"Spearthrower Owl" is the name given to a Mesoamerican personage from the Early Classic period, identified in Maya inscriptions and iconography. Mayanist David Stuart has suggested that Spearthrower Owl was a ruler of Teotihuacan at the start of height of its influence across Mesoamerica in the 4th and 5th century, that he was responsible for an intense period of Teotihuacan presence in the Maya area, including the conquest of Tikal in 378 CE. "Spearthrower Owl" is a name invented by archaeologists to describe the Teotihuacan-originated spear-holding owl symbol, stylised as one or two Maya glyphs used to represent his name. One version of the ruler's name glyph shows a weapon combined with an owl sign. At Tikal, the name appears written once with phonetic elements, suggesting the Mayan version of the name is Jatz'om Kuy, "striker owl," or "owl that will strike"; the weapon-owl version is therefore the logographs for JATZ' together with KUY or KUJ. Various logographs or glyphs depicting an owl and a spear-thrower are documented in Teotihuacan and in the Maya cities of Tikal, Uaxactun and Toniná.

They may not refer to the same individual, or have other symbolic meanings. Maya inscriptions at several sites describe the arrival of strangers from the west, depicted with Teotihuacan-style garments and carrying weapons; these arrivals are connected to changes in political leadership at several of the sites. Stuart noted that the Marcador monument at the Petén Basin center of Tikal records Spearthrower Owl's ascension to the throne of an unspecified polity on a date equivalent to 4 May 374 CE. Monuments at El Peru, Tikal and/or Uaxactun describe the arrival of a personage Siyaj K'ak' somehow under the auspices of Spearthrower Owl in the month of January 378; the exact date of his arrival in Tikal is identical with the death of the Tikal ruler, Chak Tok Ich'aak I. Tikal Stela 31 describes that in 379, a year after the arrival of Siyaj K'ak' at Tikal, Yax Nuun Ayiin, described as a son of Spearthrower Owl and not of the previous ruler Chak Tok Ich'aak, was installed as king of Tikal, his rule saw the introduction of Teotihuacan-style imagery in the iconography of Tikal.

Stela 31 was erected during the reign of Yax Nuun Ayiin's son Siyaj Chan K'awil and describes the death of that ruler's grandfather, Spearthrower Owl, in 439 AD. Spearthrower Owl was mentioned in texts; the connection of Spearthrower Owl to Teotihuacan as well as the precise nature of Teotihuacan's influence on the Maya has been a hotly debated topic since the hieroglyphic texts first became readable in the 1990s. The controversy is related to the general discussion of central Mexican influence in the Maya area, sparked by the findings of Teotihuacan-related objects in the early Maya site of Kaminaljuyú in the 1930s; the controversy has two sides. The internalist side argues for limited direct contact between the Maya area; this side has been represented by epigraphers such as Linda Schele and David Freidel who have argued that the Maya had friendly diplomatic relations with Teotihuacan which caused the Maya elite to emulate Teotihuacano culture and ideology. The externalist side argues that Teotihuacan was an important factor in the development of Maya culture and politics in the Classic period.

This viewpoint was first associated with archaeologist William Sanders who argued for an extreme externalist viewpoint. But as more evidence of direct Teotihuacan influence in the Maya area surged at Copán and new hieroglyphic decipherments by epigraphers such as David Stuart interpreted Teotihuacan incursion as a military invasion, the externalist position was strengthened. In 2003, George Cowgill, an archaeologist specialising in Teotihuacan who had espoused a internalist perspective on Teotihuacan-Maya relations, summarised the debate, conceding that Teotihuacan had exercised some kind of political control in the Maya area in the early classic period and that left an important legacy into the late and epi-classic periods. In 2008 an interpretation of Spearthrower Owl-related iconography at Teotihuacan suggested that Spearthrower Owl was an important military god at Teotihuacan that had his given name to both a place known as "Spearthrower Owl Hill" and to the ruler mentioned in the Maya hieroglyphic texts

