query: How many Christians are in the world?

title: Christianity by country

text: As of the year 2015, Christianity has more than 2.3 billion adherents, out of about 7.5 billion people.[1][2][3][4][lower-alpha 1] The faith represents one-third of the world's population and is the largest religion in the world, with the three largest groups of Christians being the Catholic Church, Protestantism, and the Eastern Orthodox Church.[5] The largest Christian denomination is the Catholic Church, with 1.2 billion adherents.[6] The second largest Christian branch is either Protestantism (if it is considered a single group), or the Eastern Orthodox Church (if Protestants are considered to be divided into multiple denominations).

title: Bahá'í Faith in Bangladesh

text: It is not known how many organised communities of Bahá'ís there are in Bangladesh. In 2005 the World Christian Encyclopedia estimated the Bahá'í population of Bangladesh at about 10600. There are reports of many conversions from November 1988 to September 1989 including many Munda and Arakan people.

title: Evangelicalism

text: In the post–World War II period a split developed between Evangelicals as they disagreed among themselves about how individual Christians ought to respond to an unbelieving world. Many Evangelicals urged that Christians must engage "the culture" directly and constructively,[73] and they began to express reservations about being known to the world as fundamentalists. As Kenneth Kantzer put it at the time, the name fundamentalist had become "an embarrassment instead of a badge of honor".[74]

title: Nostra aetate

text: 1. We must cast the Declaration on the Jews in a much more positive form, one not so timid, but much more loving. ... For the sake of our common heritage we, the children of Abraham according to the spirit, must foster a special reverence and love for the children of Abraham according to the flesh. As children of Adam, they are our kin, as children of Abraham they are Christ's blood relatives. 2. So far as the guilt of Jews in the death of our Saviour is concerned, the rejection of the Messiah by His own, is according to Scripture, a mystery—a mystery given us for our instruction, not for our self-exaltation. ... We cannot sit in judgement on the onetime leaders of Israel—God alone is their judge. Much less can we burden later generations of Jews with any burden of guilt for the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus, for the death of the Saviour of the world, except that universal guilt in which we all have a part. ... In clear and unmistakable language, we must deny, therefore, that the Jews are guilty of our Saviour's death. We must condemn especially those who seek to justify, as Christian deeds, discrimination, hatred and even persecution of Jews. ... 3. I ask myself, Venerable Brothers, whether we should not humbly acknowledge before the whole world that, toward their Jewish brethren, Christians have all too often not shown themselves as true Christians, as faithful followers of Christ. How many [Jews] have suffered in our own time? How many died because Christians were indifferent and kept silent? ... If in recent years, not many Christian voices were raised against those injustices, at least let ours now be heard in humility.[9]

title: Hannah Whitall Smith

text: Hannah Whitall Smith’s book "The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life" (1875) is an extremely popular book of Christian mysticism and practical Holiness theology. It is still widely read today. She wrote her spiritual autobiography, "The Unselfishness of God And How I Discovered It", in 1903. Many publications of that book omit the three chapters which explain how she became a Christian universalist.

title: Jonathan Hill (theologian)

text: "What Has Christianity Ever Done for Us?: How it Shaped the Modern World". In this book Hill covers aspects of the influence that Christianity has had on Western culture. He shows how Christianity influenced different aspects of everyday life. He shows the often hidden and obscure/unexpected connections and the way that Christianity has influenced many aspects of arts, education, society and history. The book also describes events and people in history that have affected how we think in a way that we often take for granted.

title: María Rosa Menocal

text: In 2002, Menocal wrote the book "The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain," which has been translated into many languages, and includes an introduction by fellow Yale Sterling Professor in the Humanities Harold Bloom. The book focuses on tolerance in Medieval Spain within the Muslim and Christian kingdoms through political examples as well as cultural examples.

title: Dan Kimball

text: "They Like Jesus But Not The Church" is based on a series of interviews with non-Christians about how they feel about the Church and Jesus. The conversations reveal that while many people have a positive impression of Jesus, they have a dislike of the Church. The book discusses what the Church has done to foster these views, and how to address them. Kimball encourages Christians to leave the "Christian bubble" and listen to what non-Christians are saying.

title: Testament of Pope John Paul II

text: How could I not embrace with grateful memories all the Episcopal Conferences in the world, which I met in the course of their visits ad limina Apostolorum! Besides, how could I fail to remember all the Christian Brothers and Sisters - non-Catholics! And the Rabbi of Rome and likewise all the representatives of non-Christian religions, not to mention all the representatives of the worlds of culture, science, politics and the media!

title: How Many Kings: Songs for Christmas

text: How Many Kings: Songs for Christmas is the fifth official album release from Christian rock band Downhere released in 2009.

title: Gabriel Wilensky

text: The book provides an account of how antisemitism developed from the very early days of the Christian movement into full-blown hatred by the time of the Crusades. "Six Million Crucifixions" shows how anti-Jewish sentiment stemmed out of Christian Scriptures and the teachings of the Church Fathers, until it became second-nature to European Christians. As Dr. Carol Rittner, Distinguished Professor of Holocaust & Genocide Studies at The Richard Stockton College wrote, "Too many of those hate-filled words had their origin in the Christian Scriptures and were uttered by Christian preachers and teachers, by Christians generally, for nearly two millennia."

title: Bart D. Ehrman

text: In "Forged", Ehrman posits some New Testament books are literary forgeries and shows how widely forgery was practiced by early Christian writers—and how it was condemned in the ancient world as fraudulent and illicit. His scholarly book, "Forgery and Counterforgery", is an advanced look at the practice of forgery in the NT and early Christian literature. It makes a case for considering falsely attributed or "pseudepigraphic" books in the New Testament and early Christian literature "forgery", looks at why certain New Testament and early Christian works are considered forged, and describes the broader phenomenon of pseudepigraphy in the Greco-Roman world.

title: Antisemitism in Christianity

text: Modern antisemitism has been described as primarily hatred against Jews as a race with its modern expression rooted in 18th-century racial theories, while anti-Judaism is described as hostility to Jewish religion, but in Western Christianity it effectively merged into antisemitism during the 12th century. Scholars have debated how Christian antisemitism played a role in the Nazi Third Reich, World War II and the Holocaust. The Holocaust has driven many within Christianity to reflect on the relationship between Christian theology, practices, and that genocide.

title: Mark of the Christian

text: "The Mark of the Christian," as Schaeffer says the Bible defines it, is Christian Love. It is not a mushy, gooey, romantic love, but one that is practical and that a watching (sinful) world can see. This love is one that knows how to say, "I’m sorry," and that knows how to openly forgive. This love should also not be equated to organizational unity. In contrast to that it means unity stemming from the common bond of caring for each other. Schaeffer sites the Catholic Church as one that has organizational unity. Yet it is cutting itself to ribbons from within. Many Protestant denominations could fall into this same type of unity.

title: Christian Research Association

text: In September 2010, the Christian Research Association invited the leaders of all Christian denominations to gather for a consideration of the overview of the role of church and faith in the Australian context. The conference, entitled 'Shaping Australia's Spirituality', noted how many aspects of church practice are expanding, such as many fields of chaplaincy, the provision of schools and the welfare agencies of the churches. Other areas of church life are in decline, including involvement in many local churches and the role that the churches play in public life. The conference noted the role that the Christian faith continues to play in the formation of personal values among Australians, but that the churches were not highly engaged in the national and global issues of climate and economic change and sustainability. As the understanding of the world and the forms of community and culture change, the conference examined how the Christian faith needs to be re-expressed and new forms of Christian community need to be developed, in order to relate to the contemporary Australian context.

title: Passover Seder

text: Some Christians, especially but not only Evangelical Protestants, have recently taken great interest in performing seders according to the ancient rubric. Many churches host Seders, usually adding a Messianic Christian Passover message, and many times inviting Messianic Jews to lead and teach on it. Many Christians cite the meal as a way to connect with the heritage of their own religion and to see how the practices of the ancient world are still relevant to Christianity today.[46]

title: Battle of Cervera

text: Jalaf also related how, when Almanzor asked him how many of his own retinue remained, Jalaf counted them off for him one by one and arrived at twenty. Almanzor eventually dismounted and returned to his couch in order to strengthen the confidence of those around him. It was there that Jalaf says he hit upon the idea of transferring the camp from the shallow depression in which he had first pitched it to the hill from which he had been observing the battle. The sight of the large tent of Almanzor now propped on the hill demoralised the Christians and inspired the Muslims. In their ten-mile flight many Christians were captured and many more killed, while more than 700 Muslims died that day. The Christian camp was captured and pillaged.

