçe of the Turkish Basketball Super League and the EuroLeague, on a 2+1 deal. On October 19, 2019, de Colo set personal career-high with 39 points in a EuroLeague win over Baskonia.

National team career.

De Colo is a regular member of the senior men's French national basketball team. He won a silver medal at the EuroBasket 2011 in Lithuania, a gold medal at the EuroBasket 2013 in Slovenia, and a bronze medal at the EuroBasket 2015 in France, where he also earned an All-Tournament Team selection.  De Colo played internationally at the 2012 London Olympics. He played a major role on the French team during the tournament, following the loss of Tony Parker to an injury, prior to the tournament. He also displayed strong offense and defense, as he scored seven points in their game against the United States.  He was the MVP of the 2016 Manila FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

Nando de Colo (born 23 June 1987) is a French professional basketball player for Fenerbahçe of the Turkish Basketball Super League and the EuroLeague. Standing at a height of, he plays at the Point guard and Shooting guard positions. A four-time All-EuroLeague selection, he won the EuroLeague title in 2016 and 2019 with CSKA Moscow, earning both the EuroLeague MVP and Final Four MVP awards in the process.


Early life and exile.

Archduke Felix was born in the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna the third son of the then heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary the Archduke Charles and his wife Zita of Bourbon-Parma. He was christened at Schönbrunn on 8 June 1916 in the presence of his great-grand uncle Emperor Franz Joseph while his godfather was his great-uncle King Frederick Augustus III of Saxony, brother of his grandmother Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony. On 21 November 1916 the Emperor Franz Joseph died and Felix's father succeeded as the new Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary.  Archduke Felix was less than three years old when Austria-Hungary collapsed following its defeat in the First World War. As a result, republics were declared in the now-separate countries Austria and Hungary which led to exile of the Imperial Family. Originally exiled in Switzerland the Imperial Family were taken to Portuguese island of Madeira in 1921 after Archduke Felix's father's failed attempts to claim the throne in the Kingdom of Hungary from the regent Miklós Horthy. On 1 April 1922 his father Emperor Charles died in Madeira.  In the autumn of 1937 Archduke Felix was permitted to return to Austria, entering the Theresian Military Academy in Wiener Neustadt. He became the first Habsburg since the abolition of the monarchy to pursue a career as an officer in the Austrian Army. With the Anschluss approaching Archduke Felix, his sister Archduchess Adelheid and Archduke Eugen fled Austria crossing the border to Czechoslovakia.  During the Second World War while in the United States, Felix and his brother Carl Ludwig volunteered to serve in the 101st Infantry Battalion known as the "Free Austria Battalion". However the battalion was disbanded when a number of exiled Jewish volunteers who made up the majority of force ultimately declined to confirm their enlistment.

Return to Austria.

Felix, unlike his brother Otto, always refused to renounce his rights to the Austrian throne and membership of the Habsburg family, saying that doing so would violate his human rights. As a result, he was banned from entering Austria except for a brief three-day stay in 1989 in order to attend his mother's funeral. On 10 March 1996, after Austria had joined the European Union and the concurrent dropping of staffed border checkpoints between Austria and other EU countries, he crossed into the country from Germany and held a press conference the next day to announce his illegal arrival. After his presence became known, he was warned by the Austrian government that he would face prosecution if he ever tried to enter the country illegally again. Ultimately, a deal was reached between Felix, his brother Carl Ludwig and the Austrian government whereby they declared their allegiance to the republic without any reference being made to their rights to the throne or to their membership in the Imperial Family.  In June 1998, in a joint action with his brother Carl Ludwig, Felix attempted to have the properties which were given to their ancestor Maria Theresa of Austria by her husband Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor restored to them after the properties had been taken from the Habsburg family by Adolf Hitler during the Anschluss.  Felix built up a number of successful businesses in Mexico and Brussels and worked as a marketing consultant.  During his time in exile Archduke Felix lived in Portugal, Belgium, Mexico and the United States. He lived in the "colonia" of San Ángel in Mexico City where he died 6 September 2011. He was interred in the family crypt in Muri Abbey, near Zürich. The abbey is a favoured burial place of the Habsburg dynasty, and also contains the remains of his wife and the hearts of his parents.

Marriage and children.

Felix was married civilly on 18 November 1952 at Beaulieu, France, and religiously a day later, to Princess and Duchess Anna-Eugénie of Arenberg (1925–1997).. Anna-Eugénie was the daughter of Prince and Duke Robert of Arenberg (himself the son of Prince and Duke Jean of Arenberg and of his wife and cousin Princess and Duchess Sophie of Arenberg) and of his wife, née Princess Gabrielle of Wrede (herself the daughter of Carl Philipp, 4th Prince of Wrede and of his wife, née Princess Anna of Lobkowicz). Anna-Eugénie was thus a first cousin of her sister-in-law, Princess Anna Gabriele of Wrede, second wife of Archduke Rudolph of Austria. They had seven children, and twenty-six grandchildren.  As they all lived in Mexico, and some still do, they are called by the Spanish equivalent to their names.

Honours and patronages.

Along with his brothers Otto and Rudolf, Archduke Felix was a patron for the revived Almanach de Gotha.

Archduke Felix of Austria (given names: "Felix Friedrich August Maria vom Siege Franz Joseph Peter Karl Anton Robert Otto Pius Michael Benedikt Sebastian Ignatius Marcus d'Aviano"; 31 May 1916 – 6 September 2011) was the last surviving child of the last Austrian Emperor Charles I and a member of the House of Habsburg. He was a younger brother of former Crown Prince Otto of Austria, who predeceased Felix by two months.


