Military Intelligence Corps (United States Army)

The Military Intelligence Corps is the intelligence branch of the United States Army. The primary mission of military intelligence in the United States Army is to provide timely, relevant, accurate, and synchronized intelligence and electronic warfare support to tactical, operational and strategic-level commanders. The Army's intelligence components produce intelligence both for Army use and for sharing across the national intelligence community.
History.
Intelligence personnel were a part of the Continental Army since its initial founding in 1775.
In 1776, General George Washington commissioned the first intelligence unit. Knowlton's Rangers, named after its leader Colonel Thomas Knowlton, became the first organized elite force, a predecessor to modern special operations forces units such as the Army Rangers, Delta Force, and others. The "1776" on the United States Army Intelligence Service seal refers to the formation of Knowlton's Rangers.
In January 1863, Major General Joseph Hooker established the Bureau of Military Information for the Union Army during the Civil War, headed by George H. Sharpe. Allan Pinkerton and Lafayette C. Baker handled similar operations for their respective regional commanders. All of those operations were shut down at the end of the Civil War in 1865.
In 1885, the Army established the Military Intelligence Division. In 1903, it was placed under the new general staff in an elevated position.
In March 1942, the Military Intelligence Division was reorganized as the Military Intelligence Service. Originally consisting of just 26 people, 16 of them officers, it was quickly expanded to include 342 officers and 1,000 enlisted personnel and civilians. It was tasked with collecting, analyzing, and disseminating intelligence. Initially it included:
In May 1942, Alfred McCormack established the Special Branch of the Military Intelligence Service, which specialized in communications intelligence.
On January 1, 1942, the U.S. Army Corps of Intelligence Police, founded in World War I, was re-designated as the US Army Counter Intelligence Corps. In 1945, the Special Branch became the Army Security Agency.
At its peak in early 1946, the MIS Language School had 160 instructors and 3,000 students studying in more than 125 classrooms, graduating more than 6,000 students by the end of the war. What began as an experimental military intelligence language-training program launched on a budget of $2,000 eventually became the forerunner of today's Defense Language Institute for the tens of thousands of linguists who serve American interests throughout the world.
In 1946 the school moved to the Presidio of Monterey. Renamed the Army Language School, it expanded rapidly in 1947–48 during the Cold War. Instructors, including native speakers of more than thirty languages and dialects, were recruited from all over the world. Russian became the largest language program, followed by Chinese, Korean, and German.
On September 1, 1954, the Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence (ACSI) officially redesignated the CIC Center, Fort Holabird, Maryland, as the Army Intelligence Center, and the Chief of the Counter Intelligence Corps became its Commanding General. The following year, the Intelligence Center expanded further with the addition of the Photo Interpretation Center. Additionally, combat intelligence training (including order of battle techniques, photo interpretation, prisoner of war interrogation, and censorship) was transferred from the Army General School at Fort Riley, Kansas to Fort Holabird, giving the Commanding General the additional title of Commandant, US Army Intelligence School. This arrangement centralized nearly all intelligence training at the US Army Intelligence Center and School, Fort Holabird.
The Intelligence Center and School remained at Fort Holabird until overcrowding during the Vietnam War forced its relocation to Fort Huachuca, Arizona. Fort Huachuca became the "Home of Military Intelligence" on 23 March 1971, and the last class graduated from Fort Holabird on 2 September 1971, nearly 17 years to the day after the Army Intelligence Center was established there. USAINTCS Established at Fort. Holabird, MD
On 1 July 1962, the Army Intelligence and Security Branch was established as a basic Army branch to meet the increased need for national and tactical intelligence. The redesignated branch came with the creation of a new dagger and sun branch insignia, replacing the sphinx insignia that had been in place since 1923.
It was in July 1967, that a number of intelligence and security organizations were combined to form the military intelligence branch. In 1977 they eventually recombined with the Army Intelligence Agency and Army Security Agency to become the US Army Intelligence and Security Command.
In 1971, the United States Army Intelligence Center was established at Fort Huachuca, Arizona as the home of the military intelligence branch. On 1 July 1987 the Military Intelligence Corps was activated as a regiment under the U.S. Army Regimental System. All United States Army Military Intelligence personnel are members of the Military Intelligence Corps.
Structure.
Approximately 28,000 military personnel and 3,800 civilian personnel are assigned to intelligence duties, comprising the Military Intelligence Corps. Some of the key components include:
Creed and march of the Military Intelligence Corps.
Creed of the Military Intelligence Corps
<poem>
I am a Soldier first, but an intelligence professional second to none.
With pride in my heritage, but focused on the future,
Performing the first task of an Army:
To find, know, and never lose the enemy.
With a sense of urgency and of tenacity, professional and physical fitness,
and above all, INTEGRITY, for in truth lies victory.
Always at silent war, while ready for a shooting war,
The silent warrior of the ARMY team.</poem>
Military Intelligence Corps March
<poem>
Onward to victory!
Our silent warriors to the fight.
Onward to victory!
Trained and ready day or night.
Peace through intelligence!
Here's to your health and to our corps.
Strength through intelligence!
Toujours Avant forever more.
</poem>
Museum.
The United States Army Intelligence Museum is located at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. It features the history of American military intelligence from the Revolutionary War to present. In the Army Military Intelligence Museum there is a painting of "The MI Blue Rose". The back of this painting indicates Sgt. Ralph R Abel, Jr. created it. The painting was photographed and distributed worldwide. Sgt. Abel also painted a replica of the corps flag.


ACC Loan Management

ACC Loan Management Limited, formerly ACCBank plc, was originally a commercial bank in Ireland that focused on agriculture and SME lending, and later became a company that focussed on managing the lending facilities of its existing clients. The bank had its origins in the Agricultural Credit Corporation ("Corparáid an Chairde Talmhaíochta") set up in 1927 in the Irish Free State to finance agriculture; the bank was successful and led to the creation of the Industrial Credit Company, which was modelled on it and provided finance to industry. In the early 1990s, the company name was changed from "Agricultural Credit Corporation plc" to "ACCBank plc" in order to signify that the company was then targeting more than simply agricultural customers. In early 2002, the bank was sold by the Irish Government to Rabobank, it was one of the three entities of the Rabobank (Ireland).
Company history.
1927
The Agricultural Credit Corporation was founded in September 1927 and was one of the first creations of the Irish Free State.
1988
A new Agricultural Credit Act empowered the corporation to deploy up to 25% of its risk assets outside agriculture and the foundations of present-day ACCBank were laid.
2000
ACCBank refocused its business model on the SME and Agri sectors positioning the bank as a relationship bank in these sectors.
2002
ACCBank became a wholly owned subsidiary of Rabobank. With the backing of its parent, ACCBank embarking on ambitious plans to strengthen and grow its presence in Ireland as a leading Business and Agri-business bank.
As part of the Netherlands-based, former AAA rated, Rabobank Group, ACCBank’s range of products and services included commercial mortgages, working capital finance, asset finance and leasing and wealth management.
2014 - ACCBank Restructuring, ceases banking, debt recovery focus
ACCBank decided to restructure with a focus solely on debt recovery, and stopped delivering banking services on 30 May 2014. This meant the closure of current accounts and return of all deposits, including interest due. All Business Centres in Cork, Drogheda, Dublin, Galway, Kilkenny, Limerick, Mullingar, Sligo and Waterford were closed to the public and the management of loan facilities was centralised instead of being dealt with the local business centres.
ACCBank ceased to be a bank mid-2014 returning its banking licence but continued to manage its loan portfolio. After ACCBank returned its banking licence, it was regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland, but with an alternative status and not as a bank.
Commenting on the changes, country manager Kevin Knightly for parent Rabobank found losses incurred by ACC Bank Plc because of the property crisis, a position emerging of its costs exceeding income during 2014 and that position was unsustainable for its parent, requiring immediate action to stem loses. The bank had reported losses since 2007.
ACC also explored the possibility of outsourcing a portion of its loan book, in the region of 10%, excluding agricultural loans and selected Capita as the preferred service provider who have 1,000 staff in Ireland.
ACC had 5,000 deposit customers totaling €110 million. Overdrafts on current accounts amounted to almost €75m.
The parent company, Rabobank Group, had provided capital support of €1.3 billion to ACC since 2008 with over €2.1 billion of the loan book written down since 2008.
SIPTU and UNITE trade unions wanted the Government to take ACC Bank back into State ownership and were looking for a meeting with the Minister for Finance in an attempt to seek to save jobs. They referred to the inclusion of a State investment bank in the Programme for Government. There was some redeployment opportunities to Rabobank but no new business was being generated for some time with the bank's staff focused on debt recovery.
2018-19: Sale of loans
In December 2018, ACCLM transferred the ownership of outstanding loans to the Dutch parent company, which sold the portfolios the following year.
The remaining assets and liabilities of ACCLM, mainly consisting of dormant or unclaimed accounts, were transferred to ACC Investments Limited. ACCIL still operates from a small office in the International Financial Services Centre with a skeleton staff.


Sunil Khilnani

Sunil Khilnani is a professor of politics and history at Ashoka University, India. Previously, he was a professor of politics and the Director of the King's College London India Institute. He is a scholar of Indian history and politics best known as the author of "The Idea of India" (1997). He was the presenter of a BBC Radio 4 series entitled "Incarnations: India in 50 Lives", which was later published as a book in 2016.
He was a 2010 Berlin Prize Fellow, and he was also a recipient of the Indian government's 2005 Pravasi Bharatiya Samman award.
Life.
Khilnani was born in New Delhi and grew up on the continents of Africa, Europe and Asia. He earned a first at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, and PhD at King’s College, Cambridge.
He was Starr Foundation Professor at the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, and Director of South Asia Studies. He has also served on the Humanities and Social Sciences juries for the Infosys Prize from 2013 to 2015.
He is married to the writer Katherine Boo.