Based in Penang and founded in 1996, Island Hospital is a 300-bed private hospital in the city of George Town and one of the leading tertiary care providers in the country. Island Hospital has over 60 full-time specialists across 9 Centres of Excellence. At Island Hospital, patients have access to respected specialists in Malaysia, most of whom have been trained in the United Kingdom, United States of America and Australia; the specialists are experienced and renowned in their dedicated fields and are supported by a dedicated team of nursing and allied health staff. Besides boasting of a stellar team of medical professionals, Island Hospital offers a wide range of treatment services that are supported by advanced medical equipment and technology, including: HD 3D Tomosynthesis Mammography 3 Tesla MRI Fibroscan for liver diagnosis 3D Laparoscopic Surgery Anti-Gravity Treadmill QIAstat-Dx Bruker MicroFlex MALDI-TOF System Siemens Somatom Drive with unique Dual Source Computed Tomography Scanner Aside from that, the hospital’s medical infrastructure enables health-screening and other clinical investigation results to be released within 24 hours.

Island Hospital treats 300,000 patients every year with its signature brand of nurturing care and quality treatment. With 300 beds, eight operating theatres, more than 55 full-time consultants, more than 1,000 employees, each patient is given the best care to put them on the road to recovery; the following medical treatments are provided by the hospital: Bone & Joint Cancer Child & Baby Digestive Disease Ear, Nose & Throat Eye General Surgery Heart Internal Medicine Men’s Health Neuroscience Plastic Surgery Skin Women’s Health Psychiatry Clinical Psychology It has multiple Centres of Excellence such as: Diabetes Centre Digestive Centre Fertility Centre Health Screening Centre Heart Centre Movement Disorder Clinic Orthopaedic Centre Sports Physiotherapy & Rehabilitation Urology Centre Known for its excellent tertiary healthcare and innovative approaches, Island Hospital has bagged several awards thanks to its commitment in providing first-class service for all patients. Some of the awards include: Top Medical Tourism Hospital by the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council The Star Outstanding Business Award ’s Best in Marketing Gold Award Medical Tourism Hospital of the Year by Frost and Sullivan Asia’s Best Performing Companies in the Asia Corporate Excellence & Sustainability Awards On December 2, 2018, Island Hospital held a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the development of the Island Medical City at Peel Avenue and Pierce Road, making it the first medical hub in Malaysia and the largest, most advanced tertiary care facility in Penang.

The project, with a gross development value RM2bil, will take five years to complete. The first phase is slated to be completed at the beginning of 2021, where it will see 300 more beds added to the current capacity, making Island Hospital the first 600-bed hospital in the state. Stages will include additional facilities such as medical suites, ancillary facilities, a medical tourist hotel in order to meet healthcare travelers’ demands and the long-term plan of reaching a 1,000-bed capacity. IMC is expected to provide benefits which will spill over to other industries, along with 2,000 new jobs covering a broad skill spectrum ranging from basic labour to medical specialists, it aims to be able to lure home-grown talent to return to Malaysia and set up their long-term practice. Key Centres of Excellence that will be featured at IMC are: Chemotherapy & Radiotherapy Centre Day Surgery Centre Dental Centre Diabetes & Endocrinology Centre Digestive Health Centre Eye Centre Fertility Centre Health Screening Centre Heart Centre Neurology & Movement Disorder Centre Nuclear Medicine Centre Orthopaedic & Spine Centre Physiotherapy & Rehabilitation Centre Plastic & Reconstructive Centre Surgical Oncology Centre Urology & Men’s Health Centre Women & Baby Centre List of hospitals in Malaysia

The Azerbaijan People's Government was a short-lived unrecognized secessionist state in northern Iran from November 1945 to December 1946. Established in Iranian Azerbaijan, the APG's capital was the city of Tabriz, its establishment and demise were a part of the Iran crisis, a precursor to the Cold War. To supply the Soviet forces with war material through Iran and Soviet troops jointly occupied the country in August 1941. Soviet forces entering Iranian territory from the Armenian SSR and the Azerbaijan SSR and British and Indian forces entering from Iraq soon took the control of the country. On 16 September, the British forced Reza Shah to abdicate in favor of his son Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, who ruled until 1979. With the dethronement of Reza Shah in September 1941, Soviet troops captured Tabriz and northwestern Iran for military and strategic reasons; the Azerbaijan People's Government, set up by the Soviets, under leadership of Ja'far Pishevari was proclaimed in Tabriz in 1945. Lavrenti Beria was nominally in charge of the operation, but delegated it to Mir Jafar Baghirov, the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan in Baku.

