China says its spacecraft has more advanced technology. While the future of the nearly 23-year-old International Space Station remains uncertain after 2024, China says its newly equipped Tiangong station will be up and running by next year. WSJ unpacks the design and technology of both space stations. Photo: CCTV; NASA
Monthly Archives: August 2021
Museum Tours: Highlights Of The Met Cloisters, NYC
Join curators, conservators, and horticulturists as they discuss some projects they have been working on over the past year and experience the magic of The Met Cloisters.
Featuring: Griffith Mann, Michel David-Weill Curator in Charge, The Met Cloisters Carly Still, Managing Horticulturist, The Met Cloisters Lucretia Kargere, Conservator, The Met Cloisters Julia Perratore, Assistant Curator, The Met Cloisters Yvette Weaver, Assistant Horticulturist, The Met Cloisters
Featured Artwork: Book of Flower Studies, ca. 1510–1515, Made in Tours, France (acc. no. 2019.197) Altar Predella and Socle of Archbishop Don Dalmau de Mur ca. 1456–1458, Made in Saragossa, Aragon, Spain (acc. no. 09.146) Apse from San Martin at Fuentidueña, ca. 1175–1200, Made in Segovia, Castile-León, Spain (L.58.86a–f) Video by Steadfast Productions in association with The Met
Aerial Views: Dominican Republic (4K Video)
The Dominican Republic is a Caribbean nation that shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti to the west. It’s known for its beaches, resorts and golfing. Its terrain comprises rainforest, savannah and highlands, including Pico Duarte, the Caribbean’s tallest mountain. Capital city Santo Domingo has Spanish landmarks like the Gothic Catedral Primada de America dating back 5 centuries in its Zona Colonial district.
News: Top 5 Stories For August 20, 2021 (Reuters)
August 20, 2021: Biden, Afghanistan, Capitol bomb threat, Storm Grace, COVID booster shot, Australia
1. President Joe Biden is brushing off criticism of his administration’s chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal because he and his aides believe the political fallout at home will be limited, according to White House allies and administration officials.
2. A man who claimed to have a bomb in a pickup truck near the U.S. Capitol surrendered to police after a standoff that paralyzed a swath of Washington for more than five hours.
3. Tropical storm Grace dumped heavy rain on Mexico’s Caribbean coast but appeared to have spared tourist resorts serious damage as it moved across the Yucatan Peninsula into the Gulf of Mexico, where it was forecast to strengthen again.
4. The Biden administration’s plan to provide COVID-19 vaccine boosters is based on concerns that a decrease in the vaccines’ ability to protect against milder infections could also mean people will have less protection against severe illness, a premise that has yet to be proven, scientists said.
5. Two million residents of Sydney will be under nightly curfew from next week to slow the highly infectious Delta variant of coronavirus that is spreading across New South Wales state.
Walking Tour: Basel – Switzerland (4K Video)
Basel is a city on the Rhine River in northwest Switzerland, close to the country’s borders with France and Germany. Its medieval old town centers around Marktplatz, dominated by the 16th-century, red-sandstone Town Hall. Its 12th-century Gothic cathedral has city views, and contains the tomb of the 16th-century Dutch scholar, Erasmus. The city’s university houses some of Erasmus’ works.
Poetry: ‘To John’ Keats By Inua Ellams (Video)
FT Weekend Festival 2021 commissioned Inua Ellams to write a response to Keats’s classic work ‘To Autumn’ marking his 200th anniversary. The animated poem ‘To John’ exposes the impact of humans on nature over those 200 years.
Views: Humanoid Robot Unveiled By Elon Musk
Walking Tours: Lisbon – Southern Portugal (4K)
Lisbon is Portugal’s hilly, coastal capital city. From imposing São Jorge Castle, the view encompasses the old city’s pastel-colored buildings, Tagus Estuary and Ponte 25 de Abril suspension bridge. Nearby, the National Azulejo Museum displays 5 centuries of decorative ceramic tiles. Just outside Lisbon is a string of Atlantic beaches, from Cascais to Estoril.
Video timeline: 00:00 Praça do Rossio 01:26 BAIXA and Rua Augusta 08:18 Arco da Rua Augusta 09:41 Praça do Comércio 12:47 Cais das Colunas 13:47 Ponte 25 de Abril 16:17 Rua da Prata 16:55 Rua do Comércio 19:48 Praça do Município 22:41 Rua do Arsenal 26:30 BAIXA and Rua Áurea 35:55 ALFAMA 46:13 Church of Saint Mary Magdalene 47:44 St Anthony’s Church 48:50 Lisbon Cathedral 55:58 Miradouro de Santa Luzia 01:00:10 Miradouro das Portas do Sol 01:03:34 BAIRRO ALTO and Rua da Escola Politécnica 01:05:38 Principe Real garden 01:07:57 Rua Dom Pedro V 01:17:07 Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara 01:21:00 Ascensor Glória 01:22:46 Church of Sao Roque 01:24:10 Rua da Misericórdia 01:27:54 Praça Luís de Camões and Italian Church of Our Lady of the Loreto 01:28:49 Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Encarnação 01:29:40 Rua Garrett 01:34:29 Rua do Carmo 01:35:50 Santa Justa Lift 01:38:38 Praça do Rossio 01:41:53 Praça da Figueira 01:45:20 Martim Moniz 01:48:30 Praça do Rossio 01:52:00 Praça dos Restauradores 01:55:21 Ascensor Glória 01:56:49 Avenida da Liberdade
Hilltop Village Tours: Assisi In Umbria, Italy
The hill town of Assisi in Umbria is one of Italy’s best preserved medieval villages. The ancient buildings are constructed from a local stone that has slightly pink color enhancing the visual beauty of this special place with a lovely network of pedestrian lanes to explore, some of them so steep they are staircases rather than streets. The main reason that most people visit the town is because it was the home of St. Francis, one of the Catholic Church’s most important saints, who is buried here under the great basilica that was constructed two years after his death in the early 13th century.
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