Chrystalla Georghadji

Chrystalla Georghadji (Famagusta, Cyprus, 13 July 1956) is Cypriot economist who served as governor of the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) from 2014 until 2019. She is the first female governor of the CBC.
Career.
She graduated in Economics at the University of Athens, Greece in 1978. She did a postgraduate in Economics and Econometrics at the University of Southampton.
She was Auditor General of the Republic from 1998 to 2014, an independent position which monitors public spending. On 11 April 2014, she was appointed governor of the Central Bank of Cyprus.


Petrolimex Joint Stock Insurance Company

Petrolimex Joint Stock Insurance Company (PJICO) is state-owned insurance company in Vietnam, involved in the non-life insurance market. The company's stock is currently not listed on the Ho Chi Minh City Securities Trading Center and it is majority-owned by Petrolimex (51%), a state-owned petroleum company. The company is headquartered in Ha Noi and has 49 branches most of Vietnam's provinces. PJICO is the fourth largest insurance provider in Vietnam, and it is the third largest non-life insurer. It had a share of around 10% in the insurance market (excluding life insurance) in 2011, making it fourth after Bao Viet Insurance, PetroVietnam Insurance and Bao Minh.


Alonso de Estrada

Alonso de Estrada (ca. 1470, Ciudad Real, Spain – 16 Feb 1530, Ignacio de la Llave, Veracruz) was a colonial official in New Spain during the period of Hernán Cortés's government, and before the appointment of the first viceroy. He was a member of the triumvirates that governed the colony for several short periods between 1524 and 1528, in the absence of Cortés.
Origins and early career.
There is no documentary evidence indicating that Alonso was the illegitimate son of King Ferdinand II of Aragon. Legend has him as the bastard son of Fernando II el Catolico and a Luisa de Estrada, daughter of an ambassador. This is refuted by the 1585 limpieza de sangre of his great-grandson, Gobernador Jorge de Alvarado y Villafañe, which names Alonso de Estrada’s parents as Juan Fernandez Hidalgo, of Ciudad Real, and his first wife - whose name none of the witnesses could remember, only that his 2nd wife was surnamed Oliver. It did name his paternal grandparents as Diego Fernandez Hidalgo and Maria Gonzalez de Estrada.
Alonso was well educated and a formidable military commander. He fought in the wars in Flanders, and afterwards, as an admiral, in the campaigns in Málaga and Sicily. Returning to Madrid, he fought in the Castilian War of the Communities, opposing the rebels against Emperor Charles V. For this, Charles rewarded him with the position of corregidor of Cáceres, and later named him treasurer of New Spain. In letters, Alonso de Estrada was sometimes referred to as ""el magnífico señor el thesorero Alonso de Estrada, gobernador de esta Nueva España por sus majestades".
His wife Marina de la Caballería would eventually join him in his efforts, in 1523.
Royal treasurer of New Spain.
He arrived to the New Spain in 1523, appointed treasurer of the colony by the Council of the Indies, on the authority of Charles V. His mission was to participate in the government of Cortés and to protect the interests of the Crown. Marcos de Aguilar and Luis Ponce de León (governor of New Spain) (colonial official) were also sent by the Crown to act as judges in the "juicio de residencia" of Cortés, but Ponce de León died of indigestion contracted at his welcoming banquet. He was rumored to have been poisoned by Hernan Cortés.
First period in government.
In 1524 Governor and Captain General Cortés left Mexico City for Honduras. He left the government in charge of Estrada, Rodrigo de Albornoz and Alonso de Zuazo. Zuazo (or "Suazo") held the additional office of "Justicia Mayor". The transfer of power occurred October 12, 1524. This triumvirate shared power with the "ayuntamiento" (city government). The ayuntamiento was composed of partisans of Cortés; Estrada and Albornoz were (or soon would be) his enemies. At one point Estrada issued orders to prevent the reentry of Cortés into Mexico City.
The three men governed for about two and one-half months, until December 29, 1524. On that date, with the agreement of the ayuntamiento, two of them were replaced by Gonzalo de Salazar and Pedro Almíndez Chirino. Alonso de Zuazo remained. This was on Cortés's instructions, brought back from Coatzacoalcos by Salazar and Almíndez, in order to end disagreements between Albornoz and Estrada. The change was thought to have been brought about by the intrigues of Salazar.
Second period in government.
Estrada returned to the government from February 17, 1525 to April 20, 1525. It now contained five members — Salazar, Almíndez, Estrada, Albornoz and Zuazo. On the latter date, Salazar and Almíndez proclaimed that no one was to recognize the authority of Estrada and Albornoz, on pain of 100 lashes and confiscation of property. This proclamation was signed by Zuazo, Cervantes, de la Torre, Sotomayor, Rodrigo de Paz (a member of the ayuntamiento), and the clerk Pérez. Estrada and Albornoz left Mexico City for Medellín, but before they had traveled eight leagues, Almíndez sent armed men after them and took them prisoner.
Third period in government.
In early 1526 a messenger (Martín de Orantes or Dorantes) from Cortés arrived in Mexico City. His instructions were to replace Gonzalo de Salazar and Pedro Almíndez Chirino in the governing triumvirate with Francisco de las Casas and Pedro de Alvarado. In the absence or incapacity of Las Casas and Alvarado, Estrada and Albornoz were named as replacements. Orantes entered the city in secret and made contact with members of the opposition.
At daybreak on January 28, 1526, Orantes and other opponents of Salazar and Almíndez left the convent where they were staying, marched along the streets shouting "Viva Cortés", arrested Salazar, and succeeded in getting the ayuntamiento to execute the orders of Cortés. Estrada and Albornoz rejoined the government, because Las Casas and Alvarado were absent. Almíndez was arrested later in Tlaxcala, and brought back to Mexico City. Estrada and Albornoz governed from January 29, 1526 to June 24, 1526, or just short of six months. Cortés returned and took up the government again (very briefly) on June 25, 1526.
Fourth period in government.
Estrada governed a fourth time from March 2, 1527 to December 8, 1528, with Gonzalo de Sandoval and Luis de la Torre, for about 21 months. (Sandoval was part of the government only until August 22, 1527). On August 22, a royal decree was received in Mexico City, ratifying the transfer of powers granted by Luis Ponce de León to Marcos de Aguilar, but Aguilar had died on March 1. Aguilar had named Estrada governor, and this decree solidified his position. Since Cortés was suspected of poisoning Ponce de León and Aguilar, he was not in a position to challenge Estrada.
Death and succession.
Estrada died in Mexico City in the period 1533 to 1537. An act of the Mexico City government dated September 22, 1533 refers to him as alive, and a letter from the viceroy to the king dated December 10, 1537 mentions him as deceased.
Alonso married Marina Gutiérrez de la Caballería, a woman from a prominent Jewish "converso" family of royal treasurers from Aragon, Spain.
Alongside, they procreated:


Windfall tax (Australia)

In Australia, windfall tax may refer to either:
In both cases, windfall tax originates in High Court decisions that certain state taxes were unconstitutional. Thus, the States were required to repay to the taxpayers the amounts previously collected under these unconstitutional taxes. The purpose of the windfall taxes were to treat these repayments as income to the taxpayer, and impose a Commonwealth tax upon that income at a rate of 100%. Thus, even though the tax laws in question had been declared unconstitutional, the taxpayers effectively did not receive any repayments; rather, the amounts due back to them from the States were taxed by the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth would then repay these amounts to the States, with the result that the States were not in any financial disadvantage.


National Recruitment Agency

National Recruitment Agency is a central recruitment agency established by the Indian Government, that will conduct a "Common Eligibility Test (CET)" for selection to non-gazetted Group C and Group D posts under civil service & defence service in the central government and central public sector units..It will also conduct recruitment for various other posts in government owned banks. NRA has representatives of Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Finance , SSC and RRB also
Background.
Before the establishment of the National Recruitment Agency, the recruitment exams to all of the Group C and Group D (non-technical) post under civil service and defence service of the central government which includes Indian railways, other departments, ministries, organisations and all central public sector units etc. were done separately and most of these posts required similar education qualification. These multiple recruitment examinations were a burden to candidates as they to pay fee to multiple recruiting agencies and also have to travel long distances for appearing in various exams.
So inorder to avoid these problems faced by the candidates, a proposal of creating a National Recruitment Agency was mentioned by the Nirmala Sitharaman, finance minister of India on her 2020-21 budget speech on 1 February 2020. And on 19 August 2020 the Union Cabinet decided to set up a National Recruitment Agency which will conduct a Common Eligibility Test (CET) twice a year for the different posts. The Union Cabinet approved Rs 1,517-crore for this purpose, which the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Jitendra Singh described as “one of the most landmark reforms in the history of Independent India”.The Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted: “The National Recruitment Agency will prove to be a boon for crores of youngsters. Through the common eligibility test, it will eliminate multiple tests and save precious time as well as resources. This will also be a big boost to transparency”.
Composition.
The National Recruitment Agency will have representatives of:
Features of Common Eligibility Test (CET).
The Common Eligibility Test (CET) will replace the current examinations held by SSC, IBPS (IBPS), RRB, other departments, organisations, central public sector units and ministries under central government for recruitment to Group C and Group D posts under civil service & defence service and also various other posts in government owned banks. Separate CETs will be conducted for matriculate level, higher secondary and graduate applicants . The scores received in these exams will be valid for 3 years
Medium of CET.
The Common Eligibility Test (CET) will be conducted in 12 languages that are in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India.
Number of Attempts.
The aspirant will be allowed unlimited attempts within a prescribed age limit to better his CET score, with the best being considered.
Venue of Exam.
Applicants need not travel outside their respective district to access a test centre, with 1,000 centres proposed countrywide with at least one per district. Also, money spent on fees for multiple recruitment tests will be saved. The CET score, which will be generated immediately, shall be made available to the candidate as well as the individual recruitment agency and can be expected to improve transparency.
References.
7. How NTA Common Eligibility test will Conduct & what are the Exam Criteria