History.

Ancien Regime.

To this day, Paris bears traces of the "Mur des Fermiers généraux", a wall built between 1784 and 1791, one of the several city walls built between the early Middle Ages and the mid 19th century well beyond the buildings of Paris in a campaign to encircle houses, gardens and monasteries for the purpose of controlling the flow of goods and to enable their taxation by the Farmers General.  The wall's construction left a vast grassy space of vines and market gardens as far as the medieval city wall and the walls of the gardens of the old village of Picpus, which contained large convents, schools and retreats. A throne was erected in this space on 26 July 1660 for the solemn arrival of Louis XIV and Maria Theresa of Spain following their wedding in Saint-Jean-de-Luz. This gave the square its original name of "Square of the Throne", Place du Trône.  Originally, the square accommodated two pavilions and two columns of the barrière du Trône designed by Claude Nicolas Ledoux and built for the barrier of octroi (for tax collection) which surrounded the entrance to the cours de Vincennes. The columns were surmounted by statues of Kings Philip II and Louis IX.

French Revolution.

During the Revolution, the square was renamed Place du Trône-Renversé - Square of the Toppled Throne - on 10 August 1792. A guillotine was set up in the southern half of the square, near the Pavilion of Law built by Ledoux. Those guillotined there were buried in the nearby Picpus Cemetery and include:

19th century.

The central monument, "The Triumph of the Republic", is a bronze sculpture created by Aimé-Jules Dalou. It was erected to mark the centenary of the Revolution, at first in plaster in 1889 and then in bronze in 1899. The figure of Marianne, personifying the Republic, stands on a globe in a chariot pulled by lions and surrounded by various symbolic figures, and looks towards the Place de la Bastille. When the monument was erected, it was surrounded by a large pond. Additional sculptures of alligators, symbols for the threats to democracy, were removed during the Nazi occupation of Paris and melted down.

20th century.

On 22 June 1963, the magazine "Salut les copains" organised a concert at Place de la Nation, featuring singers such as Johnny Hallyday, Richard Anthony, Eddy Mitchell and Frank Alamo. It attracted over 150,000 young people. The headline of the following day's issue of the journal "Paris-Presse" read, "Salut les voyous!". The photographer Jean-Marie Périer, who was a friend of many of the performers, photographed the concert. The Place de la Nation was the location of the Foire du Trône before the Pelouse de Reuilly.

The Place de la Nation (formerly Place du Trône, subsequently Place du Trône-Renversé during the Revolution) is a circle on the eastern side of Paris, between Place de la Bastille and the Bois de Vincennes, on the border of the 11th and 12th arrondissements.


Description.

The cap is in diameter and gray to grayish-brown in color; initially the cap is oval, then as it matures it becomes progressively conical, convex, and eventually flattened, sometimes with a small umbo (a rounded elevation in the center of the cap). The gills are white, free (not attached to the stem) to narrowly attached, moderately crowded together, and sometimes have a grayish tint; the lamellulae (small gills that run from the edge of the cap towards the stem) are truncate. The flesh is white and thin, and does not change color upon bruising or injury. The stem is long and thick. Unlike many other Amanitas with stems that are swollen at the base (bulbous), the thickness of the "A. vaginata" stem is roughly the same at both ends. The stem surface is covered with a finely powdered bloom (pruinose), especially near the top; faint longitudinal lines may be seen. The base of the stem is enclosed in a loose, sack-like volva that may discolor grayish or reddish brown. The spore print is white.  The variant "A. vaginata" var. "alba" is pure white, and has a volva that is either absent, or not constricted around the base of the stem.

Microscopic features.

The spores are roughly spherical, 8–12 μm in diameter, thin-walled, and nonamyloid (that is, not absorbing iodine stain in Melzer's reagent). The pileipellis (cap cuticle) is composed of filamentous interwoven hyphae, 2–7 μm diameter, gelatinized. The spore-bearing cells, the basidia, are 36–52 by 4–13 μm, 4–sterigmate, without clamps. The volva is largely made of filamentous hyphae, 2–8 μm diameter, inflated cells broadly elliptic, elliptical, fusiform, to clavate, 40–85 by 10–35 μm, mostly terminal. The stem tissue is made up of filamentous hyphae with diameters of 2–6 μm; the inflated cells are terminal, club-shaped, longitudinally oriented, with dimensions of up to 289 by 31 μm.

Similar species.

The tawny grisette ("Amanita fulva") was once thought to be a variety of "A. vaginata". In North America, "A. vaginata" is considered to be part of a species complex, that includes "A. constricta", "A. pachycolea" and "A. protecta".

Edibility.

Although not poisonous, most authors advise against consumption due to the possibility of mistaking other poisonous species of "Amanita" for it. A guide noted that the species is usually regarded as edible but there are also record of intoxication because of the species. One field guide notes that cows enjoy eating this mushroom.

Habitat and distribution.

A mycorrhizal species, "Amanita vaginata" grows singly or numerous in both coniferous and hardwood forests. It has also been noted to occur frequently in grassy areas at the edge of forests, unkempt lawns, and suburban area where the ground has been recently disturbed. A widely distributed and common species, it fruits from the spring to the fall.  This species is widely distributed in North America. It is also found in the Azores, Australia, and Scotland.

