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Bashar al-Assad (born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician and military officer who served as the 19th president of Syria from July 2000 until his government was overthrown in December 2024. As president, Assad was the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the secretary-general of the Central Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party.
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Pushpa 2: The Rule is a 2024 Indian Telugu-language action drama film written and directed by Sukumar, and produced by Mythri Movie Makers, in association with Sukumar Writings. The film stars Allu Arjun in the titular role, alongside Rashmika Mandanna, Fahadh Faasil, Jagapathi Babu, Dhananjaya, Rao Ramesh, Sunil and Anasuya Bharadwaj.
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Syria is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east and southeast, Jordan to the south, and Israel and Lebanon to the southwest. It is under a transitional government and comprises 14 governorates.
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The Syrian civil war is an ongoing multi-sided conflict in Syria involving various state-sponsored and non-state actors. In March 2011, popular discontent with the rule of Bashar al-Assad triggered large-scale protests and pro-democracy rallies across Syria, as part of the wider Arab Spring protests in the region.
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Asma Fawaz al-Assad (Arabic: ุฃุณู ุงุก ููุงุฒ ุงูุฃุณุฏ; nรฉe Akhras; born 11 August 1975) is the former first lady of Syria, as the wife of Bashar al-Assad during his tenure as president from 2000 until he was overthrown on 8 December 2024. Born and raised in London to Syrian parents, she became First Lady when she married al-Assad, then President of Syria, on 13 December 2000.
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Juan Josรฉ Soto Pacheco (born October 25, 1998) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Nationals, San Diego Padres and New York Yankees. Soto signed with the Nationals as an international free agent in 2015.
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On December 4, 2024, Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare since 2021, was shot and killed outside an entrance to the New York Hilton Midtown in Manhattan, New York City. He was in the city to attend an annual investors meeting for UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of UnitedHealthcare. Authorities believe the attack was not random and are investigating it as an assassination.
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List of highest-grossing Indian films
This ranking lists the highest-grossing Indian films produced by Indian cinema, based on conservative global box office estimates as reported by organisations classified as green by Wikipedia. The figures are not adjusted for inflation. However, there is no official tracking of figures and sources publishing data are frequently pressured to increase their estimates.
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Ahmed Hussein al-Shar'a (born 1982), better known as Abu Mohammad al-Julani, is a Syrian militant leader who has served as the second emir of Tahrir al-Sham since 2017. Before cutting ties with Al-Qaeda in 2016, Julani had served as the emir of the now-defunct Al-Nusra Front, the former Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda.
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Brian Robert Thompson (July 10, 1974 โ December 4, 2024) was an American businessman who was the chief executive officer (CEO) of UnitedHealthcare, the insurance arm of UnitedHealth Group, from April 2021 until his killing in December 2024. Thompson was born in Ames, Iowa, and received a bachelor of business administration with a major in accounting at the University of Iowa in 1997.
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2024 Israeli invasion of Syria
On 8 December 2024, amid and following the decisive battle of Damascus and subsequent fall of the Assad regime, Israeli armored units advanced into the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) buffer zone in between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, targeting the central countryside of the Quneitra Governorate with artillery fire.
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Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named the greatest rapper of all time by Billboard and Vibe in 2023, and topped Forbes list of "The 50 Top Rappers Of All Time" in 2024.
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The following notable deaths occurred in 2024. Names are reported under the date of death, in alphabetical order. A typical entry reports information in the following sequence: Name, age, country of citizenship at birth, subsequent nationality (if applicable), what subject was noted for, cause of death (if known), and a reference.
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Hayสผat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS; Arabic: ููุฆุฉ ุชุญุฑูุฑ ุงูุดุงู , romanized: Hayสผat Taแธฅrฤซr aลก-ล ฤm, lit. 'Organization for the Liberation of the Levant' or 'Levant Liberation Committee'), commonly referred to as Tahrir al-Sham, is a Sunni Islamist political and paramilitary organisation involved in the Syrian civil war, widely recognized as an Islamic terrorist organisation.
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Wicked (titled onscreen as Wicked Part I) is a 2024 American musical fantasy film directed by Jon M. Chu, and written by Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox, with songs by Stephen Schwartz. It is the first of a two-part film adaptation of the stage musical of the same name based on the 1995 novel, which in turn is based on the Oz books and the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.
