text:
Kashmiri language

Kashmiri or Koshur (Kashmiri:  (Perso-Arabic, Official Script) ; ) is a Dardic Indo-Aryan language spoken by around 7 million Kashmiris of the Kashmir region, primarily in the Kashmir Valley of the Indian-administrated union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, over half the population of that territory. Kashmiri has split ergativity and the unusual verb-second word order.

Since 2020, It has been made an official language of Jammu and Kashmir along with Dogri, Hindi, Urdu and English. Kashmiri is also among the 22 scheduled languages of India.

Kashmiri is spoken by roughly five percent of Pakistani-administrated Azad Kashmir's population.

Geographic distribution and status
There are about 6.8 million speakers of Kashmiri and related dialects in Jammu and Kashmir and amongst the Kashmiri diaspora in other states of India. Most Kashmiri speakers are located in the Kashmir Valley and other areas of Jammu and Kashmir. In the Kashmir valley, they form a majority.

Kashmiri is spoken by roughly five percent of Azad Kashmir's population. According to the 1998 Pakistan Census, there were 132,450 Kashmiri speakers in Azad Kashmir. Native speakers of the language were dispersed in "pockets" throughout Azad Kashmir, particularly in the districts of Muzaffarabad (15%), Neelam (20%) and Hattian (15%), with very small minorities in Haveli (5%) and Bagh (2%). The Kashmiri spoken in Muzaffarabad is distinct from, although still intelligible with, the Kashmiri of the Neelam Valley to the north. In Neelam Valley, Kashmiri is the second most widely spoken language and the majority language in at least a dozen or so villages, where in about half of these, it is the sole mother tongue. The Kashmiri dialect of Neelum is closer to the variety spoken in northern Kashmir Valley, particularly Kupwara. At the 2017 Census of Pakistan, as many as 350,000 people declared their first language to be Kashmiri.

A process of language shift is observable among Kashmiri-speakers in Azad Kashmir according to linguist Tariq Rahman, as they gradually adopt local dialects such as Pahari-Pothwari, Hindko or move towards the lingua franca Urdu. This has resulted in these languages gaining ground at the expense of Kashmiri. There have been calls for the promotion of Kashmiri at an official level; in 1983, a Kashmiri Language Committee was set up by the government to patronise Kashmiri and impart it in school-level education. However, the limited attempts at introducing the language have not been successful, and it is Urdu, rather than Kashmiri, that Kashmiri Muslims of Azad Kashmir have seen as their identity symbol. Rahman notes that efforts to organise a Kashmiri language movement have been challenged by the scattered nature of the Kashmiri-speaking community in Azad Kashmir.

The Kashmiri language is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India. It was a part of the eighth Schedule in the former constitution of the Jammu and Kashmir. Along with other regional languages mentioned in the Sixth Schedule, as well as Hindi and Urdu, the Kashmiri language was to be developed in the state. After Hindi, Kashmiri is the second fastest growing language of India, followed by Meitei (Manipuri) as well as Gujarati in the third place, and Bengali in the fourth place, according to the 2011 census of India.

Persian began to be used as the court language in Kashmir during the 14th centuries, under the influence of Islam. It was replaced by Urdu in 1889 during the Dogra rule. In 2020, Kashmiri became an official language in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir for the first time.

Poguli and Kishtwari are closely related to Kashmiri, which are spoken in the mountains to the south of the Kashmir Valley and have sometimes been counted as dialects of Kashmiri.

The people in the Chenab region of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir mainly speak Kashmiri, but the accent and various words differentiate it from the Kashmiri spoken in the Kashmir Valley. The Chenab Times, a news outlet known for promoting lesser-known languages, has termed this language as Chenabich Kashir, meaning the Kashmiri language spoken in Chenab Valley.

Phonology
Kashmiri has the following phonemes.

Vowels
The oral vowels are as follows:

 * {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

! ! Front ! Central ! Back ! High ! Mid ! Low
 * }
 * }
 * }

The short high vowels are near-high, and the low vowels apart from are near-low.

Nasalization is phonemic. All sixteen oral vowels have nasal counterparts.

Consonants
Palatalization is phonemic. All consonants apart from those in the post-alveolar/palatal column have palatalized counterparts.

Archaisms
Kashmiri, as also the other Dardic languages, shows important divergences from the Indo-Aryan mainstream. One is the partial maintenance of the three sibilant consonants s ṣ ś of the Old Indo-Aryan period. For another example, the prefixing form of the number 'two', which is found in Sanskrit as dvi-, has developed into ba-/bi- in most other Indo-Aryan languages, but du- in Kashmiri (preserving the original dental stop d). Seventy-two is dusatath in Kashmiri, bahattar in Hindi-Urdu and Punjabi, and dvisaptati in Sanskrit.

Certain features in Kashmiri even appear to stem from Indo-Aryan even predating the Vedic period. For instance, there was an /s/ > /h/ consonant shift in some words that had already occurred with Vedic Sanskrit (This tendency was complete in the Iranian branch of Indo-Iranian), yet is lacking in Kashmiri equivalents. The word rahit in Vedic Sanskrit and modern Hindi-Urdu (meaning 'excluding' or 'without') corresponds to rost in Kashmiri. Similarly, sahit (meaning 'including' or 'with') corresponds to sost in Kashmiri.

Writing system
There are three orthographical systems used to write the Kashmiri language: the Perso-Arabic script, the Devanagari script and the Sharada script. The Roman script is also sometimes informally used to write Kashmiri, especially online.

Today Kashmiri is primarily written in Perso-Arabic (with some modifications). Among languages written in the Perso-Arabic script, Kashmiri is one of the scripts that regularly indicates all vowel sounds.

The Kashmiri Perso-Arabic script is recognized as the official script of Kashmiri language by the Jammu and Kashmir government and the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages. The Kashmiri Perso-Arabic script has been derived from Persian alphabet. The consonant inventory and their corresponding pronunciations of Kashmiri Perso-Arabic script doesn't differ from Perso-Arabic script, with the exception of the letter ژ, which is pronounced as instead of. However, the vowel inventory of Kashmiri is significantly larger than other Perso-Arabic derived or influenced South Asian Perso-Arabic scripts. There are 17 vowels in Kashmiri, shown with diacritics, letters (alif, waw, ye), or both. In Kashmiri, the convention is that most vowel diacritics are written at all times.

Despite Kashmiri Perso-Arabic script cutting across religious boundaries and being used by both the Kashmiri Hindus and the Kashmiri Muslims, some attempts have been made to give a religious outlook regarding the script and make Kashmiri Perso-Arabic script to be associated with Kashmiri Muslims, while the Kashmiri Devanagari script to be associated with some sections of Kashmiri Hindu community.

The Kashmiri language was traditionally written in the Sharada script after the 8th Century A.D. The script grew increasingly unsuitable for writing Kashmiri because it couldn't adequately represent Kashmiri peculiar sounds by the usage of its vowel signs. Therefore, it is not in common use today and is restricted to religious ceremonies of the Kashmiri Pandits.

Vowels
There have been a few versions of the Devanagari script for Kashmiri. The 2002 version of the proposal is shown below. This version has readers and more content available on the Internet, even though this is an older proposal. This version makes use of the vowels ॲ/ऑ and vowel signs कॅ/कॉ for the schwa-like vowel and elongated schwa-like vowel  that also exist in other Devanagari-based scripts such as Marathi and Hindi but are used for the sound of other vowels.

Tabulated below is the latest (2009) version of the proposal to spell the Kashmiri vowels with Devanagari. The primary change in this version is the changed stand alone characters ॳ / ॴ and vowel signs कऺ / कऻ for the schwa-like vowel & elongated schwa-like vowel  and a new stand alone vowel  and vowel sign कॏ for the open-mid back rounded vowel  which can be used instead of the consonant व standing-in for this vowel.

Vowels
 Vowel mark

Grammar
Kashmiri is a fusional language with verb-second (V2) word order. Several of Kashmiri's grammatical features distinguish it from other Indo-Aryan languages.

Nouns
Kashmiri nouns are inflected according to gender, number and case. There are no articles, nor is there any grammatical distinction for definiteness, although there is some optional adverbial marking for indefinite or "generic" noun qualities.

Gender
The Kashmiri gender system is divided into masculine and feminine. Feminine forms are typically generated by the addition of a suffix (or in most cases, a morphophonemic change, or both) to a masculine noun. A relatively small group of feminine nouns have unique suppletion forms that are totally different from the corresponding masculine forms. The following table illustrates the range of possible gender forms:

 * {| class="wikitable"

!Process||Masculine||Feminine||Meaning
 * -en’ suffix
 * -en’ suffix

 * shopkeeper
 * -bāy suffix
 * -bāy suffix

 * teacher
 * -in’ + vowel change
 * -in’ + vowel change

 * donkey
 * -ür + vowel change
 * -ür + vowel change

 * basket
 * Adding of affix
 * Adding of affix

 * dog/bitch
 * vowel change||
 * vowel change||

 * rat
 * consonant change||
 * consonant change||

 * dry
 * vowel/consonant change||
 * vowel/consonant change||

 * hot
 * suppletive form||
 * suppletive form||

 * man/woman
 * masculine only||
 * masculine only||

 * ---||mongoose
 * feminine only||---||
 * feminine only||---||

 * housefly
 * }

Some nouns borrowed from other languages, such as Persian, Arabic, Sanskrit, Urdu or English, follow a slightly different gender system. Notably, many words borrowed from Urdu have different genders in Kashmiri.

