Podcasts about Great hall

The team behind Pottermore Publishing and Audible's “Harry Potter: The Full-Cast Audio Editions” joins guest host Richard Addis to discuss one of the most ambitious audiobook productions ever attempted. Featuring more than 200 actors, original music, detailed sound design, and fully immersive Dolby Atmos® mixes, the series brings all seven books to life in a new way — while staying true to the text, the characters, and the world fans know so well. *NOTE: This interview may contain spoilers from the Harry Potter series.Joining today's conversation:- Ann Scantlebury - Head of Audio Development, Pottermore Publishing- Chris Jones - Senior Director of Production, Audible- Lawrence Kendrick - Co-creative Director, Sound Designer and Composer, String and Tins- Rob Baker - Head of Engineering, Forever Audio“We can take people on the Hogwarts Express. They can go through the doors into the Great Hall. They can hear the footsteps echoing. They can be there and they can have it all playing out around them. To us, that was incredibly appealing. It was always about creating something that felt very real to the listener, really putting them in the heart of the action.”—Ann Scantlebury, Head of Audio Development, Pottermore PublishingBe sure to check out all seven of “Harry Potter: The Full-Cast Audio Editions,” now available on Audible in Dolby Atmos.Please subscribe to Dolby Creator Talks wherever you get your podcasts.You can also check out the video for this episode on YouTube.Learn more about the Dolby Creator Lab and check out Dolby.com. Connect with Dolby on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.

WBZ NewsRadio’s James Roja reports.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

【欢迎订阅】 每天早上5:30，准时更新。 【阅读原文】 标题：Elon Musk Returns to Trump's Side in BeijingMr. Musk is part of a delegation of business leaders to China, where his interests include Tesla's electric vehicle factory and solar panels.正文： Nearly a year after his pugnacious exit from the White House, Elon Musk joined President Trump in Beijing on Thursday as an ambassador for American business in China. Mr. Trump's tariffs have complicated Mr. Musk's business interests in China. Though the two had previously fallen out, Mr. Musk stood alongside cabinet officials at the Great Hall of the People on Thursday when Mr. Trump shook hands with China's leader.知识点：pugnacious /pʌɡˈneɪʃəs/ 形容词，源自拉丁语 pugnare（意为 “战斗、打斗”），词根 pugn- 意为 “战斗”，后缀 -acious 表 “具有… 倾向的”本义为 “好斗的、好战的”，外刊政治语境核心义为（言行风格）咄咄逼人的、充满对抗性的核心搭配：a pugnacious exit（充满对抗性的离职）、pugnacious rhetoric（咄咄逼人的言论）、a pugnacious leader（作风强硬的领导人）・The pugnacious boy always got into arguments with his classmates over small things. 那个好胜心强的男孩总因为小事和同学争吵。・His pugnacious exit from the White House marked a tense end to his tenure as a government advisor. 他充满对抗性地离开白宫，为其政府顾问任期画上了紧张的句号。获取外刊的完整原文以及精讲笔记，请关注微信公众号「早安英文」，回复“外刊”即可。更多有意思的英语干货等着你！ 【节目介绍】 《早安英文-每日外刊精读》，带你精读最新外刊，了解国际最热事件：分析语法结构，拆解长难句，最接地气的翻译，还有重点词汇讲解。 所有选题均来自于《经济学人》《纽约时报》《华尔街日报》《华盛顿邮报》《大西洋月刊》《科学杂志》《国家地理》等国际一线外刊。 【适合谁听】 1、关注时事热点新闻，想要学习最新最潮流英文表达的英文学习者 2、任何想通过地道英文提高听、说、读、写能力的英文学习者 3、想快速掌握表达，有出国学习和旅游计划的英语爱好者 4、参加各类英语考试的应试者（如大学英语四六级、托福雅思、考研等） 【你将获得】 1、超过1000篇外刊精读课程，拓展丰富语言表达和文化背景 2、逐词、逐句精确讲解，系统掌握英语词汇、听力、阅读和语法 3、每期内附学习笔记，包含全文注释、长难句解析、疑难语法点等，帮助扫除阅读障碍。

Vor den Toren Londons erhebt sich ein Palast, in dessen Mauern sich einige der dramatischsten Geschichten der britischen Geschichte abgespielt haben. Hampton Court Palace war über zwei Jahrhunderte hinweg Residenz von Königen und Königinnen, Schauplatz politischer Intrigen, rauschender Feste und tragischer Schicksale. Und für viele Besucher ist es bis heute einer der unheimlichsten Orte Englands. In dieser Folge BRITPOD – England at its best nehmen Euch Alexander-Klaus Stecher und Claus Beling mit nach Hampton Court Palace. Hier herrschte Heinrich VIII., hier wandelten seine berühmten Ehefrauen durch die endlosen Gänge des Palastes, und hier soll bis heute der Geist von Catherine Howard erscheinen. Die junge Königin wurde wegen angeblicher Untreue verhaftet und später hingerichtet. Der Legende nach läuft sie noch immer schreiend durch die sogenannte „Haunted Gallery“, auf der verzweifelten Suche nach Gnade. Besucher berichten bis heute von einer seltsamen Atmosphäre an genau diesem Ort. Doch Hampton Court ist weit mehr als eine Geistergeschichte. Alexander und Claus erkunden die gewaltige Great Hall mit ihrem beeindruckenden Hammerbalkendach, besuchen die historischen Küchen, in denen einst hunderte Mitarbeiter täglich Mahlzeiten für den königlichen Hof zubereiteten, und entdecken einen der ältesten Tennisplätze der Welt. Lange bevor Wimbledon existierte, spielte Heinrich VIII. hier bereits eine frühe Form des Tennissports. Außerdem führt die Reise zu Thomas Wolsey, dem mächtigen Kardinal, der den Palast ursprünglich errichten ließ, zu Elisabeth I., die hier königliche Empfänge veranstaltete, und zu Charles I., der während des Englischen Bürgerkriegs in Hampton Court festgehalten wurde und der Überlieferung nach sogar kurz vor seiner Hinrichtung noch Tennis gespielt haben soll. WhatsApp: Du kannst Alexander und Claus direkt auf ihre Handys Nachrichten schicken! Welche Ecke Englands sollten die beiden mal besuchen? Zu welchen Themen wünschst Du Dir mehr Folgen? Warst Du schon mal in Great Britain und magst ein paar Fotos mit Claus und Alexander teilen? Probiere es gleich aus: +49 8152 989770 - einfach diese Nummer einspeichern und schon kannst Du BRITPOD per WhatsApp erreichen. BRITPOD – England at its best. Ein ALL EARS ON YOU Original Podcast.

In this solo episode of the Anglotopia Podcast, Jonathan Thomas delivers his definitive guide to Oxford — his favorite city in England outside of London and the subject of his guidebook 101 Oxford Travel Tips and Tricks. From the bleary-eyed chaos of his first visit in 2012 with an angry 16-month-old and the Mini Cooper factory ring road at midnight, to two stays as a student on the Oxford Experience program, Jonathan brings nearly 15 years of personal history with the city to bear on a comprehensive, enthusiastic, and practically useful travel guide. The episode covers how to get there, how long to stay, the Oxford Experience immersive student program, the colleges you must see, the Bodleian Library's remarkable layers, the essential museums, the unrivaled bookstore scene led by Blackwell's and its famous five-mile Norrington Room, Oxford's extraordinary literary connections from Lewis Carroll to Tolkien to Philip Pullman, the day trips that demand your time — including Blenheim Palace and the Cotswolds — and the practical tips that will make your visit infinitely more enjoyable. Links 101 Oxford Travel Tips and Tricks by Jonathan Thomas — [Anglotopia Store link] Oxford Experience at Christchurch English-Speaking Union Oxford Course Bodleian Library Tours — bodleian.ox.ac.uk Blackwell's Bookshop Oxford — blackwells.co.uk Oxford University Press Bookshop Scriptum, Turl Street Ashmolean Museum — ashmolean.org Pitt Rivers Museum — prm.ox.ac.uk Blenheim Palace — blenheimpalace.com Rousham House & Garden — rousham.org Didcot Railway Centre — didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk Oxford Walking Tours Morse Walking Tour Oxford The Randolph Hotel (now Graduate Oxford) Friends of Anglotopia ⠀ Takeaways Oxford is Jonathan's favourite city in England outside London — and most Americans either skip it or see it in a rushed half-day bus tour that barely scratches the surface. Two days minimum is the right call; three is better. Oxford is just 60 miles and 40-45 minutes by direct train from London Paddington, making it one of the easiest day trips or overnights in Britain — and you can also get there direct by bus from Heathrow without going into London at all. The Oxford Experience — a residential immersive programme at Christchurch offering one-week courses for adults in July and August — is Jonathan's single highest recommendation for anyone who wants to truly inhabit the city. Courses cost £1,500–£2,000 all-in and include room, board, lectures, and excursions; book in November when the schedule is released as popular courses fill within hours. The Bodleian Library is not one library but several — the Divinity School, Duke Humphrey's Library, the Radcliffe Camera, and the Weston Library — and the best way to see them properly is to book a guided tour well in advance, as they sell out. Blackwell's bookshop on Broad Street is arguably the greatest bookshop in the world — the underground Norrington Room alone has five miles of shelving beneath Trinity College — and Jonathan has never left without spending several hundred pounds. Staff will package books in brown paper and ship them back to the US at reasonable rates. Oxford's literary connections are extraordinary: Lewis Carroll wrote Alice in Wonderland at Christchurch (Alice was the Dean's daughter); Tolkien and C.S. Lewis met with the Inklings at the Eagle and Child every Tuesday through the 1930s and 40s; Philip Pullman set His Dark Materials here; Oscar Wilde studied at Magdalen; and Inspector Morse has made every corner of the city feel like a crime scene. The Eagle and Child — the Inklings' famous pub on St. Giles' Street — has been closed since COVID and is currently being refurbished by new owners. It must reopen as a pub by heritage law, and is expected to reopen either in 2026 or 2027; keep an eye on the show notes link for updates. If you're in Oxford for even one day, you must go to Blenheim Palace — just eight miles away by bus, the only non-royal non-episcopal palace in England, birthplace of Winston Churchill, UNESCO World Heritage Site, and arguably the greatest country house in Britain. A bus from Oxford drops you at the gates. Jonathan's top Oxford hack: stay for at least one night. By 4-5pm the tour buses are gone, Oxford becomes a completely different city, and the cultural life — theatre, bookshop talks, music — begins. Arrive early to beat crowds at the sights, then save the evenings for culture and quieter exploration. Avoid mid-April to mid-June (exam season, colleges restrict access), avoid July if you run hot (medieval stone buildings have no air conditioning and bake in the heat), and buy a fan the moment you arrive if visiting in summer. September and October are ideal months to visit. ⠀ Soundbites "Most of my early memories of Oxford were driving the ring road at midnight with a toddler who would not go to sleep and who would only stop crying if he was in the car. We drove round and around, seeing nothing other than the Mini Cooper plant every time we went past." — Jonathan on his first trip to Oxford in 2012. "Oxford has this warmth to it — that yellow beige Cotswold stone, weathered and warm. And there's this scholarly, bookish vibe from the place that you don't really get anywhere else. It's not just a campus. Oxford University is the town of Oxford." — Jonathan on why Oxford grabs you. "I was immediately spellbound. I loved it immediately. And that's the thing about Oxford — it grabs you once you visit, and you're walking around this beautiful architecture surrounded by deep, deep history. They don't even know exactly how old the university is. It's over 800 years old. When Oxford was founded, the Aztec Empire hadn't even reached its peak." — Jonathan on falling in love with Oxford in 2016. "There were riots. There was full scale urban warfare in Oxford in 1355 — the St. Scholastica's Day riot. 63 scholars and 30 townspeople were killed. As a result, the town was forced to pay annual reparations to the university in a formal ceremony that continued into the Victorian era." — Jonathan on Oxford's violent town vs. gown history. "You basically get to live as an Oxford student for a week. Morning is lectures, afternoon is tours and excursions, evening is formal dinner in the Great Hall. And one night you're invited to high table — suit and tie, port, mingling with the professors. It's a very quintessentially British experience." — Jonathan on the Oxford Experience programme. "I've never gotten out of the Norrington Room without spending several hundred pounds. Let me just say that. Five miles of shelving underground beneath Trinity College. So many books." — Jonathan on Blackwell's legendary underground bookshop. "The Pitt Rivers Museum is like the Victorian cabinet of curiosities. Dimly lit, quiet — maybe people don't even know it's there. Polynesian canoes, samurai outfits, weapons, armour. A strange and wonderful melange of human culture from all over the world." — Jonathan on one of Oxford's most atmospheric museums. "If you're in Oxford and you don't go to Blenheim Palace, you've wasted a trip to Oxford. It's the only non-royal, non-episcopal palace in England. I would argue it's probably the greatest house in Britain. And a bus from Oxford drops you right at the gates." — Jonathan on Blenheim Palace. "By four or five o'clock in the afternoon, the tour buses are gone. And it's just you and the people who live and work and study in Oxford. Oxford becomes a completely different place. That's when the cultural life wakes up." — Jonathan's key Oxford overnight hack. "Scriptum on Turl Street — if you're a bookish type, you will love this place. Beautiful blank books, journals, diaries, fancy pens. I have a beautiful leather book from there with gorgeous cream pages that I cherish so much I haven't written anything in it. I'm afraid to ruin it." — Jonathan on his favourite hidden gem shop in Oxford. ⠀ Chapters 00:00 Introduction — Jonathan sets up the Oxford guide episode and plugs his Oxford guidebook 01:48 Jonathan's Relationship with Oxford — Brideshead Revisited, American universities, and the Oxford DNA in US campus culture 03:30 First Visit: Oxford 2012 — Diamond Jubilee trip, an angry toddler, and the ring road at midnight 06:20 Second Visit: Oxford 2016 — The train from Paddington, the proper day, and falling in love properly 08:42 A Brief History of Oxford — Ford of the Oxen, Alfred the Great, Henry II, 800 years, and the St. Scholastica's Day riot 13:30 The University Explained — 44 colleges, town vs. gown, the founding of Cambridge by Oxford exiles, and Oxford today 16:10 How to Get There — Train from Paddington, Oxford Tube bus, direct from Heathrow, and why not to drive 19:30 Getting Around Oxford — Walking, taxis, park-and-ride pitfalls, and Tolkien's grave 21:10 Day Trip vs. Overnight — Why staying beats leaving, and how Oxford transforms after 4pm 23:40 The Oxford Experience Programme — Christchurch, Worcester College, the Nelson course, high table, and the Enigma course Jonathan wants to do next 33:15 Accommodation Options — Hotels, staying in colleges out of term time, and the Randolph (Inspector Morse's pub) 35:20 The College System Explained — 44 semi-independent colleges, how to apply, porters, scouts, and visiting hours 38:00 Must-See Colleges — Christchurch, Magdalen, Worcester, Merton, Wadham (Brideshead), and the peculiar All Souls 43:00 The Bodleian Library — Five buildings, Duke Humphrey's Library, the Radcliffe Camera, the Divinity School, and why you must book a tour 47:00 Radcliffe Square & St. Mary's Church Tower — The most beautiful urban space in Britain and the best views in Oxford 48:40 The Ashmolean Museum — Britain's first public museum, the Alfred Jewel, Guy Fawkes's lantern, Turner paintings, and it's free 51:00 The Pitt Rivers Museum — Through the Natural History Museum, the shrunken heads, Polynesian canoes, and the Victorian cabinet of curiosities 53:00 Carfax Tower, Oxford Castle & Prison, and the Covered Market — Views, ruins, Brown's Café, and Ben's Cookies 55:30 The Botanic Garden & Broad Street — Riverside walks, the Martyrs' Cross, and the Reformation in Oxford 56:30 Shopping in Oxford — The High Street, Blackwell's, the Norrington Room, OUP Bookshop, Scriptum, The Last Bookshop, and why to skip the Harry Potter tat 01:03:00 Literary Oxford — Lewis Carroll, Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Oscar Wilde, Philip Pullman, Inspector Morse, and the Eagle and Child update 01:09:00 Harry Potter Oxford — Divinity School, Duke Humphrey's Library, Bodleian courtyard, Christchurch Great Hall, and the new TV series 01:12:00 Day Trips from Oxford — Blenheim Palace, the Cotswolds, Stratford-upon-Avon, Rousham House, Didcot Railway Centre, and Bicester Village 01:18:00 Practical Tips — Book ahead, avoid exam season, avoid July heat, arrive early, save museums for the afternoon, walk everywhere, punt the river, visit Scriptum 01:24:00 Wrap-Up — Oxford rewards time and attention; two days minimum, the Oxford Experience if you can, and a call for listeners to share what they love about Oxford Video Version