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Sednaya Prison (Arabic: ุณุฌู ุตูุฏูุงูุง Sijn แนขaydnฤyฤ), nicknamed the "Human Slaughterhouse" (Arabic: ุงูู ุณูุฎ ุงูุจุดุฑู), was a military prison near Damascus in Syria operated by the Syrian government. The prison has been used to hold thousands of prisoners, both civilian detainees and anti-government rebels as well as political prisoners.
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The Alawites, also known as Nusayrites, are an Arab ethnoreligious group that live primarily in the Levant and follow Alawism, a religious sect that splintered from early Shia Islam as a ghulat branch during the ninth century. Alawites venerate Ali ibn Abi Talib, the "first Imam" in the Twelver school, as the physical manifestation of God.
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2024 Syrian opposition offensives
On 27 November 2024, a coalition of Syrian opposition groups called the Military Operations Command led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and supported by allied Turkish-backed groups in the Syrian National Army (SNA) launched an offensive against the pro-government Syrian Arab Army (SAA) forces in Idlib, Aleppo and Hama Governorates in Syria.
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Mohammed al-Bashir (Arabic: ู ุญู ุฏ ุงูุจุดูุฑ, romanized: Muแธฅammad al-Bashฤซr; born 1983) is a Syrian engineer and politician serving as the 70th prime minister of Syria leading the Syrian Transitional Government since 9 December 2024. He has also served as Prime Minister of the Syrian Salvation Government since 13 January 2024.
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. xxx (pronounced "dot triple-ecks" or "dot ecks ecks ecks") is a sponsored top-level domain (sTLD) intended as a voluntary option for pornographic sites on the Internet. The sponsoring organization is the International Foundation for Online Responsibility (IFFOR). The registry is operated by ICM Registry LLC. The ICANN Board voted to approve the sTLD on 18 March 2011.
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The Syrian Salvation Government (SSG; Arabic: ุญููู ุฉ ุงูุฅููุงุฐ ุงูุณูุฑูุฉ, romanized: แธคukลซmat al-สพInqฤdh al-Sลซriyya) is a de facto unrecognized quasi-state in Syria formed in November 2017 by Hayสผat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and other Syrian opposition groups during the Syrian civil war. It controls much of northwest Syria, and had an estimated population of over 4,000,000 in 2023.
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Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is a loose adaptation of the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which in turn is based on L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and its 1939 film adaptation.
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Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali (Arabic: ู ุญู ุฏ ุบุงุฒู ุงูุฌูุงูู; born 22 March 1969) is a Syrian politician and civil engineer who served as the 69th prime minister of Syria from 14 September to 9 December 2024. He is the last person to serve as Prime Minister of Syria under president Bashar al-Assad and of the Syrian Arab Republic.
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Ba'athist Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic (SAR), was the Syrian state between 1963 and 2024 under the rule of the Syrian regional branch of the defunct Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. Alongside Iraq from 1968 to 2003, it was one of two Ba'athist states to have existed. The al-Assad family ruled Syria from 1971 until the Syrian opposition offensives in 2024.
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Beyoncรฉ Giselle Knowles-Carter ( bee-ON-say; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter and businesswoman. Regarded as one of the most influential cultural figures in history, she has been credited with transforming the sound of popular music with her vocal ability, live performances and artistic innovations.
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The World Chess Championship 2024, officially known as the World Chess Championship 2024 presented by Google, is an ongoing chess match between the reigning world champion Ding Liren and the challenger Gukesh Dommaraju to determine the World Chess Champion. The match is currently taking place between 25 November and 13 December 2024, with Singapore chosen as the host country for the match.
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Bassel al-Assad (Arabic: ุจูุงุณููู ูฑููุฃูุณูุฏู, romanized: Bฤsil al-สพAsad; 23 March 1962 โ 21 January 1994) was a Syrian engineer, colonel, equestrian and politician who was the eldest son of Syrian President Hafez al-Assad and the older brother of former President Bashar al-Assad. It was widely expected that he would succeed his father as President of Syria until he died in a car crash in 1994.
