2015 South Sudan Football Championship
The 2015 South Sudan Football Championship was the 3rd season of the South Sudan Football Championship, the top-level football championship of South Sudan.


2015 South Sydney Rabbitohs season
The 2015 South Sydney Rabbitohs season is the 106th in the club's history. Coached by Michael Maguire and captained by  Greg Inglis, they are competing in the National Rugby League's 2015 Telstra Premiership.


2015 South Sydney Rabbitohs season, Fixtures, Pre-season
In 2015, the Rabbitohs again competed in three pre-season trial matches.


2015 South Sydney Rabbitohs season, Fixtures, NRL Auckland Nines
The NRL Auckland Nines is a pre-season rugby league nines competition featuring all 16 NRL clubs. The 2015 competition was played over two days on 31 Jan and 1 Feb at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand. The Rabbitohs won the competition beating the Sharks in the grand final.


2015 South Sydney Rabbitohs season, Fixtures, Regular season
150th NRL Grade Game (all for souths including NYC and NRL)


2015 South Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council election
The 2015 South Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council election was held 7 May 2015 to elect members of South Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections.


2015 South-West Coast state by-election
A by-election for the seat of South-West Coast in the Victorian Legislative Assembly was held on 31 October 2015. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of former Premier Denis Napthine on 3 September 2015. Former Transport Minister Terry Mulder resigned his seat representing the adjacent district of Polwarth on the same day as Napthine. The by-election for Polwarth was held on the same day.


2015 South-West Coast state by-election, Candidates
The Labor government did not contest the by-elections in the safe Liberal seats of South-West Coast and Polwarth.


2015 South-West Coast state by-election, How-to-vote cards
How-to-vote cards are distributed to voters at polling stations to provide information with how the candidate suggests preferences be allocated. Candidates and parties suggesting preferences are shown in each column of the table below. Michael McCluskey ran an open card at this by-election.


2015 South-West Coast state by-election, Result
Roma Britnell retained the seat on preferences for the Liberals. Roy Reekie was second in the primary count.


2015 Southampton City Council election
The 2015 Southampton City Council election took place on 7 May 2015 to elect members of Southampton City Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections.


2015 Southampton City Council election
Just one week after the election, newly re-elected Labour councillor for Redbridge, Andrew Pope, who had represented the area since 2011, left Labour to sit as an independent, citing concerns he had with the leader of the council, Simon Letts, who he accused of "putting his own position ahead of the people of Southampton" and of lacking "vision and strong leadership".


2015 Southampton City Council election, Election result
Southampton Council is elected in thirds, which means all comparisons are to the corresponding 2011 Southampton Council election.


2015 Southeast Africa floods
The 2015 Southeast Africa floods, partially related to Cyclone Bansi and Tropical Storm Chedza, killed at least 176 people in Malawi, 86 in Mozambique, and at least 46 in Madagascar over the course of a week while leaving hundreds more missing. Vice President of Malawi Saulos Chilima stated that over 200,000 Malawian people have been displaced by the flood. About 400,000 African people have been displaced in total, and 153 were declared missing.


2015 Southeast Africa floods
Flooding began on January 14, 2015, subsiding at the end of the month. Due to the flooding, the soil in some areas became over saturated and caused landslides, leading to more deaths. The rainfall of Southeast Africa was recorded as being 150% higher than normal, flooding roughly 63,000 hectares in total. Through years of research, Africa is said to have shown a , causing droughts and floods in the same season. Much of the damage from the 2014-2015 rain season can be attributed to the effects of El Niño.


2015 Southeast Africa floods, Effects by country, Malawi
Two weeks of heavy rainfall killed 176 people and caused US$450 million in damage, or roughly 10% of the country's GDP.


2015 Southeast Asian Games
The 2015 Southeast Asian Games (Malay: Sukan Asia Tenggara 2015; Chinese: 2015年东南亚运动会), officially known as the 28th Southeast Asian Games (or simply 28th SEA Games), was a Southeast Asian multi-sport event hosted by the city-state of Singapore. It was the fourth time the country hosted the games. Singapore previously also hosted the games in 1973, 1983 and 1993 edition.


2015 Southeast Asian Games
Singapore was awarded rights to host the Southeast Asian Games in 2011. The games were held from 5 to 16 June 2015, although several events had commenced from 29 May 2015. Around 4370 athletes participated at the event, which featured 402 events in 36 sports. It was opened by Tony Tan Keng Yam, the President of Singapore at the aforementioned stadium.


2015 Southeast Asian Games
The final medal tally was led by Thailand, which won the most gold medals, followed by host Singapore which won the most medals overall. Several Games and national records were broken during the games. The games were deemed as one of the most successful Southeast Asian games ever hosted with its effective management of cost spent to host the games and well-organised arrangement of public transport by Singapore, as well as the huge effort to promote the games which helped raised the standards of competition amongst the Southeast Asian nations.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, Host city
Singapore's selection as the host of the 28th Southeast Asian Games of 2015 was announced in 2011 during the 26th Southeast Asian Games, held in Indonesian cities Palembang and Jakarta. Singapore had previously been nominated to host the event in 2007 and 2013, but turned down both opportunities citing costs associated with the construction of the new Singapore Sports Hub that was exacerbated by the financial crisis of 2007–2008.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, Development and preparation
The Singapore SEA Games Organising Committee (SINGSOC) was formed on 28 June 2012 to oversee the staging of the event.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, Development and preparation, Venues
The 2015 Southeast Asian Games used a mix of new, existing and temporary venues. Given the city-state's compact size, most venues were pre-existing public-sporting facilities located in the suburban heartlands which were reverted to public use after the games. No major retrofitting work were done in most venues as most had been used to host major multi-disciplinary events such as the 2010 Youth Olympic Games.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, Development and preparation, Venues
At the centrepiece of the activities was the Singapore Sports Hub which was completed in mid-2014. Incorporating the new 55,000-seat national stadium, it hosted most of the events.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, Development and preparation, Venues
A games village was not built. Instead, a "village in the city" concept saw athletes and officials housed in 20 hotels in downtown Singapore. Besides being physically near to the Singapore Sports Hub, it was hoped that it will add vibe to the city and reduce post-games costs in converting a dedicated games village to other uses.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, Development and preparation, Venues
The 28th Southeast Asian Games had 30 venues for the games.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, Development and preparation, Public transport
Given the existing extensive public transport network already in place, there is no games-specific major infrastructural development to support it. The clustering of venues is aimed at easing the traffic flow, bus and Mass Rail Transit service for games athletes and officials were provided.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, Development and preparation, Volunteers
The organisers estimated that about 15,000 volunteers are needed to successfully host the games. Volunteer recruitment began in late 2013, and by February 2014, about 5,000 volunteers have already signed up. This number swelled to over 17,000 by February 2015, and a volunteers night event was held at Universal Studios Singapore to launch the sports volunteers brand name as "Team Nila" and to thank the volunteers who have signed up with free shows at the venue. Amongst the pool of 17,000 volunteers, 35% came from the community, while 65% were from corporations in support of the games.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, Development and preparation, Ticketing
A total of about 790,000 tickets were put on online sale from February 2015, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium and at SingPost outlets. To encourage public participation in the games, it was announced on 28 January 2015 that 18 of the sports will be free for spectators, while the other 18 are kept at relatively affordable levels of between S$5 to S$20. By 15 April 2015 some sports such as swimming and fencing were selling fast, while silat and sepak takraw were much less popular.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, Development and preparation, Ticketing
Organisers reported that ticket sales were pass 70% for most sports by 27 April, with fencing and swimming being the most popular at 85 and 70% tickets sold respectively, while rhythmic gymnastics, silat and wushu have also sold over 70%. Billiards and snooker, equestrian, sepak takraw, taekwondo, and artistic gymnastics have sold about half their tickets. Rugby and judo have sold 30%, while table tennis has sold only 20%.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, Development and preparation, Ticketing
Priced between S$5 to S$20, priority sales for the opening and closing ceremonies tickets for those who registered theirs interests in 2014 began on 15 January 2015, while sales for the general public began on 22 January 2015. In February 2015, tickets to the opening ceremony were going at over seven times their original value on unauthorised websites, despite 40% of the tickets still available at that time. By March 2015, tickets to the opening ceremony were sold out.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, Development and preparation, Countdown
During the closing ceremony of the 2013 Southeast Asian Games, the SEAG Flag was formally handed over from Myanmar to Singapore. This was followed by a song and dance section highlighting Singapore as the next venue.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, Development and preparation, Countdown
On 27 June 2014, a series of festivities were held at the Singapore Sports Hub, including a fireworks display, to mark the one year countdown to the games. The Sports Hub Community Open House was held in conjunction with the launch to introduce the new sports facilities to the general public.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, Development and preparation, Countdown
The countdown to the games began on 15 February 2014 with a launch party at the Gardens by the Bay, where the logo, theme and mascot were also introduced.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, Development and preparation, Countdown
800 Nanyang Polytechnic students organised a major countdown event on 11 April 2015 to mark the final 50 days in a few days, where about 4,000 people turned up to attend a concert and a sports carnival.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, Development and preparation, Countdown
On 16 April 2015, the 50-day countdown began with various organisations stacking a number each through a video tribute. This included: Nanyang Polytechnic and Ang Mo Kio residents and Changkat Primary School (50), London School of Business and Finance Singapore (49), Compassvale Primary School (48), Development Bank of Singapore (47), National Kidney Foundation (46), CWT Limited (45), SportCares (44), Park View Primary School (43), Sport Singapore (42) and 41st Battalion Singapore Armoured Regiment (41).