Are you ready to put your wizarding skills to the test?

Denver International Airport's ambitious plans to revamp its infrastructure are taking shape. In this episode, we're joined by Phil Washington, the CEO of Denver International Airport, to discuss the latest developments. From the proposed underground tunnels connecting all concourses to the massive $2 billion Great Hall project, we dive into the details of these exciting initiatives.The airport's plans to create a seamless travel experience for passengers are well underway. With the new underground tunnels, travelers will be able to walk between concourses without having to brave the elements. But what's behind the decision to use tunnels over bridges? And what's the estimated cost of this project? Phil Washington shares the airport's vision and insights into the design and construction process.One of the most pressing questions on everyone's mind is where the lizard people will go. Phil Washington takes the bait and responds with a humorous answer. But in all seriousness, the airport is committed to making the tunnels a beautiful and accessible space for all travelers.Tune in to hear Phil Washington's update on the Great Hall project, which is not only ahead of schedule but also under budget. We also discuss the collaboration between the airport and airlines to fund the tunnel project and the challenges of making the tunnels compliant with modern regulations. Join us for an in-depth conversation with Phil Washington and get the inside scoop on Denver International Airport's exciting developments.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

【欢迎订阅】 每天早上5:30，准时更新。 【阅读原文】 标题：Why POTUS's China Trip Is Set Up to Fail正文： This is how things will go down. POTUS will arrive in Beijing this Thursday to be serenaded with gushing pageantry. There's the obligatory photo op at the Great Hall of the People before closed-door talks with his Chinese counterpart. Both leaders will emerge to a fanfare of superficial deals that each can claim as a win: the sale of American soybeans and perhaps jet engines that China desperately needs. They release statements pledging cooperation. Wheels up.知识点：go down /ɡəʊ daʊn/ (of events) to happen in a particular way; to develop. 发生；进展 e.g. I wonder how the party will go down if it rains all day. 如果下一整天雨，派对会进展得怎么样呢？获取外刊的完整原文以及精讲笔记，请关注微信公众号「早安英文」，回复“外刊”即可。更多有意思的英语干货等着你！ 【节目介绍】 《早安英文-每日外刊精读》，带你精读最新外刊，了解国际最热事件：分析语法结构，拆解长难句，最接地气的翻译，还有重点词汇讲解。 所有选题均来自于《经济学人》《纽约时报》《华尔街日报》《华盛顿邮报》《大西洋月刊》《科学杂志》《国家地理》等国际一线外刊。 【适合谁听】 1、关注时事热点新闻，想要学习最新最潮流英文表达的英文学习者 2、任何想通过地道英文提高听、说、读、写能力的英文学习者 3、想快速掌握表达，有出国学习和旅游计划的英语爱好者 4、参加各类英语考试的应试者（如大学英语四六级、托福雅思、考研等） 【你将获得】 1、超过1000篇外刊精读课程，拓展丰富语言表达和文化背景 2、逐词、逐句精确讲解，系统掌握英语词汇、听力、阅读和语法 3、每期内附学习笔记，包含全文注释、长难句解析、疑难语法点等，帮助扫除阅读障碍。

President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Wednesday to further extend the China-Russia Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation, while pledging to further strengthen political mutual trust, strategic coordination and practical cooperation between the two countries amid a fluid and turbulent international situation.The agreement was reached during talks between the two heads of state at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, before Putin concluded his two-day state visit to China.After their talks earlier on Wednesday, the two presidents signed a joint statement on further enhancing the comprehensive strategic coordination and deepening good-neighborliness and friendly cooperation between the two countries. They witnessed the signing of 20 cooperation docu­ments in areas including the economy and trade, education, and science and technology.The two sides also issued a joint statement on advocating a multipolar world and a new type of international relations, and reached 20 cooperation agreements in other areas.When addressing the media together after their talks, Xi said this was Putin's 25th trip to China since he first assumed the presidential office in Russia in 2000, which fully demonstrates the high level and uniqueness of China-Russia relations.Noting that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Russia strategic partnership of coordination, Xi said that over the past three decades, bilateral ties have reached the highest level in history as a comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era, setting an example for a new type of major-country relations.This year also marks the 25th anniversary of the signing of the China-Russia Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation. The treaty was last extended on June 28, 2021, when Xi and Putin held talks via video link and issued a joint statement ahead of the 20th anniversary of its signing.Xi said that over the years, the two countries have always abided by the treaty's established principle of non-alliance, nonconfrontation and not targeting any third party, while upholding equality, mutual respect, good faith and win-win cooperation.The two countries have made important contributions to safeguarding international fairness and justice and promoting a new type of international relations, serving as a vital constant amid changes unseen in a century, he said.Xi called on China and Russia to build on past achievements and further support each other firmly on issues concerning their respective core interests and major concerns, maintain close strategic communication and exchanges at all levels, and continuously consolidate the foundation of political mutual trust between the two countries.In recent years, cooperation between China and Russia in various fields has advanced steadily and achieved many positive results. The value of bilateral trade has exceeded $200 billion for three consecutive years, and in the first four months of 2026, two-way trade increased nearly 20 percent, according to customs data.Xi said the two sides should build on this momentum, deepen the alignment between China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) and Russia's development strategy through 2030, and upgrade mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields to better serve the development and revitalization of both countries.Speaking about global governance, Xi noted that the world today is far from being peaceful, with unilateralism and hegemonism causing severe harm, adding that the world is facing the danger of returning to the law of the jungle.As permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, China and Russia should firmly fulfill their responsibilities as major countries, uphold the authority of the UN as well as international fairness and justice, and oppose all acts of unilateral bullying and attempts to reverse the course of history, he said.China and Russia should, in particular, oppose all provocative acts that deny the outcomes of World War II and seek to justify and revive fascism and militarism, Xi said, emphasizing that the two sides should jointly promote the building of a more just and equitable global governance system.Putin, who received a welcoming ceremony that featured a 21-gun salute, quoted the Chinese saying that "one day apart feels like three autumns" when meeting with Xi, whom he described as his "dear friend"."Russia-China relations have reached a truly unprecedented level, and continue to develop. At the same time, our relations are self-sufficient; they do not depend on the current international situation and can serve as an example of relations between nations in this age," he said when addressing the media.He said that Russia is full of confidence in the future of bilateral relations, adding that it will work with China to deepen the two countries' partnership and good-neighborly friendship, strengthen people-to-people bonds, and contribute to the development and revitalization of both countries and the well-being of their peoples."Moscow and Beijing will jointly uphold international law and the provisions of the UN Charter in their entirety ... and cooperate effectively within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, BRICS and other international structures, making a significant contribution to addressing pressing global and regional challenges," Putin said.During their talks on Wednesday, Xi said the China-Russia relationship has entered a new stage of greater achievements and faster development.Unswervingly promoting the long-term, sound, steady and high-quality development of the China-Russia relationship is a strategic choice made by the two sides based on the fundamental interests of the two countries and the global trends, he said.Xi called on China and Russia to fully implement the important common understandings reached between him and Putin, seize the historic opportunities and further promote the mutual trust, cooperation and friendship between the two countries.He emphasized that both sides should focus on the goals of national development and revitalization, fully leverage the comprehensive and well-established mechanisms of China-Russia cooperation and strengthen the overall planning for cooperation in all respects.The two countries should also promote the upgrading of practical cooperation in trade and investment, energy and resources, transportation, and sci-tech innovation, as well as actively explore cooperation in frontier areas, in order to create new engines for growth with new quality productive forces, Xi said.He added that efforts should be made to continue the long-standing friendship between the two sides, strengthen exchanges and cooperation in education, culture, film, tourism and sports, and consolidate the social and public support for bilateral friendship.Also on Wednesday, China announced that it has decided to extend its visa-free policy for Russia until Dec 31, 2027. According to TASS news agency, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said in Beijing that Russia will also extend its visa-free policy for Chinese citizens.During their talks, the two heads of state exchanged views on major international and regional issues, including the situation in the Middle East.Xi emphasized that all hostilities in the Middle East must end immediately, renewed fighting should be avoided and, most important, negotiations should continue.Noting that the situation in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf region is at a critical juncture between war and peace, he said that an early end to the conflict will help reduce disruptions to the stability of energy supplies, the functioning of industrial and supply chains, and the stability of the international trade order.On Wednesday evening, Xi held a welcoming banquet for Putin in the Golden Hall of the Great Hall of the People.