title: Philosophy of Søren Kierkegaard

text: Albert Camus wrote about the idea of being a stranger in the world but reversed Kierkegaard's meaning. A stranger for Camus was someone living in the world who is forced to exist in a Christian way even though the individual does not want to be a Christian. But Kierkegaard was discussing the Christian who wants to be a Christian living in a world that has abandoned Christianity. Both Camus and Kierkegaard had in common an equal distaste for a Christian Democracy where all are forced to take a positive part in Christianity because freedom of choice would be lacking and in a non-Christian Democracy where none are allowed to take an active part in Christianity. Kierkegaard was against voting about Christianity, for him, Christ was the only authority. Camus called "the existential attitude philosophical suicide." This is how he put it in "The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Writings"

title: World Christianity

text: The term "world Christianity" can first be found in the writings of Francis John McConnell in 1929 and Henry P. Van Dusen in 1947. The term would likewise be used by the mission historian Kenneth Scott Latourette to speak of the "World Christian Fellowship" and "World Christian Community." For these individuals, world Christianity was meant to promote the idea of Christian missions and ecumenical unity. However, after the end of World War II, as Christian missions ended in many countries such as North Korea and China and parts of Asia and Africa shifted due to decolonization and national independence, these aspects of world Christianity were largely lost.

title: How the Other Half Lives

text: The book was successful. Soon after its publication, "The New York Times" lauded its content, calling it a "powerful book". The praise for "How the Other Half Lives" continued in many other newspapers all across the country. Many of these enthusiastic reviews were seen in Christian newsletters, which enjoyed Riis' view on the moral issues of poverty. "The Christian Intelligencer" reviewed the first edition saying "Books like this that lift the curtains and expose to public gaze the great evils of the system will hasten the day of reform." Many of these Christian reviewers found Riis' work to be applicable to their own cities, and called for similar reforms that Riis outlines in "How the Other Half Lives".

title: The Wide, Wide World

text: Secondary CharactersThis book was originally written with the goal of teaching people a Christian lesson, so many of the themes are Christian in nature and aim to show people how a true Christian ought to live his or her life.The driving conflict of this story is the separation of Ellen from her mother and the effects of this separation on Ellen, including how she misses the mother who had meant everything to her, how she struggles with being a good Christian, and how she deals with people who don’t care about her.

title: A New Christianity for a New World

text: A New Christianity for a New World: Why Traditional Faith Is Dying and How a New Faith Is Being Born is a theological book by Episcopalian bishop John Shelby Spong, published in 2001, in which he outlines his ideas for doctrinal changes within Christianity in the modern world.

title: Jonathan Hill (theologian)

text: "The Lion Handbook to the History of Christianity" published in 2007, and published in the US under the title "Zondervan Handbook to the History of Christianity", gives a presentation about how Christian theology and the Christian church has developed around the world in the last 2000 years, including the Christian missionary movement in Asia, Africa and South America, resulting in the fact that today the Christian Church includes a third of the world's population. He describes the place of Christianity in history, philosophy, culture and thought.

title: Enitharmon

text: Enitharmon appears in "Europe a Prophecy", which compares her rule in regards to the fall of Christian culture. Through her, oracles and the Olympian gods are brought back. The bulk of the work is devoted to Enitharmon's domination of the material world and puts forth various sexual rules through religion. Blake describes how these rules are errors found in orthodox Christianity. "The Book of Urizen" describes how Los's pity, Enitharmon, separated from him and became the first female after Los created a form for Urizen. In "Vala, or The Four Zoas", she is similar to eve and she is the tempter of Los/Adam. The work also describes the connection of poetic instinct and sexuality, along with pointing out how she and her daughters are able to create various things, such as a body for various Spectres to be created. "Milton a Poem" describes how Enitharmon gave birth to many children, which included Milton himself. In the work, she is described as being connected to Space while Los is connected to Time. In "Jerusalem The Emanation of the Giant Albion", she is connected to poetry, and she realizes that she must eventually vanish in the end. Enitharmon is described as having a Looking Glass, which reflects the Eternal world in the Material world. This image appears in the 99th illustration of Blake's to the works of Dante. The design shows the Queen of Heaven, who represents feminine rule and the glass is of materialism. She also appears as an illustration in "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell".

title: World War I memorials

text: The widespread use of Christian symbolism led to questions about how to produce memorials suitable for non-Christians. Lutyens attempted to solve this problem for the IWGC through the design of the Stone of Remembrance, or War Stone. This was a large, simple stone, intended to resemble an altar and evoke the theme of sacrifice. In practice, many commentators felt it resembled a sarcophagus. Lutyens wanted it to avoid conventional Christian symbolism and based it on designs in Chinese Ming tombs. One of Lutyens' arguments in favour of his design was that explicit Christian symbolism excluded the Indian and Jewish communities and atheists. The IWGC designs for the Indian and Chinese war cemeteries in Europe deliberately did not use Christian imagery – although, as historian Xu Guoqi notes, the Chinese role in the Allied armies remains largely uncommemorated through memorials.

title: Christian mythology

text: According to the orthodox Christian view, Jesus saved humanity from final death and damnation by dying for them. Most Christians believe that Christ's sacrifice supernaturally reversed death's power over humanity, proved when he was resurrected, and abolished the power of sin on humanity. According to Paul, "if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many" (Romans 5:15). For many Christians, atonement doctrine leads naturally into the eschatological narratives of Christian people rising from the dead and living again, or immediately entering heaven to join Jesus.

title: WSAN

text: The station was still a commercial radio station rather than non-commercial like many Christian outlets. Though owned by Clear Channel, the station was run similarly to how Christian network Salem Media runs its many Christian stations. Commercial blocks of time were sold to various Christian organizations. Morning and afternoon drive times were occupied by a blend of soft adult contemporary Christian songs, Gospel music, and rhythmic praise and worship music.

title: Religion in Belgium

text: According to a 2010 Eurobarometer poll:Some religious people dispute the precise figures, as it is unclear how many Belgians who say they believe in God are actually Christians and how many who call themselves Christians, but refuse the label "Catholic", have severed all links to the Catholic Church. Also in dispute are how many Catholic Belgians have become deists or have joined small Protestant churches.

title: First Apology of Justin Martyr

text: Justin goes to great lengths in the "First Apology" to defend Christianity as a rational philosophy. He remarks at how Christianity can provide moral teaching for its followers, and how many of the Christian teachings parallel similar stories in pagan mythology, making it irrational for contemporary pagans to persecute Christians.

title: Micah Challenge UK

text: Seeing Christians playing such a key role in Jubilee 2000 and recognising that the Millennium Declaration itself was, in many ways, a response to this advocacy activity, key figures within the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) and the Micah Network of Christian relief and development agencies discussed how this influence could be maintained. The Millennium Development Goals were considered to be a tremendous opportunity for Christians to continue to influence policy makers.

title: Miroslav Volf

text: In "A Public Faith: How Followers of Christ Should Serve the Common Good" (2011) Volf summed up his reflections over the years on how Christians should interact with the surrounding culture broadly conceived. He contends that with regard to the public realm Christians face two major dangers ("malfunctions of faith," in his terminology): one is to withdraw from public life and to leave their faith "idling" in all spheres outside their private and church lives; the other is to be engaged, but to do so in a coercive way, shoving the demands of their faith down the throats of those who embrace other faiths or no faith at all. Positively, Volf argues against two extremes: against a complete separation of faith from public life, a kind of secularist exclusion of religion from public realm (and sectarian self-isolation), and against a complete saturation of public life by one dominant religion, a kind of religious totalitarianism. Against both secular exclusivists and religious totalitarians he contends that, in a world in which many faiths often live under a common roof, freedom of religion and the Golden Rule should guide how faiths relate to each other in the public space. As to the Christians’ own engagement, Volf contends that there is no single Christian way to relate to the broader culture as a whole. Instead, while remaining true to the convictions of their own faith, Christians should approach their larger cultures in an ad-hoc way, accepting or partly changing some aspects of culture, possibly completely withdrawing from still others, and cheerfully celebrating many others.


query: How large was the Smilodon?

title: Smilodon

text: Overall, Smilodon was more robustly built than any extant cat, with particularly well-developed forelimbs and exceptionally long upper canine teeth. Its jaw had a bigger gape than that of modern cats, and its upper canines were slender and fragile, being adapted for precision killing. S.gracilis was the smallest species at 55 to 100kg (120 to 220lb) in weight. S.fatalis had a weight of 160 to 280kg (350 to 620lb) and height of 100cm (39in). Both of these species are mainly known from North America, but remains from South America have also been attributed to them. S.populator from South America was the largest species, at 220 to 400kg (490 to 880lb) in weight and 120cm (47in) in height, and was among the largest known felids. The coat pattern of Smilodon is unknown, but it has been artistically restored with plain or spotted patterns.

title: Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger

text: Sinbad and his friends arrive minutes later, and realize Zenobia has entered the pyramid. They enter the shrine's main chamber, the interior of which is covered in ice and is guarded by a "Smilodon" frozen in a block of ice. Zenobia orders Rafi to attack Melanthius and is about to hurt Dione with a knife, but he is attacked by Kassim and is killed falling down the temple stairs. Momentarily overcome with grief, Zenobia cradles her son while Sinbad and Melanthius investigate how to get Kassim into the column of light at the top of the shrine which will break the spell. Having come to her senses again and seeing Kassim restored to human form, Zenobia transfers her spirit into the "Smilodon". Breaking free of its icy prison, the giant cat attacks the group but the troglodyte then enters the scene and engages the "Smilodon" in combat. Initially gaining the upper hand and even slamming the creature to the ground, the "Smilodon" disarms the troglodyte of its spear and pins it to the wall, inflicting more damage before killing it via biting the neck. Sinbad and his men fight against the "Smilodon" but are overpowered by its speed and Maroof is killed. The "Smilodon" then attacks Sinbad who uses the troglodyte's spear to jab it in the chest, killing both the "Smilodon" and Zenobia. With the spell on Kassim broken and Zenobia dead, the adventurers flee the temple as it collapses and is buried in snow and ice.