Amanita vaginata, commonly known as the grisette, is an edible mushroom in the fungus family Amanitaceae. Unlike many other "Amanita" mushrooms, "A. vaginata" lacks a ring on the stem. The cap is gray or brownish, in diameter, and has furrows around the edge that duplicate the gill pattern underneath. It has a widespread distribution in North America, and is thought to be part of a species complex that includes other similar-looking Amanitas.


Plot.

During the North African Campaign in the Second World War, Captain Douglas (Michael Caine) is a British Petroleum employee seconded to the Royal Engineers to oversee incoming fuel supplies for the British Eighth Army. Colonel Masters (Nigel Green) commands a special raiding unit composed of convicted criminals, and after a string of failures he is told by his commander, Brigadier Blore (Harry Andrews), that he must have a regular officer to lead a dangerous last-chance mission to destroy an Afrika Korps fuel depot, otherwise his unit will be disbanded. Despite Douglas's objections, he is chosen for his knowledge of oil pipelines and infrastructure. Douglas is then introduced to Cyril Leech (Nigel Davenport), a convicted criminal rescued from prison to lead Masters's operations in the field.  The next day, Douglas and Leech are provided with armed jeeps and lead six other men out into the desert disguised as an Italian Army patrol. They endure a long and arduous trek across the desert: encountering hostile tribesmen, sandstorms and a booby-trapped oasis, among other dangers. Unknown to Masters, Blore has sent a regular army raiding party with the same objective 2 days behind Masters. However these are wiped out in a German ambush. While Leech and his men are often insubordinate towards Douglas's command, they eventually reach their objective, only to discover that the depot is fake. Due to an injured man who needs medical care, Douglas capture a German ambulance in which they discover a German nurse. She operates on the injured man and tends to his care. At one point the criminal men try to rape the nurse but are prevented from doing so. They then head to a German-occupied port city, hoping to steal a boat and escape; Douglas sees the fuel depot there and convinces Leech that destroying it would aid their plan. Meanwhile, Masters is confronted by Blore with aerial photographs of the supposed depot intact — confirming the mission's failure. Having lost contact with the men for some time, Masters is ordered to leak intelligence on the team to the Germans; the British Army is now on the offensive, and it wishes to keep any enemy fuel depots intact for capture.  Under the cover of night, the men don German uniforms and sneak into the port depot to plant their explosives, but one of them sets off a trip flare and they are quickly surrounded; an officer on a loudspeaker calls each of them out by name, revealing Masters's betrayal. The men scatter as the depot is detonated; Leech and Douglas manage to slip away, while the rest are caught and killed. After taking shelter, Leech admits to Douglas that he is being kept alive only because Masters is paying him £2000 for his safe return.  The Eighth Army arrives the next morning; Douglas and Leech (still wearing their German uniforms) decide to surrender to the British. Unfortunately, a trigger-happy British soldier opens fire, killing them before they have a chance to speak.

Production.

Development.

The film was originally titled "Written in the Sand"; it was announced in October 1967 with Michael Caine to star and René Clément to direct. Caine later said he made the film because of his relationship with producer Harry Saltzman and the fact he wanted to work with Clément.  The film was also known as "Deadly Patrol".  In February 1968 Richard Harris and Nigel Davenport signed to co-star, by which time the film had been re-named "Play Dirty". However Richard Harris ultimately did not appear in the film.  According to Andre DeToth, Lotte Colin did hardly any of the screenplay despite being credited. She was Saltzman's mother-in-law.

Filming.

The film was originally planned by Saltzman to be filmed in Israel. Saltzman asked Andre DeToth to scout the country for locations. De Toth said Clément wanted to film in Morocco or Algeria, but Saltzman refused to go to North Africa, and Clément refused to go to Israel. The film ended up being shot on location in the Tabernas Desert near Tabernas in Almería, Spain.  Richard Harris left his home in London for Spain on 16 February 1968. He said he was handed a script which was different from the one he had agreed to do when he signed on. He quit the film and sued the producers for payment of his salary, which was a reported £150,000.  After Nigel Davenport replaced Harris, and Nigel Green replaced Davenport, René Clément resigned as director, and executive producer André DeToth took over directing the film. DeToth said Clément "wanted to make a 'poetry of war'" while Saltzman "wanted blazing guns and roaring tanks".  Several other films were shooting in Almería at the same time, including "Shalako". Caine later said, "There are six sand dunes in Almeria... We'd all come round the hill chasing Rommel's tanks - and there's horse shit all over the desert and a stagecoach in the other directions being chased by Indians. The other film units were forever wiping out tank tracks to get their westerns and we were forever shovelling up horse shit and wiping out hoof prints to get our El Alamein." Caine later said he had a clause in his contracts that any film on which he worked could not be made in Almería. "It was that bad".  DeToth later said that in making the film, "I wanted to rub our noses in the mess we have created and how we shy away from our ability to clean it up... I wanted to disturb, to open closed eyes and scramble brains."

Novelization.

A novelization was published by Pan Books. The author used the pen name Zeno.

Reception.

The film was a box office disappointment.

Play Dirty is a 1969 British war film starring Michael Caine, Nigel Davenport, Nigel Green and Harry Andrews. It was director Andre DeToth's last film, based on a screenplay by Melvyn Bragg and Lotte Colin.


Life.