Case
There are five cases in Kashmiri: nominative, dative, ergative, ablative and vocative. Case is expressed via suffixation of the noun.

Kashmiri utilizes an ergative-absolutive case structure when the verb is in simple past tense. Thus, in these sentences, the subject of a transitive verb is marked in the ergative case and the object in nominative, which is identical to how the subject of an intransitive verb is marked. However, in sentences constructed in any other tense, or in past tense sentences with intransitive verbs, a nominative-dative paradigm is adopted, with objects (whether direct or indirect) generally marked in dative case.

Other case distinctions, such as locative, instrumental, genitive, comitative and allative, are marked by postpositions rather than suffixation.

Noun morphology
The following table illustrates Kashmiri noun declension according to gender, number and case.

 * {| class="wikitable"

! rowspan="2" | ! colspan="2" | Masculine ! colspan="2" | Feminine ! singular || plural ! singular || plural !Nom. !Erg.
 * -Ø || -Ø || -Ø || -Ø

!Dat. or
 * - or -

!Abl. or
 * - or -

!Voc.

 * }

Verbs
Kashmiri verbs are declined according to tense and person, and to a lesser extent, gender. Tense, along with certain distinctions of aspect, is formed by the addition of suffixes to the verb stem (minus the infinitive ending - /un/), and in many cases by the addition of various modal auxiliaries. Postpositions fulfill numerous adverbial and semantic roles.

Tense
Present tense in Kashmiri is an auxiliary construction formed by a combination of the copula and the imperfective suffix -/aːn/ added to the verb stem. The various copula forms agree with their subject according to gender and number, and are provided below with the verb /jun/ (to come):

 * {| class="wikitable"

! !Masculine !Feminine !1st Person Sing.
 * + Present

!2nd Person Sing.

!3rd Person Sing.

!1st Person Pl.

!2nd Person Pl.

!3rd Person Pl.

 * }

Past tense in Kashmiri is significantly more complex than the other tenses, and is subdivided into three past tense distinctions. The simple (sometimes called proximate) past refers to completed past actions. Remote past refers to actions that lack this in-built perfective aspect. Indefinite past refers to actions performed a long time ago, and is often used in historical narrative or storytelling contexts.

As described above, Kashmiri is a split-ergative language; in all three of these past tense forms, the subjects of transitive verbs are marked in the ergative case and direct objects in the nominative. Intransitive subjects are marked in the nominative. Nominative arguments, whether subjects or objects, dictate gender, number and person marking on the verb.

Verbs of the simple past tense are formed via the addition of a suffix to the verb stem, which usually undergoes certain uniform morphophonemic changes. First and third person verbs of this type do not take suffixes and agree with the nominative object in gender and number, but there are second person verb endings. The entire simple past tense paradigm of transitive verbs is illustrated below using the verb /parun/ ("to read"):

 * {| class="wikitable"

! rowspan="2" colspan="2" | ! colspan="2" | Masculine ! colspan="2" | Feminine ! singular || plural ! singular || plural ! colspan="2" | 1st Person
 * + Simple Past (Transitive)

! rowspan="2" | 2nd Person ! Non-honorific

! Honorific

! colspan="2" | 3rd Person

 * }

A group of irregular intransitive verbs (special intransitives), take a different set of endings in addition to the morphophonemic changes that affect most past tense verbs.

 * {| class="wikitable"

! rowspan="2" | ! colspan="2" | Masculine ! colspan="2" | Feminine ! singular || plural ! singular || plural ! 1st Person ! 2nd Person ! 3rd Person
 * + Simple Past (Special Intransitive)
 * -Ø
 * -Ø
 * }
 * }
 * }

Intransitive verbs in the simple past are conjugated the same as intransitives in the indefinite past tense form.

 * {| class="wikitable"

! rowspan="2" | ! colspan="2" | Masculine ! colspan="2" | Feminine ! singular || plural ! singular || plural ! 1st Person ! 2nd Person ! 3rd Person
 * + Simple Past (Intransitive)
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }

In contrast to the simple past, verb stems are unchanged in the indefinite and remote past, although the addition of the tense suffixes does cause some morphophonetic change. Transitive verbs are declined according to the following paradigm:

 * {| class="wikitable"

! rowspan="2" | ! colspan="2" | Masculine ! colspan="2" | Feminine ! singular || plural ! singular || plural ! 1st/3rd Person ! 2nd Person
 * + Indefinite Past (Transitive)
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }

 * {| class="wikitable"

! rowspan="2" | ! colspan="2" | Masculine ! colspan="2" | Feminine ! singular || plural ! singular || plural ! 1st/3rd Person ! 2nd Person
 * + Remote Past (Transitive)
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }

As in the simple past, "special intransitive" verbs take a different set of endings in the indefinite and remote past:

 * {| class="wikitable"

! rowspan="2" | ! colspan="2" | Masculine ! colspan="2" | Feminine ! singular || plural ! singular || plural ! 1st Person ! 2nd Person ! 3rd Person
 * + Indefinite Past (Special Intransitive)
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }

 * {| class="wikitable"

! rowspan="2" | ! colspan="2" | Masculine ! colspan="2" | Feminine ! singular || plural ! singular || plural ! 1st Perso ! 2nd Person ! 3rd Person
 * + Remote Past (Special Intransitive)
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }

Regular intransitive verbs also take a different set of endings in the indefinite and remote past, subject to some morphophonetic variation:

 * {| class="wikitable"

! rowspan="2" | ! colspan="2" | Masculine ! colspan="2" | Feminine ! singular || plural ! singular || plural !1st Person !2nd Person !3rd Person
 * + Indefinite Past (Intransitive)
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }

 * {| class="wikitable"

! rowspan="2" | ! colspan="2" | Masculine ! colspan="2" | Feminine ! singular || plural ! singular || plural ! 1st Person ! 2nd Person ! 3rd Person
 * + Remote Past (Intransitive)
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }

Future tense intransitive verbs are formed by the addition of suffixes to the verb stem:

 * {| class="wikitable"

! ||Singular||Plural ! 1st Person ! 2nd Person ! 3rd Person
 * + Future (Intransitive)
 * }
 * }
 * }

The future tense of transitive verbs, however, is formed by adding suffixes that agree with both the subject and direct object according to number, in a complex fashion:

 * {| class="wikitable"

! ||Singular Object||Plural Object ! 1st Person Sing. ! 1st Person Pl. ! 2nd Person Sing. ! 2nd Person Pl. ! 3rd Person Sing. ! 3rd Person Pl.
 * + Future (Transitive)
 * }
 * }
 * }

Aspect
There are two main aspectual distinctions in Kashmiri, perfective and imperfective. Both employ a participle formed by the addition of a suffix to the verb stem, as well as the fully conjugated auxiliary /aːsun/ ("to be")—which agrees according to gender, number and person with the object (for transitive verbs) or the subject (for intransitive verbs).

Like the auxiliary, the participle suffix used with the perfective aspect (expressing completed or concluded action) agrees in gender and number with the object (for transitive verbs) or subject (for intransitives) as illustrated below:

 * {| class="wikitable"

! rowspan="2" | ! colspan="2" | Masculine ! colspan="2" | Feminine ! singular || plural ! singular || plural
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }

The imperfective (expressing habitual or progressive action) is simpler, taking the participle suffix -/aːn/ in all forms, with only the auxiliary showing agreement. A type of iterative aspect can be expressed by reduplicating the imperfective participle.

Pronouns
Pronouns are declined according to person, gender, number and case, although only third person pronouns are overtly gendered. Also in third person, a distinction is made between three degrees of proximity, called proximate, remote I and remote II.

 * {| class="wikitable"

! rowspan="2" colspan="2" | ! colspan="2" | Masculine ! colspan="2" | Feminine ! singular || plural ! singular || plural ! colspan="2" | 1st Person ! colspan="2" | 2nd Person ! rowspan="3" | 3rd Person ! proximate ! remote I ! remote II
 * + Nominative
 * or  or
 * or  or
 * or  or
 * or  or
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }

 * {| class="wikitable"

! rowspan="2" colspan="2" | ! colspan="2" | Masculine ! colspan="2" | Feminine ! singular || plural ! singular || plural ! colspan="2" | 1st Person ! colspan="2" | 2nd Person ! rowspan="3" | 3rd Person ! proximate ! remote I ! remote II
 * + Ergative
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }

 * {| class="wikitable"

! rowspan="2" colspan="2" | ! colspan="2" | Masculine ! colspan="2" | Feminine ! singular || plural ! singular || plural ! colspan="2" | 1st Person ! colspan="2" | 2nd Person ! rowspan="3" | 3rd Person ! proximate ! remote I ! remote II
 * + Dative
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }

 * {| class="wikitable"

! rowspan="2" colspan="2" | ! colspan="2" | Masculine ! colspan="2" | Feminine ! singular || plural ! singular || plural ! colspan="2" | 1st Person ! colspan="2" | 2nd Person ! rowspan="3" | 3rd Person ! proximate ! remote I ! remote II
 * + Ablative
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }

There is also a dedicated genitive pronoun set, in contrast to the way that the genitive is constructed adverbially elsewhere. As with future tense, these forms agree with both the subject and direct object in person and number.