2015 Southeast Asian Games, Development and preparation, Security
The principal agency to ensure the security of the games is the Singapore Police Force, supplemented by the Auxiliary Police Forces. The organisers singled out security as one of their major concerns ahead of the games, with concerns over unforeseen security breaches which may occur across any of the venues, some of which are easily accessible by the public.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, Development and preparation, Medals
The design of the medals were unveiled on 27 April 2015. Designed by Joys Tan from Sport Singapore, they feature the Games' logo on one side, and the Singapore Sports Hub on the reverse. Each medal will be 80mm in diameter and will each weigh 183 grams. It was also announced during the media brief, that smaller versions of the medal, in the form of medallions, will be given to all spectators of the closing ceremony.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, Development and preparation, Costs
The games was budgeted to cost SGD325 million (US$287 million) but eventual cost came to SGD264 million. There were concerns the cost would exceed budget, as had happened when Singapore hosted the Youth Olympics in 2010. In contrast, the cost of organising the 2013 games, which was hosted by Myanmar, was estimated to be SGD400 million.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, Development and preparation, Torch relay
The torch relay took place on 4 June 2015, the eve of the games' opening ceremony began with the torch lit at the Marina Bay Promontory, and went past Clifford Square, Merlion Park, Esplanade Plaza, the Art Science Museum and end at Marina Bay Sands, where the flame handover ceremony to the Games officials took place.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, Marketing, Motto
The motto of the 2015 Southeast Asian Games and ASEAN Para Games is "Celebrate the Extraordinary". It was chosen to represent the connection of individuals, communities and countries to their own dreams beyond competing, winning or overcoming defeat and the inspiration of the soul and spirit inside each people of Southeast Asia.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, Marketing, Logo
The logo of the 2015 Southeast Asian Games is an image depicts a winning athlete crossing the finishing line with his/her arms raised in victory represents the potential that exists in every participating athletes. The five figure of the sport events competed represents the diversity of sports featured in the Games, the strength and the skills of the athletes. The palette of colours represents the exciting moments of the games and Sport as a tool of uniting people of the region regardless of their language, belief and colours. Overall, it represents the unity of Southeast Asian people in the spirit of the games. The logo also depicts the Southeast Asian Games Federation logo and the word "28th SEA Games". The word "Singapore 2015" on the finishing tape represents Singapore as the host of the 2015 Southeast Asian Games.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, Marketing, Mascot
The mascot of the 2015 Southeast Asian Games and ASEAN Para Games is a lion named Nila. The name comes from Sang Nila Utama, the founder of Singapura. Nila has a red mane and heart-shaped face and is described as courage, passionate and friendly. He wears either his signature tracksuit or blue sporting attire, depending on the occasion.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, Marketing, Songs
A special compilation album titled Songs of the Games was produced by veteran music director Sydney Tan and released on 3 March 2015. It features the three official theme songs: "Unbreakable" written by Amir Masoh and performed by Tabitha Nauser, "Greatest" by Daphne Khoo and "Ordinary" written by Amir Masoh and performed by The Sam Willows.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, Marketing, Songs
The other songs included: "You're Wonderful" written by Amir Masoh and performed by Tay Kewei, Gayle Nerva and Tabitha Nauser, "Flags Up" written and performed by The Sam Willows, "Champion" written by Charlie Lim and performed by The Sam Willows, "Still" written and performed by Charlie Lim, "A Love Song-Unbreakable" written by Don Richmond and performed by Benjamin Kheng, "Forever" written by Joshua Wan and performed by The Steve McQueens, "You're almost There" written and performed by Joel and co-written by Ruth Ling, "Dancing on the world" written and performed by HubbaBubbas, "Colours" written and performed by Jean Tan and "Reach" written by Dick Lee and performed by the MGS Choir featuring Dick Lee.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, Marketing, Sponsors
A total of 100 sponsors, comprising 4 Main sponsors, 10 Official sponsors, 27 Official partners and 59 Official supporters contributed to the 2015 Southeast Asian Games. The broadcasting rights of the main sponsor MediaCorp is owned by MediaCorp TV.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, The Games, Opening ceremony
The opening ceremony was held on Friday, 5 June 2015, beginning at 20:15 SST (UTC+8) at the National Stadium in Singapore, the first major opening ceremony for a sporting event in the new venue. Organised by the Singapore Armed Forces, which has also been responsible for the annual National Day Parade, they were supported by a creative team with Beatrice Chia-Richmond serving as Creative Director. The ceremony was helmed by more than 5,000 performers and volunteers and supported by 3,500 soldiers.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, The Games, Opening ceremony
Given the enclosed nature of the stadium, extensive use of an aerial system to allow suspension and movement of performers and props are possible. Floor projection are accomplished using 160 multimedia high-definition projectors. The time 20:15 was chosen to start the opening ceremony to mark the year 2015, the year which Singapore hosted the 28th Southeast Asian Games.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, The Games, Opening ceremony
Tony Tan Keng Yam, President of Singapore declared the games open, while former footballer, Fandi Ahmad and his son and current footballer, Irfan Fandi lit the cauldron.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, The Games, Closing ceremony
The Games had its closing ceremony held on Tuesday, 16 June 2015, from 20:00 SST (UTC+8) at the National Stadium in Singapore. The ceremony begins with a countdown footage video followed by hosts of the ceremony enter the stadium in a buggy car who are also hosts of the games opening ceremony.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, The Games, Closing ceremony
Singapore president and the other VIPs including Lawrence Wong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and SEA Games Organising Committee chairman and Tan Chuan Jin, the Singapore Olympic Council and Southeast Asian Games Federation president then enter the stadium and after that a video about the games' wonderful moments is played. Athletes of every participating nations along with their respective head of mission paraded into the stadium onto the stadium floor to the beat of  music – Remix of the Songs of the Games played through the stadium, followed by the video tribute of the games volunteers, Team Nila.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, The Games, Closing ceremony
Team Nila then entered the stadium and danced to the music played. Ng Ser Miang, IOC member and IOC Finance Commission Chairman awarded Lawrence Wong and Singaporean SEA Games President, Tan Chuan-Jin the IOC President trophy of the Olympics spirit on behalf of Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, The Games, Closing ceremony
Tan Chuan-Jin then delivered a closing speech, in which he includes an emotional quote, paying tribute to all victims of the 2015 Sabah earthquake in which many Singaporean primary school students from Tanjong Katong Primary School died and all the national flags of the participating nations and the games flags been flown at half-mast on 8 June 2015 during the games. The Singapore president declared the games closed with Charlie Lim later performed the song, "Still" as the games flag and the SEA Games Federation flag were lowered and the flame of the cauldron extinguished. A group of torch bearer surrounded the cauldron lighter which sends off the firework after they had extinguished the flame of their torch. A bunch of fireworks then erupted over the National Stadium, signalling the official conclusion of the Games.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, The Games, Closing ceremony
The SEA Games responsibilities was officially handed over to Malaysia, host of the 2017 Southeast Asian Games in which Khairy Jamaluddin, Minister of Youth and Sports of Malaysia receive the flag of the Southeast Asian Games Federation from Lawrence Wong and Tunku Imran, the Olympic Council of Malaysia president and in-coming Southeast Asian Games Federation president as its symbol during a flag handover ceremony. The national anthem of Malaysia was played as the National Flag of Malaysia was raised.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, The Games, Closing ceremony
A 10-minute Malaysian segment performance: "Diversity in Motion" (Malay: Majmuk dalam Gerak), was performed by Malaysian dancers with Monoloque and Najwa Mahiaddin sang "The Birth of a Legend" (Malay: Lahirnya Lagenda) on the stage. The performance was divided into three parts: "Birth", "Rooted", and "United". Birth told the story of the beginning of life and creativity, Rooted told the story about building the foundation, desire for unity, understanding one's origin, living in the moment while remembering yesterday and to celebrate the aesthetics of athleticism today, while the conclusion United told the story of desire for unity in diversity.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, The Games, Closing ceremony
A Singapore farewell segment performance is later performed with a parade of colonial era, people, symbols, uniform groups, landmarks, government policy and 1993 Southeast Asian Games stamps and objects such as Chinese Junk and Sail boat and the Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 aircraft, brought back the nation's historical memory in the past 60 years. For a brief moment, performers some dressed as Nila and others wearing the Nila suit dance to the music played. The ceremony concludes with a party with music spun by Dutch DJ Ferry Corsten, a performance by local fusion Jazz group The Steve McQueens and a bunch of fireworks erupted over the stadium again and for the last time.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, The Games, Participating nations
An estimated total of 4490 athletes (about 2610 men, 1880 women) from 11 nations competed at the 2015 Southeast Asian Games.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, The Games, Sports
The first 30 sports were announced by the Singapore National Olympic Council on 10 December 2013 on the sidelines of the 27th SEA Games in Myanmar. It announced then that there was room for as many as eight more sports. On 29 April 2014, the final six sports, namely boxing, equestrian, floorball, petanque, rowing and volleyball were added to the programme. Floorball will feature in the event for the first time after being a demonstration sport in the 2013 edition.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, The Games, Sports
In its selection of events, the organising committee indicated their desire to set a model for subsequent games in trimming the number of "traditional" sports to refocus on the SEAG's initial intent to increase the level of sporting excellence in key sports. Hence, despite room for up to eight traditional sports, only two, floorball and netball, were included in the programme. Amongst the other 34 sports, 24 are Olympic sports and all remaining sports are featured in the Asian Games.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, The Games, Sports
The 2015 Southeast Asian Games programme was featured 402 events in 36 sports and disciplines. The number of events in each discipline is noted in parentheses.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, The Games, Sports
¹ – not an official Olympic Sport. ² – sport played only in the SEAGF. ³ – not a traditional Olympic nor SEAGF Sport and introduced only by the host country.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, The Games, Medal table
The 2015 Southeast Asian Games featured 402 events, resulting in 402 medal sets to be distributed.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, The Games, Medal table
An additional gold medal was awarded as there was first-place tie in the Rhythmic Gymnastics individual all-around event. As a consequence, no silver medal was awarded in that event.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, The Games, Medal table
Two bronze medals were awarded in some events: most events in martial arts (2 in Wushu, 12 in Taekwondo, 10 in Pencak silat, 12 in Judo, 11 in Boxing and 12 in Fencing) and All events in racket sports (10 in Billiards and snooker, 5 in Squash, 7 in Badminton, 7 in Table tennis, 7 in Tennis, 10 in Petanque, 10 in Sepak takraw, 1 in netball and 2 in volleyball), giving a total of 118 additional bronze medals.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, The Games, Medal table
On the other hand, No bronze medal was awarded at the Rhythmic Gymnastics group all-around event, Women's Floorball, Taekwondo Poomsae Women's team, Kyorugi Men's 74 kg and Women's 62 kg event and Sailing Men's Match Racing Keelboat, Team Racing Laser Standard and Women's 470, Skiff 49er FX, Laser Radial (U19) and Team Racing Laser Radial event.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, The Games, Medal table
As a result, total of 1313 medals comprising 403 gold medals, 401 silver medals and 509 bronze medals were awarded to athletes.


