Illustration - Loire Valley

Illustration - Loire Valley

FRANCE - LOIRE VALLEY - LOIR ET CHER (41) - CASTLE OF CHAMBORD : MOLIERE THEATER. PORTRAIT OF MOLIERE AFTER HOUDON. THE PARTIES OF LOUIS XIV IN CHAMBORD ALTERNATE BETWEEN COMEDY AND APARTMENT ENTERTAINMENT. A THEATER IS THUS CREATED IN THIS ROOM, FROM THE FIRST STAYS OF THE KING. THE STAGE OCCUPIES HALF OF THE SPACE, WHILE TIERS FOR COURTIERS AND ROYAL FAMILY SEATS SHARE THE OTHER PART. IN OCTOBER 1669, MOLIERE AND LULLY PRESENT A COMEDY-BALLET, "MONSIEUR DE POURCEAUGNAC". THE FOLLOWING YEAR, THEY PLAY FOR LOUIS XIV THE NEW COMEDY "LE BOURGEOIS GENTILHOMME", WHICH PARODIES THE RECENT OFFICIAL VISIT TO FRANCE OF A TURKISH DELEGATION. THE KING DECLARES: "MOLIERE, YOU HAVE NOT DONE ANYTHING YET THAT HAS ENTERTAINED ME MORE AND YOUR PIECE IS EXCELLENT". THE THEATER IS DISASSEMBLED AROUND 1745. Photo by Stephane Compoint/Only France/ABACAPRESS.COM

Australian student visa rejection rate rises

STORY: Australian student visa rejection rate rises SHOOTING TIME: Feb. 23, 2024 DATELINE: Feb. 24, 2024 LENGTH: 00:01:09 LOCATION: Canberra CATEGORY: SOCIETY SHOTLIST: 1. various of international students in Canberra 2. various of the Australian National University campus STORYLINE: According to the latest Australian government data, 80.9 percent of total international student visa applications in the six months to December 2023 were approved -- down from 86 percent in the financial year 2022-23 and 91.5 percent in 2021-22. It marks the lowest approval rate since 2005-06. The fall coincided with the December release of the government's new migration strategy, which places an emphasis on greater scrutiny for student visa applicants to end exploitation of the immigration system. Under the overhaul, colleges and universities have been placed into three tiers based on their history of visa fraud or other problems with international students. Those in tier one, including Australia's largest universities, ar

Giant panda cub Xiao Qi Ji celebrates 3rd birthday at U.S. zoo

STORY: Giant panda cub Xiao Qi Ji celebrates 3rd birthday at U.S. zoo DATELINE: Aug. 22, 2023 LENGTH: 00:02:20 LOCATION: Washington D.C. CATEGORY: CULTURE SHOTLIST: 1. various of the panda cub 2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): JAMIE QUICK, Visitor from Virginia Beach 3. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): BRANDIE SMITH, Director of Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute 4. various of the panda cub STORYLINE: Giant panda cub Xiao Qi Ji celebrated his third birthday at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C. on Monday. Animal care staff presented Xiao Qi Ji with a special panda-friendly fruitsicle cake made by the zoo's nutritionists in the morning. Keepers crafted the multi-tiered cake and "3" topper using frozen diluted apple and pineapple juices and decorated the tiers with apples, sweet potatoes, carrots and bamboo sprigs. Many visitors came to the giant panda habitat early in the morning for Xiao Qi Ji's birthday celebration and sang the birthday song together as the male cub ate the cak

Bags of radioactive waste from cleanup work getting torn

Bags of radioactive waste from cleanup work getting torn

FUKUSHIMA, Japan - Bags containing radioactive waste from decontamination work associated with the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster are piled up in five tiers at one of the provisional storage sites in the Futaba district of Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Aug. 7, 2014, with some bags beginning to tear due to wear.

Nigerian president swears in acting chief justice

STORY: Nigerian president swears in acting chief justice DATELINE: June 29, 2022 LENGTH: 0:00:39 LOCATION: Abuja CATEGORY: POLITICS SHOTLIST: 1. various of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari arriving at council chambers to swear in the new chief justice 2. various of Chief justice Olukayode Ariwoola being sworn in 3. various of officials STORYLINE: Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday swore in Olukayode Ariwoola as the acting chief justice of the federation, following the voluntary resignation of Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, the former holder of the office. Muhammad resigned as head of the judiciary on health grounds earlier Monday. His resignation paved the way for Ariwoola to immediately take office in an acting capacity as the most senior judicial officer in the country. President Buhari administered the oath of office to the new head of the judiciary arm of government at a short ceremony at the State House in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, demanding all three tiers of government must work harmo

University students commute by cable car in Israel's Haifa

STORY: University students commute by cable car in Israel's Haifa DATELINE: June 20, 2022 LENGTH: 00:03:03 LOCATION: HAIFA, Israel CATEGORY: SOCIETY SHOTLIST: 1. various of the cable cars STORYLINE: Israel has integrated cable cars into its public transit network in Haifa, a northern port city built in tiers extending from the Mediterranean up the north slope of Mount Carmel. The system incorporates six stations. Most of the passengers are students, with the journey from Haifa Bay Central Station to the Technion, Israel's biggest research center, taking about 10 minutes and another 9 minutes from the Technion to the University of Haifa. Passengers cover an approximately four-kilometer route up Mount Carmel in just under 20 minutes - with a unique view of the sea and no traffic jams. This saves them up to 25 minutes each way. There are 150 total cable cars with a capacity of 10 passengers each, departing every 15 seconds from the stations. The total capacity is 2,400 passengers per hour in each di

Mizuho, Mitsui Sumitomo joins list of 2020 Tokyo Olympics "gold" sponsors

Mizuho, Mitsui Sumitomo joins list of 2020 Tokyo Olympics "gold" sponsors

Yasuhiro Sato (L), president of Mizuho Financial Group Inc., and Koichi Miyata (R), president of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., pose with Yoshiro Mori, president of the organizing committee for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, in Tokyo on April 14, 2015, after signing up their companies as official "Gold Partners" sponsoring the Games, the highest rank in the three tiers of local sponsorship. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Nomura Holdings appointed "gold" sponsor of 2020 Tokyo Olympics

Nomura Holdings appointed "gold" sponsor of 2020 Tokyo Olympics

Atsushi Yoshikawa (L), chief operating officer of the Nomura Holdings Inc. group, and Yukihiko Nunomura, a senior member of the executive board of the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, hold a signed agreement during a press conference at the Tokyo Stock Exchange in the Japanese capital on March 25, 2015. The organizing committee has appointed the major Japanese financial group as an official "Gold Partner" sponsor -- the highest of three tiers of local sponsor status. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Nagoya Castle

Nagoya Castle

The northwest turret of Nagoya Castle to the right rear. The northwest turret uses old materials from the small castle tower of Kiyosu Castle built by Ieyasu before building Nagoya castle. It is the oldest building at Nagoya Castle. It has three tiers on the outside and the interior is three floors. To the left is the castle tower with golden dolphins on top of the castle roof.==Date:unknown, Place:Nagoya, Photo:unknown, (Credit:Nagasaki University Library/Kyodo News Images) [Cabinet Number11‐31‐0]

Bags of radioactive waste from cleanup work getting torn

Bags of radioactive waste from cleanup work getting torn

FUKUSHIMA, Japan - Bags containing radioactive waste from decontamination work associated with the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster are piled up in five tiers at one of the provisional storage sites in the Futaba district of Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Aug. 7, 2014, with some bags beginning to tear due to wear. (Kyodo)