title: Smilodon

text: An apex predator, Smilodon primarily hunted large mammals. Isotopes preserved in the bones of S.fatalis in the La Brea Tar Pits reveal that ruminants like bison (Bison antiquus, which was much larger than the modern American bison) and camels (Camelops) were most commonly taken by the cats there.[38] In addition, isotopes preserved in the tooth enamel of S.gracilis specimens from Florida show that this species fed on the peccary Platygonus and the llama-like Hemiauchenia.[39] In rare cases, Smilodon may have also targeted glyptodonts, based on a Glyptotherium skull that bears elliptical puncture marks[40] consistent with the size and diameter of its canine teeth.[41] This was a juvenile glyptodont with an incompletely developed cephalic shield (head armor).[40] Isotopic studies of dire wolf (Canis dirus) and American lion (Panthera leo atrox) bones show an overlap with S.fatalis in prey, which suggests that they were competitors.[38] The availability of prey in the Rancho La Brea area was likely comparable to modern East Africa.[42] As Smilodon migrated to South America, its diet changed; bison were absent, the horses and proboscideans were different, and native ungulates such as toxodonts and litopterns were completely unfamiliar, yet S.populator thrived as well there as its relatives in North America.[13] The differences between the North and South American species may be due to the difference in prey between the two continents.[8] Smilodon probably avoided eating bone and would have left enough food for scavengers.[43] Smilodon itself may have scavenged dire wolf kills.[44] It has been suggested that Smilodon was a pure scavenger that used its canines for display to assert dominance over carcasses, but this theory is not supported today as no modern terrestrial mammals are pure scavengers.[45]

title: Smilodon

text: Smilodon is a genus of the extinct machairodont subfamily of the felids. It is one of the most famous prehistoric mammals, and the best known saber-toothed cat. Although commonly known as the saber-toothed tiger, it was not closely related to the tiger or other modern cats. Smilodon lived in the Americas during the Pleistocene epoch (2.5 mya–10,000 years ago). The genus was named in 1842, based on fossils from Brazil. Three species are recognized today: S.gracilis, S.fatalis, and S.populator. The two latter species were probably descended from S.gracilis, which itself probably evolved from Megantereon. The hundreds of individuals obtained from the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles constitute the largest collection of Smilodon fossils.

title: Machairodontinae

text: In 2004 an experiment used a pair of mechanical aluminum jaws, cast from the CT scans of a Smilodon fatalis from the La Brea tar pits, to simulate several biting techniques possibly used by Smilodon, including the shearing bite, on a fresh domestic cow carcass.[52] The belly of the cow was found to be too large in diameter for the canines to puncture the skin, which were instead deflected off the body, with the mandible blocking their access. However, the model pulled its jaw upward as modern cats bite, while machairodonts most likely did not, instead pressing their skulls down with the aid of their neck muscles. This flaw in the procedure might nullify the results and leave the belly-shearing hypothesis untouched.

title: Smilodon

text: Another argument for sociality is based on the healed injuries in several Smilodon fossils, which would suggest that the animals needed others to provide it food.[64] This argument has been questioned, as cats can recover quickly from even severe bone damage and an injured Smilodon could survive if it had access to water.[65] The brain of Smilodon was relatively small compared to other cat species. Some researchers have argued that Smilodon's brain would have been too small for it to have been a social animal.[66] An analysis of brain size in living big cats found no correlation between brain size and sociality.[67] Another argument against Smilodon being social is that being an ambush hunter in closed habitat would likely have made group-living unnecessary, as in most modern cats.[65] Yet it has also been proposed that being the largest predator in an environment comparable to the savanna of Africa, Smilodon may have had a social structure similar to modern lions, which possibly live in groups primarily to defend optimal territory from other lions (lions are the only social big cats today).[45]

title: Homotherium

text: "Homotherium" reached at the shoulder and weighed an estimated and was therefore about the size of a male African lion. Compared to some other machairodonts, like "Smilodon" or "Megantereon", "Homotherium" had shorter upper canines, but they were flat, serrated and longer than those of any living cat. Incisors and lower canines formed a powerful puncturing and gripping device. Among living cats, only the tiger ("Panthera tigris") has such large incisors, which aid in lifting and carrying prey. The molars of "Homotherium" were rather weak and not adapted for bone crushing. The skull was longer than in "Smilodon" and had a well-developed crest, where muscles were attached to power the lower jaw. This jaw had down-turned forward flanges to protect the scimitars. Its large canine teeth were crenulated and designed for slashing rather than purely stabbing.

title: UBS Tower (Nashville)

text: Radiocarbon analysis of human remains from the cave returned dates of 2390+/-145 B.P. and 1690+/-115 B.P. These remains were collected from an upper zone approximately 16-feet above the saber-tooth bones. The human remains are believed to be from the Woodland Period and originated thousands of years after the "Smilodon" find. According to Guilday (1977), collagen from the "Smilodon" remains returned radiocarbon dates of 9410+/-155 B.P. and 10,035+/-650 B.P. These dates are extremely late for the presence of "Smilodon" in the Southeast, both contemporaneous with the Dalton horizon and overlapping Paleoindian occupations along the Cumberland River by at least 1,000 years. As such, the dates for the "Smilodon" remains from the First American site should be regarded with some skepticism.

title: Smilodon

text: Smilodon was around the size of modern big cats, but was more robustly built. It had a reduced lumbar region, high scapula, short tail, and broad limbs with relatively short feet.[23][24] Smilodon is most famous for its relatively long canine teeth, which are the longest found in the saber-toothed cats, at about 28cm (11in) long in the largest species, S. populator.[23] The canines were slender and had fine serrations on the front and back side.[25] The skull was robustly proportioned and the muzzle was short and broad. The cheek bones (zygomata) were deep and widely arched, the sagittal crest was prominent, and the frontal region was slightly convex. The mandible had a flange on each side of the front. The upper incisors were large, sharp, and slanted forwards. There was a diastema (gap) between the incisors and molars of the mandible. The lower incisors were broad, recurved, and placed in a straight line across. The p3 premolar tooth of the mandible was present in most early specimens, but lost in later specimens; it was only present in 6% of the La Brea sample.[3] There is some dispute over whether Smilodon was sexually dimorphic. Some studies of S. fatalis fossils have found little difference between the sexes.[26][27] Conversely, a 2012 study found that, while fossils of S. fatalis show less variation in size among individuals than modern Panthera, they do appear to show the same difference between the sexes in some traits.[28]

title: Smilodon

text: Traditionally, saber-toothed cats have been artistically restored with external features similar to those of extant felids, by artists such as Charles R. Knight in collaboration with various paleontologists in the early 20th century.[34] In 1969, paleontologist G.J. Miller instead proposed that Smilodon would have looked very different from a typical cat and similar to a bulldog, with a lower lip line (to allow its mouth to open wide without tearing the facial tissues), a more retracted nose and lower-placed ears.[35] Paleoartist Mauricio Antón and coauthors disputed this in 1998 and maintained that the facial features of Smilodon were overall not very different from those of other cats. Antón noted that modern animals like the hippopotamus are able to achieve a wide gap without tearing tissue by the moderate folding of the orbicularis oris muscle, and such a muscle configuration exists in modern large felids.[36] Antón stated that extant phylogenetic bracketing (where the features of the closest extant relatives of a fossil taxon are used as reference) is the most reliable way of restoring the life-appearance of prehistoric animals, and the cat-like Smilodon restorations by Knight are therefore still accurate.[34]

title: Smilodon

text: Despite the colloquial name "saber-toothed tiger", Smilodon is not closely related to the modern tiger (which belongs in the subfamily Pantherinae), or any other extant felid.[19] A 1992 ancient DNA analysis suggested that Smilodon should be grouped with modern cats (subfamilies Felinae and Pantherinae).[20] A 2005 study found that Smilodon belonged to a separate lineage.[21] A study published in 2006 confirmed this, showing that the Machairodontinae diverged early from the ancestors of modern cats and were not closely related to any living species.[22] The following cladogram based on fossils and DNA analysis shows the placement of Smilodon among extinct and extant felids, after Rincón and colleagues, 2011:[16]

title: Smilodon

text: The latest Smilodon fatalis specimen recovered from the Rancho La Brea tar pits has been dated to 13,025 years ago.[85] The latest Smilodon populator remains found in the cave of Cueva del Medio, near the town of Soria, northeast Última Esperanza Province, Magallanes Region in southern-most Chile, and have been dated 10,935–11,209 years ago.[86]

title: Smilodon

text: In North America, Smilodon hunted large herbivores such as bison and camels, and it remained successful even when encountering new prey species in South America. Smilodon is thought to have killed its prey by holding it still with its forelimbs and biting it, but it is unclear in what manner the bite itself was delivered. Scientists debate whether Smilodon had a social or a solitary lifestyle; analysis of modern predator behavior as well as of Smilodon's fossil remains could be construed to lend support to either view. Smilodon probably lived in closed habitats such as forests and bush, which would have provided cover for ambushing prey. Smilodon died out at the same time that most North and South American megafauna disappeared, about 10,000 years ago. Its reliance on large animals has been proposed as the cause of its extinction, along with climate change and competition with other species, but the exact cause is unknown.