 * {| class="wikitable"

! rowspan="2" | ! colspan="2" | Masculine ! colspan="2" | Feminine ! singular || plural ! singular || plural
 * 1st Sing.||
 * 1st Sing.||

 * 1st Pl.||
 * 1st Pl.||

 * 2nd Sing.||
 * 2nd Sing.||

 * 2nd Pl.||
 * 2nd Pl.||

 * 3rd Sing. Prox.||
 * 3rd Sing. Prox.||

 * 3rd Pl. Prox.||
 * 3rd Pl. Prox.||

 * 3rd Sing. R I||
 * 3rd Sing. R I||

 * 3rd Pl. R I||
 * 3rd Pl. R I||

 * 3rd Sing. R II||
 * 3rd Sing. R II||

 * 3rd Pl. R II||
 * 3rd Pl. R II||

 * }
 * }

Adjectives
There are two kinds of adjectives in Kashmiri, those that agree with their referent noun (according to case, gender and number) and those that are not declined at all. Most adjectives are declined, and generally take the same endings and gender-specific stem changes as nouns. The declinable adjective endings are provided in the table below, using the adjective /wɔzul/ ("red"):

 * {| class="wikitable"

! rowspan="2" | ! colspan="2" | Masculine ! colspan="2" | Feminine ! singular || plural ! singular || plural !Nom. !Erg. !Dat. !Abl.
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }

Among those adjectives not declined are adjectives that end in -lad or -a, adjectives borrowed from other languages, and a few isolated irregulars.

The comparative and superlative forms of adjectives are formed with the words tsor ("more") and sitha ("most"), respectively.

Numerals
Within the Kashmir language, numerals are separated into cardinal numbers and ordinal numbers. These numeral forms, as well as their aggregative (both, all the five, etc.), multiplicative (two times, four times, etc.), and emphatic forms (only one, only three, etc.) are provided by the table below.

 * {| class="wikitable"

- for feminine - for feminine
 * ||Cardinal||Ordinal||Aggregative||Multiplicative||Emphatic
 * Suffix|| ||- for masculine
 * Suffix|| ||- for masculine
 * Suffix|| ||- for masculine
 * -[waj] ||- or - for masculine
 * -[j]
 * 0.
 * 0.

 * 1.||
 * 1.||
 * 1.||
 * 1.||
 * 1.||
 * 1.||

or or
 * or
 * || or

 * 2.||
 * 2.||

or
 * or

or
 * or

 * 3.||
 * 3.||

or
 * or

or
 * or

 * 4.||
 * 4.||

or
 * or

or
 * or

or or
 * 5.|| or
 * 5.|| or
 * or

or
 * or

 * 6.
 * 6.

or
 * or

or
 * or

 * 7.
 * 7.

or
 * or

or
 * or

 * 8.
 * 8.

or
 * or

or

or

or
 * or

 * 9.
 * 9.

or
 * or

or
 * or

or or
 * 10.
 * or
 * 10.
 * or
 * or

or
 * or

or
 * 11.
 * or
 * or
 * or

or or
 * 12.
 * or
 * 12.
 * or
 * 12.
 * or
 * or

or
 * 13.
 * 13.
 * 13.
 * 13.
 * 13.

 * or

or
 * 14.
 * 14.
 * 14.
 * 14.
 * 14.

 * or

or
 * 15.
 * 15.
 * 15.
 * 15.
 * 15.

 * or

or
 * 16.
 * 16.
 * 16.
 * 16.
 * 16.

 * or

or
 * 17.
 * 17.
 * 17.
 * 17.
 * 17.

 * or

or
 * 18.
 * 18.
 * 18.
 * 18.
 * 18.

 * or

or
 * 19.
 * 19.
 * 19.
 * 19.
 * 19.

 * or

or
 * 20.
 * 20.
 * 20.
 * 20.
 * 20.

 * or

or
 * 21.
 * 21.
 * 21.
 * 21.
 * 21.

 * or

or
 * 22.
 * 22.
 * 22.
 * 22.
 * 22.

 * or

or
 * 23.
 * 23.
 * 23.
 * 23.
 * 23.

 * or

or
 * 24.
 * 24.
 * 24.
 * 24.
 * 24.

 * or

or
 * 25.
 * 25.
 * 25.
 * 25.
 * 25.

 * or

or
 * 26.
 * 26.
 * 26.
 * 26.
 * 26.

 * or

or
 * 27.
 * 27.
 * 27.
 * 27.
 * 27.

 * or

or
 * 28.
 * 28.
 * 28.
 * 28.
 * 28.

 * or

or
 * 29.
 * 29.
 * 29.
 * 29.
 * 29.

 * or

or
 * 30.
 * 30.
 * 30.
 * 30.
 * 30.

 * or

or
 * 31.
 * 31.
 * 31.
 * 31.
 * 31.

 * or

or
 * 32.
 * 32.
 * 32.
 * 32.
 * 32.

 * or

or
 * 33.
 * 33.
 * 33.
 * 33.
 * 33.

 * or

or
 * 34.
 * 34.
 * 34.
 * 34.
 * 34.

 * or

or or
 * 35.
 * or
 * 35.
 * or
 * 35.
 * or
 * or

or

or

or
 * 36.
 * 36.
 * 36.
 * 36.
 * 36.

 * or

or
 * 37.
 * 37.
 * 37.
 * 37.
 * 37.

 * or

or
 * 38.
 * 38.
 * 38.
 * 38.
 * 38.

 * or

or or
 * 39.
 * or
 * 39.
 * or
 * 39.
 * or
 * or

or or
 * 40.
 * or
 * 40.
 * or
 * 40.
 * or
 * or

or or
 * 41.
 * or
 * 41.
 * or
 * 41.
 * or
 * or

or or
 * 42.
 * or
 * 42.
 * or
 * 42.
 * or
 * or

or or
 * 43.
 * or
 * 43.
 * or
 * 43.
 * or
 * or

or or
 * 44.
 * or
 * 44.
 * or
 * 44.
 * or
 * or

or or  or  or
 * 45.
 * or or  or
 * 45.
 * or or  or
 * 45.
 * or or  or
 * or

or

or

or or
 * 46.
 * or
 * 46.
 * or
 * 46.
 * or
 * or

or or
 * 47.
 * or
 * 47.
 * or
 * 47.
 * or
 * or

or or
 * 48.
 * or
 * 48.
 * or
 * 48.
 * or
 * or

or
 * 49.
 * 49.
 * 49.
 * 49.
 * 49.

 * or

or
 * 50.
 * 50.
 * 50.
 * 50.
 * 50.

 * or

or
 * 51.
 * 51.
 * 51.
 * 51.
 * 51.

 * or

or
 * 52.
 * 52.
 * 52.
 * 52.
 * 52.

 * or

or or
 * 53.
 * or
 * 53.
 * or
 * 53.
 * or
 * or

or

or

or
 * 54.
 * 54.
 * 54.
 * 54.
 * 54.

 * or

or or
 * 55.
 * or
 * 55.
 * or
 * 55.
 * or
 * or

or

or

or
 * 56.
 * 56.
 * 56.
 * 56.
 * 56.

 * or

or
 * 57.
 * 57.
 * 57.
 * 57.
 * 57.

 * or

or
 * 58.
 * 58.
 * 58.
 * 58.
 * 58.

 * or

or
 * 59.
 * 59.
 * 59.
 * 59.
 * 59.

 * or

or
 * 60.
 * 60.
 * 60.
 * 60.
 * 60.

 * or

or
 * 61.
 * 61.
 * 61.
 * 61.
 * 61.

 * or

or
 * 62.
 * 62.
 * 62.
 * 62.
 * 62.

 * or

or or
 * 63.
 * or
 * 63.
 * or
 * 63.
 * or
 * or

or

or

or
 * 64.
 * 64.
 * 64.
 * 64.
 * 64.

 * or

or or
 * 65.
 * or
 * 65.
 * or
 * 65.
 * or
 * or

or

or

or
 * 66.
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Vocabulary
Kashmiri is an Indo-Aryan language and was heavily influenced by Sanskrit, especially early on. After the arrival of Islamic administrative rule in India, Kashmiri acquired many Persian loanwords. In modern times, Kashmiri vocabulary has imported words from English, Hindustani and Punjabi.

Preservation of old Indo-Aryan vocabulary
Kashmiri retains several features of Old Indo-Aryan that have been lost in other modern Indo-Aryan languages such as Hindi-Urdu, Punjabi and Sindhi. Some vocabulary features that Kashmiri preserves clearly date from the Vedic Sanskrit era and had already been lost even in Classical Sanskrit. This includes the word-form yodvai (meaning if), which is mainly found in Vedic Sanskrit texts. Classical Sanskrit and modern Indo-Aryan use the word yadi instead.