From Mar-a-Lago to the Great Hall, Trump returns to Beijing desperate for validation while Xi Jinping treats him to strategic flattery. It's the first time an American president has been to China in seven years. It deserves a podcast, although, as Trivium said, the outcomes could have been an email instead of a summit. Today's guests are Sergey Radchenko, author of To Run the World: The Kremlin's Cold War Bid for Global Power — which won a ChinaTalk Book of the Year award and got the four-hour podcast treatment — as well as ChinaTalk regulars Kevin Xu of Interconnected and Jon Czin, formerly of the CIA and NSC, now with Brookings. Our conversation covers: Prestige politics on the cheap — How Trump's delegation gawked at Chinese architecture while Xi scored propaganda points by getting the U.S. president to fawn over Zhongnanhai's gardens — reversing decades of diplomatic protocol. The G2 that never was — Why Trump's dream of running the world with Xi echoes Nixon and Brezhnev's failed détente, and how strategic competition makes genuine cooperation impossible regardless of personal chemistry. The AI factor — As Beijing struggles with compute constraints and export controls, the US brings its AI safety dialogue proposal as its only real leverage in an otherwise empty summit. The midterm calculation — How Xi is withholding concessions until September 2026, betting that Trump will need wins most desperately right before the elections. Who's using the pause better? — While China methodically builds domestic chip capacity and refuses even approved Nvidia exports, the U.S. struggles with basic industrial policy on rare earths. song: https://suno.com/s/cwNGihewAFKpkJls Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From Mar-a-Lago to the Great Hall, Trump returns to Beijing desperate for validation while Xi Jinping treats him to strategic flattery. It's the first time an American president has been to China in seven years. It deserves a podcast, although, as Trivium said, the outcomes could have been an email instead of a summit. Today's guests are Sergey Radchenko, author of To Run the World: The Kremlin's Cold War Bid for Global Power — which won a ChinaTalk Book of the Year award and got the four-hour podcast treatment — as well as ChinaTalk regulars Kevin Xu of Interconnected and Jon Czin, formerly of the CIA and NSC, now with Brookings. Our conversation covers: Prestige politics on the cheap — How Trump's delegation gawked at Chinese architecture while Xi scored propaganda points by getting the U.S. president to fawn over Zhongnanhai's gardens — reversing decades of diplomatic protocol. The G2 that never was — Why Trump's dream of running the world with Xi echoes Nixon and Brezhnev's failed détente, and how strategic competition makes genuine cooperation impossible regardless of personal chemistry. The AI factor — As Beijing struggles with compute constraints and export controls, the US brings its AI safety dialogue proposal as its only real leverage in an otherwise empty summit. The midterm calculation — How Xi is withholding concessions until September 2026, betting that Trump will need wins most desperately right before the elections. Who's using the pause better? — While China methodically builds domestic chip capacity and refuses even approved Nvidia exports, the U.S. struggles with basic industrial policy on rare earths. song: https://suno.com/s/cwNGihewAFKpkJls Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Part 3 of this magical Harry Potter sleep story, we have Patronus tuition, Herbology hilarities, and an alarming prophecy! It's time to continue your magical new term at Hogwarts! This gentle fan-fiction sleep story invites you to unwind with candlelit halls, the warm Great Hall feast, and the quiet promise of adventure in your third year. As always, you'll experience this adventure with your good friends Harry, Hermione, and Ron, as well as many other favourite characters!✨ Ideal for relaxation, insomnia relief, study breaks, or peaceful background listening - it's quite good at that!#HarryPotterSleepStory #BedtimeStory #RelaxingNarration #WizardingWorld #SleepAidS x❤️ Visit https://snoozewithsam.com/ and support us through our amazing merchandise! ❤️Other wonderful Harry Potter stories:First Year!- First Year Begins: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHLi1yTjuoY- Complete FIRST Chronicles/Year: https://youtu.be/9rqP0x3oV_I?si=weWCSLQUfycUimTeSecond Year!- Part 2: https://youtu.be/QN5xppnjmHw- Part 3: https://youtu.be/HefopBOizvI- Part 4: https://youtu.be/3bGja_4gu5Y- Part 5: https://youtu.be/InZL0pk5Sio4 HOURS compilation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0urhC-kqyds&t=107sSupport me in creating these stories on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/snoozewithsamIf you enjoy these sleep stories, it would mean to world to me if you showed your appreciation and support through my Patreon. This way I can continue to do what I do!Thank you.Sam00:22 - Small Creatures, Larger Shadows...04:29 - CHAPTER 6: Lupin's Lessons in Light13:46 - CHAPTER 7: Things That Shouldn't Be Possible (Hermione!)25:36 - Rudely Awoken41:33 - CHAPTER 8: Talons & Trouble at Breakfast55:20 - Hogwarts Music & AmbienceSupport me here: https://www.patreon.com/snoozewithsam​Listen on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5LJgW_uI99g0ZAA-Yj2azQ​Music and visuals are a combination of original productions and/or may include licensed and adapted, remixed, or transformed material from:https://freemusicarchive.org/homehttp://www.epidemicsound.com/https://www.videvo.net/https://www.canva.com/Spatium by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoonMusic promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comAttribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)Music : "The End of the World" by Tristan Lohengrinwww.tristanlohengrin.comLicensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/"Snooze with Sam" whispers sleepy stories of Scotland's natural world, all with the help of a soft, soothing Island voice. Lay yourself down, get comfortable and lose yourself in the sea of gentle tones gifted by one of the world's most beautiful countries."Snooze with Sam" is brought to you by Sam Lawson, an entrepreneur, health and fitness professional and lifelong musician from the Isle of Skye. He runs a Coaching business in Glasgow, Scotland, and finds great satisfaction in helping others find peace within themselves, coaching them on towards personal transformation.These original works are the property of Snooze with Sam, © Copyright 2020-2026. All elements within this work are inspired by J.K. Rowlings Harry Potter, and not associated with the original in any way. All rights reserved.

On Thursday's Mark Levin Show, Mayor Mamdani has yet to come out with a forceful emotional condemnation of Islamo-Nazis brutalizing and harassing Jews in New York communities and synagogues. He is deliberately pushing Jews, businesses, and the middle class out of New York through high property taxes and a phony budget involving wealth redistribution - aiming to transform the city into an Islamist capital. Meanwhile, Kamala Harris called for a “no bad ideas” brainstorm targeting the Electoral College, Supreme Court “reform,” statehood for Puerto Rico and D.C., and blue states expanding maps. Democrats believe the Constitution itself is up for grabs if they control Congress and the presidency, and they intend to bulldoze through its protections rather than amend it properly. The Democrat Party the most radicalized and destructive in American history, a Marxist offspring determined to destroy the republic's constitutional framework. Later, China has billions poured into U.S. colleges to destroy them, land purchases near military bases, technology theft, cyber operations, massive military buildup aimed at the U.S. and allies, support for Iran's regime, artificial islands and territorial claims in the South China Sea. This doesn't sound like a country that wants to work with us. Gordon Chang calls in and describes Xi Jinping as arrogant for invoking the Thucydides Trap during his conversation with President Trump at the Great Hall ceremony, signaling that a rising China is challenging a United States in terminal decline. Xi reinforced this by referring to a “new era” in which China rules the world, delivering a double-barreled insult to the U.S. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's Friday, May 15th, A.D. 2026. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 140 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com. I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Adam McManus Vietnamese Communists arrest four Christians On May 12th, Vietnamese Communist authorities arrested four clergy and lay leaders accused of sharing documentation of human rights abuses online, reports Christian Solidarity Worldwide. The group was also indicted for associating with Dr Nguyễn Đình Thắng, the president of Boat People SOS, a Vietnamese-American human rights group, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison in absentia in April on false terrorism charges for his alleged role in the 2023 Dak Lak uprising.  While two of the four were released, the others remain behind bars. Psalm 23:4 says, “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for You, [God], are with me; Your rod and staff, they comfort me.” China's Jinping warns Trump about Taiwan On May 14th, Chinese President Xi Jinping warned U.S. President Donald Trump that the two countries could clash over Taiwan if the issue was not handled properly, reports the Associated Press. The exchange at a highly anticipated summit in Beijing underscored just how far apart Trump and Jinping remain on thorny issues, including the war in Iran, trade disputes and Washington's relations with Taiwan, which is self-ruled but which China claims as part of its territory. The pair met for about two hours behind closed doors at the Great Hall of the People after an elaborate welcome ceremony featuring booming cannons, a band playing “The Star-Spangled Banner” and China's national anthem, and hundreds of school children waving flowers and American and Chinese flags. President Trump's opening remarks were optimistic. TRUMP: “President Xi, I want to thank you very much. We've had a fantastic relationship. We've gotten along. When there were difficulties, we worked it out. I would call you, and you would call me, and whenever we had a problem, people don't know, whenever we had a problem, we worked it out very quickly. “I have such respect for China, the job you've done. You're a great leader. I say it to everybody. You're a great leader. Sometimes people don't like me saying it, but I say it anyway, because it's true. I only say the truth. “And I just want to say on behalf of all of the great delegation that we have. We have the greatest businessmen. Every single one of them. We asked the top 30 in the world. Every single one of them said, ‘Yes,' and they look forward to trade and doing business. It's going to be totally reciprocal on our behalf. It's an honor to be with you. “It's an honor to be your friend. The relationship between China and the USA is going to be better than ever before.” Trump's pick for Federal Reserve Chairman confirmed President Trump's pick to lead the Federal Reserve won Senate confirmation on May 13th, just in time to officially take over as the leader of the central bank, reports National Public Radio. Trump is hoping Kevin Warsh can lead the Fed into much lower interest rates — but the president could be frustrated by persistent inflation. Warsh was confirmed on a 54-45 vote, mostly along party lines. Prior to the vote, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, spoke from the Senate floor and shared an overview of Kevin Warsh's biography and questioned why the Democrats have objected to his nomination. THUNE: “He credits his knowledge of the real economy to growing up in upstate New York, where his dad ran a children's clothing store and manufacturing company. From Shaker High School, he went on to Stanford University and then Harvard Law School. He then started a career on Wall Street, but he shifted to public service, joining the Bush administration's economic policy team in 2002. “Four years later, President Bush nominated him to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. At age 35, Kevin Warsh was unanimously confirmed here in the Senate and became the youngest governor in the history of the Federal Reserve. Being the youngest person to take a seat in the Federal Reserve's boardroom is impressive enough, but Kevin Warsh didn't just take a seat. He was a key player during the time he was on the board. “Kevin Warsh seems to have just the profile of a Federal Reserve Chairman, yet Democrats oppose his nomination. For the first time in its history, the Banking Committee reported out a nominee for Fed chairman on a party line vote because every single Democrat opposed Mr. Warsh's nomination, and actually only one Democrat was even present for the vote. “The other 10 Democrats on the Banking Committee didn't even bother to show up for it. I wish I could say I'm surprised, but this is just how bad Trump Derangement Syndrome has gotten on the other side of the aisle. Democrats won't say so, but that's what it is.” Kevin Warsh has argued there's room to lower rates, but he also promised to use his own judgment in setting monetary policy — and not to take orders from the White House. Warsh denied charges from Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts that he would be Trump's "sock puppet." Warsh will replace Jerome Powell, who has led the Fed since 2018. Although Trump appointed Powell to the job, he has relentlessly criticized the outgoing Fed chairman for not moving more aggressively to lower borrowing costs. Powell's term as chairman ends today. In a break with tradition, Powell will remain on the Fed's governing board for a period of time after stepping down as chairman. That's unusual since Fed chairs typically leave the central bank when their term as the head is done. But Powell is determined to safeguard the institution from political pressure. He has vowed to keep a low profile and not overshadow Warsh. But Powell will continue to have a vote on the 12-member committee that sets interest rates. Missionary John Vassar commissioned as evangelist And finally, on May 15, 1850, John Vassar—often referred to as "Uncle" John—was formally commissioned as an evangelist for the American Tract Society of New York. Following a distinct conversion experience at the age of 28, Vassar left his family's prominent brewing business in Poughkeepsie, New York, to dedicate his life to soul-winning.  As an agent for the American Tract Society, he traveled extensively, selling and distributing Christian literature. Known for his intense earnestness, he was described as a "living fire" who would ask everyone he met about their relationship with Christ. He became one of the most powerful personal evangelists of the 19th century.  Isaiah 52:7 says, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!'” Later in John Vassar's career, in 1863, he was commissioned to work among soldiers during the Civil War. Upon being captured, he famously asked Confederate General Jeb Stuart, "General, do you love Jesus?" Close And that's The Worldview on this Friday, May 15th, in the year of our Lord 2026. Subscribe for free by Spotify, Amazon Music, or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. Plus, you can get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