2015 Southeast Asian Games, Broadcasting
The games also available internationally via Sports Singapore's YouTube channel whose broadcast was done by International Games Broadcast Services (IGBS) as production partner of MediaCorp – the host broadcaster of the games. The International Broadcast Centre was located within the sports city area.


2015 Southeast Asian Games opening ceremony
The opening ceremony of the 2015 Southeast Asian Games was held on Friday, 5 June 2015, beginning at 20:15 SST (UTC+8) at the National Stadium in Singapore, the first major opening ceremony for a sporting event in the new venue.


2015 Southeast Asian Games opening ceremony, Background
The ceremony was organised by the Singapore Armed Forces, which has also been responsible for the annual National Day Parade. They were supported by a creative team with Beatrice Chia-Richmond serving as Creative Director. The ceremony was helmed by more than 5,000 performers and volunteers and supported by 3,500 soldiers. Given the enclosed nature of the stadium, extensive use of an aerial system to allow suspension and movement of performers and props are possible. Floor projection are accomplished using 160 multimedia high-definition projectors. The time 20:15 was chosen to start the opening ceremony to mark the year 2015, the year which Singapore hosted the 28th Southeast Asian Games.


2015 Southeast Asian Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Countdown
The ceremony begins with the band orchestra performance and historical lookout of previously hosted Singapore Southeast Asian Games and footage of people lineup distance countdown to Singapore National Stadium followed by arrival of the VIPs, Singapore's President, Tony Tan, and Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong. The hosts of the ceremony are Nikki Muller, Chua En Lai and Sharon Au. The National Anthem of Singapore, Majulah Singapura was played as the national flag of Singapore was raised, followed by countdown video projection.


2015 Southeast Asian Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Main event, Prelude - The Big Singapore Welcome
The 1,200 volunteers from Singapore Soka Association performance forming the map of Singapore with nature theme, showcasing Singapore as a Garden City with plants and animals. This is accompanied by the traditional dances of Singapore's main races: Malay, Indian, Chinese and Eurasian and fireworks erupted around the stadium. Nila, the mascot apparently leaped down in the stadium with a hanging parachute after the video footage of the mascot to the tune of I Got You (I Feel Good) by the late former American singer James Brown.


2015 Southeast Asian Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Main event, Parade of Nations
As per Southeast Asian Games Federation (SEAGF) protocol, parade of athletes from all 11 competing nations started with Brunei leading the field in English alphabetical order and ended with the host nation, Singapore entering the stadium last.


2015 Southeast Asian Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Main event, Speeches and protocols
This was followed by parade of the Southeast Asian Games Federation flag and the games edition flag by former and current Singaporean sportsmen and sportswomen respectively, the late Lee Kuan Yew footage about the 2015 Southeast Asian Games, welcoming speech of Lawrence Wong, and declaration of games opening by Tony Tan Keng Yam, President of Singapore.


2015 Southeast Asian Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Main event, Speeches and protocols
The former athletes that carry the federation flag are K. Jayamani of athletics, David Lim of swimming, Lee Wung Yew of shooting, Wong Liang Ming of taekwondo, Zainal Abidin of squash, Adelene Wee of bowling, Tao Yi Jun of wushu and Yip Ren Kai of water polo. Whereas the current athletes that carry the Games flag are Geraldine Lee of canoeing, Shayna Ng of bowling, Chelsea Ann Sim of taekwondo, Dipna Lim Prasad of athletics, Eugene Teo of water polo, Muhammad Nur Alfian of silat, Daniel Marc Chow of rugby and Ridhwan Ahmad of boxing. Flags of the games federation and edition were raised to the song "Reach" performed by local songwriter Dick Lee and the Methodist Girls’ School choir. Athlete's and judge's oath are taken by "Micky" Lin Qingyi, Singapore's netball player and Azhar Yusoff the rugby judge and referee respectively.


2015 Southeast Asian Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Main event, Main performances
These are followed by a 40-minute show of 5 acts or segments, which are mass performances performed by students all over Singapore, volunteers from Singapore Soka Association and notable Singapore celebrities such as rapper Shigga Shay, HubbaBubbas band, violinists Joey Lau and Siow Lee Chin, guitarist Bani Hidir, vocal group Vocaluptuous, singer Daphne Khoo and The Sam Willows.


2015 Southeast Asian Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Main event, Main performances
The acts are Act One - DNA, Act Two - Imagination which includes the video footage of children of Southeast Asian nations speak of their ambitions and dreams in their national or native language, Act Three - Youth Expression, Act Four - Sports And The City which includes appearance of Singapore top athlete Joseph Schooling and several former athletes such as Ang Peng Siong of swimming, Ben Tan of sailing, C Kunalan of athletics, Glory Barnabas of athletics, Grace Young of bowling, Joscelin Yeo of swimming, Melanie Martens of hockey and Sheik Alau’ddin of silat, and video footage of gratitude from coaches all over Southeast Asia and Act 5 - Singapore in the Stadium where a gigantic model of DNA emerge slowly from the center of the stage, performers once again form the map of Singapore but with the model of Singapore's iconic buildings in it.


2015 Southeast Asian Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Main event, Main performances
Act One told the story of DNA as a thing that makes human different and understand each other, Act two told the story of how children use their dream to imagine, Act three told the story of how Youths use dream to express themselves, Act four told the story of how family support become an inspiration for athletes and coaches to achieve success in sports. While Act 5, the conclusion told the story of how Singaporean athletes welcome, make friends and unite with the athletes other country of Southeast Asia regardless of language, race and belief.


2015 Southeast Asian Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Main event, Torch relay
Soon after the last act, the torch of the Games was carried into the stadium from a dragon boat across the Kallang basin by several Singapore's former and current generation of sportsmen and sportswomen. The current sportspeople are Clement Teo of Dragon Boat, Liang Xiaoyu of Badminton, Muhammad Naqib Asmin of Athletics, Gabriel Yang of Judo, Dinah Chan of Cycling, Enrico Marican of Hockey, Shanti Pereira of Athletics, Derek Wong Zi Liang of Badminton, while the former sportspeople are Annabel Pennefather of Hockey, Prema Govindran of Athletics and Wong Shoon Keat of Badminton.


2015 Southeast Asian Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Main event, Torch relay
The cauldron was lit by former footballer, Fandi Ahmad and his son and current footballer, Irfan Fandi. The cauldron's design was inspired by the DNA which represents the unity of nations, communities and individuals of Southeast Asia. It is made of stainless steel, 19.2-metre-high and has a LED screen on it that displays information such as the time and weather during the Games. It also has a burner that able to project a 1.5m- to 4m-high flame and 11 bars within the structure that represent the different countries participating at the Games. A colourful fireworks display then erupted over the skyline surrounding the National Stadium, signalling the official commencement of the Games. The ceremony concludes with the President leaving the stadium.


2015 Southeast Asian haze
The 2015 Southeast Asian haze was an air pollution crisis affecting several countries in Southeast Asia, including Brunei, Indonesia (especially its islands of Sumatra and Borneo), Malaysia, Singapore, southern Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines.


2015 Southeast Asian haze
The haze affected Indonesia from at least late June, to the end of October, turning into an international problem for other countries in September. It was the latest occurrence of the Southeast Asian haze, a long-term issue that occurs in varying intensity during every dry season in the region. It was caused by forest fires resulting from slash-and-burn practices, principally on the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan, which then spread quickly in the dry season.


2015 Southeast Asian haze
On 4 September 2015, the Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management stated that six Indonesian provinces had declared a state of emergency due to the haze; these were Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan. On 14 September, a state of emergency was again declared in Riau, this time by the Indonesian government. Thousands of residents of Pekanbaru, Riau's capital, fled to the nearby cities of Medan and Padang. On 24 October, the Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) hit a record high of 1801, recorded in the province of Central Kalimantan.


2015 Southeast Asian haze
More than 28 million people in Indonesia alone were affected by the crisis, and more than 140,000 reported respiratory illness. According to a 2016 Harvard-Columbia University study, the haze caused more than 100,000 additional deaths, most of them (> 90,000) in Indonesia. But later, the claim was refuted by Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysian health authorities. The haze caused by the Indonesian forest fires has been shown to increase haze related illnesses, such as upper respiratory illnesses and acute conjunctivitis, in Singapore.


2015 Southeast Asian haze
The Indonesian government estimated that the haze crisis would cost it between 300 and 475 trillion rupiah (up to US$35 billion or S$47 billion) to mitigate. School closures due to the haze were implemented in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore; these affected nearly four million students in Malaysia alone. Among the events disrupted or even cancelled due to the haze were the 2015 FINA Swimming World Cup in Singapore and the Kuala Lumpur Marathon in Malaysia.