First person pronoun
Both the Indo-Aryan and Iranian branches of the Indo-Iranian family have demonstrated a strong tendency to eliminate the distinctive first person pronoun ("I") used in the nominative (subject) case. The Indo-European root for this is reconstructed as *eǵHom, which is preserved in Sanskrit as aham and in Avestan Persian as azam. This contrasts with the m- form ("me", "my") that is used for the accusative, genitive, dative, ablative cases. Sanskrit and Avestan both used forms such as ma(-m). However, in languages such as Modern Persian, Baluchi, Hindi and Punjabi, the distinct nominative form has been entirely lost and replaced with m- in words such as ma-n and mai. However, Kashmiri belongs to a relatively small set that preserves the distinction. 'I' is ba/bi/bo in various Kashmiri dialects, distinct from the other me terms. 'Mine' is myon in Kashmiri. Other Indo-Aryan languages that preserve this feature include Dogri (aun vs me-), Gujarati (hu-n vs ma-ri), Konkani (hā̃v vs mhazo), and Braj (hau-M vs mai-M). The Iranian Pashto preserves it too (za vs. maa), as well as Nuristani languages, such as Askunu (âi vs iũ).

Variations
There are very minor differences between the Kashmiri spoken by Hindus and Muslims. For 'fire', a traditional Hindu uses the word  while a Muslim more often uses the Arabic word.

Perso-Arabic script
Art. 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."

Sharada script
Verses by Lalleshwari:

"I kept reciting the unique divine word "Om" and kept it safe in my heart through my resolute dedication and love. I was simply ash and by its divine grace got metamorphosed into gold."

One who recites the divine word "Omkār" by devotion is capable to build a bridge between his own and the cosmic consciousness. By staying committed to this sacred word, one doesn't require any other mantra out of thousands others.

title: Kashmiri language


text:
Polyarny, Murmansk Oblast

Polyarny (Поля́рный) is a town and the administrative center of the closed administrative-territorial formation of Alexandrovsk in Murmansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the outermost western side of the Kola Bay. Population:

It was previously known as Alexandrovsk (until 15 March 1926), Alexandrovskoye (until 11 March 1931), Polyarnoye (until 19 September 1939).

History
It was founded in 1896 and named Alexandrovsk (Алекса́ндровск) in honor of Tsar Alexander III. Other sources, however, state that the original name was Alexandrovsk-na-Murmane (Алекса́ндровск-на-Му́рмане), it was called so after Alexandra Fyodorovna, wife of Emperor Nicholas II, and did not become known as "Alexandrovsk" until later.

Town status was granted to it on 1899. At the same time, Alexandrovsk became an uyezd town, for which reason Kolsky Uyezd was renamed Alexandrovsky.

On 3 May 1920 the Alexandrovskaya Volost Executive Committee divided the territory of the volost into six selsoviets, including Alexandrovsky Selsoviet with the administrative center in Alexandrovsk. However, the Murmansky Uyezd Executive Committee's did not approve the creation of all six selsoviets, with Alexandrovsky Selsoviet being one which did not get an approval.

On 16 October 1925, when the Murmansk Governorate Commission meeting initiated work on compiling lists of the urban and rural localities — Murmansk, Alexandrovsk, and Kola were categorized as urban; however, a recommendation was sent to the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTsIK) to demote the latter two to rural localities due to economic conditions, sparse population, low trade volume, lack of industrial enterprises, and "general regression". On 9 January 1926 the assembly of the town residents created Alexandrovsky Selsoviet and on 15 March 1926, when the VTsIK approved the recommendation to demote the towns, Alexandrovsk and Kola were re-categorized as rural localities. At the same time the name was unofficially changed to Alexandrovskoye (Александровское).

On 12 January 1931 the Third Congress of the Soviets of Alexandrovsky District issued a resolution, renaming the district "Polyarny"; at the same time the village of Alexandrovskoye was renamed Polyarnoye (Поля́рное). On 5 March 1931 the new name of the district was approved by the administrative commission of the Leningrad Oblast Executive Committee, and on 11 March 1931 by its Presidium. While the Presidium of the VTsIK never officially gave a final approval for this renaming, de facto the name has changed.

In 1934, the Murmansk Okrug Executive Committee unsuccessfully petitioned to grant town status to Polyarnoye and to rename it Krasnoflotsk. Town status, however, was not granted to Polyarnoye until 19 September 1939, when it was at the same time renamed Polyarny.

By the 14 June 1956 Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR, Polyarny was demoted in status to that of a town under district jurisdiction and subordinated to Polyarny District. By the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR of 9 July 1960, Polyarny District was abolished and the town of Polyarny was administratively subordinated to Severomorsk. Finally, by the 17 June 1983 Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR Decree, the town was elevated in status to that of a town under oblast jurisdiction, and by the 10 August 1983 Decision of the Murmansk Oblast Executive Committee, several inhabited localities previously subordinated to Severomorsk were transferred to it.

Administrative and municipal status
Within the framework of administrative divisions, Polyarny serves as the administrative center of the closed administrative-territorial formation of Alexandrovsk—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts—to which it is directly subordinated. Within the framework of municipal divisions, the town of Polyarny is a part of Alexandrovsk Urban Okrug.

Military
Since the 1930s Polyarny has had naval significance. Russian Shipyard Number 10 (Shkval) is located in Polyarny, and in the West is more often referred to by the name of the town than by its official name. As the first nuclear-powered submarines were delivered to the Northern Fleet at the end of the 1950s, the yard was modified for docking and repair of these vessels. As Soviet (and now Russian) naval nuclear vessels are decommissioned, they are laid up at Polyarny to await defuelling and disposal.

Honors
In a presidential decree dated 5 May 2008 the town of Polyarny was awarded the title of City of Military Glory.

In popular culture
In the Tom Clancy novel The Hunt for Red October, the experimental Typhoon-class nuclear submarine Red October departs on her voyage from Polyarny.

In the 2018 action thriller Hunter Killer, directed by Donovan Marsh, the main plot revolves around an attempted coup d'état against the Russian President while he is visiting a major Russian base of naval operations in Polyarny.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Polyarny, Murmansk Oblast


text:
Metro International

Metro International is a Swedish media company based in Luxembourg that publishes the freesheet newspaper Metro. This newspaper is primarily intended for city commuters in business areas.

The company was founded by Per Andersson and started as a subsidiary of the Modern Times Group along with Viasat Broadcasting. It is now controlled through the Mats Qviberg owned investment company Custos. The first edition of the newspaper was published as Metro Stockholm and distributed in the Stockholm metro. , all European editions (except for the Hungarian one) have been sold.

Metro newspapers
, there were 56 daily editions in 15 languages and in 19 countries across Europe, North and South America, and Asia, for an audience of more than 17 million daily readers and 37 million weekly readers.

Metro newspaper editions are distributed in high-traffic commuter zones or in public transport networks via a combination of self-service racks and by-hand distributors on weekdays. Saturday editions are published in Stockholm, Santiago, São Paulo, and Lima. The distribution points are located in high-density population areas.

Metro International launched several editions in Canada during 2000, leading to the creation of several commuter newspaper competitors, such as Sun Media's 24 Hours.

The local name of the Metro newspaper editions may vary due to trademark issues. Peruvian, Chilean, and Mexican editions are called Publimetro, and the Spanish edition is called Metro Directo.

Not all newspapers named Metro are part of the Metro International group. Associated Newspapers publishes another freesheet called Metro in twelve areas around Britain. This UK Metro is not related to Metro International, which used the name Morning News for its (now defunct) free sheet distributed there. However, Metro International and Associated Metro collaborated on the Dublin Metro Herald newspaper (launched 10 October 2005), which they both own a third of, along with The Irish Times. The Dublin Metro newspaper uses the Associated Metro logo and format, however. It is reported that Metro International has plans to launch a rival free evening newspaper in London.

There are also other examples of newspapers named Metro that are not part of Metro International Group. In Belgium, Mass Transit Media, a joint venture of Concentra and Rossel, publishes the free daily newspaper Metro. In California, Metro Silicon Valley is a free weekly newspaper founded in 1985. Neither of these newspapers have links to Metro International.

In Hong Kong, Metro International sold Metro Daily in 2013 to a local businessman.

Timeline of Metro editions

 * Metro was first launched in Stockholm on 13 February 1995.
 * The first international edition launched in Budapest, Hungary in Hungarian (1998) and became the most popular daily with 400.000 daily edition. The newspaper had two editions, in the countryside and in Budapest. The popular Metro - later renamed as Metropol - was sold to a Hungarian private editor in 2011 and became target of the political fights. The newspaper was closed in 2015. On 7 September 2020, the daily restarted with the British Metro look and the same name, renaming the pro-government tabloid Lokál.
 * A German-language edition is published in Switzerland by Metro Publication (Schweiz) AG under the name Metropol on 31 January 2000 as a direct competitor to 20 Minuten. The newspaper ceased publication without announcement on 13 February 2002.
 * In 2000, a Spanish edition named Publimetro, and is published in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with a circulation of 390,000. Facing competition from the free daily La Razón published by Grupo Clarín, Publimetro is suspended indefinitely a year later.
 * A weekly magazine named Metropop starts publication in Hong Kong on 27 April 2006 (published on Thursdays).
 * At the end of 2006, Metro started a dedicated technology paper, Metro Teknik (English section) which is distributed weekly to companies, science parks, and technical universities around Sweden.
 * Due to financial difficulties in the press sector in general, and the free press in particular, Metro International closed down its Polish edition on 5 January 2007. Earlier, the Danish afternoon version of the newspaper was closed down, and the business in Finland was sold.
 * As of October 2008, the Croatian Metro edition was also cancelled, due to disappointing advertorial income.
 * As of 29 January 2009, Metro International closed down its Spanish operations.
 * In 2009, Metro sold its US papers.
 * As of 31 May 2012, Metro International was delisted from the NASDAQ OMX Stockholm stock exchange.
 * In August 2016, the French version of the newspaper, published since 2002 and property of TF1 since 2011, is discontinued.
 * In September 2016, the Portuguese version of the newspaper, published since 2004 and property of Cofina since 2009, is discontinued.
 * In August 2019, the newspaper ceased operations in Sweden.
 * On 20 March 2020 the last Netherlands edition of the Metro, published since 21 June 1999, was distributed. It continues as an online news platform, owned by Mediahuis Nederland B.V.