During President Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing, China staged a very elaborate, formal welcome ceremony outside the Great Hall of the People—this is standard for high-level state visits, but this one leaned especially grand. Hundreds of Chinese schoolchildren were brought in as part of the ceremony. The kids were cheering, jumping, waving flags, flowers, and in some cases what looked like pom‑pom-style props as Trump and Xi walked past. Would something like this ever happen in America? Please Like, Comment and Follow 'Broeske & Musson' on all platforms: --- The ‘Broeske & Musson Podcast’ is available on the KMJNOW app, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever else you listen to podcasts. --- ‘Broeske & Musson' Weekdays 9-11 AM Pacific on News/Talk 580 AM & 105.9 FM KMJ | Facebook | Podcast| X | - Everything KMJ KMJNOW App | Podcasts | Facebook | X | InstagramSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

US President Donald Trump has met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, following a warm welcome he received at the Great Hall of the People of China. - Presiden AS Donald Trump telah bertemu dengan Presiden China Xi Jinping di Beijing, menyusul sambutan hangat yang diterimanya di Great Hall of the People of China.

051426 Trump in China, Security Scuffle in the Great Hall of the People, Nakba, Global Sumud Flotilla Sails again by The News with Paul DeRienzo

China and the United States will work toward building a constructive bilateral relationship of strategic stability, a new vision that President Xi Jinping and visiting US President Donald Trump agreed on to define how the world's two largest economies will handle their relations, during their summit in Beijing on Thursday.中美两国将致力于构建具有战略稳定性的建设性双边关系。这一新愿景由国家主席习近平与来华访问的美国总统特朗普于5月14日在北京会晤时共同提出，旨在为世界两大经济体未来的相处之道指明方向。During his talks with Trump at the Great Hall of the People, Xi said that China is committed to the steady, sound and sustainable development of China-US relations.习近平在人民大会堂同特朗普会谈时表示，中国致力于推动中美关系稳定、健康、可持续发展。The new vision will provide strategic guidance for China-US relations over the next three years and beyond, and should be welcomed by the people of both countries and the international community, he said.他指出，这一新愿景不仅将在未来三年乃至更长时间里为中美关系提供战略指引，也应赢得两国人民和国际社会的认可。Xi said that "constructive strategic stability" means positive stability with cooperation as the mainstay, sound stability with moderate competition, constant stability with manageable differences, and enduring stability with promises of peace.习近平表示，“建设性战略稳定”意味着以合作为主基调的积极稳定、以适度竞争为特点的健康稳定、以可控分歧为基础的持续稳定，以及以和平前景为保障的长久稳定。Building a constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability should not be a mere slogan, but concrete action taken by both sides toward the same goal, he added.他补充说，构建具有建设性战略稳定性的中美关系，不应只是口号，而应成为双方朝着共同目标采取的具体行动。Xi expressed his readiness to work together with Trump to set the course and steer the giant ship of China-US relations, in order to make 2026 a historic and landmark year opening a new chapter in bilateral ties.习近平表示，愿同特朗普一道把舵定向、驾稳中美关系这艘巨轮，推动2026年成为开启双边关系新篇章的历史性、里程碑式一年。Trump is on a three-day state visit to China, which started on Wednesday, the first by a sitting US president in nearly nine years.特朗普正在对中国进行为期三天的国事访问。此次访问于5月13日开启，是近九年来美国现任总统首次访华。During the talks, Xi urged the US to handle the Taiwan question with extra caution, saying that it is the most important issue in China-US relations.会谈期间，习近平敦促美方对台湾问题保持格外谨慎，并强调该问题在中美关系中的极端重要性。He emphasized that if handled properly, the bilateral relationship will enjoy overall stability. Otherwise, the two countries will have clashes and even conflicts, putting the entire relationship in great jeopardy, he said.他说，妥善处理台湾问题，中美关系便能在总体上保持稳定；一旦失当，两国将摩擦不断、甚至爆发冲突，令双边关系跌入巨大险境。Noting that "Taiwan independence" and cross-Strait peace are as irreconcilable as fire and water, Xi said that safeguarding peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is the greatest common denominator between China and the US.习近平指出，“台独”与台海和平水火不容，维护台海和平稳定是中美双方最大的共同利益。Xi underlined the need for China and the US to find the right way for major countries to get along well with each other in the new era. He said that the two countries have more common interests than differences, that success of one is an opportunity for the other, and that a stable bilateral relationship is good for the world.习近平强调，中美需要在新时代找到大国正确相处之道。他说，两国共同利益大于分歧，一方成功亦是另一方的机遇，稳定的双边关系有利于世界。"China and the United States both stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation. We should be partners, not rivals. We should help each other succeed and prosper together," he said.他说：“中美双方都能从合作中获益、从对抗中受损。我们应成为伙伴，而非对手，应彼此成就、共同繁荣。”Noting that transformation not seen in a century is accelerating across the globe and the international situation is fluid and turbulent, Xi said that the world has come to another crossroads.习近平指出，百年未有之大变局正在全球加速演进，国际形势复杂动荡，世界又一次来到十字路口。"Can China and the United States overcome the Thucydides Trap and create a new paradigm of major-country relations? Can we meet global challenges together and provide greater stability for the world? Can we build a bright future together for our bilateral relations in the interest of the well-being of the two peoples and the future of humanity? These are the questions vital to history, to the world and to the people. They are the questions of our times that the leaders of major countries need to answer together," Xi said.习近平说：“中美能否跨越‘修昔底德陷阱'，开创大国关系新范式？我们能否携手应对全球挑战，为世界带来更大稳定性？能否共同为双边关系开创光明未来，以造福两国人民和全人类未来？这些问题关乎历史、世界和人民，这些时代之问，需要各大国领导人共同作答。”On China-US economic and trade relations, Xi said that they are mutually beneficial and win-win in nature, and trade wars have no winners.谈及中美经贸关系时，习近平表示，中美经贸关系的本质是互利共赢，贸易战没有赢家。He said that where disagreements and frictions exist, equal-footed consultation is the only right choice.他说，对于存在的分歧与摩擦，平等协商是唯一正确的选择。Xi noted that the talks between economic and trade teams of the two countries, which were held in the Republic of Korea on Wednesday, produced generally balanced and positive outcomes, saying that this is good news for the people of the two countries and the world.习近平指出，两国经贸团队于5月13日在韩国举行的会谈总体取得了平衡、积极成果，这对两国人民和世界而言都是好消息。The two sides should jointly sustain the good momentum that they have worked hard to create, he said.他说，双方应共同维护来之不易的良好势头。Xi called on both countries to make better use of communication channels in the political, diplomatic and military fields, and expand exchanges and cooperation in areas such as the economy and trade, health, agriculture, tourism, people-to-people ties and law enforcement.习近平呼吁双方更好利用政治、外交、军事等领域沟通渠道，并在经贸、卫生、农业、旅游、人文交流和执法等领域扩大交流合作。Trump called Xi "a great leader" and China "a great country", saying that he has tremendous respect for the Chinese president and the Chinese people.特朗普称习近平是“一位伟大的领导人”，称中国是“一个伟大的国家”，并表示他对中国国家主席和中国人民怀有极大敬意。Noting that the meeting between Xi and himself was the biggest summit the world was watching, Trump said he will work together with Xi to strengthen communication and cooperation, properly handle differences, make bilateral relations better than ever before and embrace a fantastic future.特朗普表示，习近平同他的会晤是全球瞩目的重大峰会，他将同习近平一道加强沟通合作，妥善处理分歧，使双边关系比以往任何时候都更好，共同迎接美好未来。He said that the US and China are the most important and most powerful countries in the world, and together the two presidents can do a lot of big and good things for the two countries and the world.他说，美中作为世界上最重要、最强大的两个国家，两国元首携手合作，能为两国乃至世界带来许多重大而积极的改变。During the talks, the two presidents also exchanged views on major international and regional issues, such as the Middle East situation, the Ukraine crisis and the Korean Peninsula.会谈期间，两国元首还就中东局势、乌克兰危机以及朝鲜半岛等重大国际和地区问题交换意见。They agreed to support each other in hosting a successful APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and G20 Summit this year.双方一致同意，相互支持，确保今年的亚太经合组织领导人非正式会议和二十国集团峰会成功举办。Before their talks, Xi held a grand welcoming ceremony for Trump on the square outside the eastern entrance of the Great Hall of the People. A 21-gun salute was performed on Tian'anmen Square. Both leaders reviewed the guard of honor of the People's Liberation Army.会谈前，习近平在人民大会堂东门外广场为特朗普举行隆重欢迎仪式，天安门广场鸣礼炮二十一响，两国元首共同检阅了中国人民解放军仪仗队。• steer /stɪə(r)/驾驭；掌舵• bilateral ties /baɪˈlætərəl taɪz/双边关系• state visit /steɪt ˈvɪzɪt/国事访问• jeopardy /ˈdʒepədi/危险境地• common denominator /ˈkɒmən dɪˈnɒmɪneɪtə(r)/最大公约数；共同点• Thucydides Trap /θjuːˈsɪdɪdiːz træp/修昔底德陷阱• guard of honor /ɡɑːd əv ˈɒnə(r)/仪仗队• People's Liberation Army /ˈpiːplz ˌlɪbəˈreɪʃən ˈɑːmi/中国人民解放军