title: Smilodon

text: The brain of Smilodon had sulcal patterns similar to modern cats, which suggests an increased complexity of the regions that control the sense of hearing, sight, and coordination of the limbs. Felid saber-tooths in general had relatively small eyes that were not as forward-facing as those of modern cats, which have good binocular vision to help them move in trees.[45] Smilodon was likely an ambush predator that concealed itself in dense vegetation, as its limb proportions were similar to modern forest dwelling cats,[46] and its short tail would not have helped it balance while running.[47] Unlike its ancestor Megantereon, which was at least partially scansorial and therefore able to climb trees, Smilodon was probably completely terrestrial due to its greater weight and lack of climbing adaptations.[48] The heel bone of Smilodon was fairly long, which suggests it was a good jumper.[23] Its well-developed flexor and extensor muscles in its forearms probably enabled it to pull down, and securely hold down, large prey. Analysis of the cross-sections of S.fatalis humeri indicated that they were strengthened by cortical thickening to such an extent that they would have been able to sustain greater loading than those of extant big cats, or of the extinct American lion. The thickening of S.fatalis femurs was within the range of extant felids.[49] Its canines were fragile and could not have bitten into bone; due to the risk of breaking, these cats had to subdue and restrain their prey with their powerful forelimbs before they could use their canine teeth, and likely used quick slashing or stabbing bites rather than the slow, suffocating bites typically used by modern cats.[49] On rare occasions, as evidenced by fossils, Smilodon was willing to risk biting into bone with its canines. This may have been focused more towards competition such as other Smilodon or potential threats such as other carnivores than on prey.[48]

title: List of creatures in Primeval

text: A Smilodon appeared for the first time in episode 2.3, where it is responsible for a number of deaths at a theme park. When the team hear of this, Connor wonders why the Anomaly detector he has recently built didn't detect an Anomaly in the theme park; it is later revealed that the Smilodon had came through its Anomaly as a cub years before the events of the episode, and had been kept as a pet by a ranger called Valerie who had lost control of it as it became more aggressive and turned man-eater upon maturing; she was certain that her pet would never hurt her after all she had done for it over the years, but was proved wrong when it later killed her. At the end of the episode, Oliver claims the cat is dead, killed by an apparent heart attack after being tranquillised; Nick questions how this could have happened when it was a perfectly healthy animal. Oliver is revealed to have been lying in episode 2.7, where it is revealed he has built up his own army of creatures that his men have kidnapped from their own time and that the Smilodon is now one of the creatures in his army. He tries to use it to kill Connor, Abby, Jenny and Caroline, but Nick tricks him into opening the prison and the Smilodon escapes. It is later lured back to the prison along with the other creatures by Nick, Helen and Stephen; it then participates in killing Stephen. It is assumed that the creatures turned on and killed each other after killing Stephen and that the Smilodon, and the rest of Oliver's creatures, are all dead.

title: Smilodon

text: Along with most of the Pleistocene megafauna, Smilodon became extinct 10,000 years ago in the Quaternary extinction event. Its extinction has been linked to the decline and extinction of large herbivores, which were replaced by smaller and more agile ones like deer. Hence, Smilodon could have been too specialized at hunting large prey and may have been unable to adapt.[49] A 2012 study of Smilodon tooth wear found no evidence that they were limited by food resources.[83] Other explanations include climate change and competition with humans[83] (who entered the Americas around the time Smilodon disappeared), or a combination of several factors, all of which apply to the general Pleistocene extinction event, rather than specifically to the extinction of the saber-toothed cats.[84]

title: Smilodon

text: Felidae Proailurus Pseudaelurus Panthera (tigers, lions, jaguars, and leopards) Caracal Leopardus (ocelot and relatives) Felis (domestic cats and relatives) Herpailurus (jaguarundi) Miracinonyx (American cheetah) Puma (cougar) Dinofelis Nimravides Machairodus Homotherium Xenosmilus Paramachairodus Megantereon Smilodon gracilis Smilodon populator Smilodon fatalis

title: Smilodon

text: Despite being more powerfully built than other large cats, Smilodon had a weaker bite. Modern big cats have more pronounced zygomatic arches, while these were smaller in Smilodon, which restricted the thickness and therefore power of the temporalis muscles and thus reduced Smilodon's bite force. Analysis of its narrow jaws indicates that it could produce a bite only a third as strong as that of a lion (the bite force quotient measured for the lion is 112).[53][54] There seems to be a general rule that the saber-toothed cats with the largest canines had proportionally weaker bites. Analyses of canine bending strength (the ability of the canine teeth to resist bending forces without breaking) and bite forces indicate that the saber-toothed cats' teeth were stronger relative to the bite force than those of modern big cats.[55] In addition, Smilodon's gape could have reached almost 120 degrees,[56] while that of the modern lion reaches 65 degrees.[57] This made the gape wide enough to allow Smilodon to grasp large prey despite the long canines.[36] A 2018 study compared the killing behaviour of Smilodon fatalis and Homotherium serum, and found that the former had a strong skull with little trabecular bone for a stabbing canine-shear bite, whereas the latter had more trabecular bone and used a clamp and hold style more similar to lions. The two would therefore have held distinct ecological niches.[58]

title: Smilodon

text: Debate continues as to how Smilodon killed its prey. Traditionally, the most popular theory is that the cat delivered a deep stabbing bite or open-jawed stabbing thrust to the throat, generally cutting through the jugular vein and/or the trachea and thus killing the prey very quickly.[49][50] Another hypothesis suggests that Smilodon targeted the belly of its prey. This is disputed, as the curvature of their prey's belly would likely have prevented the cat from getting a good bite or stab.[51] In regard to how Smilodon delivered its bite, the "canine shear-bite" hypothesis has been favored, where flexion of the neck and rotation of the skull assisted in biting the prey, but this may be mechanically impossible. The mandibular flanges may have helped resist bending forces when the mandible was pulled against the hide of a prey.[52] The protruding incisors were arranged in an arch, and were used to hold the prey still and stabilize it while the canine bite was delivered. The contact surface between the canine crown and the gum was enlarged, which helped stabilize the tooth and helped the cat sense when the tooth had penetrated to its maximum extent. Since saber-toothed cats generally had a relatively large infraorbital foramen (opening) in the skull, which housed nerves associated with the whiskers, it has been suggested the improved senses would have helped the cats' precision when biting outside their field of vision, and thereby prevent breakage of the canines. The blade-like carnassial teeth were used to cut skin to access the meat, and the reduced molars suggest that they were less adapted for crushing bones than modern cats.[45] As the food of modern cats enters the mouth through the side while cutting with the carnassials, not the front incisors between the canines, the animals do not need to gape widely, so the canines of Smilodon would likewise not have been a hindrance when feeding.[36]

title: Smilodon

text: The earliest felids are known from the Oligocene of Europe, such as Proailurus, and the earliest one with saber-tooth features is the Miocene genus Pseudaelurus.[4] The skull and mandible morphology of the earliest saber-toothed cats was similar to that of the modern clouded leopards (Neofelis). The lineage further adapted to the precision killing of large animals by developing elongated canine teeth and wider gapes, in the process sacrificing high bite force.[14] As their canines became longer, the bodies of the cats became more robust for immobilizing prey.[13] In derived smilodontins and homotherins, the lumbar region of the spine and the tail became shortened, as did the hind limbs.[4] Based on mitochondrial DNA sequences extracted from fossils, the lineages of Homotherium and Smilodon are estimated to have diverged about 18 Ma ago.[15] The earliest species of Smilodon is S.gracilis, which existed from 2.5 million to 500,000 years ago (early Blancan to Irvingtonian ages) and was the successor in North America of Megantereon, from which it probably evolved. Megantereon itself had entered North America from Eurasia during the Pliocene, along with Homotherium. S.gracilis reached the northern regions of South America in the Early Pleistocene as part of the Great American Interchange.[16][13] The younger Smilodon species are probably derived from S.gracilis.[17] S.fatalis existed 1.6 million–10,000 years ago (late Irvingtonian to Rancholabrean ages), and replaced S.gracilis in North America.[8] S.populator existed 1 million–10,000 years ago (Ensenadan to Lujanian ages); it occurred in the eastern parts of South America.[18]

title: List of Kamen Rider W characters

text: is Ryubee's beloved pet blue British Shorthair, named by his son Raito (Philip). Despite being a cat, the Smilodon Memory can transform Mick into the humanoid that can discharge electricity and move at blinding speeds, fast enough to evade the homing shots of Kamen Rider Double LunaTrigger and outmaneuver Kamen Rider Accel Trial. He appears to be more intelligent than the average house cat, in that he appears to know that he is able to transform into the Smilodon Dopant and he knows how to transform back into a house cat at will. He is often utilized by the Sonozaki Family to deal with matters outside their estate, such as hunting down Philip and traitors, as well as bodyguard and spy. Mick also appears to favor Wakana over the other members of the family though will faithfully follow Ryubee's orders. While targeting Kyoko, the Smilodon Dopant defeats Accel Trial before Double CycloneMetal catches the cat off guard before destroying his Gaia Driver and Smilodon Memory with the Metal Stag Break Maximum Drive. After Ryubee's death, Mick is brought to live at the Narumi Detective Agency.

