Credit rating agency

A Credit rating agency (CRA) is a company that assigns credit ratings for issuers of certain types of debt obligations as well as the debt instruments themselves. In some cases, the servicers of the underlying debt are also given ratings. In most cases, the issuers of securities are companies, special purpose entities, state and local governments, non-profit organizations, or national governments issuing debt-like securities (i.e., bonds) that can be traded on a secondary market. A credit rating for an issuer takes into consideration the issuer's credit worthiness (i.e., its ability to pay back a loan), and affects the interest rate applied to the particular security being issued.

Hopman Cup

The Hopman Cup is an annual international team tennis tournament held in Perth, Western Australia in early January (sometimes commencing in late December) each year, which plays mixed teams on a country by country basis. It is also known as the ITF World Mixed Team Championships. Unlike other major international team tennis tournaments like the Davis Cup and the Fed Cup, which are strictly for men or women only, the Hopman Cup is a mixed competition where male and female players are together on combined teams and represent their country. Players are invited to attend, national coaches not being involved in selecting teams.

Deoband Movement

Deobandi is a movement of Sunni Islam. The movement began at Darul Uloom Deoband in Deoband, India, where its foundation was laid on May 30, 1866. Its six founders were Muhammad Qasim Nanotvi, Muhammad Yaqub Nanautawi, Shah Rafi al-Din, Sayyid Muhammad Abid, Zulfiqar Ali, Fadhl al-Rahman 'Usmani and Rashid Ahmad Gangohi. They played a key role in establishing similar institutions in other parts of the Indian subcontinent Meanwhile Tablighi Jamaat, founded in 1926 by Muhammad Ilyas al-Kandhlawi, promoted the ideas of the Deobandi school worldwide.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease in American English and Motor Neurone Disease in British English, is a form of Motor Neuron Disease caused by the degeneration of upper and lower neurons, located in the ventral horn of the spinal cord and the cortical neurons that provide their efferent input. The condition is often called Lou Gehrig's disease in North America, after the New York Yankees baseball player who was diagnosed with the disease in 1939. The disorder is characterized by rapidly progressive weakness, muscle atrophy and fasciculations, spasticity, dysarthria, dysphagia, and respiratory compromise. Sensory function generally is spared, as is autonomic and oculomotor activity. ALS is a progressive, fatal, neurodegenerative disease with most affected patients dying of respiratory compromise and pneumonia after 2 to 3 years; although some perish within a year from the onset of symptoms, and occasional individuals have a more indolent course and survive for many years.