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Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (Koinฤ Greek: ฮฮปฮตฮฟฯฮฌฯฯฮฑ ฮฮตฮฌ ฮฆฮนฮปฮฟฯฮฌฯฯฯ, lit. 'Cleopatra father-loving goddess'; 70/69 BC โ 10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler. A member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, she was a descendant of its founder Ptolemy I Soter, a Macedonian Greek general and companion of Alexander the Great.
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Keira Christina Knightley OBE ( KEER-ษ NYTE-lee; born 26 March 1985) is an English actress. Known for her work in independent films and blockbusters, particularly period dramas, she has received numerous accolades, including nominations for two Academy Awards, two BAFTAs, three Golden Globes, and a Laurence Olivier Award.
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Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a 2024 adventure-action game developed by MachineGames and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is based on the Indiana Jones franchise and features an original narrative that draws from the film series.
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The Syrian opposition (Arabic: ุงูู ุนุงุฑุถุฉ ุงูุณูุฑูุฉ, romanized: al-Muสปaraแธat as-Sลซrฤซya) is an umbrella term for the groups that opposed the Assad family's Ba'athist regime in Syria. In July 2011, at the beginning of the Syrian civil war, defectors from the Syrian Arab Armed Forces formed the Free Syrian Army, a name that was later used by several armed factions during the conflict.
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The 82nd Golden Globe Awards is an upcoming awards ceremony for excellence in film and American television productions of 2024. The winners will be revealed during a live telecast, aired on CBS on Sunday, January 5, 2025. The nominations were announced live on Monday, December 9, 2024, by actors Morris Chestnut and Mindy Kaling.
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Pushpa: The Rise is a 2021 Indian Telugu-language action drama film written and directed by Sukumar, and produced by Mythri Movie Makers and Muttamsetty Media. The film stars Allu Arjun as Pushpa Raj, a coolie who rises in a syndicate that smuggles red sandalwood, a rare wood that grows only in the Seshachalam Hills of Andhra Pradesh.
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Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her biographical songwriting, artistic reinventions, and cultural impact, Swift is a leading figure in popular music and the subject of widespread public interest. Swift signed to Big Machine Records in 2005 starting as a country singer with the albums Taylor Swift (2006) and Fearless (2008).
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Yellowstone (American TV series)
Yellowstone is an American neo-Western drama television series created by Taylor Sheridan and John Linson that premiered on June 20, 2018, on Paramount Network. The series stars Kevin Costner, Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley, Cole Hauser, Kelsey Asbille, and Gil Birmingham.
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Alina Saad Habba (Arabic: ุฃูููุง ุญุจุฉ, born March 25, 1984) is an Iraqi-American lawyer and managing partner of Habba, Madaio & Associates, a law firm based in Bedminster, New Jersey, with an office in New York City. Since 2021, Habba has been a legal spokesperson for former U.S. president Donald Trump, and a senior advisor for MAGA, Inc., Trump's Super PAC.
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Paul Colm Michael Mescal ( MESS-kษl; born 2 February 1996) is an Irish actor. Born in Maynooth, he studied acting at The Lir Academy and then performed in plays in Dublin theatres. He rose to fame with his role in the miniseries Normal People (2020), earning a BAFTA TV Award and a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award.
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Kanlaon, also known as Mount Kanlaon and Kanlaon Volcano (Hiligaynon: Bolkang Kanglaon; Cebuano: Bolkang Kanglaon; Filipino: Bulkang Kanlaon), is an active andesitic stratovolcano and the highest mountain on the island of Negros in the Philippines, as well as the highest peak in the Visayas, with an elevation of 2,465 m (8,087 ft) above sea level.
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2024 United States presidential election
Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 5, 2024. The Republican Party's ticketโDonald Trump, who was the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021, and JD Vance, the junior U.S. senator from Ohioโdefeated the Democratic Party's ticketโKamala Harris, the incumbent vice president, and Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota.
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Steven A. Cohen (born June 11, 1956) is an American hedge-fund manager and owner of the New York Mets of Major League Baseball since September 14, 2020, owning just over 97% of the team. He is the founder of hedge fund Point72 Asset Management and S.A.C. Capital Advisors, which closed after pleading guilty to insider trading and other financial crimes.