President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met for more than two hours at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, with the CEOs of Apple, Tesla and NVIDIA in the room as both sides look to stabilize a trade relationship that has been on shaky ground for years. China's readout of the meeting between the two leaders emphasized the need for "constructive strategic stability" and warned that mishandling Taiwan could put the entire U.S.-China relationship in jeopardy.And President Trump's crackdown on big law firms goes before a federal appeals court today, as firms that once employed lawyers who investigated Trump fight back against executive orders that targeted their security clearances and government contracts.Want more analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.Today's episode of Up First was edited by Miguel Macias, Tina Kraja, Anna Yukhananov, Mohamad ElBardicy and John Stolnis.It was produced by Ziad Buchh and Nia Dumas.Our director is Christopher Thomas.We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange.And our deputy Executive Producer is Kelley Dickens.(0:00) Introduction(01:51) Trump Meets With Xi(05:49) China's Readout Of Meeting(08:51) Trump Targets Law FirmsSee pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

President Trump just dominated the historic summit in Beijing — and a top body language expert says he was straight-up lion-like. According to renowned expert Lillian Glass, Trump showed massive confidence and “gravitas” during his meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He wasn't intimidated at all — instead, he deployed powerful back pats that were both friendly and dominant, while the two leaders displayed genuine warmth and walked in perfect sync. Trump stood tall like a military man, moved with strength and stamina, and proved once again he's built for the world stage. The expert even shut down health rumors, pointing out Trump's strong walk up the Great Hall steps. We Also cover: Rand Paul on Dr. Fauci.  CIA raids Tulsi Gabbards' office? Burgum on reflecting pool work.  If you love seeing America First leadership and strong conservative wins, hit that LIKE button

President Xi Jinping described US-Chinese relations as "the most important" in the world and stressed to President Trump that the US and China should be partners and not rivals. Also, in the programme; the dental tools used by Neanderthals and we hear from an exiled Venezuelan politician on how his country is five months after Maduro's capture.(Photo: President Trump and Xi walking in the Great Hall of the People. Credit: Reuters)

Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed US President Donald Trump to Beijing on Thursday as the American leader began his state visit to China. Meeting his counterpart at the Great Hall of the People, President Xi said he expects 2026 to be a "historic, landmark year" that opens up a new chapter in China-US relations. Meanwhile, President Trump said the relationship between China and the United States will be "better than ever before." Both leaders have agreed on a new vision of building a constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability. What can we expect from Trump's visit? How can the heads-of-state meeting help steer China-US relations steadily forward?

China and the United States should find the right way for major countries to get along well with each other in the new era, President Xi Jinping said on Thursday.Xi made the remarks during his talks with visiting US President Donald Trump at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.5月14日，国家主席习近平在北京人民大会堂与美国总统唐纳德·特朗普举行会谈。习近平指出，中美应当在新时代探索大国之间的正确相处之道。Xi stressed that the two countries have more common interests than differences, success in one is an opportunity for the other, and a stable bilateral relationship is good for the world.习近平强调，两国拥有的共同利益大于分歧，一方的成功也是另一方的机遇，稳定的中美双边关系有益于世界。"China and the United States both stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation. We should be partners, not rivals. We should help each other succeed and prosper together," he said.他指出：“中美双方都能从合作中受益、从对抗中受损。我们应当成为伙伴，而不是对手，应当相互成就、共同繁荣。”Noting that transformation not seen in a century is accelerating across the globe and the international situation is fluid and turbulent, Xi said that the world has come to another crossroads.习近平指出，百年未有之大变局正在加速演进，国际形势复杂多变，世界已来到新的十字路口。"Can China and the United States overcome the Thucydides Trap and create a new paradigm of major-country relations? Can we meet global challenges together and provide greater stability for the world? Can we build a bright future together for our bilateral relations in the interests of the well-being of the two peoples and the future of humanity? These are the questions vital to history, to the world and to the people. They are the questions of our times that the leaders of major countries need to answer together," Xi said.“中美能否跨越‘修昔底德陷阱'，开创大国关系新范式？能否携手应对全球挑战，为世界提供更大稳定性？能否为双边关系共同开创光明未来，使之造福两国人民福祉与全人类？这些问题关乎历史、世界与人民，至关重要。这是时代之问，需要各大国领导人共同作答。”He expressed the hope that 2026 will be a historic and landmark year for China-US relations.他表示，希望2026年成为中美关系具有里程碑意义的一年。• fluid /ˈfluːɪd/不稳定的• well-being /ˌwel ˈbiːɪŋ/福祉• landmark /ˈlændmɑːk/里程碑

Matt Prestler has details on the Toledo Guitar Show happening Sunday June 7th at Masonic Great Hall

It should not be surprising that war in Iran is producing higher inflation in the US. There was higher gasoline in grocery prices sending headline CPI up last month at an annual rate of 3.8%, and that news in turn sent US treasury yields higher right across the curve. This fueled speculation that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next year, and bonds fell, with the 30-year yield rising to 5.03%. We heard from David Savage, Bloomberg's MLIV Strategist. Plus - President Donald Trump is expecting economic deals and a "wild" welcome this week in China. He'll arrive facing an emboldened Xi Jinping, just as his own hand is constrained by the conflict in Iran. When the US president touches down in Beijing on Wednesday evening for a 36-hour summit, it'll mark his first overseas trip since waging war in the Middle East. Over talks at the Great Hall of the People and a state dinner, followed by morning tea, the leaders will discuss trade, tariffs and the self-ruled island of Taiwan. Another agenda item, of course, is Iran. For a preview, we heard from Henry Huiyao Wang, Center for China and Globalization Founder and President speaking to Bloomberg's Haidi Stroud-Watts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thomas More lived by the mantra, 'I am the King's good servant, but God's first'. He would also die by it. His defiance at Henry VIII's break with Rome would be his salvation, and his destruction.  In this episode of our series on Henry VIII's ministers, Tracy Borman is joined by historian Dr Joanne Paul to examine the truth behind Thomas More's legacy.   Was he a saintly man of conscience in a court filled with grasping politicians, or a self-righteous heretic hunter? And what does his story tell us about Henry VIII?  Watch this episode on YouTube to see Tracy and Joanne in the Great Hall of Hampton Court Palace.  Read more about Sir Thomas More's life and legacy. 

"Listening to the Shepherd's Voice" Rev. Meri Kate Marcum, Associate Pastor 11:00am | Great Hall

"A Long Walk Home" Rev. Cassie Waits, Associate Pastor 11:00am | Great Hall

Send us Fan MailIn this episode, Harry sees the memories from Tom Riddle's diary and begins to wonder: who's the real heir of Slytherin? Lockhart throws a Valentine's Day party, and Hermione gets petrified. After Harry and Ron's visit to Hagrid to discuss the basilisk ends in Hagrid arrest, they are resolved to "following the spiders" to finally see the end of this saga. Enjoy!Topics/Summary:·      Listen to Tea Leaves S2 E5 here!·      1:33 Quick Recap and Riddle's first memory. This memory isn't really coherent. It's more to show us who Riddle is and how important he will be. Quick shots of Riddle, maybe standing in the Chamber of Secrets, maybe somewhere in the castle.·      14:17 Polyjuice! This whole saga is going to be fun. The trio takes the potion in the bathroom, and Hermione unfortunately grabbed the wrong kind of hair and becomes a cat. Harry and Ron are still on a timer, however, so they must forge on. They go talk to Malfoy and find that he is not the heir.·      20:55 Valentine's Day. This is a great time for Lockhart to be an idiot. The Great Hall is adorned with a million gift shops of decorations. Ginny sends Harry a singing dwarf.·      23:30 The diary has been stolen. His bed sheets are hanging off the frame and his trunk was rifled through. He finds that the diary has been stolen, and he rushes down to tell Ron, but instead he finds out that Hermione was petrified. ·      28:50 Harry and Ron go talk to Hagrid to get more information on the basilisk that Hermione found out, but he is taken to Azkaban. He tells Harry and Ron to “follow the spiders.” The episode ends with Riddle's second memory. He shows Harry how Hagrid was found out as the heir and was expelled. Harry thinks Riddle is a true Hogwarts hero, but still wonders: how in the world could it be Hagrid? ThePotterDiscussion@gmail.comthepotterdiscussion.comNox