D'India was probably born in Palermo, Sicily in 1582, though details of his life are lacking until around 1600. During the first decade of the 17th century he probably traveled widely in Italy, meeting composers, acquiring patrons at various aristocratic courts, and absorbing the musical styles at each locale. This was a time of transition in music history, as the polyphonic style of the late Renaissance was giving way to the widely diverse practices of the early Baroque, and d'India seems to have acquired an unusually broad grasp of the total stylistic practice in Italy: the expressive madrigal style of Marenzio, the grand polychoral work of the Venetian School, the conservative polyphonic tradition of the Roman School, the attempts to recover the music of the ancient world in monody and its larger vehicle, the newly developing opera, as well as the mannered, emotionally intense chromatic style of Carlo Gesualdo in Naples. D'India is known to have been in Florence, the birthplace of opera, as well as Mantua, where Monteverdi was working. In Naples he probably met Gesualdo, and by 1610 he was in Parma and Piacenza. The next year, 1611, he was hired by Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy, to direct music in Turin, where he remained until 1623 ; these were the most productive years of his life, during which he amalgamated the disparate types of music he had heard and absorbed during the years 1600–1610 into a unified style.  After leaving Turin – apparently forced out by malicious gossip – he traveled around Italy for five months before settling for a time at the D'Este court in Modena (October 1623 to April 1624), and then moved to Rome; he seems to have died in Modena, although details on the end of his life are as sparse as they were for its beginning. A record exists of his being granted an appointment in Bavaria at the court of Maximilian I, although there is no evidence he went there; he may have died first.

Works.

D'India's output consisted of music in most of the vocal forms of the time, including monodies, madrigals, and motets. His monodies, the most numerous and significant portion of his work, were of many types: arias, both through-composed and strophic, variations over ground basses, laments, madrigals in the monodic style, and others.  Stylistically, d'India's music has features in common with Monteverdi's music of the same period: expressive chromaticism, dissonances with unusual resolutions, and a keen sense of drama. Indeed, some of the longer monodies are effectively operatic scenes, though d'India did not write anything specifically called an "opera."  His polyphonic madrigals often borrow textural ideas from Gesualdo, especially in juxtaposing slow, intensely chromatic music with light, almost delirious diatonic passages; in this regard d'India was one of Gesualdo's few successors (until the 20th century). Some of d'India's later music is unusual in showing aspects of the influence of almost "all" of the contemporary composers in Italy within a single piece.  Publications:

Sigismondo d'India (c. 1582 – before 19 April 1629) was an Italian composer of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. He was one of the most accomplished contemporaries of Monteverdi, and wrote music in many of the same forms as the more famous composer.


Background.

When war came the Austro-Hungarian Chief-of-Staff Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf planned to launch an offensive into Russian Poland with his northern armies (the 1st and 4th). The Russians would far outnumber the Central Powers in the east (especially the Austro-Hungarian armies, which were Russia's primary target), Conrad believed that their best option was an early advance into southern Poland where the Russians would be concentrating their newly mobilized units.  Conrad knew that his German allies were committed to an offensive in the West to defeat the French in the first ten weeks of the war. Only the German 8th army would be in the East, where they would stand on the defensive in East Prussia. However, their alliance with the French obliged the Russians to attack the Germans promptly, so substantial Russian forces would be sent to invade East Prussia. The 1st and 4th Austro-Hungarian Armies would advance into Poland without direct German support. By 23 August 1914 Conrad's 1st, 3rd, and 4th Armies were concentrated in Galicia along a front of.  On 2 August Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich, a second cousin of Emperor Nicholas II who had made his career in the army, was made Commander-in-Chief. He had an excellent reputation for training troops, but had never commanded a field army and was staggered by his unexpected elevation. The Russian 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 8th Armies were assigned to Galicia. The Russian war plan called for Nikolai Ivanov, the Russian commander of the Southwest Front, to counter an anticipated Austro-Hungarian offensive thrusting eastward from Lemberg. The 3rd and 8th Armies would mount an offensive into eastern Galicia. The Russians could bring 260 trains a day to their front, compared to the Austro-Hungarian's 152.

Battles.

The Austro-Hungarian 1st Army under Viktor Dankl was moving in the north towards Lublin. Dankl struck and drove back Baron Zaltsa's Russian Fourth Army in what would be known as the Battle of Kraśnik. Dankl's army was able to capture 6,000 prisoners. To the right of Dankl the Austro- Hungarian 4th Army, aiming at Cholm, drove back the Russian Fifth Army under Pavel Plehve in the Battle of Komarów, capturing 20,000 prisoners and inflicting heavy casualties. However, a planned Austrian enveloping movement around the Russian army failed. As the Russians were being driven back along the northern front, the Austrian 3rd Army and Army Group Kovess made a simultaneous advance against Ivanov's left wing. Along the southern front, Ivanov had the Russian Third Army under Nikolai Ruzsky and the Russian Eighth Army under Aleksei Brusilov. Brusilov and Ruszky routed the Austro-Hungarians so thoroughly that even though poor roads necessitated that the Russians halt for two days, the Austrians could not regroup to halt the Russian drive. This attack became known as the Battle of Gnila Lipa. With the entire 3rd Army and Kovess Group in full retreat, Conrad pulled forces away from the northern front which he believed had been sufficiently defeated. In fact, the Russians north of Lemberg were still a potential threat. Ivanov ordered Plehve's Fifth Army to attack and drove the Austrians back as they began to shift forces to the south in an engagement known as the Battle of Rava Ruska. The Austrian Second Army was quickly recalled from Serbia, but it was too late and the entire Austrian front collapsed in Galicia, and the Russians took control of Lemberg.