The Democratic Party of Azerbaijan was created by the direct order of Joseph Stalin and capitalized on some local people's dissatisfaction with the centralization policies of Reza Shah. It was supplied with money and weapons by the USSR. Stalin wanted to make pressure on Iran to get an oil concession in Iranian Azerbaijan. During this time, a revival of the Azerbaijani literary language, supplanted by Persian, was promoted with the help of writers and teachers from the Azerbaijan SSR. In the quest of imposing national homogeneity on the country where half of the population consisted of ethnic minorities, Reza Shah had issued in quick succession bans on the use of Azerbaijani language on the premises of schools, in theatrical performances, religious ceremonies, in the publication of books; these directives were issued despite the fact that Reza Shah's mother Noosh Afarin and his wife Taj-Al-Molook Ayrimlu were both of Azerbaijani descent. The Firqah-i Dimukrat, or Azerbaijani Democratic Party, publicly announced its formation in Tabriz on September 3, 1945 by a group of veteran communists headed by Ja'far Pishevari.

After the announcement, the communist, Soviet-supported Tudeh party dissolved its Azerbaijan chapter and ordered its members to join ADP. ADP expanded throughout Iranian Azerbaijan, initiated a local coup d'état with help from Soviet army, who prevented the Iranian army from intervening. During the first week of September 1945, the Azerbaijani Democratic Party, led by Ja'far Pishevari, a long-time leader of the revolutionary movement in Gilan, declared itself to be in control of Iranian Azerbaijan, promised liberal democratic reforms, disbanded the local branch of Tudeh. In September 1945, at its first congress, the Azerbaijani Democratic Party authorized the formation of a peasant's militia; this militia started a bloodless coup on November 18, 1945 and by November 21, 1945 they had captured all remaining government posts in the province, Iranian Azerbaijan "became an autonomous republic under the direction of a 39-member national executive committee". The reality of the power seems to have been exercised by Mohammed Biriya, the Minister of Propaganda and head of the local secret police.

At the same time, the US was increasing its military assistance to the Iranian government. Under pressure by the Western powers, the Soviet Union revoked its support of the newly created state and the Iranian military succeeded in re-establishing Iranian rule in November 1946. According to Tadeusz Swietochowski: As it turned out, the Soviets had to recognize that their ideas on Iran were premature; the issue of Iranian Azerbaijan became one of the opening skirmishes of the Cold War, under the Western powers' pressure, Soviet forces withdrew in 1946. The autonomous republic collapsed soon afterward, the members of the Democratic Party took refuge in the Soviet Union, fleeing Iranian revenge. In Tabriz, the crowds that had just applauded the autonomous republic were now greeting the returning Iranian troops, Azerbaijani students publicly burned their native-language textbooks; the mass of the population was not ready for a regional self-government so long as it smacked of separatism. New declassified evidence of top secret documents from the Cold War implicates the USSR in forming the government of Pishevari by the direct orders of Stalin.

The Soviet military supported the new autonomous entity and prevented the Iranian army from restoring governmental control over the area. After the Soviet withdrawal, Iranian troops entered the region in December 1946 and Pishevari and his cabinet fled to the Soviet Union. According to Prof. Gary R. Hess: On December 11, an Iranian force entered Tabriz and the Peeshavari government collapsed; the Soviet willingness to forego its influence in Azerbaijan resulted from several factors, including the realization that the sentiment for autonomy had been exaggerated and that oil concessions remained the more desirable long-term Soviet Objective. On June 13, 1946, an agreement was reached between the Central Government and the delegates from Azerbaijan, headed by Pishevari. By that agreement, Pishevari agreed to abandon the APG's autonomy, to relinquish its ministries and premiership, to become once more part of Iran, its parliament was to be transformed into a provincial council - a system recognized and provided for in the Ira