What really happened in the castle.Based on a post by secret sexy writer. Listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories.Once upon a time;A merchant lived in a forest. His only daughter, Kristiana, had been a nursemaid to a wealthy family until the children became of age and the family no longer needed her services. Deciding to take some time for herself, she returned to live with her father.One morning, before he left for the market, he said to her, “Kristiana, if you could have one thing that would make you happy, what would it be?”“Finally being here with you makes me happy. I need nothing more.” Kristiana hugged her father and gave him a kiss on the forehead. Then she waved as he mounted his horse and headed off toward town.His mind still troubled him on his journey. He wanted to get something special for his daughter, but he no longer knew what she liked. And she hadn’t been much help with answers herself.She’d grown into such a beautiful woman while she’d been away. She was at least five-foot-five now, her brunette hair cascading down her back in soft waves. He remembered her mother pulling it back into pigtails not too long ago. And then Kristiana had hid it all twisted up on her head under a cap when she’d left to work for that family.That was all before his lovely wife had passed away after the terrible accident. No one had known where the beastly dogs had come from. Mariel had been tending the garden out back when they’d run out of the woods and attacked her in broad daylight.If only he’d been home at the time;He sniffed and urged his horse on. Throughout the morning as he gathered the items on his list, he focused on Kristiana. On the present. And he kept an eye out for her gift, but nothing seemed right.When he had finished his business, the merchant set off for home. The day had grown long, and the sun was already setting behind the trees of the woods. The wind grew colder, whipping his jacket about. With one hand, he struggled to hold onto the reins of the horse, his other hand clutching the satchel of merchandise tightly against his body.The sky darkened, and soon rain pelted down, soaking through his clothes. A streak of lightning spooked the horse, and then they were racing through the trees, wispy branches stinging his cheeks. Once the horse had calmed down, the merchant paused and glanced around. But under the thick cover of leaves over him, he couldn’t see the moon or tell which way to go. His only hope was that they could find some shelter and wait out the storm. His hope dwindled, though, as he led the horse among the maze of trees. He was completely lost, even in the woods he’d known most of his life.Dalemond’s Castle.Just when he was ready to give up, he noticed a dull light shining off to his right, and steered the horse toward it. As he drew near, he saw that the light belonged to a building. An inn!Lightning lit up the sky, and the merchant gasped, tightening his grip on the reins as the horse reared up. The inn was actually a massive castle!Stone walls stretched out in either direction beyond a looming gate, and towers disappeared into the night sky above him. No lights were burning in any of the windows, but a lantern swung on a post over the front door.Sliding down from his horse, the merchant pushed open the gate and entered the courtyard. The horse whinnied at another crack of lightning, but it followed behind, pawing at the ground when he tied off the reins on a metal loop in the castle wall.When he reached the door, he saw that it was open. Though he shouted, no one came to greet him. Gathering his courage, he went inside, still calling out to attract attention. On a table in the front hall, a splendid dinner lay already served. He lingered, still shouting for the owner of the castle. But no one came, and so after eyeing the food and listening to his growling stomach, the starving merchant sat down to a hearty meal.His hunger satisfied, curiosity now plagued him. Why had no one met him at the door? Who had lit the lantern? Who had prepared the meal? He called again for any acknowledgement of his arrival. Upon receiving none, he ventured through the main room. At the far end was a grand staircase. He ascended, in awe of the paintings in elaborate gold frames adorning the walls.From the landing, a corridor led off in either direction with several closed doors on each side. However, the first door on his left was open. A fire crackled in a massive stone fireplace that was taller than he was. Directly across from it sat a four-poster bed piled high with blankets and pillows.It was now late, and he could not resist the invitation before him once again. He lay down on the bed and fell fast asleep. When he woke next morning, someone had placed a mug of steaming coffee and some fruit by his bedside.The merchant had breakfast and after tidying himself up, went downstairs to thank his generous host. But, as on the evening before, there was no one in sight. Shaking his head in wonder at the strangeness of it all, he went towards the courtyard where he had left his horse. To his continual surprise, his horse was no longer tethered to the castle wall but grazing beneath a tree in the sunshine.Next to the tree were several rose bushes. Dotting the green leaves, glistening with the remnants of last night’s rain, were the largest red flowers he’d ever seen in full bloom.Thinking of his parting question to his daughter, he whispered, “It’s perfect!” And then he carefully plucked a dewy rose from its bed.No sooner had he reached for the horse’s reins than a man sprang up from behind the rose garden. He wore a dark jacket over his tunic and pants that all looked of the finest material. His thick mane of hair was mostly gray with subtle streaks of blond, and it flowed down to his shoulders. But his brown eyes were bloodshot and gleamed with fire; his mouth was curled into a snarl. His wide shoulders towered over the merchant, and his large hands reached out to him.“Ungrateful man! I gave you shelter, fed you from my table, and gave you a bed to sleep in! But now all the thanks I get is the theft of my favorite flowers!”“Forgive me! Please, do not kill me! I’ll do anything you say! The rose wasn’t for me but for my daughter, Kristiana. I wanted to bring her a special present from my journey.”“I care not why you stole from me.” The man whistled, and two large dogs, drooling and growling, appeared from around the side of the castle. “I shall put you to death for this slight!”Trembling with fear, the merchant fell on his knees before the beast of a man. “Those dogs! They were your dogs?”“What nonsense do you speak, thief?”“Your dogs killed my wife!” The merchant wanted to scream in anger, but his voice barely came out as a raspy whisper. “They attacked her in our garden. Thankfully, our only child was gone and did not witness it. I returned too late to save my wife, but I saw the dogs before they disappeared into the woods again. All these years;”The man dropped the paw of a hand he had clamped on the distraught merchant, but his voice remained a deep growl. “I shall spare your life, but on one condition. Bring me your daughter! I will not harm her, but she will remain a servant in my castle.”The merchant’s heart leapt with joy at his own fortune. But then he felt his stomach twist with terror. He’d have to trade his life for his daughter’s! They would both still be alive, but; No, she would never forgive him for leaving her alone in the world if he did not obey.With his head hung low, the merchant nodded. “So be it. I will send my daughter to you.”“Take the rose. Have her bring it back so that I know it is her. Follow the path south until you get to a clearing, and then head west. This will lead you home.” And then the beast of a man disappeared around the side of the castle with the dogs.The journey home seemed shorter than he’d expected. After settling the horse in the barn, he trudged up to the house, his shoulders heavy.Kristiana rushed out to meet him. “Father! Where have you been? I’ve been so worried!”He fell into his daughter’s arms, holding her to him, trying to remember how his grown little girl felt one last time. Then he ushered her into the house and proceeded to tell her of the events of the previous night and this morning.When he’d finished, he reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out the rose.“I’d do anything for you!” Kristiana hugged her father. “Don’t worry, you’ll be able to keep your promise. I will be fine. We will both return to the castle once you have rested.”“I fear what will happen to you. He promised not to harm you, but he said you would be his servant. I pray that he will be kind to you, at least. I will always love you, Kristiana, no matter what.”The merchant refrained from telling her what he had learned about the dogs. She need not distress over what she did not know and could not change.Prince Dalemond paced the Great Hall, growling out his frustration. Would the old man honor his promise? He should have killed him and been done with it. That was how his own father would have handled a thief. Whether a loaf of bread, a bag of coins, or a rose off a bush, stealing was stealing.But the knowledge that his precious dogs had killed the man’s wife, had left his only daughter without a mother; It reminded him of his own loneliness. He had let his emotions overpower justice, and he’d caved in. At least he would have a servant in the house now.He heard horses approaching, and then the squeal of the gate. He stepped into the shadows, waiting. There were voices outside, and then the pounding of the heavy knocker on the door.“Enter!” His voice bellowed and echoed through the empty hall.The wooden door slowly groaned open on its ancient hinges. By the day’s dying light creeping through the open doorway, he saw the merchant step inside. A young woman in a dark, green, hooded cloak followed. She carried the red rose from his garden.“You, Sir, have fulfilled your promise. You may leave us.”The woman hugged her father without any tears, and then the merchant hustled out the door.Prince Dalemond watched her from the shadows, the candlelight from the wall sconces bathing her in a soft glow. His heart pounded heavily in his chest. He’d never seen anyone so lovely.Her dark brown hair hung in long ringlets on either side of her face. The color of her cloak emphasized the green of her hazel eyes as she slowly took in her surroundings. When she lifted her hand to push back the hood, her arm moved the edge of the cloak aside.He gasped at the tight bodice of her cream-colored gown; at the swell of her breasts rising above the confines of the low neckline.She was truly a beauty.Something clenched in his gut, and he knew he would not be keeping her for a servant as he had planned. He did not want to tarnish one inch of her ivory complexion, flawless except for her cheeks tinged pink from her journey. He had not anticipated such a prize as her.He stepped out of his hiding place. When the candlelight flooded over him, he heard her gasp. “Welcome to my home, Kristiana. You are my guest. Please, may I take your cloak?”Kristiana took a step back, clutching one hand at the clasp at her throat. She stared for a moment, looking him over. She swallowed and then lifted her chin up, keeping her gaze from his. “How shall I address you, Sir?”“My name is Price Dalemond. ‘Your Highness’ will suffice.” He reached out and took her petite hand in his large one. She was shaking, and he gently squeezed her slender fingers. He raised her hand to his lips and placed the lightest kiss across her knuckles. He refrained from closing his eyes and sighing at the lavender scent of her soft skin.“Well, Your Highness, you say I am a guest, but we both know that I am a prisoner.” Kristiana pulled free from his grasp and squared her shoulders. “If you would so kindly show me to my chamber, I would like to retire for the evening.”She may have been a beauty, but he had never seen such hostility. Especially after he had extended his generosity to both her and her father. She was just as ungrateful as he had been. She should be happy to have her father still alive!With a low growl, he spun around and marched toward the grand staircase. He had prepared a room down the North Hall hear his own chambers. But now; now he led her down to the last room in the South Hall. The furthest room from the only other person in the entire castle. If she felt like a prisoner, he would treat her like one.Once they’d reached her new chamber, she waited until he opened the door, and then she entered with a minute tip of her chin. The room was dark and the air frigid. As angry as he was, he knew he could not leave her to freeze to death. Even his dogs deserved a fire on a cold night such as this.She stood just inside the doorway. He stepped past her, feeling the heat of her through the material of his shirt as his arm brushed against hers. Pushing away the resulting rush of desire to have that warmth against the rest of his body, he crossed the chamber in four long strides. After he had lit a fire, he turned back to her.Kristiana had moved to the window and drawn the curtain aside. He suddenly wanted to go to her, to apologize for his gruffness. But then he remembered the way she’d scorned him.“Dinner will be served shortly.” He made sure his tone relayed that it was a command.“I’m not hungry.” She kept her back to him. She stared out the window into the darkness instead.A muscle in his clenched jaw twitched. “Suit yourself!” And then he stormed across the room, slamming the door behind him.The moment that he was gone, Kristiana collapsed to the floor, her face in her hands. Warm tears wet her already hot cheeks.“I love you, Father! I will stay here to keep your promise, even though I detest the master of the house. I will never be happy here.”She glanced at the door, remembering how the prince had towered at least a foot above her. How her hand had disappeared in his when he’d welcomed her. How while she feared him, something inside drew her to him. And that frightened her even more.Her stomach growled, but she refused to give him the satisfaction of admitting she had lied. She removed her cloak and laid it across the winged armchair by the fire instead. Then she crossed to the four-poster bed, climbing up onto the simple mattress covered by a thin quilt. An even thinner blanket lay folded at the footboard.An derisive grunt escaped when she thought of it. Meager accommodations for the prisoner. What else should she have expected?The pillow was soft, though, when she laid her head down. She watched the fire flickering across the small room, thankful for at least that source of heat. Shivers shook her body, and she hugged her arms to her chest, curling into a ball on top of the quilt. Tears trickled down her cheek again as she thought of her predicament.At some point, she must have drifted off because she felt someone watching her and she sat up with a gasp. But there was no one else there. It took her a moment to remember where she was, and why. She looked around at the fire blazing in the fireplace; her cloak on the chair; the plate of food on the table beside the chair; the blanket lying over her body.She may be alone now, but someone had been in the room. Did she dare hope that it had been Prince Dalemond? Who else could it have been? Father had mentioned there had been no one else in the castle the night before.If it had been her host, why did she even care? He was a brute of a man. Only a monster would demand on killing a man for picking a flower; or imprison a young woman as a hostage in his castle. She would be wise to keep her distance from him. Surely, she could find something to do to while away the days she was being held captive. Because deep down, she just knew he would grow tired of her and this wicked game he was playing. Then he would set her free.Kristiana was halfway across the chamber, no longer able to resist the tray of meats, cheeses, and fruit and the pitcher she hoped contained wine, when the thought occurred to her.What if he did tire of his game; but he left her hidden away, forgetting about her instead of setting her free? She would never see Father again!Fresh tears choked her throat. Somehow, she managed to clean the tray before curling up in the chair. Her eyes felt drowsy from the wine. Pulling her cloak over her, she succumbed to sleep. She dreamed that someone was watching her again. And then a warm body carried her. A disarray of memories followed, mainly of her mother.She woke the next morning to sunlight streaming in the window, the curtains drawn aside. The fire still burned and a new tray of breads and fruit sat on the table. She stretched, yawning and then froze. She was lying in the bed under layers of thick blankets. It had not been a dream. Someone had carried her there.After a quick breakfast, she washed her face at the basin filled with cool water. When she turned back to the bed, she noticed the wardrobe’s doors were partially ajar. She slowly pulled the doors open all of the way and gasped. Inside hung dresses in a multitude of colors.She couldn’t help wondering why someone so mean he would keep her captive would also show such acts of kindness. 'His Highness’ was an enigma. And a small part of her begged to understand him.Choosing a pale yellow dress, she changed her clothes and brushed out her hair. It was time to explore her prison, such as it was.Prince Dalemond had searched every room but one by noontime. Kristiana was nowhere to be found. He hoped she had not run away. Despite his frustration at her stubbornness last night, he had enjoyed watching her sleep. She had seemed so peaceful. So innocent. Besides, it wasn’t her fault she was here. If her father hadn’t stolen the rose;He grunted and thought of her creamy breasts rising and falling in her sleep. How her lips had parted with a soft sigh when he’d moved her from the chair. How light her small body had felt in his arms. He’d wanted to kiss her but had refrained.Now; now he wanted to scream. Where was she? How dare she hide from him!He pushed open the final door, the door to the library, his breath huffing. And then he froze.Kristiana sat in the window seat, the skirts of her yellow dress pooled around her, a small stack of books beside her. Her head rose with a start, and she dropped the book she’d been reading.For the longest moment, they just stared at each other. Her heavy breathing drew his eyes downward. A low moan escaped as his gut tightened.“Was there something you wanted?”Her quiet voice broke the spell over him. He lifted his eyes to hers again, swallowing his honesty. Instead, he forced a smile and said, “It’s time for the noon meal. Care to join me in the Great Hall?”She blinked, opened her mouth,