Results.

Holger Herwig estimates Austro-Hungarian losses of 100,000 dead, 220,000 wounded and 100,000 captured. According to Prit Buttar, the Austro-Hungarian army lost 324,000 men in Galicia, including 130,000 as prisoners, while the Russians lost 225,000 men, of which 40,000 were captured. Other authors estimate 400,000 Austro-Hungarian losses, or "one-third of the Austro-Hungarian Army's combat effectives", and 250,000 for the Russians.  The Russians had pushed the front 100 miles (160 kilometers) into the Carpathian Mountains, completely surrounded the Austrian fortress of Przemyśl and started a Siege of Przemyśl which lasted for over a hundred days. The battle severely damaged the Austro-Hungarian Army, destroyed a large portion of its trained officers, and crippled Austria. Though the Russians had been utterly crushed at the Battle of Tannenberg, their victory at Lemberg prevented that defeat from fully taking its toll on Russian public opinion.

Order of battle.

Russian forces.

Russian South-Western front. Commander-in-chief – Nikolai Ivanov, Chief of Staff – Mikhail Alekseyev

The Battle of Galicia, also known as the Battle of Lemberg, was a major battle between Russia and Austria-Hungary during the early stages of World War I in 1914. In the course of the battle, the Austro-Hungarian armies were severely defeated and forced out of Galicia, while the Russians captured Lemberg and, for approximately nine months, ruled Eastern Galicia until their defeat at Gorlice and Tarnów.


Biology.

The seed of "Bassia scoparia" is dispersed by wind and water, and it is transported when the whole plant detaches and rolls on the wind as a tumbleweed. The seed does not persist in the soil seed bank, dying within about a year if it fails to germinate.  The species is a C plant, specifically of the NADP-ME type.

Uses.

This plant is grown as an ornamental for its red fall foliage. It has also been useful in erosion control on denuded soils. It has been suggested as an agent of phytoremediation, because it is a hyperaccumulator of chromium, lead, mercury, selenium, silver, zinc, and uranium. "B. scoparia" contains higher levels of protein and oxalate than most grasses and fodder plants, thus it also serves as a good forage crop for livestock. When grown as ornamental plant, it is a good choice as evergreen foliage plant for landscapes.

"Tonburi".

In Japan the seeds are used a food garnish called (Japanese). Because its texture is similar to caviar, it has been called "land caviar", "field caviar", and "mountain caviar". It is a "chinmi", or delicacy, in Akita prefecture. The glossy, greenish black seeds are dried, boiled, soaked, and then rubbed by hand to remove the skin.

Traditional medicine.

The seeds are used in traditional Chinese medicine to help regulate disorders such as hyperlipidemia, hypertension, obesity, and atherosclerosis. In a study of mice fed a high-fat diet, an extract of the seeds limited obesity. They contain momordin Ic, a triterpene saponin.

Forage.

The plant is a moderately useful forage for livestock, especially on dry lands. However, its use is limited by its toxicity in large quantities. Livestock ingesting large amounts can experience weight loss, hyperbilirubinemia, photosensitization, and polyuria.

Broom.

In Serbia, the plant is used to make brooms, which are produced by simply tying several dried plants together, using the branches as the broom head and the stems as the handle; this is convenient since the broom needs no separate handle.

Systematics.

The species was first published in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus, who named it "Chenopodium scoparium". In 1809, it was placed in the genus "Kochia" by Heinrich Schrader. It was transferred to "Bassia" in 1978 by. "Kochia" was included in "Bassia" in 2011 following phylogenetic studies.

Bassia scoparia is a large annual herb in the family Amaranthaceae native to Eurasia. It has been introduced to many parts of North America, where it is found in grassland, prairie, and desert shrub ecosystems. Its common names include burningbush, ragweed, summer cypress, mock-cypress, kochia, belvedere, Mexican firebrush, and Mexican fireweed.


Life.

Alice Boughton was born in Brooklyn, New York, on 14 May 1866. Her parents were Frances Ayres and William H. Boughton, a lawyer in New York. She studied photography and became a well known portrait photographer in New York by the early 1900s. Outside of her art production she was active in Feminist and Socialist causes utilizing photography as a form of personal expression.  Being active in the Feminist scene Alice was a prominent member of the movement known as New Woman. Artwork made by women was considered to be inferior, and to help overcome that stereotype women became "increasingly vocal and confident" in promoting women's work, and thus became part of the emerging image of the educated, modern and freer "New Woman". Artists like Boughton then, "played crucial roles in representing the New Woman, both by drawing images of the icon and exemplifying this emerging type through their own lives."  From at least 1920 until her death, Boughton shared her residences with artist and art teacher Ida C. Haskell (1861–1932). Haskell is known to have been an instructor at Pratt while Käsebier and Boughton studied there. When Boughton traveled to Europe in 1926, Haskell, her partner, accompanied her on the trip.

Photography career.