title: Smilodon

text: In his 1880 article about extinct cats, Cope also named a third species of Smilodon, S.gracilis. The species was based on a partial canine, which had been obtained in a cave near the Schuylkill River in Pennsylvania. Cope found the canine to be distinct from that of the other Smilodon species due to its smaller size and more compressed base.[7] Its specific name refers to the species' lighter build.[9] This species is known from fewer and less complete remains than the other members of the genus.[10] S.gracilis has at times been considered part of genera such as Megantereon and Ischyrosmilus.[11] S.populator, S.fatalis and S.gracilis are currently considered the only valid species of Smilodon, and features used to define most of their junior synonyms have been dismissed as variation between individuals of the same species (intraspecific variation).[4][3] One of the most famous of prehistoric mammals, Smilodon has often been featured in popular media and is the state fossil of California.[1]

title: Smilodon

text: Several Smilodon fossils show signs of ankylosing spondylitis, hyperostosis and trauma;[74] some also had arthritis, which gave them fused vertebrae. One study of 1,000 Smilodon skulls found that 30% of them had eroded parietal bones, which is where the largest jaw muscles attach. They also showed signs of microfractures, and the weakening and thinning of bones possibly caused by mechanical stress from the constant need to make stabbing motions with the canines.[75] Bony growths where the deltoid muscle inserted in the humerus is a common pathology for a La Brea specimen, which was probably due to repeated strain when Smilodon attempted to pull down prey with its forelimbs. Sternum injuries are also common, probably due to collision with prey. Some bones also show evidence of having been bitten by other Smilodon, with one skull showing an unhealed wound from a canine, seemingly fatal, and a scapula from the same site that had been pierced by a canine.[45] The frequency of trauma in S. fatalis specimens was 4.3%, compared to 2.8% in the dire wolf, which implies the ambush predatory behavior of the former led to greater risk of injury than the pursuit predatory behavior of the latter. Smilodon remains exhibit relatively more shoulder and lumbar vertebrae injuries.[76]

title: Smilodon

text: S.populator was very successful, while Homotherium never became widespread in South America. The extinction of the thylacosmilids has been attributed to competition with Smilodon, but this is probably incorrect, as they seem to have disappeared before the arrival of the large cats. The phorusrhacid "terror birds" may have dominated the large predator niche in South America until Smilodon arrived.[13] S. populator may have been able to reach larger size than S. fatalis due to a lack of competition in Pleistocene South America; S. populator arrived after the extinction of Arctotherium angustidens, one of the largest carnivores ever, and could therefore assume the niche of mega-carnivore.[79] S. populator preferred large prey from open habitats such as grassland and plains, based on evidence gathered from isotope ratios that determined the animal's diet. In this way, the South American Smilodon species was probably similar to the modern lion. S. populator probably competed with the canid Protocyon there, but not with the jaguar, which fed primarily on smaller prey.[81][82]

title: First American Cave

text: Until 2013 a display in the first floor lobby included bones from the "Smilodon" and other faunal material from the cave site. A replica of a "Smilodon" skull from the La Brea Tar Pits served as the centerpiece of the display. The Smilodon upper canine that led to the site discovery in 1971 is not on display, and is apparently no longer in the bank collection.

title: Machairodontinae

text: The third idea proposed is the elongation of the lips by 50%. While his other hypotheses have been largely discarded, the last is used significantly in modern depictions. Miller argues that longer lips allows the greater elasticity needed for biting prey with a wider gape. Although this argument has been disputed within the scientific community, it remains supported nevertheless by artists. Scientific criticism points out that the lips of modern cats, especially larger species, display incredible elasticity and the usual lip length would stretch suitably, despite the larger degree of opening,[33] and that in living carnivores the lip line is always anterior to the masseter muscle, which in Smilodon was located just behind the carnassials.[31] Regardless, reconstructions of Smilodon, Machairodus, and other species are shown with long lips, often resembling the jowls of large dogs.

title: Smilodon

text: Smilodon lived during the Pleistocene epoch (2.5 mya–10,000 years ago), and was perhaps the most recent of the saber-toothed cats.[23] Smilodon probably lived in a closed habitat such as forest or bush.[77] Fossils of the genus have been found throughout the Americas.[3] In North America, the varied habitat supported other saber-toothed cats in addition to Smilodon, such as Homotherium and Xenosmilus; the habitat here varied from subtropical forests and savannah in the south, to treeless mammoth steppes in the north. Smilodon inhabited the temperate latitudes of North America, where the mosaic vegetation of woods, shrubs, and grasses in the southwest supported large herbivores such as horses, bison, antelope, deer, camels, mammoths, mastodons, and ground sloths. Other large carnivores included dire wolves, short-faced bear (Arctodus simus) and the American lion.[13][60][78] Due to competition from larger carnivores in North America, S.fatalis was perhaps not able to attain the same size as S.populator. The similar sizes of S.fatalis and the American lion suggests niche overlap and direct competition between these species, and they appear to have fed on similarly sized prey.[79]

title: Machairodontinae

text: The dirk-toothed machairodonts, including Smilodon, Megantereon, and Paramachairodus, are defined by sturdiness and strength with the most primitive (Paramachairodus) being smaller and more lithe than the more advanced Smilodon; the intermediate Megantereon falls in between. They were not stamina runners with short tarsi and metatarsi and heavy bodies. When compared with the modern lion, their ribcages were barrel-like with narrow anterior ends and expanded posterior ends. Their scapulae were very well developed, especially in Smilodon, to allow for a larger surface area of attachment for massive shoulder and triceps muscles. The cervical vertebrae are very sturdy, and the attachments for muscles were powerful and strong. The lumbar section of the vertebral column was shortened. The tails were, from most primitive to most advanced, growing shorter and shorter, resulting in the bobcat-like tail of Smilodon. When viewing only postcranial remains, they are more similar in structure to modern bears than to modern cats.[26]

title: UBS Tower (Nashville)

text: Regions Bank and UBS maintained a display in their first floor lobby that included bones from the "Smilodon" and other faunal material from the site. In 2016, the display was moved to Bridgestone Arena. "Smilodon" remains on display include portions of the lower jaw and molars, vertebral column, ribs, humerus, metacarpals, and metatarsals. A replica of a "Smilodon" skull from the La Brea Tar Pits serves as the centerpiece of the display. The Smilodon upper canine that led to the site discovery in 1971 is not on display, and is apparently no longer in the collection. Conventional wisdom among bank and facility management personnel is that the canine is now in the collection of the Smithsonian; however, that institution holds no record of the artifact.

title: Machairodontinae

text: The question of sociality is still controversial. Strong support for the traditional concept of a solitary Smilodon is found in its brain. Most social predators, including humans, grey wolves, and lions, have brains that are slightly larger than those of their loner relatives. Smilodon had a relatively small brain, suggesting less ability for complex cooperative behaviors, such as hunting in groups.[43] The high numbers of Smilodon in the tar pits is often dismissed as evidence for a social nature because the golden eagle, a species still extant, is solitary and yet is found in the pits in similar numbers. The social grey wolf and coyote lived in the region, but their fossils in the pits are rare.

title: Smilodon

text: Whether Smilodon was sexually dimorphic has implications for its reproductive behavior. Based on their conclusions that Smilodon fatalis had no sexual dimorphism, Van Valkenburgh and Sacco suggested in 2002 that, if the cats were social, they would likely have lived in monogamous pairs (along with offspring) with no intense competition among males for females.[26] Likewise, Meachen-Samuels and Binder (2010) concluded that aggression between males was less pronounced in S.fatalis than in the American lion.[27] Christiansen and Harris (2012) found that, as S.fatalis did exhibit some sexual dimorphism, there would have been evolutionary selection for competition between males.[28] The structure of the hyoid bones suggest that Smilodon communicated by roaring, like modern big cats.[68] The ability to roar may have implications for the social life of Smilodon.[69]


query: When did Angola become an independent country?