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Ayrton Senna da Silva (Brazilian Portuguese: [aหiสtรต หsแบฝnษ dษ หsiwvษ] ; 21 March 1960 โ 1 May 1994) was a Brazilian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from 1984 to 1994. Senna won three Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles with McLaren, andโat the time of his deathโheld the record for most pole positions (65), among others; he won 41 Grands Prix across 11 seasons.
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The Golan Heights (Arabic: ููุถูุจูุฉู ุงููุฌูููููุงูู, romanized: Haแธbatu l-Jawlฤn or ู ูุฑูุชูููุนูุงุชู ุงููุฌูููููุงูู, Murtafaสปฤtu l-Jawlฤn; Hebrew: ืจืืช ืืืืื, Ramat HaGolan, ), or simply the Golan, is a basaltic plateau at the southwest corner of Syria.
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Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver who most recently competed in Formula One for Mercedes. Hamilton has won a joint-record seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titlesโtied with Michael Schumacherโand holds the records for most wins (105), pole positions (104), and podium finishes (202), among others.
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Lucky Baskhar is a 2024 Indian Telugu-language period crime drama film, written and directed by Venky Atluri. It is produced by S. Naga Vamsi and Sai Soujanya under Sithara Entertainments, Fortune Four Cinema and Srikara Studios. The film stars Dulquer Salmaan as Baskhar Kumar, a lower-middle-class man who struggles to support his family while battling debt and humiliation, from 1989 to 1992.
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YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim, three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States, it is the second-most visited website in the world, after Google Search.
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Major General Maher Hafez al-Assad (Arabic: ู ูุงููุฑู ูฑููุฃูุณูุฏู, romanized: Mฤhir al-สพAsad, born 8 December 1967) is a Syrian military officer who served as commander of the Syrian Army's elite 4th Armoured Division, which, together with Syria's Military Intelligence, formed the core of the country's security forces until the collapse of Al-Assad's regime in 2024.
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Dune: Prophecy is an American science fiction television series developed by Diane Ademu-John and Alison Schapker for HBO. Set in Frank Herbert's Dune universe, the series focuses on the origins of the Bene Gesserit, a powerful social, religious, and political force whose members possess superhuman powers and abilities after undergoing years of intense physical and mental conditioning.
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XXX (stylized as xXx and pronounced Triple X) is a 2002 American action film directed by Rob Cohen, produced by Neal H. Moritz and written by Rich Wilkes. The first installment in the xXx film series, the film stars Vin Diesel as Xander Cage, a thrill-seeking extreme sports enthusiast, stuntman, and rebellious athlete-turned-reluctant spy for the National Security Agency.
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Anisa Makhlouf (Arabic: ุฃููููุณูุฉู ู ูุฎูููููู, romanized: สพAnฤซsah Maแธตlลซf; 5 November 1930 โ 6 February 2016) was the matriarch of the Syrian Al-Assad family, which ruled the country from 1971 to December 2024. The wife of the late Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, Makhlouf remained the Syrian First Lady from 1971 until 2000.
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2024 Formula One World Championship
The 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship was a motor racing championship for Formula One cars and was the 75th running of the Formula One World Championship. It was recognised by the Fรฉdรฉration Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the governing body of international motorsport, as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars.
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Cynthia Chinasaokwu Onyedinmanasu Erivo ( uh-REE-von; born 8 January 1987) is a British actress and singer. She gained recognition for starring in the Broadway revival of The Color Purple from 2015 to 2017. She earned numerous accolades for her performance, including the 2016 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.
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Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Having won the 2024 presidential election as the Republican Party's nominee, he is scheduled to be inaugurated as the 47th president on January 20, 2025.
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Marvel Rivals is a third-person hero shooter video game developed and published by NetEase Games in collaboration with Marvel Games. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on December 6, 2024. The game is free-to-play with a current line up of 33 characters from Marvel Comics.
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Elon Reeve Musk (; born June 28, 1971) is a businessman known for his key roles in the space company SpaceX and the automotive company Tesla, Inc. His other involvements include ownership of X Corp. , the company that operates the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), and his role in the founding of the Boring Company, xAI, Neuralink, and OpenAI.