In the 1880s, Boughton began studying art and photography at the Pratt School of Art and Design. It was there that she met fellow student Gertrude Käsebier, with whom she later studied in Paris. Käsebier also employed her an assistant in her studio, most likely at the same time Boughton was studying at Pratt.  In 1890, she opened her own portrait studio on East 23rd Street in New York, which she maintained for the next forty years. In 1904, she sent a letter to William Butler Yeats that listed a studio address on Madison Avenue, indicating that she established or used more than one studio for at least a brief period.  Around 1901, Boughton studied art in Rome and photography in Paris, where she worked in Käsebier’s summer studio. She won an honorable mention for her work at the Turin International Decorative and Fine Arts Exhibition in 1902.  Although Boughton became one of the most distinguished portrait photographers of New York during her time, she also dabbed in other areas of photography such as landscapes and child photography. She did many landscapes in this country and Europe including the famous Rockefeller estate Kykuit at Pocantico Hills, New York. Continually she produced studies of children, as well as female nudes in allegorical or natural settings. Among her more famous works are portraits of Eugene O'Neill, Albert Pinkham Ryder, George Arliss and Robert Louis Stevenson. Her portrait of Robert Louis Stevenson was an inspiration for John Singer Sargent's own portrait of the writer.

Relationship with Stieglitz.

As Boughton's photography career grew she became noticed by famous photographers in her field, like Alfred Stieglitz. It is not known when she met Stieglitz, but it is clear he knew of and admired her work by 1902 when he included two of her works in the inaugural exhibition at his Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession in New York City. This relationship continued for many years as in 1906, Boughton was appointed by Stieglitz as a Fellow of the Photo-Secession. The Photo-Secession artists worked to "secede" from what they thought was the mainstream art of the time. The following year Stieglitz gave her, along with fellow photographers C. Yarnall Abbot and William B. Dyer, an exhibition at the Little Galleries. In 1909 she had six of her photographs and an essay called “Photography, A Medium of Expression” published in Stieglitz's journal "Camera Work" (No 26, April, 1909).  While Stieglitz was promoting and including her work in his exhibitions, Boughton was also receiving recognition for her photography from other major independent exhibitions around the world, including shows in London, Paris, Vienna, The Hague and New York.

Later life.

In 1931, Boughton closed her studio and discarded thousands of prints. She moved permanently to the home in Brookhaven, Long Island, that she shared with Haskell.  Boughton died of pneumonia on 21 June 1943.  Her works are in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the British National Portrait Gallery, the George Eastman House, and other important museums.

Work and publications.

A collection of her portraits, "Photographing the Famous", was published in 1928, and included such luminaries as William Butler Yeats, Julia Ward Howe, Henry James, Walter de la Mare, G. K. Chesterton, Maxim Gorky, John Burroughs, Ruth St. Denis, Eleonora Duse and Yvette Guilbert.  Her work was also published in "Camera Work" in 1909.

Alice Boughton (14 May 1866 – 21 June 1943) was an early 20th-century American photographer known for her photographs of many literary and theatrical figures of her time. She was a Fellow of Alfred Stieglitz's Photo-Secession, a circle of photographers whose artistic efforts succeeded in raising photography to a fine art form.


History.

Originally built in Romanesque style, the cathedral has been restored and extended several times, with Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque elements. Construction began in 1107, but the works were damaged and halted after an earthquake in 1117. Construction resumed in 1129, and the building was probably finished in 1160-1170. The main altar, dedicated to the city's patron saints Archelaus and Himerius, was consecrated in 1196. The current façade was probably built in the 13th and the early 14th century. In the same period the arms of the transept were also added: the northern in 1288 and the southern in 1348.

Exterior.

The main façade, together with the adjoining baptistery, is one of the most important monuments of Romanesque art in Europe. It has a portico with a narthex in the middle, to which a Renaissance loggia with three niches was added in 1491. This is surmounted by a large rose window, flanked by two orders of "loggette" ("small loggias").  The portal is probably from the early 12th century. On its side are the figures of the Four Major Prophets, each bearing a roll with the text of their prophecies. The narthex was made by masters from Campione in the following century: it incorporates an older frieze portraying the Labours of the Months (late 12th century, inspired by that in the Baptistery of Parma). The four statues on the upper loggia, portraying the "Madonna with Child" and two bishops, are of the Tuscan school (1310). The columns of the narthex stand on two lions in Verona marble. The left one is holding a dragon, symbol of Evil, in his paws, while the right one is holding a bear, which in turn is biting a bird's neck.  On the façade are also two tombs: the more recent one (mid-14th century) is by Bonino da Campione.  The façade of the northern arm of the transept (late 13th century) also has a narthex; and its columns also have two lions at the base. It is characterized by a sequence of mullioned windows and rose windows. The façade of the southern arm of the transept dates from 1342, and is in brickwork, as is typical in Lombard Gothic architecture. Its structure is similar to the northern arm, but has slightly more detailed decoration.  The three apses are all surmounted by loggias with small columns, each having a human face stretching out from the capital. The central apse is much higher than the flanking ones.

Interior.