Birchville, Texas

Birchville, or Smith Ranch, now a ghost town, in what is now Hudspeth County, Texas. Birchville was a settlement on the San Antonio-El Paso Road in what was El Paso County. Birchville lay 35 miles northwest of the First Camp on Rio Grande and 24.8 miles southeast of San Elizario, according to the table of distances for the San Antonio-San Diego Mail Line in the Texas Almanac of 1857. Later used as a station on the Butterfield Overland Mail, the distances to the station for that line were given as 24 miles from San Elizario, 33 miles from Fort Quitman.
History.
Birchville, or Smith Ranch Station, was a stop on the San Antonio-San Diego Mail Line in 1857, and from 1858 to 1861 a stagecoach station on the Butterfield Overland Mail route. Its station agent George Lyles, was a grocer that lived there with his family. Also two employees lived in the household including a cook. An eating house provided travelers a meal during stagecoach stops while the horses were being changed. It remained as a station of Butterfield Overland Mail's successor the Overland Mail until 1862 when the Union Army occupied El Paso County.
During the American Civil War, Lyles remained in the area providing mesquite beans, to the Union Army garrison at Franklin, Texas (El Paso). When Bethel Coopwood revived the San Antonio-El Paso Mail in 1866, Birchville was again a stagecoach station but the settlement was destroyed by a flood of the Rio Grande in 1867 and never revived.
Location of the site.
The exact location of Birchville has yet to be found. It may have been obliterated by the floods of the Rio Grande in 1867 or during the later 19th century, or buried under agricultural lands along the river. Mileage from San Elizario on the old road put it approximately 2 miles south of the El Paso - Hudspeth County line nearby Texas State Highway 20.


Charles J. Loring Jr.

Charles Joseph Loring Jr. (October 2, 1918 – November 22, 1952) was a fighter pilot in the United States Army Air Forces in World War II, and later in the United States Air Force in the Korean War. Loring rose to the rank of major and posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions on November 22, 1952 above Kunwha, Korea during a close air support mission.
Born in Portland, Maine, Loring joined the United States Army in 1942 and was quickly selected to undergo pilot training. He spent several months stationed in Puerto Rico before being transferred to duty in the United Kingdom in 1944. There, he flew 55 combat missions in P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft before being shot down and serving six months as a Nazi German prisoner of war. By the outset of the Korean War, Loring was working in an administrative role in the United States, but by 1952 had been transferred to combat duty in Korea.
During a patrol on November 22, 1952, Loring was leading a flight of F-80 Shooting Stars of the 80th Fighter-Bomber Squadron in an attack on a Chinese artillery position. During the run, his aircraft was struck by intense and accurate anti aircraft fire. Rather than abort the mission, Loring continued his diving run, aiming his disabled aircraft at the position and obliterating it, killing himself in the process. After his death, Loring was awarded the Medal of Honor and made the namesake of Loring Air Force Base in Limestone, Maine.
Early life.
Charles Loring Jr. was born on October 2, 1918 in Portland, Maine to Charles J. Loring Sr. and Irene Cronin Loring. He lived in the town throughout his early life, attending Cheverus High School, and graduating in 1937.
Military service.
World War II.
After the United States entry into World War II, Loring enlisted in the U.S. Army at Portland, at age 23.in March 1942, and as a private joined the Army Air Corps. By May 1942, he had been selected as an aviation cadet at the USAAC pre-flight school at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. There, Loring completed primary, basic and advanced flight training courses. After graduating, Loring was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army Reserve with a pilot rating.
In December 1942, Loring was assigned to the 22nd Fighter Squadron, 36th Fighter Group, Ninth Air Force at Losey Army Airfield in Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico. The unit flew anti-submarine patrols as part of a force defending the Panama Canal and Caribbean Sea areas. During this time, Loring primarily flew P-39 Airacobra and P-40 Warhawk fighter and ground attack aircraft. After a stint of this duty, the 36th Fighter Group returned to the United States to Charleston Army Airfield in Charleston, South Carolina. There, Loring and the other pilots of the unit trained with the P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft. It briefly moved to Scribner, Nebraska as part of this flight training.
In April 1944, Loring and the group moved to England to fly missions against Nazi German targets. The 36th Fighter Group flew out of RAF Kingsnorth in Kent, England flying reconnaissance, fighter escort and interdiction missions. The missions involved striking military strongpoints in northern Europe in preparation for Operation Overlord. Following the success of Overlord, Loring continued to fly air support missions for the remainder of the conflict. By December, he had flown 55 combat missions. He had been awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions under fire on June 12, 1944 that destroyed ten enemy armored vehicles in the area of Coutances, France while on a dive-bombing mission.
Prisoner of war.
On December 24, 1944, Loring was flying a mission over Belgium when his P-47 was hit by flak artillery as he strafed ground targets. Loring was subsequently captured and spent six months as a German prisoner of war. Loring was liberated on May 5, 1945, three days before the end of the war on May 8, 1945 (V-E Day).
After World War II, Loring remained in the U.S. Army Air Corps. Promoted to captain, he served in a number of administrative roles in the post-war Air Corps, which became the United States Air Force in 1947.
Korean War.
By the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950, Loring was attached to Air University and was not immediately sent to Korea for combat duty. On February 3, 1952, Loring was reassigned to the 2353rd Personnel Processing Squadron at Camp Stoneman in Pittsburg, California. This unit was quickly moved to South Korea, where it was assigned to the 8th Fighter-Bomber Wing, Fifth Air Force, with the assignment of supervising training for replacement pilots before they were moved into combat units. During this time he flew with the 36th Fighter-Bomber Squadron and 80th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, while assisting the new pilots.
In July 1952, Loring transferred to the 36th Fighter-Bomber Squadron full-time, where he served as operations officer. In this role he returned to combat duty, this time as a jet aircraft fighter pilot operating the F-80 Shooting Star. Missions for this unit primarily concerned close air support, air strikes and interdiction missions supporting United Nations Command ground troops in the country. In this role, Loring's unit primarily fought North Korean and Chinese ground targets. By November 22, 1952, Loring had completed 50 combat missions. At that time the ground battle in Korea had developed into a stalemate, with the two sides firmly entrenched along the 38th Parallel. Throughout November, the UN forces had been launching Operation Showdown against two targets: Triangle Hill and Sniper Ridge, northwest of Kunwha, north of the 38th Parallel. During the battle, the Chinese managed to amass 133 large caliber guns, 24 BM-13 rocket launchers and 47 anti-aircraft guns in the largest Chinese artillery operation during the Korean War, and it posed a serious threat to ground troops of the ROK 2nd Infantry Division operating in the area. The artillery was heavily guarded, forcing the UN forces to use airpower to combat them.
Medal of Honor action and death.
Late in the morning of November 22, 1952, Loring led a flight of four F-80s on patrol over Kunwha. Upon radioing a forward air controller, he was told a T-6 Texan flying over Sniper Ridge had spotted a concentration of artillery near the ridge which was pinning down UN ground troops on the ridge. He was also told the artillery concentration was surrounded by a heavy presence of anti-aircraft guns. Loring ordered the flight to the location, spotting the artillery concentration. Immediately after Loring began his dive bombing run, he was spotted by the anti-aircraft batteries. The Chinese crews operating them were highly skilled, and even at a distance, the batteries fired an extremely accurate barrage which struck Loring's aircraft several times on the nose and fuselage. The fire disabled the aircraft. His wingmen, noting the damage, suggested he abort the bombing mission, as the flight was not far behind the lines and Loring's aircraft could have attempted the return trip. Instead, Loring ceased radio contact, and resumed what appeared to be the standard bombing mission. At , however, Loring accelerated his aircraft at a 40-degree angle in what appeared to be a controlled maneuver, lining up the Chinese batteries. The other pilots reported they watched, stunned, as Loring dove his damaged aircraft into the battery position. Loring was killed instantly in the impact, but his action resulted in the complete destruction of the battery position.
Loring's remains were never recovered after the crash and he was listed as "Missing in action, presumed dead."
Honors.
On May 5, 1954, Loring's widow received a Medal of Honor from President Dwight Eisenhower. At that time, it was also announced that the newly built Air Force Base in Limestone, Maine would be named Loring Air Force Base in his honor.
In 2000, "Loring Memorial Park" was dedicated for Major Loring in Portland, Maine in the Munjoy Hill neighborhood.
Cheverus High School (named in 1924 after the first Roman Catholic bishop of the Boston Diocese) where Loring had graduated from in 1937, created a display in its alumni room dedicated to Major Loring. The display featured replicas of Loring's medals, as well as his high school diploma. The school also created a school award named after him which honors students who have served in the U.S. military.
The Amvets Charles J. Loring Post 25 in Portland, Maine is named after Major Loring.
The combined enlisted/officer club at Kunsan AB, South Korea is named in his honor.
Military awards.
Loring's military awards and decorations include:
Medal of Honor citation.
Loring was one of four U.S. Air Force Medal of Honor recipients of the Korean War. All four were pilots who were killed in action. They were the only U.S. Air Force members to receive the Army version of the medal (the USAF version was first awarded during the Vietnam War). His Medal of Honor citation reads as follows.