Asia

 * South Korea: Metro is published in Busan and Seoul. It started as the first free newspaper in South Korea and is the only officially distributed free newspaper in South Korea following the bankruptcy of the free newspaper Daily Nocut News in 2014.
 * Hong Kong: Metro was distributed across MTR stations in Kowloon, Hong Kong Island, Tsuen Wan and Tseung Kwan O until 2019, when it stopped publishing newspapers. Since then, it has been an internet-only newspaper.

Europe
There are national editions in the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Finland, the Netherlands (online only), Russia, and Sweden (Metro). City editions of Metro are published in many major cities.

Belgium has a bilingual free newspaper with the same name, but it is not owned by Metro International. Likewise, Metro in the United Kingdom is not part of the network. In France, the Metronews has been acquired and merged by the media company LCI - itself property of TF1.

North America

 * Canada: The first Canadian Metro paper was launched in Toronto in 2000, and eventually launched in multiple cities across Canada through joint ventures with Canadian companies or through brand licensing. By 2020, only the French-language Montreal edition will remain.
 * English-language: Became a 50-50 joint venture with Torstar in 2001. In 2017, Postmedia Network acquired Metro in Ottawa and discontinued the publication. Metro International sold most of its stake in English-Canadian newspapers to Torstar in 2011. It continued to hold a 10% stake in the StarMetro newspaper chain published in Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Toronto, and Vancouver. Publication ceased on 20 December 2019.
 * French-language: Métro is published in French in Montreal and is wholly owned by Métro Média since 2018, which licenses the Metro brand. It is distributed throughout Montreal and its suburbs and has a readership of one million. Due to financial difficulties, its last edition was issued on 11 August 2023, and the company has since been declared bankrupt.
 * Mexico: Publimetro is published in Mexico City, Monterrey, Morelia, Puebla, Mérida, Leon and Querétaro.
 * United States: Metro is published in Philadelphia and Puerto Rico and was formerly published in Boston and New York City. The New York City edition was acquired by Schneps Media (which also acquired the Philadelphia edition of Metro) and merged the New York City edition of Metro with AM New York to form AM New York Metro.

Nicaragua: Metro is published in Managua.

Guatemala: Metro is published in Guatemala City.

South America

 * Brazil: Metro is published in major metropolitan regions including Belo Horizonte, and São Paulo
 * Chile: Metro is published in major conurbations including Concepción, Rancagua, Santiago, Talcahuano, and Valparaíso
 * Colombia: Metro is published in Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, and Barranquilla
 * Ecuador: Metro is published in Guayaquil, Quito and Cuenca
 * Peru: Metro is published in Lima

title: Metro International


text:
Kirundi

Kirundi, also known as Rundi, is a Bantu language and the national language of Burundi. It is a dialect of Rwanda-Rundi dialect continuum that is also spoken in Rwanda and adjacent parts of Tanzania (in regions close to Kigoma), the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, as well as in Kenya. Kirundi is mutually intelligible with Kinyarwanda, the national language of Rwanda, and the two form parts of the wider dialect continuum known as Rwanda-Rundi.

Kirundi is natively spoken by the Hutu, including Bakiga and other related ethnicities, as well as Tutsi, Twa and Hima among others have adopted the language. Neighbouring dialects of Kirundi are mutually intelligible with Ha, a language spoken in western Tanzania.

Kirundi is one of the languages where Meeussen's rule, a rule describing a certain pattern of tonal change in Bantu languages, is active.

In 2020, the Rundi Academy was established to help standardize and promote Kirundi.

Consonants
Although the literature on Rundi agrees on 5 vowels, the number of consonants can vary anywhere from 19 to 26 consonants. The table below is compiled from a survey of academic acceptance of Rundi consonants.

Vowels
The table below gives the vowel sounds of Rundi.

All five vowels occur in long and short forms. The distinction is phonemic.

Tone
Rundi is a tonal language. There are two essential tones in Rundi: high and low (or H and L). Since Rundi has phonemic distinction on vowel length, when a long vowel changes from a low tone to a high tone it is marked as a rising tone. When a long vowel changes from a high tone to a low tone, it is marked as a falling tone.

Rundi is often used in phonology to illustrate examples of Meeussen's rule In addition, it has been proposed that tones can shift by a metrical or rhythmic structure. Some authors have expanded these more complex features of the tonal system noting that such properties are highly unusual for a tone system.

Phonotactics
Syllable structure in Rundi is considered to be CV, that is having no clusters, no coda consonants, and no complex vowel nuclei. It has been proposed that sequences that are CVV in the surface realization are actually CV in the underlying deep structure, with the consonant coalescing with the first vowel.

Consonant harmony
Rundi has been shown to have properties of consonant harmony particularly when it comes to sibilants. Meeussen described this harmony in his essay and it is investigated further by others. One example of this harmony is triggered by and  and targets the set of  and  in preceding adjacent stem syllables.

Official use
Kirundi was recognized an official language in Burundi by the 1962 Constitution of the Kingdom of Burundi. In accordance with the constitution, many Burundian government orders, especially those printed in the Bulletin Officiel du Burundi from 1962 to 1963, were written in both French and Kirundi. After the constitution was suspended in 1966, Kirundi remained a de facto official language in the county, though its use in government documents declined. In 1972 Kirundi was adopted as the official language of instruction in Burundian primary schools.

title: Kirundi


text:
Highways in Australia

Highways in Australia are generally high capacity roads managed by state and territory government agencies, though Australia's federal government contributes funding for important links between capital cities and major regional centres. Prior to European settlement, the earliest needs for trade and travel were met by narrow bush tracks, used by tribes of Indigenous Australians. The formal construction of roads began in 1788, after the founding of the colony of New South Wales, and a network of three major roads across the colony emerged by the 1820s. Similar road networks were established in the other colonies of Australia. Road construction programs in the early 19th century were generally underfunded, as they were dependent on government budgets, loans, and tolls; while there was a huge increase in road usage, due to the Australian gold rushes. Local government authorities, often known as Road Boards, were therefore established to be primarily responsible for funding and undertaking road construction and maintenance. The early 1900s saw both the increasingly widespread use of motorised transportation, and the creation of state road authorities in each state, between 1913 and 1926. These authorities managed each state's road network, with the main arterial roads controlled and maintained by the state, and other roads remaining the responsibility of local governments. The federal government became involved in road funding in the 1920s, distributing funding to the states. The depression of the 1930s slowed the funding and development of the major road network until the onset on World War II. Supply roads leading to the north of the country were considered vital, resulting in the construction of Barkly, Stuart, and Eyre Highways.

The decades following the war saw substantial improvements to the network, with freeways established in cities, many major highways sealed, development of roads in northern Queensland and Western Australia under the Beef Cattle Roads Grants Acts, and interstate routes between Sydney and Melbourne upgraded. In 1974, the federal government assumed responsibility for funding the nations most important road links, between state and territory capitals cities, which were declared National Highways. Some sections of the 16000 km National Highway system were no more than dirt tracks, while others were four lane dual carriageways. The network was gradually improved, and by 1989, all gravel road sections had been sealed. In the following decades, the National Highway system was amended through legislation, and was eventually superseded in 2005 by the broader National Land Transport Network, which included connections to major commercial centres, and intermodal freight transport facilities.

The first route marking system was introduced in the 1950s by the Conference of State Road Authorities, which later became the National Association of Australian State Road Authorities (NAASRA) and then Austroads. National Routes were assigned to significant interstate routes "which, both now and in the future, comprise the more important arteries of road communications throughout Australia in all its aspects". East–west routes were planned to have even numbers, increasing from south to north, while north–south routes would have odd numbers, with numbers increasing from east to west. National Route 1 would be an exception, as a "circumferential route along the coastline of Australia". A state route marking systems was designed to supplement the national system, for inter-regional and urban routes within states. Each state could choose their own numbering scheme, as long as National Route and State Route numbers were not duplicated in the same state, or nearby routes in another state. When the National Highway system was introduced, National Routes along it became National Highway routes with the same numbers, but with distinctive green and gold route markers. During the 1990s, planning began for a new alphanumeric route system. Alphanumeric routes have been introduced in most states and territories in Australia, partially or completely replacing the previous systems.

History
The earliest needs for trade and travel were met by narrow bush tracks, used by tribes of Indigenous Australian prior to European settlement. The formal construction of roads began in 1788, after the founding of the colony of New South Wales. These roads were little more than cleared paths, constructed without grading, drainage systems, and road surfaces. There was no system wide planning for roads, with the Surveyor-General's 1788 proposed town plan dismissed as being too ostentatious; however, the arrival of Governor Macquarie in 1810 led to a planned system for roads and bridges, prior to actual settlement of areas, financed from government funds, public subscription, and tolls. By the end of his term in 1822, the colony had a network of three major roads, with the Great Western Road as the most important link, traversing the Blue Mountains from Sydney to Bathurst. Similar road networks were established in the other colonies of Australia.