What really happened in the castle.Based on a post by secret sexy writer. Listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories.Once upon a time;A merchant lived in a forest. His only daughter, Kristiana, had been a nursemaid to a wealthy family until the children became of age and the family no longer needed her services. Deciding to take some time for herself, she returned to live with her father.One morning, before he left for the market, he said to her, “Kristiana, if you could have one thing that would make you happy, what would it be?”“Finally being here with you makes me happy. I need nothing more.” Kristiana hugged her father and gave him a kiss on the forehead. Then she waved as he mounted his horse and headed off toward town.His mind still troubled him on his journey. He wanted to get something special for his daughter, but he no longer knew what she liked. And she hadn’t been much help with answers herself.She’d grown into such a beautiful woman while she’d been away. She was at least five-foot-five now, her brunette hair cascading down her back in soft waves. He remembered her mother pulling it back into pigtails not too long ago. And then Kristiana had hid it all twisted up on her head under a cap when she’d left to work for that family.That was all before his lovely wife had passed away after the terrible accident. No one had known where the beastly dogs had come from. Mariel had been tending the garden out back when they’d run out of the woods and attacked her in broad daylight.If only he’d been home at the time;He sniffed and urged his horse on. Throughout the morning as he gathered the items on his list, he focused on Kristiana. On the present. And he kept an eye out for her gift, but nothing seemed right.When he had finished his business, the merchant set off for home. The day had grown long, and the sun was already setting behind the trees of the woods. The wind grew colder, whipping his jacket about. With one hand, he struggled to hold onto the reins of the horse, his other hand clutching the satchel of merchandise tightly against his body.The sky darkened, and soon rain pelted down, soaking through his clothes. A streak of lightning spooked the horse, and then they were racing through the trees, wispy branches stinging his cheeks. Once the horse had calmed down, the merchant paused and glanced around. But under the thick cover of leaves over him, he couldn’t see the moon or tell which way to go. His only hope was that they could find some shelter and wait out the storm. His hope dwindled, though, as he led the horse among the maze of trees. He was completely lost, even in the woods he’d known most of his life.Dalemond’s Castle.Just when he was ready to give up, he noticed a dull light shining off to his right, and steered the horse toward it. As he drew near, he saw that the light belonged to a building. An inn!Lightning lit up the sky, and the merchant gasped, tightening his grip on the reins as the horse reared up. The inn was actually a massive castle!Stone walls stretched out in either direction beyond a looming gate, and towers disappeared into the night sky above him. No lights were burning in any of the windows, but a lantern swung on a post over the front door.Sliding down from his horse, the merchant pushed open the gate and entered the courtyard. The horse whinnied at another crack of lightning, but it followed behind, pawing at the ground when he tied off the reins on a metal loop in the castle wall.When he reached the door, he saw that it was open. Though he shouted, no one came to greet him. Gathering his courage, he went inside, still calling out to attract attention. On a table in the front hall, a splendid dinner lay already served. He lingered, still shouting for the owner of the castle. But no one came, and so after eyeing the food and listening to his growling stomach, the starving merchant sat down to a hearty meal.His hunger satisfied, curiosity now plagued him. Why had no one met him at the door? Who had lit the lantern? Who had prepared the meal? He called again for any acknowledgement of his arrival. Upon receiving none, he ventured through the main room. At the far end was a grand staircase. He ascended, in awe of the paintings in elaborate gold frames adorning the walls.From the landing, a corridor led off in either direction with several closed doors on each side. However, the first door on his left was open. A fire crackled in a massive stone fireplace that was taller than he was. Directly across from it sat a four-poster bed piled high with blankets and pillows.It was now late, and he could not resist the invitation before him once again. He lay down on the bed and fell fast asleep. When he woke next morning, someone had placed a mug of steaming coffee and some fruit by his bedside.The merchant had breakfast and after tidying himself up, went downstairs to thank his generous host. But, as on the evening before, there was no one in sight. Shaking his head in wonder at the strangeness of it all, he went towards the courtyard where he had left his horse. To his continual surprise, his horse was no longer tethered to the castle wall but grazing beneath a tree in the sunshine.Next to the tree were several rose bushes. Dotting the green leaves, glistening with the remnants of last night’s rain, were the largest red flowers he’d ever seen in full bloom.Thinking of his parting question to his daughter, he whispered, “It’s perfect!” And then he carefully plucked a dewy rose from its bed.No sooner had he reached for the horse’s reins than a man sprang up from behind the rose garden. He wore a dark jacket over his tunic and pants that all looked of the finest material. His thick mane of hair was mostly gray with subtle streaks of blond, and it flowed down to his shoulders. But his brown eyes were bloodshot and gleamed with fire; his mouth was curled into a snarl. His wide shoulders towered over the merchant, and his large hands reached out to him.“Ungrateful man! I gave you shelter, fed you from my table, and gave you a bed to sleep in! But now all the thanks I get is the theft of my favorite flowers!”“Forgive me! Please, do not kill me! I’ll do anything you say! The rose wasn’t for me but for my daughter, Kristiana. I wanted to bring her a special present from my journey.”“I care not why you stole from me.” The man whistled, and two large dogs, drooling and growling, appeared from around the side of the castle. “I shall put you to death for this slight!”Trembling with fear, the merchant fell on his knees before the beast of a man. “Those dogs! They were your dogs?”“What nonsense do you speak, thief?”“Your dogs killed my wife!” The merchant wanted to scream in anger, but his voice barely came out as a raspy whisper. “They attacked her in our garden. Thankfully, our only child was gone and did not witness it. I returned too late to save my wife, but I saw the dogs before they disappeared into the woods again. All these years;”The man dropped the paw of a hand he had clamped on the distraught merchant, but his voice remained a deep growl. “I shall spare your life, but on one condition. Bring me your daughter! I will not harm her, but she will remain a servant in my castle.”The merchant’s heart leapt with joy at his own fortune. But then he felt his stomach twist with terror. He’d have to trade his life for his daughter’s! They would both still be alive, but; No, she would never forgive him for leaving her alone in the world if he did not obey.With his head hung low, the merchant nodded. “So be it. I will send my daughter to you.”“Take the rose. Have her bring it back so that I know it is her. Follow the path south until you get to a clearing, and then head west. This will lead you home.” And then the beast of a man disappeared around the side of the castle with the dogs.The journey home seemed shorter than he’d expected. After settling the horse in the barn, he trudged up to the house, his shoulders heavy.Kristiana rushed out to meet him. “Father! Where have you been? I’ve been so worried!”He fell into his daughter’s arms, holding her to him, trying to remember how his grown little girl felt one last time. Then he ushered her into the house and proceeded to tell her of the events of the previous night and this morning.When he’d finished, he reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out the rose.“I’d do anything for you!” Kristiana hugged her father. “Don’t worry, you’ll be able to keep your promise. I will be fine. We will both return to the castle once you have rested.”“I fear what will happen to you. He promised not to harm you, but he said you would be his servant. I pray that he will be kind to you, at least. I will always love you, Kristiana, no matter what.”The merchant refrained from telling her what he had learned about the dogs. She need not distress over what she did not know and could not change.Prince Dalemond paced the Great Hall, growling out his frustration. Would the old man honor his promise? He should have killed him and been done with it. That was how his own father would have handled a thief. Whether a loaf of bread, a bag of coins, or a rose off a bush, stealing was stealing.But the knowledge that his precious dogs had killed the man’s wife, had left his only daughter without a mother; It reminded him of his own loneliness. He had let his emotions overpower justice, and he’d caved in. At least he would have a servant in the house now.He heard horses approaching, and then the squeal of the gate. He stepped into the shadows, waiting. There were voices outside, and then the pounding of the heavy knocker on the door.“Enter!” His voice bellowed and echoed through the empty hall.The wooden door slowly groaned open on its ancient hinges. By the day’s dying light creeping through the open doorway, he saw the merchant step inside. A young woman in a dark, green, hooded cloak followed. She carried the red rose from his garden.“You, Sir, have fulfilled your promise. You may leave us.”The woman hugged her father without any tears, and then the merchant hustled out the door.Prince Dalemond watched her from the shadows, the candlelight from the wall sconces bathing her in a soft glow. His heart pounded heavily in his chest. He’d never seen anyone so lovely.Her dark brown hair hung in long ringlets on either side of her face. The color of her cloak emphasized the green of her hazel eyes as she slowly took in her surroundings. When she lifted her hand to push back the hood, her arm moved the edge of the cloak aside.He gasped at the tight bodice of her cream-colored gown; at the swell of her breasts rising above the confines of the low neckline.She was truly a beauty.Something clenched in his gut, and he knew he would not be keeping her for a servant as he had planned. He did not want to tarnish one inch of her ivory complexion, flawless except for her cheeks tinged pink from her journey. He had not anticipated such a prize as her.He stepped out of his hiding place. When the candlelight flooded over him, he heard her gasp. “Welcome to my home, Kristiana. You are my guest. Please, may I take your cloak?”Kristiana took a step back, clutching one hand at the clasp at her throat. She stared for a moment, looking him over. She swallowed and then lifted her chin up, keeping her gaze from his. “How shall I address you, Sir?”“My name is Price Dalemond. ‘Your Highness’ will suffice.” He reached out and took her petite hand in his large one. She was shaking, and he gently squeezed her slender fingers. He raised her hand to his lips and placed the lightest kiss across her knuckles. He refrained from closing his eyes and sighing at the lavender scent of her soft skin.“Well, Your Highness, you say I am a guest, but we both know that I am a prisoner.” Kristiana pulled free from his grasp and squared her shoulders. “If you would so kindly show me to my chamber, I would like to retire for the evening.”She may have been a beauty, but he had never seen such hostility. Especially after he had extended his generosity to both her and her father. She was just as ungrateful as he had been. She should be happy to have her father still alive!With a low growl, he spun around and marched toward the grand staircase. He had prepared a room down the North Hall hear his own chambers. But now; now he led her down to the last room in the South Hall. The furthest room from the only other person in the entire castle. If she felt like a prisoner, he would treat her like one.Once they’d reached her new chamber, she waited until he opened the door, and then she entered with a minute tip of her chin. The room was dark and the air frigid. As angry as he was, he knew he could not leave her to freeze to death. Even his dogs deserved a fire on a cold night such as this.She stood just inside the doorway. He stepped past her, feeling the heat of her through the material of his shirt as his arm brushed against hers. Pushing away the resulting rush of desire to have that warmth against the rest of his body, he crossed the chamber in four long strides. After he had lit a fire, he turned back to her.Kristiana had moved to the window and drawn the curtain aside. He suddenly wanted to go to her, to apologize for his gruffness. But then he remembered the way she’d scorned him.“Dinner will be served shortly.” He made sure his tone relayed that it was a command.“I’m not hungry.” She kept her back to him. She stared out the window into the darkness instead.A muscle in his clenched jaw twitched. “Suit yourself!” And then he stormed across the room, slamming the door behind him.The moment that he was gone, Kristiana collapsed to the floor, her face in her hands. Warm tears wet her already hot cheeks.“I love you, Father! I will stay here to keep your promise, even though I detest the master of the house. I will never be happy here.”She glanced at the door, remembering how the prince had towered at least a foot above her. How her hand had disappeared in his when he’d welcomed her. How while she feared him, something inside drew her to him. And that frightened her even more.Her stomach growled, but she refused to give him the satisfaction of admitting she had lied. She removed her cloak and laid it across the winged armchair by the fire instead. Then she crossed to the four-poster bed, climbing up onto the simple mattress covered by a thin quilt. An even thinner blanket lay folded at the footboard.An derisive grunt escaped when she thought of it. Meager accommodations for the prisoner. What else should she have expected?The pillow was soft, though, when she laid her head down. She watched the fire flickering across the small room, thankful for at least that source of heat. Shivers shook her body, and she hugged her arms to her chest, curling into a ball on top of the quilt. Tears trickled down her cheek again as she thought of her predicament.At some point, she must have drifted off because she felt someone watching her and she sat up with a gasp. But there was no one else there. It took her a moment to remember where she was, and why. She looked around at the fire blazing in the fireplace; her cloak on the chair; the plate of food on the table beside the chair; the blanket lying over her body.She may be alone now, but someone had been in the room. Did she dare hope that it had been Prince Dalemond? Who else could it have been? Father had mentioned there had been no one else in the castle the night before.If it had been her host, why did she even care? He was a brute of a man. Only a monster would demand on killing a man for picking a flower; or imprison a young woman as a hostage in his castle. She would be wise to keep her distance from him. Surely, she could find something to do to while away the days she was being held captive. Because deep down, she just knew he would grow tired of her and this wicked game he was playing. Then he would set her free.Kristiana was halfway across the chamber, no longer able to resist the tray of meats, cheeses, and fruit and the pitcher she hoped contained wine, when the thought occurred to her.What if he did tire of his game; but he left her hidden away, forgetting about her instead of setting her free? She would never see Father again!Fresh tears choked her throat. Somehow, she managed to clean the tray before curling up in the chair. Her eyes felt drowsy from the wine. Pulling her cloak over her, she succumbed to sleep. She dreamed that someone was watching her again. And then a warm body carried her. A disarray of memories followed, mainly of her mother.She woke the next morning to sunlight streaming in the window, the curtains drawn aside. The fire still burned and a new tray of breads and fruit sat on the table. She stretched, yawning and then froze. She was lying in the bed under layers of thick blankets. It had not been a dream. Someone had carried her there.After a quick breakfast, she washed her face at the basin filled with cool water. When she turned back to the bed, she noticed the wardrobe’s doors were partially ajar. She slowly pulled the doors open all of the way and gasped. Inside hung dresses in a multitude of colors.She couldn’t help wondering why someone so mean he would keep her captive would also show such acts of kindness. 'His Highness’ was an enigma. And a small part of her begged to understand him.Choosing a pale yellow dress, she changed her clothes and brushed out her hair. It was time to explore her prison, such as it was.Prince Dalemond had searched every room but one by noontime. Kristiana was nowhere to be found. He hoped she had not run away. Despite his frustration at her stubbornness last night, he had enjoyed watching her sleep. She had seemed so peaceful. So innocent. Besides, it wasn’t her fault she was here. If her father hadn’t stolen the rose;He grunted and thought of her creamy breasts rising and falling in her sleep. How her lips had parted with a soft sigh when he’d moved her from the chair. How light her small body had felt in his arms. He’d wanted to kiss her but had refrained.Now; now he wanted to scream. Where was she? How dare she hide from him!He pushed open the final door, the door to the library, his breath huffing. And then he froze.Kristiana sat in the window seat, the skirts of her yellow dress pooled around her, a small stack of books beside her. Her head rose with a start, and she dropped the book she’d been reading.For the longest moment, they just stared at each other. Her heavy breathing drew his eyes downward. A low moan escaped as his gut tightened.“Was there something you wanted?”Her quiet voice broke the spell over him. He lifted his eyes to hers again, swallowing his honesty. Instead, he forced a smile and said, “It’s time for the noon meal. Care to join me in the Great Hall?”She blinked, opened her mouth,