Ski Train

The Winter Park Express is a passenger train operated in Colorado, providing weekend service between Denver Union Station and Winter Park Resort.
Originally opened in 1940, the Ski Train offered winter passenger service between Denver's Union Station and the Denver-owned Winter Park ski resort from 1940 to 2009 and was operated initially by the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad. The operation was sold in 1988 to the Ansco Investment Company, which made various needed improvements and ran the “New Ski Train” for two decades before shutting the operation in 2009. An attempt that same year by Iowa Pacific Holdings to purchase and run the Ski Train fell through.
In 2015, the 75th anniversary of Winter Park Resort, a one-day-only "Winter Park Express" train run by Amtrak sold out quickly, as did three added trains over two weekends. Given the enthusiasm and demonstrated demand, the Winter Park Express officially returned in 2017 with regular weekend service January through March and has continued since, with Friday service added in 2020.
History.
The train was instituted by the railroad in 1940 and ran from Union Station in Denver, Colorado for to the ski resort town of Winter Park, Colorado. The train's scenic route left Union Station and traveled through northwest suburban Denver. At least during the early 1970s, the train made a stop in the Rocky Flats area east of the foothills before starting the mountain climb via a series of 29 tunnels - the "Tunnel District" - through the Plainview, Crescent, Wondervu and Gross Reservoir areas, then generally west along South Boulder Creek through Pinecliffe, Tolland and Rollinsville to the final mountain underpass, the long Moffat Tunnel under the Continental Divide. This is the highest railroad tunnel in the United States and the third longest, after the Cascade Tunnel in Washington state and the Flathead Tunnel in Montana.
The train stopped less than from the base of the ski lifts of Winter Park Resort. There was one trip in each direction per day, with a travel time of 2 hours and 15 minutes, assuming no delays from freight rail traffic.
The Ski Train carried skiers to Winter Park Resort from December through March each ski season between 1940 and 2008-2009.
For the 75th anniversary of Winter Park, a special one-day-only Amtrak Winter Park Express Ski Train on Saturday, March 14, 2015, was announced on February 25; more than 450 seats sold out in less than 10 hours. By popular demand, a second train was added for Sunday, March 15, and it also sold out quickly. With demonstrated enthusiasm for the excursion train, there are renewed hopes that the Ski Train may again operate seasonally from the recently redeveloped Union Station public transit complex. In April, Amtrak and Winter Park officials met to begin work on a proposal to track owner Union Pacific Railroad for running at least two trips weekly during January, February, and March 2016. In mid-November, the official word was a hopeful "we're still working on it," but, a month later, Colorado Public Radio prophetically reported "Ski Train Unlikely To Return This Season." Nonetheless, negotiations between Amtrak, Union Pacific, and the Federal Railroad Administration continued, and, starting with the 2016-7 season, Amtrak has returned to offering the Ski Train.
2009 change of ownership.
The Ski Train made its final run to Winter Park on March 29, 2009. The Ski Train equipment was sold to Algoma Central Railway Inc., a subsidiary of Canadian National Railway. Ironically, the Ski Train's cars had been originally built in 1968 by Hawker Siddeley for use on CN's "Tempos".
The Ski Train was burdened with escalating costs such as liability insurance coverage, operational conflicts with freight traffic, and substantial uncertainties posed by redevelopment of Denver's Union Station. These reasons combined with the worldwide economic maladies in 2009 meant that it was no longer feasible for the Ski Train to be operated.
Iowa Pacific Holdings.
Iowa Pacific Holdings (IPH), a holding company that owned railroad properties across North America and the United Kingdom (including San Luis & Rio Grande in southern Colorado), made a bid to revive the Ski Train using an improved business model that utilized idle equipment from SL&RG's subsidiary, Rio Grande Scenic Railroad. Plans fell through due to Amtrak, who would be supplying staff, classifying the Ski Train as a commuter operation vs. an excursion train, resulting in higher liability insurance. Iowa Pacific sued Amtrak, which would have been found liable but settled the matter in court on December 23, 2009, five days prior to the first day operations were to commence (December 27), with a payment to Iowa Pacific. Full refunds were made by IPH.
The former Ski Train F40PH locomotives and most passenger cars are now in use on the Algoma Central Railway's Agawa Canyon tourist train and the equipment has been refurbished and repainted to Algoma Central livery.
Winter Park Express.
In March 2015, a collaboration of Amtrak, Winter Park Resort and Union Pacific Railroad announced a special one-day-only "Winter Park Express" ski train to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Winter Park. Seats sold out quickly and, when three additional weekend day trips were added, they also sold out in short order.
In August 2016, Amtrak and its partners announced regular Winter Park Express weekend service from January through March 2017.
After a successful first season, expanded service was announced for the 2017/2018 season, including first-Friday round trips and lower ticket prices for some departures. The train utilizes the Superliner equipment used on the "California Zephyr".
For the 2019/2020 ski season, Winter Park's 80th, service was increased to three-day weekends (Friday-Sunday) for January through March.
Service disruptions.
Over the years, there have been a few notable incidents and service disruptions. In the 1960s, 22-car trains to Winter Park were regularly moving an estimated 1800 passengers, many of them young, unsupervised and sometimes rowdy Eskimo Ski Club members. On one trip a brazen youngster pulled the emergency brake on a moving train, damaging one coach's coupler and steam line. The railroad hired three sheriff's deputies to help maintain order.
In 2006, during the Ski Train days, there were several service disruptions. On Saturday, January 21, the return trip was canceled after a coal train derailment blocked the line, leaving some 700 passengers stuck in Winter Park. Buses were summoned to provide return transportation to Denver, and refunds offered to those who made alternate arrangements.
Just two months later, on Sunday, March 19, another freight train derailment delayed the return Ski Train for almost six hours, with the train arriving in Denver around midnight.
The following ski season, but still in the same calendar year, a blizzard forced cancellation of two trains over the long New Year's weekend: Friday, Dec. 29 and Saturday, Dec. 30.
In 2017, the Winter Park Express suffered its first major service disruption: a freight train derailment forced the cancellation of the Saturday, March 11 train.
In March 2020, the "Winter Park Express" ended seasonal service earlier than scheduled as part of a round of service reduction in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The train will not run in winter 2020/21, but is planned to return 2022.


Francisco de la Guerra y de la Vega

Francisco de la Guerra y de la Vega was the governor of Spanish Florida ("La Florida") between December 30, 1664 and July 6, 1671. He participated in the war against the British buccaneers who sacked and plundered the province's capital, St. Augustine ("San Agustín") in 1668. On May 29, 1668, St. Augustine was invaded by the English privateer Robert Searle (alias John Davis) of Jamaica. Searle's fleet had already captured St. Augustine's own frigate near Havana, as well as the situado ship from Vera Cruz carrying flour to St. Augustine. Searle's men marauded and looted the city, killing 60 of its residents.
Career.
Francisco De la Guerra y de la Vega was appointed governor of Florida by Philip IV on December 30, 1664.
Guerra forced the Timucua to perform certain labors in St. Augustine, the capital of "La Florida", and threatened to condemn to forced labor on the royal construction projects those who were absent from their assigned tasks without his consent. The caciques, or chiefs, of the Timucua would be subject to public punishment if they allowed Timucua fugitives from these assignations to return to their own villages.
On May 29, 1668, St. Augustine was invaded by the English privateer Robert Searle (alias John Davis) of Jamaica. Searle's fleet had already captured St. Augustine's official frigate near Havana, as well as the ship that carried the annual "situado" (royal subsidy) from Veracruz (in modern-day Mexico), which carried flour to the Floridian city. Searle's men marauded and looted the city, killing 60 of its residents.
During the raid, Searle had captured about 70 men, women and children. On May 30, Searle sent the governor a message, indicating that he would release the captives in exchange for water, meat and wood. The governor accepted the proposition, asking in return that the Captain provide him with some flour from the Veracruz ship. The same day, the women were released. During the next six days the ransom was paid and the other prisoners were released on June 5.
Small arms were in short supply after the town's sacking, as the English had destroyed most of the munitions stored in the main guardhouse. Food was scarce as well, since they had also seized the flour carried by a Spanish ship from the West of New Spain, and the maize crop had failed due to drought. In response to the situation, Guerra canceled the rations issued to former soldiers and seized a frigate, belonging to Ignacio de Losa, from Havana to bring maize from Apalachee. On July 7, Guerra reported the raid to the viceroy of New Spain and requested supplies and funds to relieve his people. He asked help the General Captain of Havana to purchase a frigate for St. Augustine, in order to secure provisions and feed the population.
Following Searles' raid on St. Augustine, the Queen Regent Marianna gave the order for the construction of a new fort, the Castillo de San Marcos, construction of which started under the administration of Governor Manuel de Cendoya in late 1671, after the end of De la Guerra's governorship on July 6.
Personal life.
Although the Spanish law Royal forbade colonial governors marrying into a local family, Guerra y de la Vega married a local woman, Lorenza de Soto y Aspiolea, and had three children out of wedlock. Within a week of the arrival of Manuel de Cendoya to Florida as new governor of the colony, Guerra and Soto y Aspiolea were married.


Frances Ward, 6th Baroness Dudley

Frances Ward, 6th Baroness Dudley (1611-1697) succeeded to the Barony of Dudley in 1643 following the death of Edward Sutton, 5th Baron Dudley. She had married Humble Ward, the son of a London goldsmith in 1628. Humble Ward was awarded the title of Baron Ward of Birmingham and the couple's descendants carried both titles until the middle of the eighteenth century. Frances died in 1697.
Life.
On 23 July 1611, Frances Sutton was born at Dudley Castle to Sir Ferdinando Sutton, the then heir to the Barony of Dudley, and Honora, daughter of Edward Seymour. Frances was baptized on 18 August 1611, also at Dudley Castle. On the death of her father in 1621, Frances became the heir apparent to the barony, then held by her grandfather Edward Sutton, the 5th Baron Dudley. During the time that he held the title, Baron Dudley had severe financial difficulties. In 1628, he married his granddaughter to Humble Ward, the son of a wealthy London goldsmith who was also one of his creditors. The couple had 3 daughters: Honor, Frances and Theodosia and 4 sons: Edward, John, Humble and William. On 24 June 1635 Frances was given the rank of baron's daughter. Frances inherited the title of Baroness of Dudley on 23 June 1643 on the death of her grandfather. Her husband was granted the title of Baron Ward of Birmingham by King Charles I and the couple's descendants held both titles until the middle of the eighteenth century. Humble Ward died on 14 October 1670. Frances died in 1697 and was buried at Himley on August 11 1697. She was succeeded in the title of Baron of Dudley by her son, Edward.