2015 Southeast Asian haze
Heavy rains in Sumatra and Kalimantan in the last days of October 2015 significantly reduced the size and number of fires, and improved the air quality in most affected areas. In turn, the NEA of Singapore stopped issuing haze advisories from 15 November 2015.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Background
Indonesia has struggled for years to contain forest fires, especially in the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan. In September 2014, Indonesia ratified the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution. It is the last ASEAN country to do so. The agreement calls on Indonesia to take steps to solve the problem through its own efforts or through international co-operation, or else face legal action based on the impact of the haze on its south-east Asian neighbours. In 2014, Singapore also passed laws that allow it to prosecute people and firms that contribute to the haze. In early August 2015, although Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, and Vietnam met to discuss the haze problem, Indonesia did not join the talks.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Background, Causes
The fires are caused by firms and farmers using slash-and-burn practices as a inexpensive means to clear their land of unwanted vegetation. Sumatra and Kalimantan possess large areas of peatland, which is highly combustible during dry season. Peat, which is made up of layers of dead vegetation and other organic matter, contributed heavily to carbon emissions because of the substance's high density and carbon content. The haze was particularly severe in 2015 due to the El Niño phenomenon, which caused drier conditions, causing the fires to spread more.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Background, Causes
Research published in the Environmental Research Letters stated that 59% of fire emissions in Sumatra and 73% in Kalimantan originated from "outside timber and palm oil concession boundaries". Environmental rights activists added that palm oil activities were still involved in the burning. Firstly, land clearing by burning is cheap and is more often chosen by companies than any other land-clearing method. Secondly, most companies want to avoid spending money on reforestation. Any company which obtains a license for forest lands must replant them from a fund provided by the government.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Background, Causes
Most companies do not replant, and to avoid detection, they burn the land. Thirdly, the companies revitalise palm plantations by cutting or burning old palm trees that are no longer productive. The regulation stipulates that such burning must be done on a bed of concrete to avoid spreading the fire, but to reduce costs, most companies do not do this.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Countries affected
At least six of the ten countries in the ASEAN region have been affected by the haze: southern Thailand, Vietnam, and most parts of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. The haze affecting Cambodia and Cebu in the Philippines was also suspected to have arisen from Indonesian rather than local sources.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Countries affected
On 29 September 2015, the IBTimes published interactive before-and-after photos that showed the dramatically reduced visibility in Singapore and Indonesia due to haze.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Countries affected
The Global Fire Emissions Database reported that the 2015 Indonesian fires had generated around 600 million tonnes of greenhouse gases, an amount described as 'roughly equivalent to Germany's entire annual output'. NASA said that the 2015 haze crisis could become the worst one recorded in the region, possibly outstripping the 1997 crisis, which cost an estimated nine billion US dollars.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Countries affected, Brunei
Smoke from forest fires in Kalimantan, blown by prevailing south-westerly winds, brought hazy conditions to Brunei. A duty forecaster at the Brunei Meteorological Department, Nurulinani Haji Jahari, said heavy thunderstorms would do little to relieve the hazy conditions because westerly winds were still expected to continue bringing more smoke from Kalimantan and Sumatra. On 15 September, the Tutong District recorded an all-time-high Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) reading of 68; followed by Belait, with 67; Brunei-Muara, with 65; and Temburong, with 48. The Bruneian public were advised by authorities to drink plenty of water and seek medical assistance if experiencing smoke-related symptoms. Authorities also warned against any open burning or other activities that might worsen the haze.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Countries affected, Cambodia
Phnom Penh suffered from haze, and its Cambodian Ministry of the Environment suspected that fires set by plantation owners in Indonesia might be to blame. Uncertainty of the source remained since Indonesia released little relevant information.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Countries affected, Indonesia
The 2015 haze affected Indonesia from at least late June, with the municipality of Dumai (in the province of Riau on the island of Sumatra) reporting haze beginning 28 June. The problem persisted for months.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Countries affected, Indonesia
As of 7 October 2015, more than 140,000 Indonesians had reported respiratory illnesses in the haze-affected areas. By 15 September 2015, around 25,834 were suffering from respiratory infection, 538 having pneumonia, 2,246 suffering from skin irritation, and 1,656 suffering from eye irritation. The haze blanketing the whole of Sumatra island and parts of Kalimantan hampered tourism, aviation and maritime activities as well as the Indonesian economy. A state of emergency was declared in the province of Riau, one of the worst-affected by the haze. In Riau's capital, Pekanbaru, authorities ordered the closing of schools to prevent pupils from being exposed to the haze, and thousands were forced to flee the city. Flight cancellations were reported daily in Pekanbaru as well as in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, due to poor visibility.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Countries affected, Indonesia
The Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics, which considers a pollution index over 350 "hazardous", reported on 22 September 2015 that the index in Palangkaraya in Central Kalimantan hit 1,986 and the index for Pontianak in West Kalimantan reached 706. These readings surpassed quintuple and double the official "hazardous" level, respectively. In late September, the province of Central Kalimantan measured a record high of 2,300 on Indonesia's PSI. On 2 October, Central Kalimantan was still experiencing a very high PSI of 1,801, such that firefighting helicopters were unable to water-bomb certain areas due to low visibility.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Countries affected, Indonesia
By mid-late October the burning hotspots, increasing sharply in number, had even spread to Indonesia's Papua region. The Terra Aqua satellite also discovered 63 hotspots in Maluku and 17 in North Maluku. 1,545 hotspots were detected in Indonesia, although the exact number couldn't be ascertained as the haze covering the region was too thick. The Nusa Tenggara Islands also had hotspots: around 67 in East Nusa Tenggara and 25 in West Nusa Tenggara. Dozens of flights were cancelled in Timika, West Papua. Both the Moluccas Islands and Sulawesi were covered by haze.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Countries affected, Indonesia
In Sulawesi, around 800 hotspots were discovered by BPBD, a disaster mitigation agency. There were 57 hotspots in West Sulawesi, 151 in South Sulawesi, 361 in Central Sulawesi, 126 in Southeast Sulawesi, 47 in Gorontalo and 59 in North Sulawesi. The city of Palu was covered by haze from nearby Kalimantan, causing some flight delays.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Countries affected, Indonesia
In Java, forest fires burned in West Java and Mount Merapi, Central Java. A forest fire, which trapped hikers and killed at least seven of them on Mount Lawu in Magetan Regency in East Java, was later reported to have been caused by a bonfire. This incident caused local areas to be evacuated. The haze in Palangkaraya was so thick that it turned the air yellow and exceeded the 'dangerous' threshold by 10 times.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Countries affected, Indonesia
The annual parliamentary meeting was interrupted, as the smoke from outside entered the room, causing all of the politicians to use masks and tissues in the room. Most schools in the affected area were closed until further notice due to the haze. In Riau and Palembang, students were advised to go to school only twice a week. Sometimes they did not even go to school for a whole week due to the haze, causing wide concern among parents and government officials.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Countries affected, Indonesia
At least ten companies, seven of which are foreign companies, were declared as the prime suspects for fire in Sumatra and Kalimantan. Two of the companies' certificates were suspended by the government. Indonesian president Joko Widodo ordered all hospitals and puskesmas (community health clinics) to be open for 24 hours. On 20 October, there were 825 new hotspots in Sumatra, with the visibility in Riau deteriorating to 50 meters. Around 66 flights in Pekanbaru were cancelled. At noon, the haze worsened as the air became yellow. The Government of Riau, later made a statement that the haze crisis has killed their citizens slowly by suffocating them.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Countries affected, Indonesia
On 21 October, it was reported that the number of people with respiratory problems had risen to 78,829 in Riau alone. Many reported they suffered from dizziness and sore eyes. Most of the victims killed by the haze were students and newborn babies. A nine-year-old third-grade student died because of the smoke and the doctors and nurses who tried to save the child reported that the child's lungs were fully filled with smoke. A 15-month-old baby also died in Jambi. The photos of the dead body, taken with the baby's mother, went viral on Facebook. The haze crisis also interrupted the search for a missing Eurocopter EC130 with five people on board in Lake Toba. The sole survivor reported that the cause of the crash was the haze.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Countries affected, Malaysia
Unhealthy Air Pollution Index (API) readings were recorded in 24 areas in the states of Sarawak, with Selangor and Langkawi in Kedah being the worst hit by the haze. Residents with asthma and pulmonary problems were told to stay indoors until the air quality in their areas improved. Malaysia's aviation and maritime sectors were put on high alert following a worsening in view of the reduced visibility caused by the haze. The education ministry stated all schools had to close if the API readings surpassed 200.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Countries affected, Malaysia
As a result, on 15 September, schools in the four states of Sarawak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Malacca together with the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya were ordered to close temporarily. On 3 October, the officials decided to cancel the Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2015 due to the worsening haze. On 4 October, as haze reached unhealthy levels in many parts of the country, the government announced that all states except for Kelantan, Sabah and Sarawak were to close schools again for two days. The API in Shah Alam, Selangor even hit the hazardous level of 308.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Countries affected, Malaysia
Until 20 October, around 1,909,842 students from 3,029 schools in Malaysia were affected, which increased to 2,696,110 students and 4,778 schools by 22 October. Flights were also delayed and cancelled in the east coast of Sabah due to continuous haze from Kalimantan. It was a concern in the week leading up to the 2015 Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix as the event could have come under threat of haze.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Countries affected, Philippines
As of 3 October, the Philippine island of Cebu suffered its seventh straight day of haze. Therefore, it was suspected, although not confirmed, that the haze was originating from Indonesian and not local sources, possibly as a result of monsoon winds blowing north-east from fires in Indonesia towards the direction of the central Philippines. As a result, some Philippine aircraft had difficulties landing at the Mactan–Cebu International Airport. Visual Flight Rules in the country were suspended, so that "only airline operations using airplanes with instrument flying capabilities are allowed to take off and land".