The interior houses important works of art.  The oldest are the frescoes of the "Stories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph" in the southern and northern transept vaults (late 14th-early 15th century). Also from the Renaissance are the arch of the "Stories of the Martyrs Marius and Marta, Audifax and Habakkuk", martyrs in Persia (best known as "Arch of the Persian Martyrs", 1482), and the relief of Saint Himerius (1481-1484), both works by Giovanni Antonio Amadeo. Also notable is the urn of Saints Marcellinus and Peter, sculpted mostly by Benedetto Briosco (1506-1513), in the crypt.  The wooden choir, with inlay work by Platina (1482-1490), and the contemporary large altar cross in silver and gold, by Ambrogio Pozzi and Agostino Sacchi (1478), in the right aisle of the northern transept, are also notable.  The most important figurative complex of the cathedral is the fresco decoration on the side walls of the nave (early 16th century), portraying the "Life of Mary and Christ". Different painters collaborated to its execution: the first was Boccaccio Boccaccino (with "Annunciation to Joachim" and "Jesus with the Doctors"), who, in 1506, had already painted a "Redemeer with Cremona's Patron Saints" in the apse vault. He was succeeded by Giovan Francesco Bembo ("Epiphany" and "Presentation at the Temple") and Altobello Melone ("Flight to Egypt", "Massacre of the Innocents" and the first four panels of the "Passion of Christ"), who both adopted a less classicist style. Next came Girolamo Romanino, author of the scenes from "Jesus before Pilatus" to "Ecce Homo", who painted some of his masterworks here.  The last scenes of the "Passion" were executed by Il Pordenone, who was also responsible of the large "Crucifixion" (1521), the "Deposition" (1521, counterfaçade) and the "Schizzi Altarpiece" (before 1523, on the first altar in the right aisles), the latter inspired by Giorgione's style. The complex was completed by Bernardino Gatti with the "Resurrection" (1529).  Other frescoes were added in the mid-16th century by Mannerist painters, including Gatti himself, Bernardino Campi and others. In the 17th century Il Genovesino added the "Life of St. Roch" in the northern transept.

Cremona Cathedral (, "Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta"), dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Cremona, Lombardy, northern Italy. It is the seat of the Bishop of Cremona. Its bell tower is the famous Torrazzo, symbol of the city and tallest pre-modern tower in Italy.


Format.

The main qualifying draw took place in Brazil on 30 July 2011. Initially it was announced that the AFC Competitions Committee decided to use the 2010 qualification format for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. The AFC published information in their calendar suggesting qualifiers would start on 8 October 2010 with the first leg of first round ties.  Therefore, for the 2010 finals, FIFA advised the AFC that 2014 qualifiers could not begin until after mid-2011. On 13 August 2010 the AFC announced a format for the qualifiers that was identical to the 2010 format even though the final number of qualifiers had not been determined. A final format, with the initial stages modified slightly from 2010, was announced in March 2011.  Qualification began with two sets of two-leg knock-out qualification rounds – the first held on 29 June and 2 July and 3 July 2011 and the second on 23 and 28 July – reducing the number of teams in the main draw to 20. As in the 2010 format, the third stage consisted of 5 groups of 4 teams (with matches held between September 2011 and February 2012) with the top 2 in each group advancing to 2 groups of 5 that will play a further group stage during 2012 and 2013. The top two teams in each group qualify for the 2014 finals directly, with the two third-placed teams playing-off for a chance to qualify via an intercontinental qualifying tie. A random draw determined that the final tie would be against the fifth-placed team from CONMEBOL qualification.

Entrants.

43 of the 46 AFC national teams entered qualification. A ranking list for the qualification rounds was released by AFC on 8 March 2011, with an updated list released due to the non-participation of Guam and Bhutan.  The rankings determined the round of qualification that teams began competition:

First round.

The first round consisted of eight home-and-away series, featuring the 16 lowest ranked teams in Asia. The winners of these series proceeded to the second round.

Seeding.

Teams were seeded into two pots – Pot 1 included teams ranked 28–35 and Pot 2 teams ranked 36–43.

Matches.

The first round draw of the Asian qualifiers took place on 30 March 2011 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The first legs were played on 29 June 2011 and the second legs were played on 2 and 3 July 2011.

Second round.

The second round consisted of fifteen home-and-away series, featuring the 8 winners from the first round and other 22 teams ranked 6–27. The winners of these series then proceeded to the third round.

Seeding.

Teams were seeded into two pots – Pot 1 included teams ranked 6–20 and Pot 2 teams ranked 21–27 along with the 8 first round winners.

Matches.

Ties were drawn at the same time as the first round. The first legs were played on 23 July 2011 and the second legs were played on 28 July 2011.

Third round.

The third round saw the 5 automatic qualifiers joined by the 15 winners from the second round. These teams were drawn into five groups of four teams, at the World Cup Preliminary Draw at the Marina da Glória in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 30 July 2011. The matches were played from 2 September 2011 to 29 February 2012. The top two teams from each group advanced to the fourth round.

Seeding.

The July 2011 FIFA Ranking – released on 27 July – was used to seed the teams. (Rankings shown in brackets)  Note. Syria were replaced by Tajikistan in the third round on 19 August 2011 following the awarding of both second round matches to Tajikistan.

Fourth round.

The fourth round saw the group winners and runners-up from the third round play in two groups of five. The top two teams from each group advanced to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, while the two third-placed teams advance to the fifth round. Japan, South Korea, Australia and Iran have qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Seeding.

The draw for Round Four was held on 9 March 2012 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with the teams seeded according to their March 2012 FIFA Ranking. The FIFA rankings used were released on 7 March 2012 and included all matches from the third round of Asian Qualifiers for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The ten teams (shown below with their March 2012 FIFA Ranking in brackets) are split into five pots, with each group containing a team from each pot.

Groups.

The matches were played from 3 June 2012 to 18 June 2013.  As the competition partially overlapped with the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, which was held from 15 June 2013, the AFC decided that the match day will be adjusted for Japan, the representative of AFC for the Confederations Cup, placing them on Position 5 in their group in order not to play on 18 June 2013.

Fifth round.