Jean-Marc Germain (politician)

Jean-Marc Germain (born 12 June 1966) is a French politician, member of the Socialist Party. He is the cabinet director of Martine Aubry in Socialist Party. Germain is also the husband of Anne Hidalgo, mayor of Paris.
In the legislative election 2012, he was elected deputy of Hauts-de-Seine's 12th constituency.
Professional career.
A graduate of the École Polytechnique, in 1992 he joined the Department of Forecasting at the Ministry of Economy and Finance. In August 1997, he joined the firm of Martine Aubry at the Ministry of Employment and Solidarity as a technical advisor, then in 2000 the office of Lionel Jospin at Matignon. In 2003, he found Martine Aubry in the urban community of Lille Métropole, as Deputy Director General of Services. Still with Martine Aubry, he became in 2005 general director of services of the city of Lille, and in 2008 director of cabinet of Martine Aubry, then both president of Lille metropolis and first secretary of the Socialist Party.
Personal life.
In June 2004, he married Anne Hidalgo, then deputy mayor of Paris, encountered Martine Aubry firm in 1993. Together they have a son, Arthur, was born in 2001. It is the mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë, who officiated the marriage, of which Martine Aubry is one of the witnesses.
Political career.
National Mandates.
On June 17, 2012, Jean-Marc Germain was elected MP for the twelfth district of Hauts-de-Seine in the second round of the legislative election, after a duel with Philippe Pemezec.
He is part of the group of deputies known as "slingers".
In the 2017 parliamentary elections, he was eliminated in the first round, in 4th position with 9.24% of the votes.
Political Functions.
He is the former cabinet director of Martine Aubry in the Socialist Party (PS). In 2012, following the Toulouse Congress, he was appointed National Secretary for Employment and Labor. In March 2014, he became National Secretary for La Francophonie.
He supported Benoît Hamon in the second round of the primary citizen of 2017 and became co-director of his presidential campaign with MP Mathieu Hanotin.
On July 8, 2017, he joined the PS collegiate leadership.
Works.
"Tout avait si bien commencé : journal d'un « frondeur »", éditions de l'Atelier, 2015.


Alexei Lvov

Alexei Fyodorovich Lvov (Russian: "Алексей Фёдорович Львов") ( – ) was a Russian composer. He composed the imperial Russian national anthem "Bozhe, tsarya khrani" (also known as "God Save the Tsar"). He wrote the opera "Undine" in 1846. He was entombed in the Pažaislis Monastery, Kaunas (Lithuania).
Biography.
 Lvov was born into a family which was keenly interested in music. He was the son of Feodor Petrovich Lvov, who was Maestro of the Imperial Chapel in St Petersburg from 1826 to 1836 (having succeeded Bortnianskij). Lvov codified the traditional Russian liturgical musical style called "Obikhod," which is the standard repertory of most Russian Orthodox churches in the world. It is a simple style. These melodies were later edited and improved by Bakhmetev.
Alexei Fyodorovich began violin lessons at a very young age and performed regularly in concerts given at his home: for instance, at 9 he was the soloist in a performance of a violin concerto by Viotti. Although he had a number of teachers in his youth, from the age of 19 onwards he began to study independently, seeking to develop his own personal style through careful attention to the works of such celebrated violinists as Corelli, Tartini, Viotti, Kreutzer and Rode. He nevertheless continued to study composition formally under the supervision of I. G. Miller (who was also one of the teachers of Glinka).
Outside the world of music, his general education had a technical emphasis. In 1818, he completed his studies at the Institute of Communications, and embarked on a career as a civil engineer in the Imperial Army, eventually attaining the rank of general. In 1828, he was appointed Aide-de-camp to Tsar Nicholas I.
Lvov formed a string quartet in St Petersburg, and organised weekly concerts at his private residence, which were attended by members of high society. At these concerts it was quite usual for there to be guest performances by distinguished musicians who were visiting the Russian capital; among these were Liszt, Robert and Clara Schumann, and Berlioz. His quartet undertook a number of tours in Europe, where Lvov was able to perform to public audiences (in his home country he was able to play only to private audiences owing to his elevated social rank). He also counted Mendelssohn, Meyerbeer and Spontini amongst his personal friends.
In 1837, Lvov succeeded his father as Maestro of the Imperial Chapel, remaining in the position until 1861. In 1850, he founded the Russian Concert Society (Русское концертное общество), which was among the pioneers of symphonic concerts in Russia. In 1867, with the onset of deafness, he was obliged to withdraw from musical activity.
As a composer, Lvov's style was eclectic. He combined the traditions of Russian musical culture with strong Italian and (especially) German influences.
Lvov was married, and had a son and two daughters.
Musical Compositions.
Lvov's musical output includes the following:
Other publications.
These include:


Ecgric of East Anglia

Ecgric (killed 636) was a king of East Anglia, the independent Anglo-Saxon kingdom that today includes the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. He was a member of the ruling Wuffingas dynasty, but his relationship with other known members of the dynasty is not known with any certainty. Anna of East Anglia may have been his brother, or his cousin. It has also been suggested that he was identical with Æthelric, who married the Northumbrian princess Hereswith and was the father of Ealdwulf of East Anglia. The primary source for the little that is known about Ecgric's life is "Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum", written by the English Benedictine monk Bede in around 731 AD.
In the years that followed the reign of Rædwald and the murder of Rædwald's son and successor Eorpwald in around 627, East Anglia lost its dominance over other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. Three years after Eorpwald's murder at the hands of a pagan, Ecgric's kinsman Sigeberht returned from exile and they ruled East Anglia jointly, with Ecgric perhaps ruling the northern part of the kingdom. Sigeberht succeeded in re-establishing Christianity throughout East Anglia, but Ecgric may have remained a pagan, as Bede praises only Sigeberht for his accomplishments, and his lack of praise for his co-ruler is significant. Ecgric ruled alone after Sigeberht retired to his monastery at Beodricesworth in around 634: it has also been suggested that he was a sub-king who only became king after Sigeberht's abdication. Both Ecgric and Sigeberht were killed in battle in around 636, at an unknown location, when the East Anglians were forced to defend themselves from a Mercian military assault led by their king, Penda. Ecgric, whose grave may have been the ship burial under Mound 1 at Sutton Hoo, was succeeded by Anna.
East Anglian allegiances.
After 616, Rædwald, who ruled East Anglia during the first quarter of the seventh century, was the most powerful of the southern Anglo-Saxon kings. In the following decades, from the reign of Sigeberht onwards, East Anglia became increasingly dominated by Mercia. Raedwald's son Eorpwald was murdered by a pagan noble soon after he was baptised in around 627, after which East Anglia reverted into paganism for three years. In the void left by the death of Rædwald, the first overlord who originated north of the Thames, the pagan Penda of Mercia emerged to challenge the pre-eminence of the new overlord (or bretwalda), Edwin of Northumbria. The reversion of East Anglia to rule by Eorpwald's successor, the pagan Ricberht, possibly due to Mercian influence, temporarily overthrew an important pillar of Edwin's authority.
In contrast, two sons of Rædwald's brother Eni, who were both eager to renew their Christian alliances, made diplomatic marriages during this period: Anna, who was to become a devout Christian ruler, married a woman of East Saxon connection and his brother Æthelric married a Northumbrian princess, Hereswitha, who was Edwin of Northumbria's grand-niece. This marriage was probably intended to reinforce the conversion of East Anglia to Christianity.
Wuffingas identity.
Ecgric was a member of the Wuffingas royal family, but his exact descent is not known, as the only information historians have is from Bede, who named him as Sigeberht's "cognatus" or 'kinsman'. The 12th century English historian William of Malmesbury contradicts Bede, stating that Sigeberht was Rædwald's stepson. The name "Sigeberht" is not of East Anglian, but of Frankish origin. According to Bede, Sigeberht was Rædwald's son. Rædwald may have exiled his step-son so as to protect the inheritance of his son Ecgric, who was of his own blood-line.
It has been suggested by Sam Newton that Ecgric may in fact be identical to Eni's son Æthelric, whose descendants became kings of East Anglia. Æthelric's son Ealdwulf ruled from about 664 to 713. After Ecgric's death, three other sons of Eni ruled in succession before Ealdwulf, an indication that Raedwald's line was extinct. Æthelric's marriage to Hereswith suggests that it was expected that he would rule East Anglia and he may have been promoted by Edwin before 632. Æthelric was apparently dead by 647, at which time Anna was already ruling and Hereswith had gone to Gaul to lead a religious life. It has therefore been argued that Æthelric and Ecgric were in fact the same person, a suggestion that is disputed by the historian Barbara Yorke, who notes that the two names are too distinct to be compatible.
Joint rule.
Rædwald's son (or stepson) Sigeberht renewed Christian rule in East Anglia after returning as a Christian from exile in Gaul (into which Rædwald had driven him). His assumption of power may have involved a military conquest. His reign was devoted to the conversion of his people, the establishment of the see of Dommoc as the bishopric of Felix of Burgundy, the creation of a school of letters, the endowment of a monastery for Fursey and the building of the first monastery of Beodricesworth (Bury St Edmunds), all accomplished within about four years.
During at least part of Sigeberht's reign, Ecgric ruled jointly with him over part of the kingdom of East Anglia. A passage in Bede's "Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum" describing the reasons for Sigeberht's abdication also mentions Ecgric:
According to Richard Hoggett, the practice of being ruled by more than one individual may have been a common occurrence in East Anglia as it was for the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Kent and Northumbria. Ecgric and Sigeberht may have simultaneously ruled the peoples known as the North-folk and South-folk, who lived in the parts of their kingdom that would later become the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. However, Carver notes that Ecgric may not have reigned jointly with Sigeberht, but could just have plausibly ruled as a sub-king or served as an administrator within a region under East Anglian hegemony, only rising as king of the East Angles after Sigeberht's abdication.
In contrast with Sigebert, Ecgric seems to have remained a pagan. There is no evidence that he was baptised or that he promoted Christianity in East Anglia, according to D. P. Kirby, who notes that Bede wrote nothing that could imply that Ecgric was a Christian, in contrast to his praise of Sigeberht’s efforts to establish Christianity in East Anglia.
Reign following Sigeberht's abdication.
In 633 the Christian kingdoms suffered a dual shock: Edwin of Northumbria's death at the hands of Penda of Mercia and Cadwallon ap Cadfan, and the retreat of Edwin's household and bishop from York to Kent. After 633 the Northumbrian situation was stabilised under Oswald of Northumbria, and East Anglia shared with Northumbria the benefits of the Irish missions of Fursey and Aidan of Lindisfarne. Sigeberht was Fursey's patron and perhaps soon after his arrival Sigeberht abdicated and retired to the monastery at Beodricesworth (modern Bury St. Edmunds). His abdication, which cannot be dated, left Ecgric to rule the East Anglians alone. Ecgric therefore ruled a kingdom that had been "evangelised in the united spirit of the Roman and Irish Churches", according to Plunkett, who notes that Felix would have respected the teachings of the Irish missionaries, despite his own strong allegiance towards Canterbury.
Death.
After Ecgric had been ruling alone for two years, East Anglia was attacked by a Mercian army, led by Penda. The date of the invasion is usually given as around 636, although Kirby suggests it could have been so late as 641. Ecgric was sufficiently forewarned as to be able to gather an army, described by Bede as "opimus" or splendid. Realising that they would be inferior in battle to the war-hardened Mercians and remembering that Sigeberht was once their most vigorous and distinguished leader, the East Anglians urged him to lead them in battle, hoping that his presence would encourage them not to flee from the Mercians. After he refused, on account of his religious calling, he was borne off against his will to the battlefield. He refused to bear weapons and so was killed. Ecgric was also slain during the battle and many of his countrymen either perished or were put to flight. The location of the site of the battle in which the East Anglians were routed and their king was killed is unknown, but it can be presumed to have been close to the kingdom’s western border with the Middle Angles.
Ecgric is a possible contender, as well as Rædwald, Eorpwald and Sigeberht, for being the East Anglian king who was buried within Mound 1 at Sutton Hoo. Rupert Bruce-Mitford suggests that it is perhaps unlikely that Ecgric’s successor Anna, a devout Christian, would have given him a ship burial, but he does not dismiss the theory entirely.