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Countries affected, Philippines
The Philippines at first did not believe haze from Indonesia was reaching the country, but later suspected it was due to the fact that the haze did not disappear within a day as per the usual haze that is particular to the region of Cebu City. Gerry Bagtasa, an atmospheric scientist, however concluded that the haze in Cebu was both from Indonesian and local sources due to several factors including effects by Typhoon Koppu, locally known as Typhoon Lando, and the north-east monsoon. The interaction made a pocket of air above Cebu where a visible haze accumulated. Bagtasa said that the haze had already reached the island of Mindanao and other parts of Visayas when it was reported in Cebu but was too thin to be visible.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Countries affected, Philippines
By mid-October, haze from Indonesia had reached Mindanao. On 20 October, it was reported that the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) in Southern Mindanao had been monitoring the haze for days. The weather body said that haze had been visible in Davao City since 17 October. Typhoon Koppu and the north-east monsoon were linked to the haze affecting Mindanao. Haze was also reported in the cities of Cagayan de Oro, General Santos, Iligan, Davao, and Zamboanga.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Countries affected, Philippines
Haze affected operations of airports in Mindanao and Visayas. It was also observed in Metro Manila since 23 October although as of 25 October it was not linked to sources from Indonesia but to local pollution. At 12:00 (GMT+8) on 25 October, the research monitoring station in University of the Philippines Diliman recorded a PM2.5 measurement of above 150 micrograms, which is deemed as "hazardous". There were concerns about haze from Indonesia reaching Metro Manila and it was theorised that this could happen if another typhoon hit the country.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Countries affected, Singapore
Some outdoor activities in Singapore were postponed following the haze. It was a concern in the week leading up to the 2015 Singapore Grand Prix as the event could have come under threat of haze. The haze rose into the "very unhealthy" range of the Pollutant Standards Index on 14 September, with a reading of 223 at 8 p.m. It rose further to 249 at 9 p.m. before dropping back to the "unhealthy" range for the rest of the night. Thunderstorms and rain had improved the situation in the afternoons of the 15th and 16th, while a change in prevailing wind direction improved the situation from the 20th to the 22nd.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Countries affected, Singapore
The haze deteriorated again on the evening of the 23rd and the morning of the 24th as denser haze from Sumatra was blown into the country by prevailing southerly winds. On 24 September, the PSI reading at 7 p.m. rose into the "hazardous" range for the first time in 2015 with a reading of 313. It rose further to 317 at 8 p.m., which prompted the Ministry of Education (MOE) to close all primary and secondary schools on the 25th due to the worsening haze conditions.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Countries affected, Singapore
The haze deteriorated further during the small hours, reaching a record high for the year at 5 a.m. with a reading of 341. However, the 3-hour PSI quickly fell back into the "moderate" range at 1 p.m. the next day. The PSI had been hovering at the unhealthy range from the late afternoon to the evening, and the MOE announced schools to reopen on 28 September 2015. Since that day, PSI levels have remained at the unhealthy range, even rising up to very unhealthy on a few occasions.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Countries affected, Singapore
On 24 September 2015, Ministry of Manpower (MOM) lodged a police report over a hoax post on social media (WhatsApp and Facebook) that claimed it had declared a "voluntary non-work day" on Friday, 25 September 2015 as a result of the haze.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Countries affected, Singapore
On 25 September 2015, the government, for the first time, named five firms: Asia Pulp and Paper, Rimba Hutani Mas, Sebangun Bumi Andalas Wood Industries, Bumi Sriwijaya Sentosa and Wachyuni Mandira as responsible for the haze and instructed them to take measures to extinguish fires on their land, not to start new ones, and to submit action plans on how they would prevent future fires. The Minister for the Environment and Water Resources stressed that the haze was a man-made problem that should not be tolerated. Under Singapore's Transboundary Haze Pollution Act, those guilty can be fined up to $100,000 a day, capped at $2 million, for causing unhealthy haze.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Countries affected, Singapore
Some of the 2015 FINA Swimming World Cup's events on 3 October 2015 were cancelled as the PSI was in the 'unhealthy' range.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Countries affected, Singapore
On 19 October 2015, the 1-hour PM2.5 concentration reached a record high of 471μg/m3 for the West region at 11 p.m., while the South region was at 301μg/m3 . This was a sharp increase as the highest 1-hour PM2.5 concentration in Singapore at 9 p.m. was 164μg/m3 . The National Environment Agency attributed this to "denser haze from the sea areas south of Singapore being blown in by the prevailing south-south=easterly winds". Thunderstorms in the morning of 28 October 2015 brought respite from the haze when the PSI dropped from 61 to 26 at 9 a.m.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Countries affected, Singapore
The National Environment Agency (NEA) announced that they would stop issuing daily haze advisories from 15 November 2015 onwards.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Countries affected, Singapore
The 2015 haze crisis in Singapore was considered as the most serious haze episode for Singapore as it lasted for a long time. It was also the first time the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) deployed a Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) Chinook helicopter and 34 SAF personnel to help fight the ongoing forest fires in Sumatra, Indonesia.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Countries affected, Thailand
The haze from Sumatra turned most parts of southern Thailand such as Narathiwat, Pattani, Phuket, Satun, Songkhla, Surat Thani, Trang and Yala provinces unsightly, even reaching hazardous levels on 7 October The Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) issued a health advisory to its residents in August 2015 and in October the province saw a number of flight delays in Phuket Airport.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Countries affected, Thailand
The air quality index in provinces of southern Thailand were increasing with the Regional Environmental Office Director Halem Jehmarikan saying the current air pollution levels were the result of the wind direction and a low pressure area, preventing the haze from being blown away. A number of hospitals saw an increase in child patients with respiratory system related symptoms. Halem also added the pollution was the worst in decades compared to previous smog that faded within four hours.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Countries affected, Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh City and other provinces in Southern Vietnam were enveloped in haze as of 4 October. Vietnamese experts believe that the phenomenon was partly caused by the fire in Indonesia. According to the southern unit of the Vietnamese National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, many provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta, such as Sóc Trăng, Cà Mau, Kiến Giang, Đồng Tháp, Bến Tre, and Cần Thơ also experienced similar foggy weather since the beginning of October. Residents were told to stay indoors as southern Vietnam saw a rising number of child patients suffering irritated eyes, nosebleeds, runny noses, and sneezing. The haze was predicted to continue for three days before being gradually eased by heavy rains.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Counter-measures, Firefighting
Both Indonesia and Malaysia started daily cloud seeding on 15 September. Fourteen helicopters were deployed by Indonesian authorities to dump water on fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan, and cloud seeding aircraft were deployed to Kalimantan. In Malaysia, the cloud seeding operation was carried out for 10 days until 25 September in areas such as Kuching, Sri Aman, Kota Samarahan and Sarikei in Malaysian Borneo and Klang Valley in peninsular Malaysia.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Counter-measures, Firefighting
The Indonesian government also started building retention basins to restore moisture to the peatland in Sumatra and Kalimantan. Dry peatland, due to the dry season and also drainage for oil palm cultivation, was cited as the reason that fire spread quickly. Retention basins were built by blocking water flow in drainage canals, and the re-wetted peatland would serve to check the fire.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Counter-measures, Firefighting
Firefighting efforts involved Singapore, Malaysia and Australia. Russian-made Beriev Be-200 water bombers were involved. One of them had arrived at 21 Oct 0411 hours.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Counter-measures, Mitigation of health effects
Free face masks were distributed to residents in areas worst affected by the haze and many schools in Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak, Singapore as well as Indonesia were ordered to close. Most Indonesian pharmacies sold oxygen cylinders to the public.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Counter-measures, Mitigation of health effects
Singapore launched legal action that could lead to massive fines against Indonesian companies blamed for farm and plantation fires spewing unhealthy levels of air pollution over the city-state. Singapore also launched its own supplies for its residents, mainly to those elderly households who are very vulnerable to the haze with the distribution of AIR+ smart masks to 29,000 elderly residents along with WeCare PAcks, which contain food and essential items like eyedrops, vitamin C tablets, biscuits, instant noodles and canned food.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Counter-measures, Mitigation of health effects
In Thailand, Songkhla Province governor Songpol Sawasditham set up a "war room" to provide aid to affected residents and to combat the impact of smog from Indonesian forest fires. The Thai government also launched an application called Air4ASEAN that tracked the spread of the haze from the Indonesian fires, and monitored the air quality in different countries.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Criticism of responses
Residents and non-governmental organisations in Riau and Central Kalimantan complained about the lack of aid and inaction from the Indonesian government over the ongoing forest fires. An NGO (non-governmental organisation) called the "Mandate of People's Suffering" as well as some Riau residents even wrote to the Malaysian government requesting aid. Some residents and leaders in Riau claimed that the central government was intentionally providing a slow and inadequate response, although the situation had been worsening over time.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Criticism of responses
They explained that foreign aid had been blocked, even though the government had shown an inability to combat the fires itself, and that sub-standard masks were handed out to locals. The Indonesian government was also criticised for promising to cut CO2 emissions by 20% but failing to provide any commitment to zero deforestation as the country has overtaken Brazil in terms of deforestation. Indonesia has received a new record from the Guinness World Records as the country with the fastest destruction of forest due to fire.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Criticism of responses
During the crisis, Indonesia surpassed the United States as the second largest producer of CO2 in the world due to the haze, just behind China. The haze, which sent air pollution levels up to 'very unhealthy' levels in neighbouring Malaysia and Singapore, also affected the Pacific nations of Guam, Palau and the Northern Marianas. Guam's Office of Homeland Security and Civil Defence spokesperson Jenna Gaminde warned the public to expect the haze to reduce visibility and adversely affect those with respiratory issues.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Criticism of responses
Western Melanesia was currently susceptible to winds from Typhoon Koppu and Champi pulling smoke plumes from vast fires in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. The World Resources Institute said in an October report that since early September, carbon emissions from the fires had exceeded average US daily output on 26 out of 44 days. If the haze continues until next year, the haze could be the worst haze crisis in Southeast Asia since the 1997 Southeast Asia haze. Robert Field, a NASA scientist from Columbia University, stated:


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Criticism of responses
If the forecasts for a longer dry season hold, this suggests 2015 will rank among the most severe events on record.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Criticism of responses
Weak enforcement of environmental laws have been criticised; in previous forest burnings, many of the perpetrators, who mostly comprised employees of Indonesian palm oil companies, had been caught with strong evidence of criminal activity but still managed to escape from getting heavier penalties.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Criticism of responses
A group of Malaysians gathered in front of the Indonesian embassy in Kuala Lumpur to show their protest over Indonesia's illegal fires. In Thailand, around 50 Thais held a peaceful protest in front of the Indonesian consulate in Songkhla to demand that the Indonesian government expedite their action in combating the fires. Another 20 Thais representing the "Hatyai-Songkhla Residents Affected by Haze from Indonesia" group also sent a letter to the Indonesian consulate asking Indonesia to take responsibility and give its commitment to solve the issue. Tensions also arose with Singapore when Singapore's largest supermarket NTUC FairPrice withdrew paper products made by an Indonesian company, Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) as APP was named as one of the companies responsible for the haze.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Reactions
Indonesia – President Joko Widodo has instructed government agencies to revoke the permits of any palm oil companies involved in the burning of forests and urged the arrest of those responsible. While Jokowi conceded in September 2015 that the recurrent haze was "not a problem that you can solve quickly", he insisted that Indonesia had "gone to great lengths" to tackle the problem, and declared: "You will see results soon and in three years we will have solved this". Around 25,000 Indonesian National Armed Forces troops had been deployed to battle the fires.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Reactions
While Indonesian Member of Parliament (MP) Hamdhani Mukhdar Said apologised to both Malaysia and Singapore over the haze, Indonesia's Vice-President Jusuf Kalla restated his position that Indonesia has no obligation to apologise to neighbouring countries for the haze caused by "forest fires" lasting "a month at the most" when these countries were not "grateful" for the "months" of "fresh air from our green environment and our forests when there are no fires". In a separate speech, Kalla said that Indonesia is "open", and requested that "Singapore, please come if you want to help. Don't just talk".