title: History of Angola

text: Angola is a country in southwestern Africa. The country's name derives from the Kimbundu word for king.. It was first settled by San hunter-gatherer societies before the northern domains came under the rule of Bantu states such as Kongo and Ndongo. From the 15th century, Portuguese colonists began trading, and a settlement was established at Luanda during the 16th century. Portugal annexed territories in the region which were ruled as a colony from 1655, and Angola was incorporated as an overseas province of Portugal in 1951. After the Angolan War of Independence, which ended with an army mutiny and leftist coup in Lisbon, Angola's independence was achieved on November 11, 1975 through the Alvor Agreement. After independence, Angola later entered a period of civil war that lasted up until 2002.

title: Angola–Serbia relations

text: Angola–Serbia relations are foreign relations between Angola and Serbia. Both countries maintain diplomatic relations established between Angola and Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1975, following Angola's independence. Angola has an embassy in Belgrade, with ambassador Toko Diakenga Serao, and Serbia has an embassy in Luanda, Alvalade, with ambassador Danilo Milić.

title: Fractionism

text: According to the radicals, ""the whites and those of mixed blood performed a disproportionate role in the government of a predominantly black country"". However, at that time, there were already some black people in power, more so because president Agostinho Neto insisted in establishing a multiracial government in Angola. Some of those government members saw the opportunity of obtaining a larger share of power, explicitly launching an appeal for race to the people, as Nito Alves did when claiming, in a rally in Luanda's periphery, that ""Angola would only be truly independent when whites, mestizos and blacks sweeped the streets together"".

title: Constitution of Angola

text: Angola was a colony of Portugal for more than 400 years, beginning the 15th century. Three principal parties, MPLA, National Front for the Liberation of Angola the FNLA and the National Union for Total Independence of Angola the UNITA, fought for independence. After many years of conflict that weakened all of the insurgent parties, Angola gained independence on 11 November 1975, after the Carnation Revolution overthrew the Marcelo Caetano regime in Portugal. A fight for dominance broke out immediately between the three nationalist movements, resulting in a civil war soon after independence. The civil war continued with UNITA fighting against the ruling MPLA. Both parties received support and backing from other countries.

title: Cuban intervention in Angola

text: In November 1975, on the eve of Angola's independence, Cuba launched a large-scale military intervention in support of the leftist People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) against United States-backed interventions by South Africa and Zaire in support of two right-wing independence movements competing for power in the country, the National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA) and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). By the end of 1975 the Cuban military in Angola numbered more than 25,000 troops. Following the withdrawal of Zaire and South Africa, Cuban forces remained in Angola to support the MPLA government against UNITA in the continuing Angolan Civil War.

title: List of ambassadors of the United States to Angola

text: Angola became independent of Portugal in 1975, but the U.S. did not recognize the Government of Angola declared by the MPLA. The U.S. recognized Angola after multiparty elections were held in 1992.

title: Angola–Cuba Declaration of 1984

text: Angola was a colony of Portugal for more than 400 years from the 15th century. The demand for independence in Angola picked up momentum during the early 1950s. The Portuguese régime, refused to accede to the demands for independence, provoking an armed conflict that started in 1961 when freedom fighters attacked both white and black civilians in cross-border operations in northeastern Angola, which was called the Colonial War. The principal protagonists included the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), founded in 1956, the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA), which appeared in 1961, and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), founded in 1966. After many years of conflict that weakened all of the insurgent parties, Angola gained its independence on 11 November 1975, after the 1974 coup d'état in Lisbon, Portugal, which overthrew the Portuguese régime headed by Marcelo Caetano.

title: Angolan War of Independence

text: In 1964, Northern Rhodesia becomes independent as Zambia, under the leadership of Kenneth Kaunda. From then on, Angola becomes almost surrounded by countries with regimes hostile to Portugal, the exception being South West Africa.

title: Agriculture in Angola

text: Agriculture in Angola has a tremendous potential. Angola is a potentially rich agricultural country, with fertile soils, a favourable climate, and about 57.4 million ha of agricultural land, including more than 5.0 million ha of arable land. Before independence from Portugal in 1975, Angola had a flourishing tradition of family-based farming and was self-sufficient in all major food crops except wheat. The country exported coffee and maize, as well as crops such as sisal, bananas, tobacco and cassava. By the 1990s Angola produced less than 1 percent the volume of coffee it had produced in the early 1970s, while production of cotton, tobacco and sugar cane had ceased almost entirely. Poor global market prices and lack of investment have severely limited the sector since independence.

title: Operation Savannah (Angola)

text: The so-called "Carnation Revolution" of the 25th April 1974 ended Portugal's colonial government, but Angola's three main independence forces, National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA), National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) and the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) began competing for dominance in the country.

title: Angola Avante

text: "Angola Avante" was composed by . The lyrics to the song were penned by Manuel Rui Alves Monteiro (1941–), an author who studied in Huambo and is affiliated with both the country's Writer Union and Union of Artists and Composers. He is one of the best-selling writers in the capital city Luanda – according to an "informal survey" conducted in July 2003 – and writes about "everyday life" in the country using satire and irony. The song was officially designated as the country's national anthem in 1975, when the country gained independence on November 11 of that year. It is enshrined under Article 164 of the constitution of Angola.

title: Military history of Angola

text: The MPLA has played a major role in country's struggle during the Angolan War of Independence. After the Independence, MPLA fought a civil war against the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) and National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA) from 1975 to 2002.

title: President of Angola

text: The position of President dates from Angola's independence from Portugal. Agostinho Neto held the position when his People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) won control of the country from the Portuguese. When Neto died in 1979, José Eduardo dos Santos succeeded him.

title: Corruption in Angola

text: Angola's colonial era ended with the Angolan War of Independence against Portugal occurred between 1970 and 1975. Independence did not produce a unified Angola, however; the country plunged into years of civil war between the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) and the governing Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA). 30 years of war would produce historical legacies that combine to allow for the persistence of a highly corrupt government system.

title: MPLA

text: The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola, for some years called the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola – Labour Party (, MPLA), is a political party that has ruled Angola since the country's independence from Portugal in 1975. The MPLA fought against the Portuguese army in the Angolan War of Independence of 1961–74, and defeated the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) and the National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA), two other anti-colonial movements, in the Angolan Civil War of 1975–2002.

title: Angola–Brazil relations

text: Brazil was the first country to recognize the independence of Angola, in November 1975. Commercial and economic ties dominate the relations of each country. Both countries are former colonies under the Portuguese Empire; Brazil from the early 16th century until its independence in 1822, and Angola until its independence in 1975.

title: Angola Avante

text: "Angola Avante!" (English: "Onwards Angola") is the national anthem of the Republic of Angola. composed the music, while the lyrics were authored by Manuel Rui Alves Monteiro. It was adopted as the national anthem in November 1975, when the country gained its independence from Portugal. The lyrics make reference to several key events of the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), which has been in power since independence and was the only party in Angola until 1992.

title: Islam in Angola

text: Historically, Angola did not have a significant Muslim population. During the 21st century, Angola's Muslim community has grown. Most Muslims in Angola are businessmen and migrants from West Africa and the Middle East, especially Lebanon. Very few Angolans have converted to Islam as a result of Muslim missionary activity in Angola. Most of these conversions occurred during the Angolan Civil War, when many Angolans fled to countries with a significant Muslim presence and came into contact with Islam there.

title: Luís Geraldes

text: Geraldes was born in 1957 and went to the African country of Angola when he was about 3 years of age. He spent most of his childhood and adolescent years there but in 1975 he had to flee the country as a refugee due to the terrifying civil war. His long stay in Angola seems to have affected his style of art and he did indeed start painting when he was a boy.

title: Nakuru Agreement

text: The Nakuru Agreement, signed on June 21, 1975, in Nakuru, Kenya, was an attempt to salvage the Alvor Agreement, which granted Angola independence from Portugal and established a transitional government. While the Nakuru Agreement did produce a truce between the three nationalist movements—the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA), and National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA)—it was a fragile truce that dissolved on July 9, 1975.

title: Foreign relations of Nigeria

text: Similarly, when civil war broke out in Angola after the country gained independence from Portugal in 1975, Nigeria mobilised its diplomatic influence in Africa in support of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA). That support helped tip the balance in their favour, which led to OAU recognition of the MPLA over the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola.

title: Sousa Jamba

text: Sousa Jamba was born in 1966 in Dondi, Huambo, in central Angola. His family were all supporters of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), which fought alongside the MPLA (the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola) in the Angolan War for Independence (1961–75) and then against the MPLA in the ensuing civil war (1975–2002). In 1975, nine-year-old Jamba with his family left the country, fleeing the violence following Angola's independence, and went to Zambia, where he lived as a refugee, before going to England. Jamba has said: "There was a sense that if you were from Unita you either had to leave the country or go out into the bush, which is precisely what my family did."

title: Music of Angola

text: Beginning in the 1970s, Bonga became the most well-known Angolan pop musician outside the country. He began performing in the early 1960s when Angolan folk music was finding some popularity. As a member of Kissueia, he addressed social problems while also becoming a soccer star. He was moved to Lisbon by the colonial government, and he there played soccer until 1972, when he left to protest Portugal's colonial war in Angola. He settled in Rotterdam, where he became closely associated with the Cape Verdean community. Bonga's "Mona Ki Ngi Xica" (1972) earned him an arrest warrant, and he began travelling between Germany, France and Belgium until Angola gained independence in 1975.