Sporhase v. Nebraska ex rel. Douglas

Sporhase v. Nebraska ex rel. Douglas, 458 U.S. 941 (1982), was a case in which the United States Supreme Court decided that a Nebraska statute forbidding commercial exportation of water from Nebraska was unconstitutional in that it violated the dormant commerce clause.
The boundary between the states of Nebraska and Colorado passed through a farm owned by Sporhase. He drilled a well in Nebraska and used the water to irrigate his land on both sides of the boundary. Under the 11th Amendment, he could not sue the state of Nebraska in a federal district court; consequently his suit had to proceed in the state courts in Nebraska until he petitioned the United States Supreme Court to review it.


Romanian nationality law

The Romanian nationality law addresses specific rights, duties, privileges, and benefits between Romania and the individual. Romanian nationality law is based on "jus sanguinis" ("right of blood"). Current citizenship policy in Romania is in accordance with the Romanian Citizenship Law, which was adopted by the Romanian Parliament on March 6, 1991, and the Constitution of Romania, which was adopted on November 21, 1991.
Background.
Romania was under communist rule between 1947 and 1989. During the early phases of communism, the principles of "Jus Sanguinis" were emphasized and a strong sense of nationalism was demanded of all Romanian citizens. International migration was rigorously controlled by the regime and the population was under strict observation. The 1971 Law on Romanian Citizenship upheld these principles and expressed the superiority of Romanian citizenship. “Law No. 24 on Romanian Citizenship of December 1971 stipulated that descendants of a Romanian woman were automatically ascribed Romanian citizenship, regardless of the father’s citizenship”. Article 5 of the Law reads: “As an expression of the relationship between parents and children, of the uninterrupted continuity on the fatherland of previous generations that fought for social and national freedom, children born from Romanian parents on the territory of the Socialist Republic of Romania are Romanian citizens.” The law also stipulates that “the president of the republic alone, as representative of the executive power..." could grant or withdraw Romanian citizenship.
Economic and socio-political crises of the 1980s brought with it a change in understanding Romanian homogeneity. Conflict arose between the Hungarian and Romanian nations and confusion between citizenship and national identity led to many questions regarding the boundaries of the nation and the rights of Hungarian minorities living in Romania. After the fall of communism in Eastern Europe in 1989, citizenship laws in Romania were redrafted in the newly formed constitution. Interactions between the citizenship policies of the various Eastern European countries led to new discussions regarding dual-citizenship, which had traditionally been forbidden for Romanian citizens.
Current law's foundation.
Romanian nationality law is founded on the social policy of "jus sanguinis" by which nationality or citizenship is not determined by place of birth, but by the citizenship of one's ancestor. It contrasts with "jus soli" ("right of soil"), in which citizenship is determined by one's place of birth.
In respect to foundlings, Romanian nationality law does contain an element of "jus soli". Foundlings who are found in Romania are considered Romanian citizens until proven otherwise.
The law.
From Article #5; Law 21 – The children born from Romanian citizens on Romanian territory are Romanian citizens. Furthermore, Romanian citizens are also those:
Romanian citizenship can be acquired after four years of residency in the country while demonstrating a working knowledge of the Romanian language and knowledge of Romanian culture.
Acquiring Romanian citizenship.
Citizenship in Romania can be acquired by four methods: birth, adoption, repatriation, and request.
The consequences of naturalization and restoration of Romanian nationality.
Article #10 of the law stipulates that: "Romanian nationality can be granted to the person who lost this nationality and requests its restoration, keeping his/her foreign nationality..."
Certain countries do not allow for multiple citizenship or, in the case that they do allow it, they provide for automatic loss of their citizenship upon obtaining the nationality of another country through a voluntary decision (free choice). The Romanian state cannot guarantee that the foreign citizen keeps their foreign citizenship when restoring their Romanian nationality. All Dutch citizens who restored their Romanian nationality before 1 April 2003, have lost their Dutch citizenship. All Dutch citizens who restored their Romanian nationality after 1 April 2003 and do not fulfill one of the three exceptions from the automatic loss of citizenship have lost their Dutch nationality. All adult Belgian citizens who restored their Romanian nationality before 9 June 2007 have lost their Belgian nationality.
The same applies to people who become naturalized as Romanian nationals.
This does not constitute a fault of the Romanian state, since "according to the Romanian Constitution and Article #1; paragraph 3; Law No. 21/1991 with the subsequent changes and additions, republished, the nationals of Romania enjoy the protection of the Romanian state — such provisions do not mention any duty of the Romanian state in respect to former and/or future Romanian nationals".
The implementation of dual citizenship led to many criticisms in the years that followed. The policy was criticized for being both too inclusive and too exclusive. Some scholars argued that the policy attempted to uphold the principle in the Romanian constitution that "Romanian sovereignty belongs to the Romanian people", by focusing its efforts towards ethnic homogeneity rather than diversity. Contrarily, neighboring Eastern European countries claimed that the policy was a tool of "creeping expansion" and remained skeptical of the motives behind Romania's new-found inclusiveness. While the policy is still discussed today, Romania's acceptance into the European Union in 2007 changed the focus on the citizenship discussion within Romania and with neighboring countries seeking acceptance into the EU themselves, criticism has dwindled abroad.
Honorary Citizen.
Article #40 of the Romanian Citizenship Law states:
"The Romanian citizenship titled 'honorary citizenship' may be granted to some foreigners for special services in favor of the country and the Romanian people, on the Government proposal, with no other formality, by the Romanian Parliament. The persons who acquire honorary citizenship enjoy all the civilian and political rights that are recognized to the Romanian citizens, except the right of electing and being elected and that of carrying out a public rank."
Dual citizenship.
In accordance with the Law on Romanian Citizenship of 1991, Romanian citizens currently have the right to hold dual citizenship. Romanian citizens who apply for dual citizenship are not required to establish their residency in Romania and, if accepted, are granted all the same rights as non-dual citizens. The Romanian policy on dual citizenship is irrelevant to other states policy. In order to successfully become a dual citizen of Romania, a person must also meet the requirements of dual citizenship in the other country. There have been cases in which applicants have successfully restored their Romanian citizenship and as a result, lost citizenship of another country. The Romanian state does not claim responsibility for the loss of citizenship to another state as a result of being granted dual citizenship by Romania.
Citizenship of the European Union.
Because Romania forms part of the European Union, Romanian citizens are also citizens of the European Union under European Union law and thus enjoy rights of free movement and have the right to vote in elections for the European Parliament. When in a non-EU country where there is no Romanian embassy, Romanian citizens have the right to get consular protection from the embassy of any other EU country present in that country. Romanian citizens can live and work in any country within the EU as a result of the right of free movement and residence granted in Article 21 of the EU Treaty.
Losing Romanian Citizenship.
Romanian Citizenship can be lost by withdrawing Romanian Citizenship or accepting the disclaiming of Romanian citizenship. Committing serious crimes that harm the Romanian state, or enlisting in the army of a state that Romania has broken any diplomatic relations with, while abroad are both means for withdrawal. A citizen can disclaim his citizenship so long as he is not being charged in a criminal case or owes some sort of debt to any individual or corporate body of the state.
Regardless of an individual's actions, Romanian Citizenship cannot be withdrawn if acquired by birth.
Travel freedom of Romanian citizens.
Visa requirements for Romanian citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Romania. In 2017, Romanian citizens had visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 149 countries and territories, ranking the Romanian passport 21st in the world according to the Visa Restrictions Index
In 2017, the Romanian nationality is ranked twenty-fifth in the Nationality Index (QNI). This index differs from the Visa Restrictions Index, which focuses on external factors including travel freedom. The QNI considers, in addition to travel freedom, on internal factors such as peace & stability, economic strength, and human development as well.