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Reactions
However, Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar had earlier rejected any Singaporean offers to help Indonesia by stating that Indonesia had enough resources to deal with the crisis. October saw the Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB) requesting help from Malaysia, Singapore or other countries to secure bigger aerial firefighting aircraft for Indonesia, around the same time as the Indonesian cabinet finally agreed to receive international help with the crisis, with President Jokowi declaring that Indonesia was now "working with a number of countries including Singapore", and other officials saying that Russia had also offered to help. Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung explained why Indonesia had earlier rejected Singapore's help, saying that "if we are assisted, the government does not want them to claim the credit".


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Reactions
Malaysia – Prime Minister Najib Razak has demanded Indonesia take action against companies responsible for illegal forest fires blanketing parts of Southeast Asia in smoke, adding "Only Indonesia alone can gather evidence and convict the companies concerned". Meanwhile, Malaysian Education Minister Mahdzir Khalid has stated "We will not compromise with anything that may bring harm to our children in schools". The Malaysian government has called Indonesia to ratify a new memorandum of understanding to tackle transboundary haze.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Reactions
According to Malaysian Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar the MoU would let both countries "assisting and exchange ideas with each other in the case of jungle and peat soil fires while requiring Indonesia to comply with its side of the bargain". The Fire and Rescue Department of Sarawak has ready to assist in putting out peat fires in Pontianak, Kalimantan, Indonesia if it is instructed to do. Malaysian military has also offered to help Indonesia to fight fires in both Sumatra and Kalimantan as stated by Malaysian Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Reactions
Singapore – On 3 June 2015, preceding both the dry season and the 2015 haze crisis, the Singaporean government offered Indonesia an 'assistance package' to combat haze; Singapore said assistance had been "consistently" offered "since 2005". The 2015 offer included three C-130 aircraft, one Chinook helicopter and a Singapore Civil Defence Force team. The offer to deal with the crisis was again reiterated to Indonesia in September when Singapore was then affected by the haze.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Reactions
At first, Indonesia accepted the offers but rejected it under a recent statement by its Environment and Forestry Minister as confirmed by its ministry's chief spokesman, Mr Eka Soegiri. Singapore has since reiterated the offer according to its former Minister for Environment and Water Resources, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan. Dr Vivian also delivered Singapore's national statement at the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Summit 2015 on 27 September 2015 at the UN Headquarters in New York US. The Summit has adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a long-term global development framework that includes a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Reactions
In the statement, Minister Balakrishnan also called for closer regional and international co-operation on the issue of transboundary haze pollution in Southeast Asia. On 7 October 2015, after the haze had affected parts of Southeast Asia for more than a month, Indonesia finally accepted Singapore's offer to help. Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the request was sent via the Indonesian embassy in Singapore.


2015 Southeast Asian haze, Reactions
Thailand – Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha ordered its Foreign Ministry co-operate closely with neighbouring countries to tackle the chronic problem that has gripped parts of Southeast Asia. He also instructed officials in each affected province to spray water in the air to help improve visibility and to supply masks to the public. Thailand has said that they would push for Asean-level efforts to combat the haze. The Thai government has also offered them help in tackling the haze problem according to its Foreign Ministry deputy permanent secretary Vitavas Srivihok, as the Indonesian envoy had admitted his country's efforts alone were not enough to stop the fires.


2015 Southeast Missouri State Redhawks football team
The 2015 Southeast Missouri State Redhawks football team represented Southeast Missouri State University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by second-year head coach Tom Matukewicz and played their home games at Houck Stadium. They were a member of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 4–7, 3–4 in OVC play to finish in fifth place.


2015 Southeast Pro Cycling season
The 2015 season for the Southeast Pro Cycling cycling team began in January at the Vuelta al Táchira. The team participated in UCI Continental Circuits and UCI World Tour events when given a wildcard invitation.


2015 Southeast Pro Cycling season
In light of the doping scandals which took place within the team, during the 2013 and 2014 season, Neri Sottoli dropped their title-sponsorship for the 2015 season and Luca Scinto left the team. Chinese construction company SouthEast Space Frame Co. became title sponsor of the team.


2015 Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament
The 2015 Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament was held from May 19 through May 24 at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Alabama. The annual tournament determined the tournament champion of the Division I Southeastern Conference in college baseball. Florida, the tournament champion, earned the conference's automatic bid to the 2015 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.


2015 Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament
The tournament has been held every year since 1977, with LSU claiming eleven championships, the most of any school. Original members Georgia and Kentucky along with 1993 addition Arkansas have never won the tournament. This is the eighteenth consecutive year and twentieth overall that the event has been held at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.


2015 Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament, Format and seeding
The regular season division winners, LSU and Vanderbilt, claimed the top two seeds respectively and the next ten teams by conference winning percentage, regardless of division, will claim the remaining berths in the tournament. The bottom eight teams played a single-elimination opening round, followed by a double-elimination format until the semifinals, when the format reverted to single elimination through the championship game. This was the third year of this format. Auburn was seeded ninth ahead of South Carolina due of the tiebreaker they obtained by winning a regular season series against the Gamecocks in Columbia.


2015 Southeastern Conference football season
The 2015 Southeastern Conference football season represented the 83rd season of SEC football taking place during the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The season began on September 3 with South Carolina defeating North Carolina on ESPN. This was the fourth season for the SEC under realignment that took place in 2012 adding Texas A&M and Missouri from the Big 12 Conference. The SEC is a Power Five conference under the College Football Playoff format along with the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Big 12 Conference, the Big Ten Conference, and the Pac-12 Conference.


2015 Southeastern Conference football season
The SEC consists of 14 members: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt; and is split up into the East and West divisions, with the champion of each division meeting in Atlanta to compete for the SEC Championship on December 5. Alabama began the season as defending SEC champions as they defeated Missouri in the previous year's championship game. Alabama would then go on to participate in the first ever College Football Playoff as the number one overall seed, and would lose their semi-final match to eventual National Champion Ohio State by a score of 42–35.


2015 Southeastern Conference football season
The SEC entered the 2015 season with high expectations, including a record 10 teams ranked in the preseason AP Poll. Great finishes and bowl wins for teams like Tennessee and Arkansas at the conclusion of 2014, in addition to traditional favorites Alabama, Georgia, LSU, and Florida, led many to predict a huge year for the SEC. However, the regular season featured early non-conference upsets including Toledo over Arkansas and Memphis over Ole Miss, and down years from Auburn, Missouri, and South Carolina.


2015 Southeastern Conference football season
Alabama was crowned SEC champions after defeating Florida in the SEC Championship Game, and earned their second consecutive appearance in the College Football Playoff. As the number two overall seed, the Tide defeated Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl 38–0, and capped off the season with a 45–40 victory in the National Championship Game over Clemson. The victory secured Alabama's fourth national championship in seven years, and the eighth national championship for the SEC in ten seasons.


2015 Southeastern Conference football season, Preseason, SEC Media Days, Media Polls
The SEC Media Days concluded with its annual preseason media polls. In a surprising result, the media voted Auburn the team most likely to win the SEC championship, while Alabama was selected to win their division, the SEC West. Below are the results of the media poll with total points received next to each school and first-place votes in parentheses.


2015 Southeastern Conference football season, Head coaches
Only one SEC team changed head coaches for the 2015 season. Jim McElwain was hired to replace Will Muschamp at Florida. Muschamp's four-year tenure was filled with highs and lows, but he announced his resignation at the end of the season compiling a 28–22 record as the head coach, 17–15 in the SEC. Muschamp agreed to become the defensive coordinator for Auburn following his resignation. McElwain takes over the Gators after leading Colorado State to a 22–16 record in three seasons, turning the program into one of the best offensive teams in the country. McElwain had previously served as Alabama's offensive coordinator under Nick Saban from 2008 to 2011, winning two national titles.


2015 Southeastern Conference football season, Head coaches
On October 12, halfway through the season with a 2–4 record (0–4 in SEC play), South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier unexpectedly resigned. Concerning his resignation Spurrier said, "My answer has always been the same: If it starts going south, starts going bad, then I need to get out. ... It's time for me to get out of the way and give somebody else a go at it." Spurrier was in his 11th season as head coach of the Gamecocks compiling a record of 86–49, the most wins in school history. After the resignation, offensive coordinator Shawn Elliott took over head coaching duties.


2015 Southeastern Conference football season, Head coaches
Another coaching change took place during the season when on November 14, Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel announced that he would be resigning from his position at the conclusion of the season. Pinkel said he was resigning due to health reasons, citing his diagnoses with lymphoma earlier in May. The announcement came during a tumultuous time in Columbia as the university and community were also dealing with race relation issues which lead to the school's president and chancellor also resigning. Upon completing his 15th season at Missouri, Pinkel will finish his coaching career with the most wins, games coached, and bowl victories in program history.