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Antonino D. Mangione (born April 1, 1987) is an American politician from the Republican Party who is a member of the Maryland House of Delegates representing District 42A since 2023, and District 42B from 2019 to 2023. He also served as a Baltimore County co-chair for the state's Trump Victory Leadership County team.
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ChatGPT is a generative artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot developed by OpenAI and launched in 2022. It is based on the GPT-4o large language model (LLM). ChatGPT can generate human-like conversational responses, and enables users to refine and steer a conversation towards a desired length, format, style, level of detail, and language.
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Major Mukund Varadarajan AC (12 April 1983 โ 25 April 2014) was an Indian Army officer and a recipient of the Ashoka Chakra. Mukund, a commissioned officer in the Indian Army's Rajput Regiment, was posthumously awarded the Ashok Chakra for his actions during a counterterrorism operation while on deputation to the 44th Rashtriya Rifles battalion in Jammu and Kashmir.
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Thomas Cromwell (; c. 1485 โ 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English statesman and lawyer who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false charges for the execution. Cromwell was one of the most powerful proponents of the English Reformation.
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UnitedHealth Group Incorporated is an American multinational health insurance and services company based in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Selling insurance products under UnitedHealthcare, and health care services under the Optum brand, it is the world's ninth-largest company by revenue and the largest health care company by revenue. The company is ranked 8th on the 2024 Fortune Global 500.
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The Day of the Jackal (TV series)
The Day of the Jackal is a British television series, based on the Frederick Forsyth novel of the same name. It stars Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch. It is written and created by Ronan Bennett, produced by Christopher Hall and directed by Brian Kirk, Anthony Philipson, Paul Wilmshurst and Anu Menon.
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Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969), also known by his stage name Diddy, and formerly Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer and record executive. He is credited with the discovery and development of musical artists including the Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, and Usher.
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The president of Syria (Arabic: ุฑุฆูุณ ุณูุฑูุง) is the head of state of Syria. They are vested with sweeping powers that may be delegated, at their sole discretion, to their vice presidents. They appoint and dismiss the prime minister and other members of the Council of Ministers (the cabinet) and military officers.
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Allu Arjun (born 8 April 1982) is an Indian actor who works in Telugu cinema. One of the highest-paid actors in Indian cinema, Allu Arjun has been featured in Forbes India's Celebrity 100 list since 2014. He is a recipient of several awards including a National Film Award, six Filmfare Awards, and three Nandi Awards.
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The Southern Operations Room (Arabic: ุบุฑูุฉ ุงูุนู ููุงุช ุงูุฌููุจูุฉ), also known as SOR, is a Syrian rebel coalition consisting of various armed Druze tribes and Syrian opposition groups in southern Daraa, Suwayda and Quneitra provinces. It was established on 6 December 2024 in Southern Syria during the 2024 Syrian opposition offensives.
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The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is a Kurdish-led coalition of U.S.-backed ethnic militias and rebel groups, and serves as the official military wing of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES; also unofficially known as Rojava). The SDF is allied to and supplied by the United Statesโled CJTFโOIR international alliance.
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Kraven the Hunter is an upcoming American superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Directed by J. C. Chandor from a screenplay by Richard Wenk and the writing team of Art Marcum and Matt Holloway, the film stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson in the title role, alongside Ariana DeBose, Fred Hechinger, Alessandro Nivola, Christopher Abbott, and Russell Crowe.
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The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal union of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous states border Canada to the north and Mexico to the south, with the states of Alaska to the northwest and the archipelagic Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean.
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Subservience is a 2024 American sci-fi thriller film directed by S.K. Dale from a screenplay by Will Honley and April Maguire. It stars Megan Fox as an artificially intelligent gynoid who gains sentience and becomes hostile, and Michele Morrone as her purchaser. It was released on September 13, 2024.
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Syrian transitional government
After the fall of the Syrian Arab Republic and exile of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, a Syrian transitional government was installed in Damascus by the Syrian opposition. On 8 December 2024, hours after the opposition victory, Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali, the outgoing prime minister of Syria, agreed to lead the transitional government in a caretaker capacity.