Road construction programs in the early 19th century were generally underfunded, as they were dependent on government budgets, loans, tolls and public subscription. This problem was exacerbated by the huge increase in road usage, due to the Australian gold rushes. Local government authorities were therefore established as authorities primarily responsible for funding and undertaking road construction and maintenance. The increasing amount of motorised transportation in the early 1900s lead to another major increase in traffic levels. The vehicles also required higher standard of roads. State road authorities were established in each state between 1913 and 1926. These authorities managed each state's road network, with the main arterial roads controlled and maintained by the state, and other roads remaining the responsibility of local governments. Though legislation differed in each state, highways were generally established as a subset of state controlled roads, which were the most important links between major cities, towns, and regional centres.

The federal government became involved in road funding in the 1920s. The Public Works Act was passed in 1922, which distributed $500,000 to the states according to population levels, conditional on states matching funding on a "dollar for dollar basis". The funds were specifically aimed at maintenance of roads outside of metropolitan cities, and state expenditure needed federal government approval; however, the primary purpose of the act was to reduce unemployment. The Main Roads Development Act of 1923 made $1 million available for road construction, and specific road projects were funded under the Federal Aid Roads Act of 1926. The 1931 Federal Aid Roads Act removed matching conditions, and were less restrictive on the way the money was used due to poor economic conditions resulting from the depression of the 1930s. Funding conditions remained at this lower level until 1959.

The depression of the 1930s slowed the funding and development of the major road network until the onset on World War II. Supply roads leading to the north of the country were considered vital, leading to the construction of Barkly, Stuart, and Eyre highways. Over 960 kilometres of the Stuart Highway, from Tennant Creek to Darwin, was upgraded from an often impassable track to an all-weather sealed highway that could cope with heavy military traffic. The Eyre Highway across the Nullarbor was formed just by grading the surface material.

The decades following the war saw substantial improvements to the network, with freeways established in cities, many major highways sealed, development of roads in northern Queensland and Western Australia under the Beef Cattle Roads Grants Acts. The interstate routes between Sydney and Melbourne were upgraded with the first four lane dual carriageway section of the Hume Highway opening in 1961, and the completed sealing of the Princes Highway between the two cities in 1966. Large mining developments in the Pilbara region of Western Australia were undertaken lead to the improvement of the North West Coastal Highway from Carnarvon to Port Hedland, a project that involved building 30 bridges in a decade.

In 1974, the federal government assumed responsibility for funding the nations most important road links. Under the National Roads Act 1974, the most important roads between state and territory capitals cities were declared National Highways. The federal government fully funded construction and maintenance works undertaken by the states on these roads. The 16000 km of roads included in the original National Highway system varied greatly in quality. Some sections were no more than dirt tracks, whilst others were four lane dual carriageways. While undefined km was sealed, there was also 3807 km of gravel roads. The National Highway was gradually improved, with the sealed proportion increased from 73 per cent in the early 1970s to 88 per cent by 1981. The sealing works were completed in 1989.

In 1988, the National Highway became redefined under the Australian Land Transport Development (ALTD) Act of 1988, which had various amendments up to 2003. The 1988 Act also defined a category of "Road of National Importance", which were partly funded by federal government. The Introduction of the AusLink (National Land Transport) Act in 2005 superseded the National Highway and Roads of National Importance classifications, which were replaced by the National Land Transport Network. The criteria for inclusion in the network was similar to the previous legislation, but expanded to include connections to major commercial centres, and inter-modal freight transport facilities. All of the roads included in National Land Transport Network as of 2005 were formally defined by regulation in October 2005. Auslink has since been replaced with subsequent legislation under the federal government's Nation Building Program, which includes the National Land Transport Network. The National Highways road routes developed under the former system are still designated as National Highways on route markers and road guidance signs. However, the new alphanumeric route numbering system introduced to New South Wales and the ACT in 2013 does not distinguish between the former National Highways and other routes. VicRoads have, as of September 2013, similarly deprecated the National Highway route marker in favour of standard routes.

Route numbering systems
Roads routes in Australia assist drivers navigating roads throughout the country, by identifying important through-routes. The first route marking system was introduced to Australia in the 1950s. National Routes were assigned to significant interstate routes – the most important road links in the country. National Route 1 was designated to a circular route around the Australian coastline. A state route marking system was designed to supplement the national system, for inter-regional and urban routes within states. When the National Highway system was introduced, National Routes along it became National Highway routes with the same numbers, but with distinctive green and gold route markers. Alphanumeric routes were introduced in Tasmania in 1979, and during the 1990s, planning began for nationally consistent route markings, using the alphanumeric system. Alphanumeric routes have been introduced in most states and territories in Australia, partially or completely replacing the previous systems.

National Routes and Highways
In 1955, the Australian National Route Numbering System was introduced to simplify navigation across Australia. The National Route Numbers are marked by white shields that are present in directional signs, distance signs or trailblazers. The general rule was that odd-numbered highways travel in north–south directions and even-numbered highways in east–west directions, with only a few exceptions. National Route 1 was assigned to a network of highways and roads, which together linked all capital cities and coastal towns circumnavigating the mainland. The National Route system initially linked the centres of towns and cities and terminated at the junction of other national routes, however many bypasses have been constructed since then. National Routes often terminated at the metropolitan city limits rather than the individual city centres.

In 1974, the federal government assumed responsibility for funding the nations most important road links, with the introduction of the National Highway. These highways were marked with distinctive green and gold route marker shields instead of the plain National Route shield. Though the National Highway system has been superseded in subsequent legislation, National Highway route markers are still used on many of the routes. Additionally, National Highways and National Routes have been phased out, or are in the process of being phased out, in all states and territories except Western Australia, in favour of the alphanumeric system.

State Routes
Important urban and inter-regional routes not covered by the National Highway or National Route systems are marked under the State Route system. They can be recognised by blue shield markers. They were practically adopted in all states by the end of the 1980s, and in some states, some less important National Routes were downgraded to State Routes. Each state has or had its own numbering scheme, but do not duplicate National Route numbers in the same state, or nearby routes in another state. As with the National Routes and National Highways, State Routes are being phased out in most states and territories in favour of alphanumeric routes. However, despite the fact that Victoria has fully adopted alphanumeric routes in regional areas, state route numbers are still used extensively within the city of Melbourne as a part of its Metropolitan Route Numbering Scheme.

Metroads
In the 1990s in Sydney and Brisbane, urban route numbering system were streamlined under the Metroad scheme. Metroad route numbers were assigned to the key navigational corridors, along ring and radial routes, and marked by distinctive hexagonal shields. Most Metroads have been partially replaced with alphanumeric routes in Brisbane, and they have been completely replaced in Sydney.

Alphanumeric routes
Tasmania introduced an alphanumeric route numbering system in 1979, based on the British system from 1963. The new system aimed to upgrade the signing of destinations, including previously unmarked roads, and to simplify navigation by allowing visitors to follow numbered routes. National Highway 1 was retained as the only route without an alphanumeric designation. In the 1990s Victoria and South Australia also overhauled their systems. While South Australia discarded the National and State Route Numbering Systems, those shield-based schemes were retained in the Melbourne metropolitan area as the Metropolitan Route Numbering Scheme. The route numbers used in the alphanumeric schemes were generally inherited from the original National Route Numbering System, with only a few exceptions, and prefixed with letters denoting their grade. For example, Western Freeway is M8 until Ballarat and continues beyond as A8 Western Highway. They are not used extensively in the Melbourne metropolitan area where the blue-shield metropolitan route system is retained for most routes. The National Highways were retained, until 2013, but with the route numbers changed to alphanumeric designations.

New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory introduced the alphanumeric system from early 2013. Before being officially announced, new road signs were fitted with such numbers and then being "coverplated" with the existing route number. However, the new system does not distinguish between the former National Highways and other routes.

Alphanumeric routes have also been introduced for many major highways and urban routes in Queensland, although many other roads retain markers from the National Route, National Highway, State and Metroad numbering systems. According to the New South Wales Roads and Maritime Services, the Northern Territory has similarly begun converting their numbered routes to alphanumeric routes, with a "progressive replacement" scheme that sees alphanumeric route markers introduced only when signs are replaced. At this stage, 4 routes have been fully signed while another one is missing the prefix letter in all of its signs. While there are no immediate plans to introduce an alphanumeric route numbering system in Western Australia, it will begin converting once additional funds become available in the future.