2015 Southeastern Conference football season, Head coaches
Two days after the regular season ended, the University of Georgia made the decision to fire 15th year head coach, Mark Richt. Richt finished his head coaching career at Georgia with a record of 145–51, the second-most wins in school history, 2 SEC championships, and a record of 9–5 in bowl games. Richt was replaced by long-time Alabama defensive coordinator, Kirby Smart, a Georgia alumnae and former player. It is Smart's first head coaching job. Only 3 days after leaving Georgia, Richt was announced as the new head coach for the Miami Hurricanes, where he also is a former alumnae and player.


2015 Southeastern Conference football season, Head coaches
Note: The stats shown are before the beginning of the season.


2015 Southeastern Conference football season, Regular season
Rankings reflect those of the AP poll for that week until week 10 when CFP rankings are used.


2015 Southeastern Conference football season, SEC vs other Conferences, SEC vs Power Conference matchups
This is a list of the power conference teams (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12) the SEC plays in non-conference (Rankings from the AP Poll):


2015 Southeastern Conference football season, SEC vs other Conferences, SEC vs Power Conference matchups
The SEC recognizes independents Army, BYU and Notre Dame as power five teams for scheduling purposes.


2015 Southeastern Conference football season, Awards and honors, All-SEC Teams
The Southeastern Conference coaches voted for the All-SEC teams after the regular season concluded. The teams were released just after the Prior to the 2015 SEC Championship Game. Alabama placed ten representatives on the 2015 All-Southeastern Conference Coaches' Football Team, the most since Alabama and LSU placed 11 in 2011. Thirteen of the 14 SEC schools placed a member on the first-team All-SEC squad, while 12 institutions boasted at least two total All-SEC selections.


2015 Southeastern Conference football season, Awards and honors, All-SEC Teams
Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players.


2015 Southeastern Conference football season, Home game attendance
Game played at Arkansas' secondary home stadium War Memorial Stadium, capacity: 54,120.


2015 Southeastern Conference football season, Home game attendance
Game relocated to LSU's Tiger Stadium due to severe flooding from the 2015 South Carolina Floods. Although the game was played in Baton Rouge, in all other aspects it was a home game for South Carolina. Note: The reported attendance is not factored into overall attendance for the season since it was unclear what the official capacity was for the game, and since it was not played at Williams–Brice Stadium.


2015 Southeastern Louisiana Lions football team
The 2015 Southeastern Louisiana Lions football team represented Southeastern Louisiana University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Lions were led by fourth-year head coach Ron Roberts and played their home games at Strawberry Stadium. They were a member of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 4–7, 3–6 in Southland play to finish in a three way tie for eighth place.


2015 Southeastern Louisiana Lions football team, Previous season
The Lions tied for the Southland Conference championship. They finished the season 9–4 overall, 7–1 in conference play, and lost the first playoff game to Sam Houston State 17–21.


2015 Southend-on-Sea Borough Council election
The 2015 Southend-on-Sea Borough Council election took place on 7 May 2015 to elect members of Southend-on-Sea Borough Council in England. This was on the same day as the other local elections.


2015 Southern Conference Baseball Tournament
The 2015 Southern Conference Baseball Tournament will be held from May 19 through May 24 at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park in Charleston, South Carolina. The annual event determines the conference champion of the Division I Southern Conference in college baseball. The tournament winner earns the league's bid to the 2015 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. This is the last of 20 athletic championships held by the conference in the 2013–14 academic year.


2015 Southern Conference Baseball Tournament
The tournament was originally held from 1950-53, when the Southern Conference was a large conference composed of several small schools and several large schools, the latter of which would form the Atlantic Coast Conference after the 1953 season. The event was re-established in 1984 and has been held every year since. Western Carolina has claimed nine championships, the most of any school, with The Citadel close behind at eight tournament wins. Furman is the only other school current school with multiple championships, winning two. UNC Greensboro is the only current and returning member to never win a title.


2015 Southern Conference Baseball Tournament
2014 champion and six-time winner Georgia Southern, along with Elon (two titles), Appalachian State (1 title), and Davidson (no titles) departed the conference after the 2014 season. Mercer will make its first appearance in 2015, while East Tennessee State and VMI return to the league in 2015. Neither ETSU nor VMI won the event during their previous tenures in the league.


2015 Southern Conference Baseball Tournament
The tournament will be played in Charleston for the second year in a row after spending the previous two seasons in Greenville, South Carolina. Charleston has hosted the event more than any other city.


2015 Southern Conference Baseball Tournament, Seeding and format
All nine teams will participate in the tournament, with the bottom two seeds playing a single-elimination play-in round. The remaining teams will then be divided into two brackets and play double-elimination tournaments. The winners of each bracket will play a single championship game.


2015 Southern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2015 Southern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament took place Friday, March 6 through Monday, March 9 in Asheville, North Carolina, at the U.S. Cellular Center. The entire tournament was streamed on ESPN3, with the Southern Conference Championship Game televised by ESPN2. The champion, Wofford, received an automatic bid into the 2015 NCAA Tournament.


2015 Southern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
With the addition of East Tennessee State and Mercer, all 10 teams participated in the tournament.


2015 Southern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Format
All ten conference members qualify for the tournament. Teams were seeded based on conference winning percentage. The top six seeds received a first-round bye, with the bottom four teams playing two first-round games.


2015 Southern Conference Softball Tournament
The 2015 Southern Conference softball tournament was held at Jim Frost Stadium on the campus of Chattanooga University in Chattanooga, Tennessee from May 6 through May 9, 2015. Chattanooga won their eight tournament championship and earned the SoCon's automatic bid to the 2015 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament. The Championship game was broadcast on ESPN3 while all other games were broadcast on the .


2015 Southern Conference Softball Tournament, Format
The SoCon Tournament takes the top 7 teams and places them in a double elimination tournament, up until the championship. Seed 1 gets a bye to the 2nd Round. The championship game is played with a winner-take-all single game format. Jason Patterson and Phil Cox will call all the games for the SoCon Digital Network. Darren Goldwater and Stephanie Cushing will call the championship for ESPN3.


2015 Southern Conference Women's Basketball Tournament
The 2015 Southern Conference Women's Basketball Tournament was held between Thursday, March 5 and Sunday, March 8 in Asheville, North Carolina, at Kimmel Arena and the U.S. Cellular Center. Chattanooga won their 16th tournament championship and earned the SoCon's automatic bid into the 2015 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament.


2015 Southern Conference football season
The 2015 Southern Conference football season was the 94th season of college football for the Southern Conference (SoCon) and formed a part of the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season.


2015 Southern Conference football season, Preseason poll results, Preseason All-Conference Teams
Offensive Player of the Year: Jacob Huesman, Sr., QB (Chattanooga)Defensive Player of the Year: Michael Pierce, Sr., DL (Samford)


2015 Southern Conference football season, Regular season
Rankings reflect that of the Sports Network poll for that week.


2015 Southern District Council election
The 2015 Southern District Council election was held on 22 November 2015 to elect all 17 members to the Southern District Council.


2015 Southern District Council election
Civic Party's legislator Kenneth Chan Ka-lok failed in challenging incumbent Lam Kai-fai in South Horizons East.


2015 Southern Illinois Salukis football team
The 2015 Southern Illinois Salukis football team represented Southern Illinois University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by eighth year head coach Dale Lennon and played their home games at Saluki Stadium. They were a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. They finished the season 3–8, 2–6 in MVFC play to finish in ninth place.


2015 Southern Illinois Salukis football team
On November 30, head coach Dale Lennon was fired. He finished at Southern Illinois with an eight year record of 51–42.


2015 Southern Jaguars football team
The 2015 Southern Jaguars football team represented Southern University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Jaguars were led by third-year head coach Dawson Odums. The Jaguars played their home games at Ace W. Mumford Stadium and were a member of the West Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). They finished the season 6–5, 6–3 in SWAC play to finish in third place in the West Division.


2015 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team
The 2015 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team represented the University of Southern Mississippi in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season as members of the West Division of Conference USA. They were led by third-year head coach Todd Monken and played their home games at M. M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. They finished the season 9–5, 7–1 in C-USA play to be champions of the West Division. They represented the West Division in the Conference USA Football Championship Game where they lost to WKU. They were invited to the Heart of Dallas Bowl, where they were defeated by Washington.


2015 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team
On January 24, 2016, head coach Todd Monken resigned to become the offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He finished at Southern Miss with a three-year record of 13–25.


2015 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team, Schedule
Southern Miss announced their 2015 football schedule on February 2, 2015. The 2015 schedule consist of six home and away games in the regular season. The Golden Eagles will host CUSA foes North Texas, Old Dominion, UTEP, and UTSA, and will travel to Charlotte, Louisiana Tech, Marshall, and Rice.


2015 Southern Myanmar FC season
Southern Myanmar United Football Club is a Burmese football club, based at Yamanya Stadium in Mawlamyaing, Myanmar. End of the 2014 MNL season, they are relegated to MNL-2 for first time in their history. They played 2015 MNL-2 season and promoted again to MNL.


2015 Southern Myanmar FC season
Southern Myanmar United FC won 2015 MNL-2 champion and best attacking team in 2015 MNL-2.


2015 Southern Myanmar FC season, Current Players, 2015
The squad for the 2015 2nd Myanmar National League Cup. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2015 Southern Syria offensive
The 2015 Southern Syria offensive, code-named "Operation Martyrs of Quneitra", was an offensive launched in southern Syria during the Syrian Civil War by the Syrian Arab Army, Hezbollah and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces. Government forces also include Iranian sponsored Afghani Shi'ite volunteer militias. The name "Operation Martyrs of Quneitra" refers to the January 2015 Mazraat Amal incident, in which several high level Hezbollah and IRGC members were killed in an Israeli strike.


2015 Southern Syria offensive
After Syrian troops and their allies captured 15 towns, villages and hills, the operation slowed and stalled during attempts to advance on Kafr Shams and Kafr Nasij. The gains by pro-government troops were described as limited, while the pro-Damascus As-Safir reported the gains were a "devastating" defeat for the rebels. Most viewed the offensive as unsuccessful, with the rebels "weathering" the "collapsed" offensive.