The two teams who finished third in the fourth round groups (Jordan and Uzbekistan) played each other to determine the AFC participant in the intercontinental play-off.  The draw for the fifth round of the AFC qualifiers was held in Zürich on 19 March 2013 during meetings of the Organising Committee for the FIFA World Cup. The games took place on 6 and 10 September 2013. With the two teams still evenly matched at full-time in the second leg, Jordan eventually progressed to the intercontinental playoff after winning 9–8 on penalties.

Inter-confederation play-offs.

The fifth round winner, Jordan, played against CONMEBOL's fifth-placed team, Uruguay, in a home-and-away play-off. The winner of this play-off, Uruguay, qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals.  The first leg was played on 13 November 2013, and the second leg was played on 20 November 2013.

Qualified teams.

The following four teams from AFC qualified for the final tournament.

Goalscorers.

There were 429 goals scored in 150 games, for an average of 2.86 goals per game.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) section of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification saw 43 teams competing for 4 or 5 berths in the final tournament in Brazil. As in recent tournaments the AFC had four direct qualifiers for the finals tournament in addition to a further possible place via the intercontinental play-offs against CONMEBOL's fifth-placed team, which was chosen through a random draw, rather than being decided by FIFA beforehand as in previous tournaments (e.g., 2010 against a team from OFC, 2006 against a team from CONCACAF). Iran and South Korea from Group A, along with Australia and Japan from Group B won the 4 direct qualification positions, with Jordan defeating Uzbekistan in a play-off to see which team would face the 5th placed CONMEBOL team, Uruguay, for a place in the World Cup, eventually also failed to qualify for the competition.


Format.

The initial format was scheduled to begin in August 2011 at the 2011 Pacific Games in Noumea, New Caledonia, where the men's football tournament was to double as the first stage of the OFC World Cup qualifying competition.  However, in June 2011 the format was amended, and the Pacific Games were no longer part of the qualification process. The new structure sees the four lowest ranked entrants play a single round-robin tournament from 22–26 November 2011 in Samoa. The top team in this tournament will then join the other seven teams in the 2012 OFC Nations Cup, with the four semi-finalists from that tournament will advance to Round Three. This stage was originally scheduled to be held in Fiji in June 2012, but on 14 March 2012 the hosting rights were stripped from Fiji as a result of an ongoing legal dispute involving OFC general secretary Tai Nicholas and Fijian authorities. The loss of the finals was confirmed by the Fiji Football Association on 16 March.  Round Three, consisting of a double round-robin held on a home-and-away basis, was scheduled to take place between 7 September 2012 and 26 March 2013. The Round Three winners will compete in the intercontinental play-offs with CONCACAF's fourth-placed team, which was chosen through a random draw, rather than being decided by FIFA beforehand as in previous tournaments (e.g., 2010 against a team from AFC, 2006 against a team from CONMEBOL).  An early proposal to allow the qualifying winner to the final group stage of AFC qualification was submitted by New Zealand Football to FIFA. This proposal, supported by OFC, would have replaced the intercontinental play-off that has been used in recent qualification tournaments, but was not adopted.

Entrants.

The July 2011 FIFA Ranking is shown in brackets.

First round.

Based on FIFA ranks and other sporting considerations, the first round featured American Samoa, Cook Islands, Samoa and Tonga and were played as a single round-robin tournament in Samoa from 22 to 26 November 2011. The winner of the group advanced to the second round.

Second round.

The winner of the first round joined the remaining seven OFC teams in the 2012 OFC Nations Cup. The four semi-finalists (the top two teams from each group in the group stage) advanced to the third round. The groups were drawn at the World Cup Preliminary Draw at the Marina da Glória in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 30 July 2011.  The tournament was held in the Solomon Islands from 1 to 10 June 2012. Fiji had been the proposed host, but had their hosting rights revoked on 14 March 2012.

Seeding.

The teams were seeded into two pots of 4 based on the July 2011 FIFA World Rankings – with the first round winner automatically seeded eighth. Each group consisted of two teams from each pot.

Knockout stage.

The four semi-finalists in the 2012 OFC Nations Cup advanced to the third round of World Cup qualifying, despite the outcome of the final knockout rounds of the OFC Nations Cup itself. The final results of the OFC Nations cup knockout stage matches do count in other ways as part of the World Cup qualifying, with FIFA counting goalscorers in the qualifying statistics, and cards given may contribute to suspensions in the third round of World Cup qualifying.

Third round.

The four remaining teams played a double round-robin between 7 September 2012 and 26 March 2013, with the top team advancing to the intercontinental play-off.  Note that – unlike the previously announced format – this means the team that advances to the intercontinental play-off may be different from the team that wins the OFC Nations Cup, and represents the OFC at the 2013 Confederations Cup.  The draw for the fixtures was conducted at OFC Headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand on 26 June 2012. The matches were scheduled to take place in the period from 7 September 2012 to 26 March 2013.

Inter-confederation play-offs.

The winner of the OFC qualification tournament, New Zealand, played against CONCACAF's fourth-placed team, Mexico, in a home-and-away play-off. Mexico, the winner of this play-off, qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.  The first leg was played on 13 November 2013, and the second leg was played on 20 November 2013.

Goalscorers.

There were 124 goals scored in 36 games, for an average of 3.44 goals per game.  Note: Statistics include goals scored in the knockout stage of the OFC Nations Cup as these matches are also considered by FIFA as part of the qualifiers.

The OFC qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup saw teams of the Oceania Football Confederation competing for a place in the finals held in Brazil.