Prefix letters
In the alphanumeric systems, a letter denoting the route's construction standard and function is prefixed to the route number, creating an alphanumeric route designation. One of six letters may be used:
 * "M" routes are primary traffic routes, called motorways in some states. These are typically dual carriageway, freeway-standard highways, but may also be used for rural roads that are nearly at freeway-standard, or at least are dual carriageways.
 * "A" routes are other primary highways, including urban arterials and interstate or interregional single carriageways.
 * "B" routes are less significant routes, either as an alternative to an "A" or "M" route, or linking smaller population centres to larger regional centres, but without being a major through-route in the region. These are the major road links in areas without "A" routes.
 * "C" routes link smaller settlements and towns to the rest of the major road network. They are used for roads without the significance of an "M", "A", or "B" route, but where numbering would assist navigation.
 * "D" routes are detour routes. These are only used in New South Wales with only two routes and
 * "R" routes are ring routes only used in South Australia with only one route
 * "ALT A" routes are alternative "A" routes only used in Queensland

Classification
Australia's major roads are managed by the states and territories. While some state road authorities use a road hierarchy with Highway as the highest classification, the classification of state-controlled roads varies between states, with differing classification names, definitions, and number of levels in the hierarchy. Road names do not necessarily correspond to classifications – for example, Great Southern Highway is not classified as a highway. A highway, or other classification level, may be composed of multiple named roads, and a single road name may have varying classifications along its length. Internal numbering schemes for such classifications do not necessarily relate to designated road routes – for example, Great Western Highway is Highway 5 for administrative purposes but is signposted as part of route A32.

Australian Capital Territory
The ACT classifies its roads into four groups, depending on its physical properties and role within the road network:
 * Arterial roads: These roads serve long-distance travellers within or between districts, and support large volumes of traffic. They may be limited access, or controlled-access. A small number of these roads have relatively high levels of property access due to city design requirements at the time.
 * Major collector roads: These roads serve local area traffic distributing to or from minor collector roads, and also link to the arterial network. Well designed property access is permissible.
 * Minor collector roads: These roads serve neighbourhood traffic, and provide access from the major collector roads into residential areas. Normal direct property access is permissible at this level. Secondary links to the arterial network are possible.
 * Access streets: These streets are the lowest road type in the hierarchy, and provide access to the bulk of residential homes.

New South Wales
In New South Wales, sections 46, 47, 50 and 51 of the Roads Act 1993 provide for the classifications of Highway, Main Road, Secondary Road or Tourist Road.

Northern Territory
In the Northern Territory, major roads are classified into three categories: National Highway, Arterial Roads, and Secondary Roads.

Queensland
In Queensland, roads are classified as: National Network Roads, State Strategic Roads, Regional Roads, or District Roads.

South Australia
South Australia's Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (DPTI) classifies state-controlled roads into three categories: National Land Transport Network; DPTI Maintained Road, Sealed; and DPTI Maintained Road, Unsealed.

Tasmania
In Tasmania, the most important state and regional connections, totalling 3650 km, are state-owned roads, which are further classified into a road hierarchy. The hierarchy consists of:
 * Trunk roads – major highways which are the "primary freight and passenger roads"
 * Regional freight roads – regional roads which connect heavy freight to the trunk roads
 * Regional access roads – providing access to Tasmania's Regions, with less traffic than trunk and regional freight roads
 * Feeder roads – connect population centres and tourist traffic to and from the rest of the state road network
 * Other roads – lower traffic roads, primarily providing access to private properties

Victoria
In Victoria, major roads are designated as either freeways (including tollways) or arterial roads (including other tolled roads), under section 17 subsection 1 of the Road Management Act 2004, and under the same act, section 14 subsection 1, VicRoads is named as the controlling authority in designating major roads as either freeways or arterial roads.

Western Australia
In Western Australia, roads controlled and maintained by the state road authority, Main Roads Western Australia, are either highways or Main Roads. Any road or section of road may be proclaimed a highway by the Governor of Western Australia, on the recommendation of the Commissioner of Main Roads, under Section 13 of the Main Roads Act 1930. Section 14 of the act allows for the creation of new highways. As well as this legal classification scheme, Main Roads Western Australia also classifies roads by the following functional hierarchy: Other classifications processes exist for planning, administrative, financial, and asset management purposes.
 * Primary Distributor: Provide for major regional and inter-regional traffic movement and carry large volumes of generally fast moving traffic. They are managed by Main Roads Western Australia.
 * Regional Distributor: Roads that are not primary distributors, but which link significant destinations and are designed for efficient movement of people and goods within and beyond regional areas. They are managed by local government.
 * District Distributor: Roads that run between built up area land-use cells and generally not through them, forming a grid which would ideally space them about 1.5 kilometres apart. They are managed by local government.
 * Local Distributor: Roads that carry traffic within a cell and link district distributors or primary distributors at the boundary, to access roads. The route of local distributors should discourage through traffic so that the cell formed by the grid of higher order distributor roads, only carries traffic belonging to, or serving the area. In rural areas local distributors connect to other rural distributors and to rural access roads.
 * Access Road: Provide access to abutting properties with safety aspects having priority over the vehicle movement function. In urban areas, these roads are bicycle and pedestrian friendly, with aesthetics and amenity also important. Access roads are managed by local government.

Federally funded highways
The federal government contributes funding for the following road links, which make up the national road network, under the Nation Building Program.
 * Sydney to Melbourne – Hume Highway/Freeway/Motorway
 * Sydney to Brisbane – the Pacific Motorway (Sydney–Newcastle), New England and Cunningham Highways route and the Pacific Highway route
 * Brisbane to Cairns – Bruce Highway
 * Brisbane to Darwin – Warrego, Landsborough, Barkly and Stuart Highways
 * Brisbane to Melbourne – Warrego, Gore, Newell and Goulburn Valley Highways and Hume Freeway
 * Melbourne to Adelaide – Western Highway/Freeway, Dukes Highway and South Eastern Freeway
 * Adelaide to Darwin – Port Wakefield Road, Augusta Highway and Stuart Highway
 * Adelaide to Sydney – Sturt and Hume Highway/Motorway
 * Adelaide to Perth – Port Wakefield Road, Augusta, Eyre, Coolgardie–Esperance (part) and Great Eastern Highways
 * Perth to Darwin – Great Northern, Victoria and Stuart Highways
 * Sydney to Canberra – Hume Highway/Motorway and Federal Highways
 * Melbourne to Canberra – Hume Highway/Freeway and Barton Highways
 * Hobart to Burnie including the link from Launceston to Bell Bay – Brooker, Midlands and the Bass Highway
 * Townsville to Mount Isa – Flinders Highway
 * Melbourne to Sale – Princes Highway
 * Perth to Bunbury – Kwinana Freeway and Forrest Highway
 * Melbourne to Mildura – Calder Highway/Freeway
 * Sydney to Dubbo – Great Western and Mitchell Highways
 * Sydney to Wollongong – Princes Motorway and Princes Highway
 * Melbourne to Geelong – Princes Highway
 * Perth to Geraldton – Tonkin and Brand Highways
 * Port Hedland to Karratha – North West Coastal Highway (part)

title: Highways in Australia


text:
Talk:SimAnt

Tie-in with book?
Is there a relationship between Sim Ant and the book The Ants, by some French with a name ending in -er? From memory, they appeared at the same time, and i thought then that The Ants influenced SimAnt.

Woops
Shoot... I just created an article for Sim Ant without realizing this one existed first. I'm somewhat new at this -- anybody have an idea about how to merge the two? --FleaPlus 02:11, 11 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Aaaand...merged!

--Furrykef 09:25, 18 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Amiga version
In the Amiga version of the game, you could dig into the red ants' nest by digging around the bottom area of your own. Was this feature / easter egg present in editions of the game for other platforms?

 * I remember that feature on the Mac version, so I assume so. -Peter
 * FWIW, the PC version also had that trait. IMO, it made the game far too easy. -Fuzzy 04:45, 4 May 2005 (UTC)
 * The game as a whole was too easy. Once you start the mating cycle, it pretty much wins the game for you. Often, the red ants will even drive the humans out of the house for you. 208.12.108.71 04:08, 21 October 2005 (UTC)

 * I recall this happening occasionally in the Super Nintendo version as well. Stovetopcookies 23:12, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Screenshots?
If there are no copyright issues and anyone's interested, I could get some screenshots from my copy pretty quickly. CrossEyed7 23:34, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

 * If it's to illustrate a point, I believe that falls within fair use. Go for it. :-) --TangentIdea 02:35, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Simant.jpg
Image:Simant.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.BetacommandBot 11:26, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

"Silly" Mode
I played the macintosh version of this and In that version there was a option that was called "Silly". When you turned it on the ants would say stuff in little text boxes and it could be pretty funny... For example, The queen ant would say stuff like "To think I gave up flying for this?" And soldier ants would say "Your queen wears army boots!" To other ants that they would fight.

This mode also existed in the Amiga version. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 131.234.106.197 (talk) 13:05, 20 May 2008 (UTC)

I remember this being either the PC or SNES version as well. --141.217.63.165 (talk) 15:27, 3 October 2008 (UTC)

SimAnt - The Electronic Ant Colony
Is considered Abondonware by some and is downloadable from the internet. but some sites charge you for it and I think that it may be illegal and that some legal justification should be brought down upon these villians. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 121.218.216.210 (talk) 04:42, 17 January 2009 (UTC)

Suggested rename/move
I suggest renaming this article to SimAnt: The Electronic Ant Colony. Additional discussion is happening here. SharkD (talk) 19:45, 3 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Many other SIM games also have subtitles but hardly any actually use them as a full name, exception being SIMIsle. Weaselboy246 (talk) 18:35, 16 April 2009 (UTC)

Release Date
The article says 1991; I don't doubt this but I'D like it to be more exact. Which month? I came to wikipedia looking for exactly that information. 2A02:8388:1602:6D80:0:0:0:1 (talk) 14:09, 27 January 2021 (UTC)

title: Talk:SimAnt


text:
Metro (British newspaper)

Metro is the United Kingdom's highest-circulation freesheet tabloid newspaper. It is published in tabloid format by DMG Media. The newspaper is distributed from Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays and the period between Christmas Eve and New Year's Day inclusive) mornings on public places in areas of England, Wales and Scotland. Copies are also handed out to pedestrians.