Springer v. United States

Springer v. United States, 102 U.S. 586 (1881), was a case in which the United States Supreme Court upheld the federal income tax imposed under the Revenue Act of 1864.
Background.
William M. Springer had filed a federal income tax return for the tax year 1865 showing $50,798 in income and $4,799 in income tax, but he refused to pay the tax. His income was from two sources: income in his profession as an attorney at law and interest income on United States bonds.
After Springer's failure to pay the tax, the federal tax collector advertised Springer's properties for sale to satisfy the tax liability. In 1867 and 1874, the tax collector sold two pieces of real estate owned by Springer in Springfield, Illinois, one of which was Springer's residence, apparently without physically seizing the properties or ejecting Springer from the properties. The properties were deeded by the tax collector to the federal government. One of the deeds recited the statutory authority for the sale as being an Act of Congress of "July 1, 1862" as amended by an Act of "March 30, 1864."
In 1874, the government filed a lawsuit of ejectment against Springer with respect to the previously-sold properties. In his ejectment action, Springer challenged the constitutionality of the 1864 Act.
Issues raised.
Springer's challenge was based on the contention that the income tax imposed by the statute was a direct tax that was not apportioned among the states according to the population of each state, as is required under Article I of the Constitution. To support his contention that the tax was direct, Springer cited the definitions of direct taxes by John Stuart Mill, Adam Smith, and others.
Springer made various other arguments, one of which was that although there was an Act of Congress bearing the date "July 1, 1862" although no such Act had been amended on "March 30, 1864," the amendment date cited in one of the deeds. Springer indicated that the statute in question may have been the Act dated June 30, 1864, as amended by an Act dated March 3, 1865, and argued that if it was the case, the 1864 Act did not authorize the sale of the real estate by the federal tax collector.
Decision.
In an opinion written by Justice Swayne, the Supreme Court agreed with Springer that the recital of the Act of Congress in the deed was incorrect and that the Act of Congress dated "July 1, 1862" had not been amended on March 30, 1864. The Court stated that the statute in question was actually the Act of June 30, 1864, as amended by the Act of March 3, 1865. The Court rejected Springer's argument that the Revenue Act of 1864 did not authorize the sale by the tax collector.
The Court then upheld the unapportioned income tax imposed under the 1864 Act and rejected Springer's argument that the income tax was a direct tax within the meaning of Article I of the Constitution.
Rationale.
The Court set forth a lengthy examination of the history leading to the inclusion of the apportionment requirement in the Constitution:
After further examining the contemporaneous writings of James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, the Court quoted Hamilton as asserting that direct taxes should be held to be only "capitation or poll taxes, and taxes on lands and buildings, and general assessments, whether on the whole property of individuals or on their whole real or personal estate. All else must, of necessity, be considered as indirect taxes." Comparing Hamilton's understanding of the clause to the facts of the case, the Court stated:
The Court concluded that "whenever the government has imposed a tax which it recognized as a direct tax, it has never been applied to any objects but real estate and slaves." It ultimately held "that direct taxes, within the meaning of the Constitution, are only capitation taxes, as expressed in that instrument, and taxes on real estate; and that the tax of which the plaintiff in error complains is within the category of an excise or duty."
Aftermath.
The holding in "Springer" was modified in part by the Court in the 1895 case of "Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co." on which the Court ruled that a tax on income from property in the form of interest, dividends, or rent should be treated as a tax on the property itself and therefore as a direct tax required to be apportioned. The Sixteenth Amendment overruled the "Pollock" and has made it clear that there is no requirement for apportionment of income taxes. In "Bowers v. Kerbaugh-Empire Co.", the Supreme Court reviewed "Pollock", the Corporation Excise Tax Act of 1909, and the Sixteenth Amendment and concluded that Congress had always had the unfettered power to tax income, as set forth in "Springer".


Monetary Policy Committee (India)

The Monetary Policy Committee is responsible for fixing the benchmark interest rate in India. The meetings of the Monetary Policy Committee are held at least 4 times a year (specifically, at least once BIMONTHLY) and it publishes its decisions after each such meeting.
The committee comprises six members - three officials of the Reserve Bank of India and three external members nominated by the Government of India. They need to observe a "silent period" seven days before and after the rate decision for "utmost confidentiality". The Governor of Reserve Bank of India is the chairperson ex officio of the committee. Decisions are taken by majority with the Governor having the casting vote in case of a tie. The current mandate of the committee is to maintain 4% annual inflation until 31 March 2021 with an upper tolerance of 6% and a lower tolerance of 2%.
The Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 was amended by Finance Act (India), 2016 to constitute MPC which will bring more transparency and accountability in fixing India's Monetary Policy. The monetary policy are published after every meeting with each member explaining his opinions. The committee is answerable to the Government of India if the inflation exceeds the range prescribed for three consecutive quarters.
Establishment and purpose.
Key decisions pertaining to benchmark interest rates used to be taken by the Governor of Reserve Bank of India alone prior to the establishment of the committee. The Governor of RBI is appointed and can be disqualified by the Government anytime. This led to uncertainty and resulted in friction between the Government and the RBI, especially during the times of low growth and high inflation. Before the constitution of the MPC, a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) on monetary policy with experts from monetary economics, central banking, financial markets and public finance advised the Reserve Bank on the stance of monetary policy. However, its role was only advisory in nature.
The setting up of a committee to decide on Monetary Policy was first proposed by the Urjit Patel Committee. The Committee suggested a five-member MPC - three members from the RBI and two nominated by the Government. The Government initially proposed a seven-member committee - three from the RBI and four nominated by it. Subsequent negotiations led to the current composition of the committee, with the external members having a four-year term.
The Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Department (MPD) assists the MPC in formulating the monetary policy. Views of key stakeholders in the economy, and analytical work of the Reserve Bank contribute to the process for arriving at the decision on the policy repo rate. The Financial Markets Operations Department (FMOD) operationalises the monetary policy, mainly through day-to-day liquidity management operations. The Financial Markets Committee (FMC) meets daily to review the liquidity conditions so as to ensure that the operating target of monetary policy (weighted average lending rate) is kept close to the policy repo rate. Monetary Policy Committee came into force on 27 June 2016.
Suggestions for setting up a Monetary policy committee is not new and goes back to 2002 when YV Reddy committee proposed to establish a MPC, then Tarapore committee in 2006, Percy Mistry committee in 2007, Raghuram Rajan committee in 2009 and then Urjit Patel Committee in 2013.
Composition.
The composition of the current monetary policy committee is as follows:
Members referred from 4 to 6 above, will hold office for a period of four years from the date of appointment while the other three members are official. None of the central government nominees are eligible to be re-appointed.


Christopher (Caesar)


United States intelligence budget

The United States intelligence budget comprises all the funding for the 16 agencies of the United States Intelligence Community. These agencies and other programs fit into one of the intelligence budget's two components, the National Intelligence Program (NIP) and the Military Intelligence Program (MIP). As with other parts of the federal budget, the US intelligence budget runs according to the Fiscal year (FY), not the calendar year. Before government finances are spent on intelligence, the funds must first be authorized and appropriated by committees in both the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate.
Pursuant to a suggestion by 9/11 Commission, the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) released the top line amount given to the NIP for fiscal year 2009 as US$49.8 billion. This amount has been on a gradually rising trend with record budget requests in 2020 and 2021 of US$62.8 billion and US$23.1 billion respectively. This amount excludes the US$20.7 billion requested for the Military Intelligence Program, which has been recovering from a post-Iraq war 2015 low of US$16.5 billion.
In 2007, it was revealed that 70% of the intelligence budget went to defense contracting companies.
Components.
Experts estimate that total spending on American military and non-military intelligence during the Cold War peaked at $71 billion (in 2013 dollars) in the late 1980s. By 1994 spending for the non-military National Intelligence Program (NIP) had declined to $43.4 billion. Fiscal 2013 intelligence spending exceeded the Cold War peak, at $52.6 billion for NIP in the black budget and $23 billion for military intelligence programs. In constant dollars it is about double the estimated 2001 budget and 25% greater than the 2006 budget. From the September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001 to 2013, the government has spent more than $500 billion on intelligence.
National Intelligence Program (NIP).
The National Intelligence Program, under budgetary control of the DNI, comprises the agencies and programs formerly under the National Foreign Intelligence Program. This adjustment was made to better include domestic intelligence programs and intelligence arms of the Department of Homeland Security. According to the classified budget documents leaked by Edward Snowden in 2013, the NIP is distributed among agencies in the following manner: This is an unverifiable source, noting that the original source is allegedly classified by the US Government. Original documents to verify this information are unavailable.
Military Intelligence Program (MIP).
In September 2005, the Military Intelligence Program was established by combining all of the agencies formerly under the Joint Military Intelligence Program (JMIP) and most of the program from the former Tactical Intelligence and Related Activities (TIARA) group.
List of some of the Agencies and Programs
Outsourcing/privatization.
An unclassified PowerPoint presentation obtained by Tim Shorrock for a 2007 DIA acquisition conference shows that 70% of the intelligence budget went to defense contractors. In response, the ODNI stated that the overall intelligence budget, or breakdowns of it, could not be calculated based on the figures in the presentation.
General Michael Hayden, former director of the NSA, and later director of the CIA, has stated that the IT infrastructure at Fort Meade (home to the NSA headquarters) is owned by a single company. Hayden also claims that the largest concentration of computing power in the world is located at an office park near Fort Meade, featuring the operations of various NSA contracting companies.
Budget cycle.
It takes just over three years for a budget to complete a full cycle from development to execution.
Mark M. Lowenthal's Budget Cycle
See The United States Budget Process for more information regarding the budget process and cycle.
Congressional oversight.
The U.S. Congress derives its oversight powers of the intelligence budget from Article I, Section 9, paragraph 7, of the U.S. Constitution that states, "No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law." Congress's authorization and appropriation functions consist of approving programs and activities, and allocating precise dollar amounts to be authorized programs respectively.
Congressional Entities Responsible for Intelligence Budget Oversight
See United States Intelligence Community Oversight for more general information on the oversight of the Intelligence Community.
Top-line figure of aggregate NIP and available aggregate MIP budget, FY 2006-present.
At the end of each October since 2008, the Director of National Intelligence discloses the aggregate amount of funds appropriated by Congress to the NIP for the next fiscal year within 30 days after the end of the fiscal year, as required by Public Law 110–53. The press release has the following disclaimer:
"Any and all subsidiary information concerning the NIP budget, whether the information concerns particular intelligence agencies or particular intelligence programs, will not be disclosed. Beyond the disclosure of the NIP top-line figure, there will be no other disclosures of currently classified NIP budget information, because such disclosures could harm national security. The only exceptions to the foregoing are for unclassified appropriations, primarily for the Community Management Account."