title: Angola–Russia relations

text: Angola–Russia relations () is the relationship between the two countries, the Republic of Angola and the Russian Federation. Russia has an embassy in Luanda. Angola has an embassy in Moscow and an honorary consulate in Saint Petersburg. Angola and the precursor to Russia, the Soviet Union, established relations upon Angola's independence.

title: List of renamed places in Angola

text: Prior to independence in 1975, Angola was known as Portuguese Angola, or occasionally Portuguese West Africa. Upon independence, the country was renamed the Republic of Angola.

title: Jornal de Angola

text: Jornal de Angola was the only daily newspaper in Angola until 2008 and after the independence of the country in 1975.

title: Portuguese Angolans

text: As the Angolan war of independence began in 1961, triggering off a late colonial development of Angola, there was an influx of Portuguese military personnel, as well as civil servants and other people. As a consequence, the number of Portuguese living in Angola went up to about 350,000. This number would have been higher, had a significant part of the settlers not left for other countries, especially Namibia, Brazil, South Africa and the United States. While most whites then living in Angola sided with Portugal's efforts to suppress the anti-colonial revolt, a minority sympathized with the nationalist movements, and a few even joined them in their fight. The Angolan author Pepetela is among these. When the Salazar regime in Portugal was abolished by a military coup in Portugal, in 1974, and independence was granted to the colonies by the new government, whites overwhelmingly left Angola after independence in 1975. Most of them went to Portugal, where they were called "retornados" and were not always welcomed, while others moved to neighboring Namibia (then a South African territory), South Africa or Brazil, or United States. It is estimated that around 250,000 left the country in 1975 and by 1976 only 30,000 to 40,000 remained in Angola.

title: Tanks of Cuba

text:
In 1961 the Cuban Military began to provide support for the left wing MPLA movement in a civil war. The Angolan War of Independence was a struggle for control of Angola between guerilla movements and Portuguese colonial authority. Castro had become familiar with the MPLA soon after it began, and after he came to power, Cuba had trained some of its guerrilla fighters, and Che Guevara had also made contact with its leaders.
So when Portugal left, Cuba sent advisors to help the MPLA and they quickly found themselves in the conflict when they lost men in the Battle of Quifangondo on 10 November 1975, the day before the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) declared Angola's independence from Portugal. Cuba supplied the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) rebels with weapons and soldiers along with tanks to fight as the Cuban military would fight alongside the MPLA in major battles.

title: Luanda Trial

text: Angola had gained its independence from Portugal on 11 November 1975, but the new country was immediately immersed in a three-sided civil war. The Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) was supported by the Soviet Union and Cuba, while the United States and some of its allies backed the National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA) and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA).

title: Sangnoksu Unit

text: Angola is a country in Southern Africa. It is the seventh-largest country in Africa. Since it gained independence from Portugal in 1975, the Civil War had begun between the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA)(Portuguese: "Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola)" and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). Although a peace treaty was concluded in May 1991, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), which lost the referendum under the arbitration of the UN, caused the civil war again. In the process, the United Nations established United Nations Angola Verification Mission (UNAVEM) and the United Nations Observer Mission in Angola (MONUA). In February 1995, the United Nations asked South Korea to participate in United Nations Angola Verification Mission (UNAVEM). 201 people were dispatched on October 5, 1995, and 600 people were dispatched additionally by December 23, 1996.


query: When did the TV series Supergirl first air?

title: Supergirl (TV series)

text: Supergirl is an American superhero action-adventure television series developed by Ali Adler, Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg (the latter two having previously created Arrow and The Flash) that originally aired on CBS and premiered on October 26, 2015. It is based on the DC Comics character Supergirl, created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino, and stars Melissa Benoist in the title role. Supergirl is a costumed superheroine who is Superman's cousin and one of the last surviving Kryptonians. The series is set in the Arrowverse, sharing continuity with the other television series of the universe.

title: Bizarro (Supergirl)

text: "Bizarro" is the twelfth episode in the first season of the CBS television series "Supergirl", which aired on February 1, 2016. It was written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Rachel Shukert, and directed by John Showalter.

title: Invasion! (Arrowverse)

text: In May 2016, after it was announced that "Supergirl" would air its second season on The CW instead of CBS, Pedowitz said that all four series—"Arrow", "The Flash", "Legends of Tomorrow", and "Supergirl"—would cross over during the 2016–17 television season. In September 2016, Greg Berlanti, creator and executive producer of all four series, said that the crossover event would only involve "The Flash", "Arrow", and "Legends of Tomorrow"; the event begins at the end of the "Supergirl" episode "Medusa", with Barry and Cisco Ramon arriving on Supergirl's Earth to recruit her. Andrew Kreisberg, executive producer on "Arrow", "The Flash", and "Supergirl", explained why the crossover did not include "Supergirl": since "Medusa" was the mid-season finale for "Supergirl" and the other three series had theirs in episodes after the crossover, they "wanted to make sure that ["Medusa"] spoke to what had been happening on the first seven episodes of "Supergirl" and not just as a tie in". He added that it would have been logistically difficult to incorporate the four series, noting that finding the time for Melissa Benoist to shoot material for the other three series was complicated. Benoist did not appear in much of "The Darkest Place", the episode before "Medusa", to make her available to appear in each of the crossover episodes. He expanded on the difficulties, saying that "built-in shut-down days" for "Supergirl" were not planned on, in part because the series switched from CBS to The CW, and that this inability to shut down normal production prevented it from having a larger role in the crossover.

title: Supergirl (TV series)

text: A guidebook for the series, to be published by Abrams, is currently scheduled to be released in March of 2019. Supergirl: The Secret Files of Kara Danvers will feature "detailed profiles on characters and super powers, a heroes and villains gallery, episode guide, and more" from the first three seasons of the series.[110]

title: Helen Slater

text: During her career, Slater has revisited her 1984 role of Supergirl. She made a brief guest appearance on "Seinfeld" as a love interest of Jerry Seinfeld, who in reality is a huge fan of Superman. Slater was seen in a recurring role as Clark Kent's biological mother, Lara, on the TV series "Smallville" and as Supergirl's adoptive mother in the TV series "Supergirl".

title: Brittany Petros

text: Brittany has worked as a casting director for TV and film. She did casting work for "The Lyon's Den" (as an intern), "Switched at Birth", "Suspect and" "Dismissed", and also worked on the tv shows "The New Normal", "The Goodwin Games", "Supergirl", and Lethal Weapon. Most recent she has done casting for the TV series "Insecure", the movies "A Wrinkle in Time, The First Purge and" Call of the Wild (2019)

title: Superhero fiction

text: DC series include "Shazam!", "The Secrets of Isis", "The Flash (1990 TV series)", "Swamp Thing", "Birds of Prey", "Gotham", "Legends of the Superheroes", "Human Target (1992 TV series)", "Human Target (2010 TV series)" and "Powerless". Arrowverse series include "Arrow", "The Flash (2014 TV series)", "Supergirl", "Legends of Tomorrow", "Constantine" and "Black Lightning". Vertigo-based series include "iZombie", "Lucifer" and "Preacher". DC Universe airs the series "Titans", and will air the upcoming "Doom Patrol".

title: Supergirl (TV series)

text: In November 2017, Abrams Books began publishing a new trilogy of Supergirl novels, written by Jo Whittemore, aimed at middle-grade readers in tandem with a similar trilogy of The Flash novels.[106] The first, Supergirl: Age of Atlantis, was released on November 7, 2017, and features Supergirl dealing with a surge of new powered people in National City, as well as a mysterious humanoid sea creature captured by the DEO who is seemingly attracted by the new superpowered people.[107] A sequel, Supergirl: Curse of the Ancients, was released on May 1, 2018,[108] with a third novel, titled Supergirl: Master of Illusion, released on January 8, 2019.[109]

title: Nanako SOS

text: Enoki Films held the North American distribution rights of TV series, under the name Nana the Supergirl, though the series was never aired in North America. The TV series has also aired in Italy, France, Germany and Russia.

title: Supergirl (TV series)

text: In May 2018, Arrow star Stephen Amell announced at The CW upfronts that the next Arrowverse crossover would feature Batwoman and Gotham City. The crossover is slated to air in December 2018, ahead of a potential 2019 solo series for the character.[99][100] Supergirl was confirmed to have a participating episode in August, which would close out the three-part crossover, trading nights with The Flash just for the event. Therefore the show’s participating episode airs on Tuesday, December 11.[101]

title: Robert Rovner

text: Robert Rovner is an American television producer and writer, best known for his work on TV shows Crossing Jordan, Private Practice, Dallas (2012 TV series), Bionic Woman, Summerland, American Dreams (NBC) and Supergirl (TV series). He is currently Co-Showrunner/Executive Producer on Supergirl alongside Jessica Queller. He served as showrunner/executive producer and writer of "Grey's Anatomy's" 2007 spin-off series, "Private Practice" as well as the final season of Crossing Jordan. He was also an executive producer and writer on "Dallas" (TNT).