Metro is owned by Daily Mail and General Trust plc (DMGT), part of the same media group as the Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday, but in some areas Metro operates as a franchise with a local newspaper publisher, rather than as a wholly owned concern. While being a sister paper to the conservative Daily Mail, the newspaper has never endorsed any political party or candidate, and says it takes a neutral political stance in its reporting.

Origins and London launch
The Metro free newspaper concept originated in Sweden, where a publication of the same name was launched in 1995 by Metro International. British newspaper executives Jonathan Harmsworth and Murdoch MacLennan, from DMGT, were reportedly inspired by the idea and flew to Stockholm on a 'fact-finding mission' to develop their version. There were also reports in the late 1990s that both Metro International and Rupert Murdoch's News International were considering launching free newspapers in the UK that might prove a commercial threat to DMGT's businesses.

DMGT subsequently launched Metro, using the same name as Metro International's publications but with a different logo, on Tuesday 16 March 1999. This UK version of Metro had no relation to Metro International or its sister newspapers in other countries. Metro was launched initially as a London-only newspaper with an original print run of 85,000 copies, which were distributed via dedicated bins in London Underground stations. The newspaper was produced at DMGT's printworks and office complex at Surrey Quays in southeast London, away from the company's main newspaper office in Kensington, west London.

National expansion
In the years following its launch, the paper's distribution was gradually expanded to other major UK cities, including Manchester and Birmingham. By February 2003, Metro had become operationally profitable for the first time. Its reach was extended further in 2004, becoming available in more urban areas, including Nottingham, Sheffield, Bristol and Bath.

Metro's circulation continued to rise in the following years, though readership temporarily dipped after the 7 July 2005 London bombings. There was a 1.8% decline – the equivalent of around 9,000 readers – in copies picked up in the weeks following the attacks due to a reduction in the number of people using London's public transport network, coupled with the temporary closure of some London Underground lines where Metro was distributed.

Following several years of expansion, in 2006 the newspaper's production was moved to DMGT's main newspaper offices at Northcliffe House in Kensington, west London. That same year the newspaper expanded further, launching in Cardiff and Liverpool in joint venture deals with Trinity Mirror.

At the time of its tenth anniversary in 2009, the newspaper was distributed in sixteen "major" UK cities and its circulation had grown to 1.3 million. Despite the increase in readership, that same year, management also closed five regional Metro offices in Manchester, Glasgow, Newcastle, Birmingham, and Bristol, which were responsible for producing regionalised arts, entertainment, and food pages, citing "challenging economic conditions".

By 2011, Metro's distribution network had expanded to more than 50 cities in the UK. In that year media commentator Roy Greenslade said the publication was now making "bumper profits" and – mistakenly, as it is not national – dubbed it "Britain's most successful national newspaper".

Launch of Irish edition
Metro Ireland was launched in Dublin on 10 October 2005. It followed a legal battle over the title's name with the publishers of the Irish Independent and Dublin's Evening Herald, which launched its free newspaper called Herald AM. Both titles were loss-making, despite having a combined circulation of 145,000 in the Greater Dublin Area. On 2 July 2009, it was announced that the two freesheets would merge under the Metro banner, an operation completed by 2010. However, the Irish edition was closed down in December 2014.

London 2012 Olympic Games
For the first time in its history, Metro temporarily published seven days a week during the 2012 Summer Olympics and the 2012 Summer Paralympics, providing free copies to spectators at the Games as well as the general public. The newspaper struck a reported £2.25 million deal with sportswear manufacturer Adidas to run cover wrap adverts on each of the 17 days of the Olympics.

Rising circulation
After more than a decade in charge, editor Kenny Campbell was replaced as editor by Ted Young in 2014. Young's appointment coincided with several changes at the newspaper, including the separation of the print and online editions, along with an expansion of Metro's distribution in the UK.

In November 2016, comedian Richard Herring stepped down from writing his weekly column for Metro. Fellow TV comedian Dom Joly later replaced him in the slot.

In 2017, Metro became the most-read newspaper in the UK, according to monthly National Readership Survey figures. In March 2018, Metro officially overtook The Sun in total print circulation, according to ABC (Audit Bureau of Circulations (UK)) figures.

Print edition
The majority of the newspaper's content is produced at Northcliffe House in Kensington, west London. There are no regional editions within England and Wales, except for occasional differences in sports and arts content catered to specific local audiences. A separate, small team produces a Scottish edition of Metro; however, often the only substantial difference between the two versions is the front page.

The newspaper comprises three main categories: news, features and sport. The news section includes Guilty Pleasures, which typically contains one to four pages of showbiz and entertainment news; letters pages; and a page dedicated to business news. A popular feature of the letters pages is Rush-Hour Crush, in which readers send in anonymous messages to fellow users of public transport who they consider attractive. The column has led to at least one marriage. The news section also features occasional feature columns from political pundits such as Sophy Ridge of Sky News. However, while offering analysis, these columns do not typically express endorsements of political positions or candidates, thus not being considered as op-ed columns as in other newspapers.

The features section contains a mix of articles on travel, homes, style, health and science, as well as arts coverage and entertainment listings. The puzzles page currently features a crossword and Sudoku.

Online
Metro launched a website version of the newspaper in July 2001. Between 2001 and 2014 most print edition articles were published on this website, along with additional online-only content such as blogs and opinion columns.

In 2014 production of the newspaper and the website were separated. As a result, from 2014 Metro newspaper and Metro Online were produced by separate organisations and written independently by different editorial teams while remaining part of the same parent company. Deborah Arthurs was appointed Editor of Metro.co.uk in 2014, following her time as Femail Editor for MailOnline.

In February 2021, the newspaper's separate website metro.news was abolished and merged back with metro.co.uk. Separate editorial teams continue to produce content for the website and print editions.

Competition
Metro has faced competition in parts of the UK from other free newspapers, along with rivalry from paid-for national titles. Former editor Ted Young used to say that his 'mantra' was to produce a newspaper that its readers would be willing to pay for.

Metro International attempted to launch its own UK edition in 1999, being distributed in Newcastle upon Tyne's Tyne & Wear Metro system competing with DMGT's Metro. After battling alongside each other with the same name, Metro International's Metro changed its name to Morning News. This attempt was short-lived, however, and Morning News was discontinued shortly afterwards.

In 2005, Rupert Murdoch said he was worried by competition from Metro and that it had damaged the circulation of his newspaper the Sun. He told a press conference he was watching the free newspaper market "keenly and apprehensively". Murdoch's News International subsequently launched a London-based evening freesheet in 2006 called The London Paper. This was closed on 18 September 2009.

London Lite was another free evening newspaper published in London. It operated only from 2006 to 2009; it was owned by the same parent company as Metro, and was seen as a "spoiler" to protect against the commercial threat from The London Paper.

Another rival is the London Evening Standard, which became a freesheet in 2009, though unlike Metro it is only published in the London region.

App products
Metro launched two new mobile app products in 2016: 11versus11, which is a football news app, and Guilty Pleasures, a celebrity news app. Both apps offer personalised content based on a user's interest profile.

Controversies
In the run-up to the 2015 United Kingdom general election, the then UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage refused to be interviewed by Metro, accusing them of bias against his party. This was denied by the newspaper's editor. All other national party leaders agreed to be interviewed, including Conservative prime minister David Cameron and Labour leader Ed Miliband.

Before the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Metro published a cover-wrap advert on behalf of the Leave campaign, paid for by the Democratic Unionist Party. The following day, the newspaper published another cover-wrap advert, this time from the Remain campaign. Editor Ted Young said both adverts, which each cost more than £250,000 to place, generated around 300 complaints each, accusing the newspaper of both pro- and anti-Brexit bias. Concerns were subsequently raised over why the Democratic Unionist Party placed an advert in Metro because the newspaper does not publish in Northern Ireland.

In May 2019, the paper was condemned by the National Union of Journalists and the Public and Commercial Services Union, after an internal document leaked to The Guardian showed evidence that Amber Rudd, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, had authorised the use of at least £250,000 of public money for a ten-week run of advertorials to be placed in Metro newspapers to "challenge the myths" around the government's controversial Universal Credit programme. The Trussell Trust also ran a counter-campaign called "Universal Credit Uncovered". In June 2019, the Daily Mirror reported that 80 UK charities had filed a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority over "misleading Universal Credit adverts in Metro". In July 2019, the Advertising Standards Authority announced it was launching an investigation into the DWP ads. The move came after the Morning Star said that the Metro had not run the controversial ads in its 3 July 2019 print edition. On 5 November 2019, the Advertising Standards Authority ruled that the campaign was misleading, branding the ads "exaggerated" and in some cases "unsubstantiated". The Advertising Standards Authority upheld three complaint points whilst partially upholding a fourth.

Editors

 * 1999: Ian MacGregor
 * 2001: Kenny Campbell
 * 2014: Ted Young
 * 2014: Ted Young

title: Metro (British newspaper)