2015 Southern Syria offensive, Background
In October 2014, the rebels captured the electronic warfare station at Tal al-Harra thanks to the defection of General Mahmoud Abu Araj, who remained in his Syrian Arab Army position while passing intel to insurgent forces and sowing discord between Army forces and their Iranian allies; this led to the execution of as many as 56 Army officers in an attempt to stem the intel leaks. The recapture of Tal al-Harra would be one of the main objectives of the coming offensive.


2015 Southern Syria offensive, Background
The strategic aims of the offensive were the recapture of Tal al-Harra, the elimination of a perceived rebel-Israeli buffer zone protected by Al-Nusra Front forces in the area between Israel and Syria, guarding the Syrian capital of Damascus against further rebel encroachment, preventing the Syrian rebels from establishing a southeastern front in Lebanon and cutting off rebel supply lines leading to Jordan. An additional aim of the offensive was the creation of a Hezbollah-controlled "Golan front" against Israel. The offensive focused on a triangle of rebel-held territory from rural areas southwest of Damascus to Daraa city to Quneitra, with the initial focus being on seizing the villages of Kafr Shams, Zimreen and Deir al-Adas.


2015 Southern Syria offensive, Background
A source close to senior Hezbollah figures stated that the start date of the offensive was accelerated due to the assassination carried out by Israel in the Golan heights of several high-ranking Hezbollah and Iranian military figures.


2015 Southern Syria offensive, Offensive, Initial government advance
On 7 February 2015, the Army's 5th Armored Division, along with reinforcements from the 7th Infantry Division, launched the offensive in the northern part of Daraa province. During the first day's fighting, 10 rebels were killed in clashes around Kafr Shams.


2015 Southern Syria offensive, Offensive, Initial government advance
On 8 February, government forces bombarded multiple towns in Daraa province and heavy fighting ensued which left 11 rebels dead. The heaviest clashes occurred at Kafr Shams. The military also bombarded the towns of Om Batena and Mashara in the Quneitra province, as the Army's 9th Division launched an offensive in that governorate as well. According to a military source, government forces captured several hills. Meanwhile, in Rif Dimashq province government troops managed to capture Tall Marri hill, but were unable to advance towards the town of Deir Makir. The capture of Tall Marri hill was significant because it cut a rebel supply line and increased the isolation of rebel-held pockets around the city of Damascus.


2015 Southern Syria offensive, Offensive, Initial government advance
On 9 February, fighting erupted in Deir Makir and around Deir al-Adas in Daraa where four rebels were killed and two Army tanks were destroyed. By the end of the day, the Army, supported by the NDF, Hezbollah and Iranian fighters, advanced in the al-Ollayqat area near Deir al-Adas. Military sources reported that 65% Deir al-Adas, as well as Tal Ghasham near Kafr Shams, were captured. The Army also captured the village of Tayha.


2015 Southern Syria offensive, Offensive, Initial government advance
According to the rebels, government troops were supported by a large number of Afghan fighters as well during the offensive in Daraa and Rif Dimashq.


2015 Southern Syria offensive, Offensive, Initial government advance
On the morning of 10 February, the Army ambushed a group of Al-Nusra Front rebels at the village of Mahjat, in northern Daraa, leaving between 8 and 19 fighters dead. Meanwhile, fighting in Der al-Adas left another eight rebels dead, while government troops advanced and captured Deir Makir, al-Danaji and Habariyah. Later the military secured Deir al-Adas, with over 40 rebels and 23 soldiers being killed during the battle for the town.


2015 Southern Syria offensive, Offensive, Initial government advance
During the day, government artillery and air strikes hit rebel positions in Mashara, directly east of Quneitra and Harrah, to cut off rebels in Daraa from the Golan. A reporter for the Lebanese al-Mayadeen news channel, embedded with the Syrian Army, reported from Quneitra that the offensive had cut an important rebel supply route from Jordan to opposition-held areas west of Damascus. Army artillery from Tall Ghurabah hill also struck rebel positions on Tall Antar hill, near Kafr Shams, during the day.


2015 Southern Syria offensive, Offensive, Initial government advance
On 11 February, the Army and Hezbollah captured the hills of al-Arus and al-Sarja, near Deir Makir and al-Mseeh hill near Deir al Adas, and advanced towards Sultaniyah, which they bombarded. Meanwhile, Harrah residents reportedly asked rebel fighters to evacuate so to avoid any potential clashes in the town. At this point, the second phase of the government's Daraa offensive was started with fighting happening all along the frontline. In Rif Dimashq, according to SOHR, fighting raged around Tall Fatima hill where a number of soldiers were captured, as well as around Hamrit with one tank being destroyed, and over Tall Antar and Tall Alaqiyah.


2015 Southern Syria offensive, Offensive, Initial government advance
On 12 February, rapid advances by government forces slowed because of a snowstorm in the region. Still, the military captured the Ghirbal area of the town of Kafr Nasij, where fighters from Deir al-Adas had retreated to and were continuing to fight. After this, the commander of the rebel FSA 24th Division issued an urgent call for reinforcements. Fierce fighting also occurred in Sultaniyah, while the Army seized Tall Fatima hill and pushed the rebels toward Tall Qrein hill. Kafr Shams was also coming under attack.


2015 Southern Syria offensive, Offensive, Offensive stalls
In the following days, the rebels managed to recapture Tayha and Habariyah.


2015 Southern Syria offensive, Offensive, Offensive stalls
On 14 February, government forces continued to bombard Kafr Shams, Kafr Nasij and Tall Antar hill. Two Iranian IRGC officers (one of them a colonel) were killed in Kafr Nasij that day, while two reporters from the pro-government Al-Ekhbariya TV channel were wounded by rebel shelling on Deir al-Adas. According to the SOHR, 10 soldiers were executed on the charge of passing information to the enemy, while 5,000 more reinforcements were ordered to fight the rebels in the south. An Al-Nusra Front counter-attack on Deir al-Adas was reportedly repelled with 19 rebels and 11 soldiers being killed.


2015 Southern Syria offensive, Offensive, Offensive stalls
On 15 February, the Syrian Air Force resumed bombing rebel positions, after being forced to remain on the ground for five days due to bad weather conditions. Rebels claimed to have captured a senior Iranian officer and a Russian military missile system operator on the Daraa frontline. However, the Southern Front spokesman denied the claim of Iranian prisoners, but confirmed that the bodies of the two Iranian officers were in rebel possession.


2015 Southern Syria offensive, Offensive, Offensive stalls
On 17 February, a Hezbollah attack on Mashara was repelled. Still, fighting continued in the area of the village and the next day a military source reported Hezbollah had captured Syria Tel Hill. At the same time, the al-Nusra Front started a counter-attack to recapture all ground lost since the start of the offensive and managed to advance near al-Danaji.


2015 Southern Syria offensive, Offensive, Offensive stalls
On 19 February, the al-Nusra Front recaptured Tall Fatima and advanced towards Deir Maker. However, after fierce resistance from the 9th Armored Division, al-Nusra retreated to the recently captured hill after suffering 22 dead. The next day, a military source reported that Hezbollah continued their fierce assault on the al-Nusra Front south of the recently captured Syria Tel Hill, where they reportedly advanced further south in the village of Mashara, while in Al-Hamidiyyeh, the 9th Armored Division reportedly progressed towards the village cemetery after fierce clashes for two straight days. Later in the day, the Army recaptured Tall Fatima. However, on 21 February, fighting renewed for Tall Fatima.


2015 Southern Syria offensive, Offensive, Offensive stalls
On 25 February, after three days of inactivity due to harsh weather, Hezbollah made an attempt to capture Al-Hamidiyyeh and reportedly killed 16 rebels.


2015 Southern Syria offensive, Offensive, Renewed government advance
Over 27 and 28 February, government troops captured Sultaniyah, Habariyah, Hamrit and Sabsabah, as well as Tall Qrein and Tall Fatima hills. The battle for Tall Qrein lasted two hours. Heavy fighting continued in the Tal al-Allaqiya, Tal Samn, Aqrabah, Simlin and around Kafr Nasij and Kafr Shams where government forces attempted to advance. During the two-day clashes, at least 26 soldiers and 19–51 rebels were killed.


2015 Southern Syria offensive, Offensive, Renewed government advance
On 1 March, the Army made new attempts to advance at Kafr Shams, while they captured Tall al-Bazzaq and Rajm al-Sayd hill, also known as Tal al-Sayyad. Syrian troops and Hezbollah also managed to advance to within 10 kilometers from Tal al-Harra, capturing hills overlooking it. At this point, the Army stated they had completed the first phase of their offensive, creating a buffer-zone between northwest Daraa and the West Ghouta area of Rif Dimashq.


2015 Southern Syria offensive, Offensive, Renewed government advance
The second planned phase would be a two-pronged attack, with the 7th Division attempting to capture Kafr Shams, while Hezbollah and the 9th Division will look to capture Kafr Nasij, after which both divisions and Hezbollah would link up at ‘Aqraba. A large part of the offensive would consist from the 9th Division and Hezbollah’s advance to Nabi Sakhar and their capture of ‘Umm Batna and Mashara. The Syrian Brigadier General Mahmoud Mustafa (commander of a commando unit) was reportedly killed in Hebbariye, Quneitra, that day.


2015 Southern Syria offensive, Offensive, Renewed government advance
On 3 March, it was reported that seven Afghan pro-government fighters were buried, including the commander of the Afghan volunteer Fatemiyoun Brigade, Alireza Tavassoli, who was killed on 28 February in Daraa province. That day, an operation room, consisting of Jabhat al-Nusra, Ahrar ash-Sham, Jamaat Bayt al-Maqdis al-Islamiya and the Islamic Muthanna Movement, was established in Daraa. The Free Syrian Army's First Army played a secondary role in this operation room. The reason for this, was the repeated failures to repel government attacks and the lack of unity among the moderate rebel groups. Most of the Southern Front affiliated groups refused to play a significant role in the battle.