title: Better Angels (Supergirl)

text: "Better Angels" is the twentieth episode and the season finale of the first season of the CBS television series "Supergirl", which aired on April 18, 2016. It is also the last new episode of "Supergirl" that aired on CBS before the show moved to The CW for its second season. The episode's teleplay was written by Yahlin Chang and Caitlin Parrish, and directed by Larry Teng.

title: Falling (Supergirl)

text: "Falling" is the sixteenth episode in the first season of the CBS television series "Supergirl", which aired on March 14, 2016. The episode was written by Robert Rovner & Jessica Queller, and directed by Larry Teng.

title: Stronger Together (Supergirl)

text: "Stronger Together" is the second episode in the first season of the CBS television series "Supergirl", which aired on November 2, 2015. It was written by series developers/creators Greg Berlanti, Ali Adler and Andrew Kreisberg, and directed by Glen Winter.

title: Vril Dox

text: He appeared in the new digital first comic book "Adventures of Supergirl" series on January 24, 2016, which ties-in to the CBS/CW "Supergirl" TV series.

title: The Flash (2014 TV series)

text: The second season begins to explore the concept of the multiverse, by introducing Earth-2, which features doppelgängers of the inhabitants in the Arrowverse (or Earth-1), along with Jay Garrick, the Flash of Earth-2, and Zoom. In the episode "Welcome to Earth-2", as Barry, Cisco and Harrison Wells of Earth-2 travel to Earth-2, glimpses of the multiverse are seen, including an image of "Supergirl" star Melissa Benoist as Supergirl and an image of John Wesley Shipp as the Flash from the 1990 television series, implying the two characters and their respective television series exist on alternate Earths to the Arrowverse; "Supergirl"s world is later designated Earth-38 in the Arrowverse multiverse. Gustin as Barry appeared on the eighteenth episode of "Supergirl", "Worlds Finest", which aired on CBS on March 28, 2016. Intersecting with the events of the eighteenth episode of "The Flash", which aired on April 19, 2016, Barry accidentally arrives on Earth-38 and helps Kara battle two of her enemies, Silver Banshee (Italia Ricci) and Livewire (Brit Morgan), before returning home.

title: The Adventures of Supergirl

text: "The Adventures of Supergirl" is the first episode and premiere of the second season from The CW television series "Supergirl", which aired on October 10, 2016. It is the first new episode of "Supergirl" to air on the CW since moving from CBS, and the first to feature a prominent appearance by Superman, portrayed by Tyler Hoechlin.

title: Myriad (Supergirl)

text: "Myriad" is the nineteenth episode in the first season of the CBS television series "Supergirl", which aired on April 11, 2016. The episode was written by Yahlin Chang & Caitlin Parrish, and directed by Adam Kane.

title: Black Lightning (TV series)

text: Despite airing on The CW and being created by Berlanti, Mark Pedowitz, president of The CW said in May 2017 that the series "at this time, is not part of the Arrowverse. It is a separate situation." Berlanti had previously stated when the series was in development at Fox that it would not crossover with his other DC Comics television properties on The CW nor would it exist in the Arrowverse. Akil later stated that they were not ruling out eventual crossovers. In August 2017, Pedowitz added, "If [the showrunners] wish to bring it in, that is their call. We had a long discussion with the studio, Mara, Salim, and myself. We were fine with them making it separate from the Arrowverse, they have a different point of view. If they end up wanting to go that way, that will be their decision." Salim Akil noted references in the first season to the Arrowverse heroes Vixen and Supergirl were a "fun" way "to tease the fans". He also further reiterated that the series existed on a separate Earth from the other Arrowverse series (like Earth-1 from "The Flash", "Arrow", and "Legends of Tomorrow" and Earth-38 from "Supergirl") and was hopeful that any future crossover would involve the heroes of the other series visiting the Earth that is associated with "Black Lightning".

title: Manhunter (Supergirl)

text: "Manhunter" is the seventeenth episode in the first season of the CBS television series "Supergirl", which aired on March 21, 2016. The episode's teleplay was written by Cindy Lichtman and Rachel Shukert, and directed by Chris Fisher.

title: Supergirl (TV series)

text: During the second season, Supergirl appears in "Invasion!", a crossover episode of The Flash, Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow,[90][91] when she's recruited by Barry Allen and Cisco Ramon at the end of "Medusa" to help fight off an invasion by the Dominators.[92] Supergirl and The Flash also featured in a musical crossover, featuring several covers of existing songs along with two original numbers.[93] Similar to "Invasion!", the crossover begins at the end of the Supergirl episode "Star-Crossed" and primarily takes place during The Flash episode "Duet", featuring the Music Meister as the antagonist who puts both The Flash and Supergirl in a shared hallucination.[94] After "Invasion!", Guggenheim felt "If there's an appetite for it from the fans and from the network," the crossover next year could be "a proper four-part crossover."[95]

title: Fight or Flight (Supergirl)

text: "Fight or Flight" is the third episode in the first season of the CBS television series "Supergirl", which aired on November 9, 2015. It was written by Michael Grassi and Rachel Shuker, and directed by Dermott Downs.

title: List of Supergirl characters

text: "Supergirl" is an American television series developed by Greg Berlanti, Ali Adler, and Andrew Kreisberg based on the characters created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in the "Superman" franchise and Al Plastino and Otto Binder's character Supergirl. The series stars Melissa Benoist in the titular role of Kara Zor-El / Kara Danvers / Supergirl, as well as Mehcad Brooks, Chyler Leigh, Jeremy Jordan, David Harewood, and Calista Flockhart, with Chris Wood, Floriana Lima, Katie McGrath, Odette Annable, Jesse Rath, Sam Witwer, Nicole Maines and April Parker Jones joining in later seasons. In addition to original characters, several other characters from DC Comics universe also appear throughout the series. For its first season, "Supergirl" aired on CBS, before moving to The CW for its second season.

title: Hostile Takeover (Supergirl)

text: "Hostile Takeover" is the eighth episode in the first season of the CBS television series "Supergirl", which aired on December 13, 2015. It was written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Caitlin Parrish, and directed by Karen Gaviola.

title: Supergirl (TV series)

text: In Canada, Supergirl aired in a sim-subbed simulcast on Global with the American broadcast in the first season;[54] the second season saw it move to Showcase in the same arrangement.[55]

title: Reactron

text: Reactron appears in the 2015 television series "Supergirl", portrayed by Chris Browning. First appearing in the series' third episode "Fight or Flight", this version is a former reactor engineer named Ben Krull who became Reactron when he was exposed to radiation after a terrorist attack which was stopped by Superman. Ben survived the radiation, but his wife Alyssa did not. Ben blames Superman for his wife's death and swore vengeance on him. He then built an advanced bio-medical exo-suit capable of firing highly concentrated bursts of energy while also giving him super strength and the ability to fly. Cat Grant leaks evidence of Supergirl being Superman's cousin, which causes Reactron to starts targeting Supergirl. He is eventually defeated by Supergirl and arrested.

title: Binge (TV channel)

text: The first program to air was the entire first season of "Supergirl".

title: The Flash (season 2)

text:
The crossover episode received excellent reviews. Cliff Wheatley of IGN gave the episode an 8.6/10, stating "After the grim 'n' gritty "", "Supergirl" "Worlds Finest" offered a fun, upbeat palette cleanser and one of the series' strongest episodes to date. Instead of the usual "beatdown" introduction, Supergirl and the Flash went straight to being superfriends, which was refreshing. Not only did Barry Allen fit perfectly in Kara's world, but actors Grant Gustin and Melissa Benoist had fantastic chemistry together onscreen. While the city's turnaround on Supergirl's Red K incident was a little sudden, overall, "Worlds Finest" was delightful." Stacy Glanzman of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 5.0 out of 5 stars.
Composer Blake Neely returned as the primary composer for the second season. The soundtrack for the second season was released digitally on July 22, 2016 and in CD format on July 26, 2016. Neely also composed a theme when Gustin as Barry appeared on the eighteenth episode of "Supergirl", "Worlds Finest". The theme was titled "World's Finest" when it was released on the "Supergirl: Season 1" soundtrack.

title: Livewire (Supergirl)

text: "Livewire" is the fifth episode in the first season of the CBS television series "Supergirl", which aired on November 16, 2015. It was written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Caitlin Parrish, and directed by Kevin Tancharoen.

title: Arrowverse

text: In May 2016, it was announced that "Supergirl" would move from CBS to The CW for its second season, as well as moving production from Los Angeles to Vancouver, where the CW Arrowverse series film. The second season premiered on October 10, 2016. It was also announced that Supergirl would appear on "Arrow", "The Flash", and "Legends of Tomorrow" during the 2016–17 season crossover episodes, though Guggenheim cautioned that "She is going to be coming over but we're not going to do a full on "Supergirl" crossover". Kreisberg also confirmed that, despite the series moving to The CW, the title character's universe would not be integrated into the Arrowverse. The Earth the series inhabits is Earth-38 in the Arrowverse multiverse, and has been informally referred to as "Earth-CBS" by Guggenheim, named for the network where "Supergirl" first aired.