K. Sivan

Kailasavadivoo Sivan (born 14 April 1957) is an Indian space scientist who is the current Secretary (Space) and "ex-officio" chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation and Space Commission. He has previously served as the Director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Center and the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre.
Early life.
Sivan was born in Mela Sarakkalvilai, near Nagercoil in Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu state of India. His parents are Kailasa Vadivu and mother Chellam.
Education.
Sivan is son of a mango farmer and studied in a Tamil medium Government school in Mela Sarakkalvilai Village and later in Vallankumaranvilai in Kanyakumari district. He is the first graduate from his family. Later Sivan graduated with a bachelor's degree in engineering from Madras Institute of Technology in 1980. He then got a master's degree in aerospace engineering from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore in 1982, and started working in ISRO. He earned a doctoral degree in aerospace engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay in 2006. He is a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering, the Aeronautical Society of India and the Systems Society of India.
Career.
Sivan worked on the design and development of launch vehicles for Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Sivan joined ISRO in 1982 to participate on the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) Project. He was appointed as the director of ISRO's Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre on 2 July 2014. He was conferred Doctor of Science ("Honoris Causa") from Sathyabama University, Chennai in April 2014. On 1 June 2015, he became the Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre.
Sivan was appointed the chief of ISRO in January 2018 and he assumed office on 15 January. Under his chairmanship, ISRO launched Chandrayaan 2, the second mission to the moon on July 22, 2019, Vikram rover crashed, but the orbiter is fine and orbiting the moon.
On December 30, his chairmanship was extended by a year to January 2022. His early tenure was up to January 2021.


Bureau for United Nations Affairs

The Bureau for United Nations Affairs is a former name of the Bureau of International Organization Affairs, a division of the United States Department of State. The Bureau was established on June 24, 1949, but its name was changed to the Bureau for United Nations Affairs four months later. In 1954 the bureau's name was changed back to the Bureau of International Organization Affairs. Richard J. Kerry, the father of US Senator John Kerry, worked for the bureau. Today, the division of the State Department that handles relations with the United Nations is the Bureau of International Organization Affairs.


Dmitry Mezentsev

Dmitry Fyodorovich Mezentsev (; born 18 August 1959, Leningrad) is a Russian politician and diplomat. Previously he was Ambassador of Russia to Belarus between 30 April 2019 and 19 March 2021, a senator from Sakhalin Oblast (2015—2019), General Secretary of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (2012—2015) and Governor of Irkutsk Oblast (2009—2012).
In 2012 Mezentsev ran for President of Russia, but was rejected by the Central Election Commission.
2012 presidential campaign.
Mezentsev tried to run for President of Russia in 2012. On 14 December 2011, the trade Union Committee of the East Siberian railway nominated Dmitry Mezentsev as a presidential candidate. His candidacy was supported by the then President of Russian Railways Vladimir Yakunin. However, the CEC rejected Mezentsev's candidacy, as after checking the signatures collected in his support, too many signatures were not recognized as valid.
On 19 March 2021, Mezentsev was relieved of his post as ambassador to Belarus by presidential decree. On the same day President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko appointed Mezentsev State Secretary of the Union State of Russia and Belarus, replacing Grigory Rapota.


Piraeus Bank

Piraeus Bank (), is a Greek multinational financial services company with its headquarters in Athens, Greece. Piraeus Bank's stocks are listed on the Athens Stock Exchange (ATHEX) since January 1918.
Around 2015, Piraeus Bank was either the first or second bank in Greece by amount of outstanding loans and deposits.
Activities.
Piraeus Bank is a universal bank providing various banking services.
Historically a bank supportive of SMEs it now also possesses particular know-how in the areas of agricultural banking, consumer and mortgage credit, green banking, capital markets, investment banking, leasing and electronic banking.
Piraeus Bank Group.
Piraeus Bank and its subsidiaries form the Piraeus Bank Group.
History.
Foundation.
A group of shipowners in Piraeus founded "Banque du Pirée" (Piraeus Bank; BP) in 1916 to finance trade. The bank started trading on the Athens Exchange in 1918. The Greek government bought the bank in 1975 and transformed it into a universal bank. The new headquarters designed by Sir Basil Spence were built on Stadiou Street in the center of Athens. In December 1991 the government privatised the bank, which has grown in size and scope since then.
Expansion and consolidation.
In 1995 the Group established Piraeus Bank Romania with 160 branches and one year later Tirana Bank, the first privately owned banking institution in Albania with 56 branches. In 1999 with its acquisition of Xiosbank, PB took over Xios's branch in Sofia, Bulgaria; it has now some 83 branches in the country. PB also acquired the small New York-based Marathon National Bank and Interbank N.Y; it merged Interbank into "Marathon Bank".
In 1998 the bank absorbed the Greek branch networks of Chase Manhattan Bank, Crédit Lyonnais, and acquired a controlling interest in Macedonia-Thrace Bank. A year later it added in the activities of National Westminster Bank and acquired Xiosbank (Bank of Chios) which it totally absorbed along with Macedonia-Thrace Bank. In 2002 Piraeus Bank signed a strategic alliance with ING Group (bancassurance). In 2005 it acquired the Bulgarian Eurobank, Atlas Bank in Serbia, Egyptian Commercial Bank in Egypt. In 2007 it expanded in Ukraine by acquiring the International Commerce Bank (renamed as Piraeus Bank ICB) and established Piraeus Bank Cyprus with the acquisition of Arab Bank Cyprus.
In 2002 the bank absorbed 58% of ETBA Bank (Hellenic Industrial Development Bank). PB also started a strategic alliance with ING Group, which took a 5% stake in the Piraeus Bank. In 2006 the PB sold back to ING its stake in a jointly owned mutual funds company. Cooperation continues via the bank-assurance company ING-PIRAEUS.
In 2005 Piraeus Bank acquired the Belgrade-based Atlas banka in Serbia (today Piraeus Bank Beograd with 42 branches), and the Egyptian Commercial Bank (today Piraeus Bank Egypt with 43).
In 2007 PB purchased the Cyprus arm of Arab Bank and renamed it Piraeus Bank (Cyprus).
On 13 September 2007 Piraeus Bank completed its acquisition of 99.6% of the share capital of "International Commercial Bank" in Ukraine, today named Piraeus ICB.
Financial crisis.
Within the European debt crisis, Piraeus Bank has been subject to the Greek austerity packages: the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund became its main stock holder since 2012 and remained such as of 2020.
In 2011, according to reports in July 2012, the bank obscured its real access to capital by providing circular loans to finance purchase of its own stock through undeclared offshore companies.
In 2012, Piraeus Bank took part in the restructuring of the Greek banks, gaining a leading position in the Greek banking sector.
In 2013, Piraeus Bank was considered as having sufficient capital and was included in the group of 4 systemic banks which would be coordinated by the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund to absorb undercapitalised banks. It would reach an international presence consisting of 370 branches focusing in Southeastern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean as of 2014.
After a probe by the European Commission over government bailouts following the Greek government-debt crisis, in July 2014 restructuring plans for the bank were approved.
In November 2015 the European Commission approved amended restructuring plans for Alpha Bank and Eurobank and then for Piraeus Bank on 29 November 2015, allowing a new injection of €2.72 billion of public funds via the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund.
In the following years, Piraeus Bank proceeded to divest abroad.
As of June 2019, the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund held 26% of outstanding common shares, while the remaining 74% was held by the private sector (legal entities and individuals).
HFSF had the option to €2 billion of perpetual bonds into Piraeus Bank shares in December 2022. As of November 2020, the total market capitalization of the bank was less than €500 million. The conversion was triggered in November 2020, giving HFSF a further 35% share of the bank, worth less than 200 million euro, a paper loss of over 1.5 billion euro.


Norodom Narindrapong

Norodom Narindrapong (; 18 September 1954 – 7 October 2003) was a Prince of Cambodia. He was born in Phnom Penh to King Father Norodom Sihanouk and Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk. The prince studied philosophy, criminology, and law at the Moscow State University, and spoke fluent French and Russian. Prince Narindrapong died in his Paris apartment from a heart attack on 7 October 2003 at the age of 49. He was married and had two daughters:
He was the younger full brother of King Norodom Sihamoni and half-brother to 12 other surviving siblings.