Aspen and Wylan from Harbor City International School talk about the Sustainability Summit on Friday, April 10th in the Great Hall at the Depot

We are brought to early 1806, where Tolstoy uses Nicholas and Denisov to transition the story to Peace.  Rostov has went from witnessing Czar Alexander crying under a tree near Austerlitz to returning to his Moscow estate. This chapter addresses his warm embrace.Nicholas was traveling with Denisov, who is partially based on the literary Hussar, Dennis Davydov. Rostov persuaded Denisov to accompany him and the wild hussar enjoyed a great deal of wine on the journey.  During the home stretch, it meant a great deal for Rostov to notice recognizable streets, stores and most especially his mansion. Rostov runs into the Great Hall but his family already retired. When servants notice Nicholas, they become elated. Word spread like joyful lightening and from all angles Rostov was attacked with hugs, kisses and shouts of ecstasy. The initial welcome included his father, Natasha, Vera, Sonya and little Petya, who clutched his brother's leg.  Finally, the entire hold household was flocking the room, including maids, serfs and footman.Tolstoy's attention focuses on Sonya, now 16 and noted to be radiant. She looked eagerly at Nicholas and waited for an unspoken signal. At last, Rostov's mother approached with uncharacteristic quick steps. He ran to her and when they met, she fell on his chest, sobbing. Denisov was overcome with emotion and wiped away tears. The family knew Denisov from letters and Natasha soon lunged at the Captain and delivered a hug and a kiss. It was a glorious moment that ended when the soldiers went off to bed.  The travelers slept until ten the next morning. It was as if they were sleeping off the ill affects of war.  Petya woke them up, breaching decorum by entering the room and exposing Denisov in his sleeping attire. Petya was soon playing with his brother's saber and Natasha put on his spurred boots. The men were waited on hand and foot, including servants fetching hot water for shaving and providing a clean supply of clothes. Rostov felt the love and his childlike and soulful smile returned.A little later Natasha delivers a selfless message from Sonya, who Tolstoy uses to illustrate a most pure love. He is bestowed the type of affection a young man is fortunate to have but apt be careless with. Nicholas is ready to take on life and whatever else is bound to come his way.Natasha explains, in a childlike way, how devoted Sonya remains. Sonya has made it clear that she will always love Nicholas, but frees him of any obligations from previous vows. Tolstoy imbues her with wisdom beyond her years.  Nicholas realizes that there are so many other pleasures before him and it is right to remain free. When Nicholas turns the tables and inquires of Natasha's interest in Boris, Natasha brushes off any previous commitment. She does not think about Boris or anyone else in that way. She is now enamored with a celebrity dancer and wants to pursue dancing as her passion.  She then demonstrates some amateurish steps and changes the topic to inquire of Denisov.When Rostov again meets Sonya in the drawing room in the presence of the rest of the family, Rostov did not know how to behave. He felt a different type of nervousness than on the battlefield but it was still very real. He kissed her hand and addressed her with an uncharacteristic formalness. Her eyes begged forgiveness for having dared, through Natasha, to remind Nicholas of his promise. His eyes thanked Sonya for offering him his freedom and relayed that, in one way but likely not the another, he would never cease to love her.It was his eldest sister Vera, the un-beloved member of the family, who announces …. “How strange it is that Sonya and Nicholas now use formal terms to address one another… and meet like strangers.” Vera's remark was correct, as her remarks always were, but, like most of her observations, it made everyone feel uncomfortable.

Tonight's conversation is about something that doesn't get talked about enough in the fertility space: access.Because for so many people, the biggest barrier isn't the decision to grow their family—it's the cost of getting there.On this episode of Fertility Village Live, we're joined by Emily Getz from Day 1 Fertility and Isabelle Lefebvre-Vary, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Fertility Friends Foundation.We're talking about: • What real support at the beginning of a fertility journey looks like • Why funding and access matter more than ever • The work Fertility Friends Foundation is doing to support this community • Available grants and how to apply • And NIGHT 1—the fundraiser raising money for fertility grants, and how you can be part of itNIGHT 1 takes place on Thursday, April 16 at the Great Hall in Toronto starting at 6pm and promises an unforgettable evening of live music, dancing, and community—all in support of Fertility Friends Foundation grants.This year, there are two exciting ways to be part of it:• The Fertility Insight Lounge—an intimate, patient-only experience offering mini-consultations with leading fertility experts• Host your own dance night—whether at home, a studio, or with friends and family—so you can fundraise and join the movement from anywhereWhether you're in the thick of your journey, on the other side, or supporting someone you love, this night is for everyone who believes in showing up for this community.If you've ever felt like this journey is out of reach financially, this conversation is for you.Because support shouldn't be a privilege—it should be part of the process.

We look at what China's latest “Two Sessions” reveal about the direction of the world's second-largest economy. With Beijing setting its lowest GDP growth target since 1991, the focus appears to be shifting from rapid expansion to stability in an increasingly uncertain global economy. We explore what that means for businesses, investors and young people trying to find work in China today.If you'd like to get in touch with the team, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.ukPresenter: Rahul Tandon Producer: David CannBusiness Daily is the home of in-depth audio journalism devoted to the world of money and work. From small startup stories to big corporate takeovers, global economic shifts to trends in technology, we look at the key figures, ideas and events shaping business.Each episode is a 17-minute, daily deep dive into a single topic, featuring expert analysis and the people at the heart of the story.Recent episodes explore the weight-loss drug revolution, the growth in AI, the cost of living, why bond markets are so powerful, China's property bubble, and Gen Z's experience of the current job market.We also feature in-depth interviews with company founders and some of the world's most prominent CEOs. These include Google's Sundar Pichai, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, and the CEO of Canva, Melanie Perkins.(Picture: Chinese President Xi Jinping, centre right, and Premier Li Qiang, centre left, arrive at the closing session of the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People on the 12th of March 2026 in Beijing, China. Credit: Getty Images)

This is a special episode of Strong Sense of Place in which we announce that we're doing it again — we're taking a group of readers back to Trevor Hall. In October 2025, we took over Trevor Hall — a Georgian manor house in Llangollen, Wales — with forty members of the Strong Sense of Place community. It was the best book club ever. We took walks in the countryside, talked about (so many) books, enjoyed ridiculously delicious meals, and told spooky stories by candlelight. And we made lifelong friends. We're doing it again — and you're invited to join us! Together, we'll make ourselves at home in this historic mansion surrounded by the picturesque North Wales countryside. We'll have a book club, share gourmet meals in the Great Hall, play parlor games, ramble in the hills, and stomp our feet at a Celtic ceilidh. Our weekend begins in Manchester, England — a UNESCO City of Literature. We'll check into our rooms at a design hotel and enjoy our first IRL meetup in a historic library. After a good night's sleep, we're off to Elizabeth Gaskell's House for a private tour of the Victorian villa where she wrote ‘North and South' (and entertained literary friends like Charlotte Brontë and Charles Dickens). After a restorative tea-and-cake break, we'll ride together via private motor coach through the rugged countryside to Llangollen, a charming town on the River Dee in North Wales. Our destination: Trevor Hall. The Hall sits on a wooded hilltop overlooking green slopes dotted with sheep and horses. After a tour of the house and gardens, we'll ease into country living in the Hall's luxurious (and tastefully eclectic) rooms. With bookish activities, entertainment, and surprises planned throughout the weekend, you're sure to be delighted — and have plenty of time to connect with old and new bookish friends. DatesThis is a five-day, four-night trip: Thursday through Monday. It will be held on two consecutive weekends; each weekend is limited to 19 guests. Weekend 1: Thursday, November 5 through Monday, November 9 Weekend 2: Thursday, November 12 through Monday, November 16 Also! Click here for the complete details about the weekend and to enjoy the pretty photos For early access to tickets, join our Patreon. To be notified the minute tickets go on sale, join our free Substack newsletter. If you're curious about last year's trip, listen to our podcast episode That Time We Rented a Manor House in Wales. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

National political advisers have been urged to build consensus and pool wisdom for the country to achieve a good start for the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30).全国政协委员为“十五五”开好局、起好步广泛凝心聚力，贡献智慧和力量。The fourth session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, China's top political advisory body, opened on Wednesday at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, raising the curtain on this year's two sessions of China's top legislative and political advisory bodies.3月4日，全国政协十四届四次会议在北京人民大会堂开幕，标志着今年两会正式拉开帷幕。President Xi Jinping, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, and other leaders attended the opening meeting, joining around 2,100 CPPCC National Committee members from across the country and various sectors.中共中央总书记、国家主席、中央军委主席习近平等党和国家领导人出席开幕会，与来自全国各界、各领域的约2100名全国政协委员共同参会。Wang Huning, chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, delivered a work report on behalf of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC National Committee, saying that 2025 was a pivotal year for China's path to modernization.全国政协主席王沪宁代表政协第十四届全国委员会常务委员会作工作报告，指出2025年是中国式现代化进程中具有重要意义的一年。Amid complex global and domestic challenges, China concluded the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) successfully, with strength in the economy, technology and defense reaching new heights, he said.面对错综复杂的国际形势和艰巨繁重的国内改革发展稳定任务，我国 “十四五” 圆满收官，经济实力、科技实力、国防实力迈上新台阶Over the past year, the CPPCC National Committee contributed to the country's development by organizing 98 consultative and deliberative activities. It received 5,992 proposals from members, of which 5,061 were accepted for processing and the response rate for the accepted proposals reached 99.9 percent, providing reference for the government, according to the report.一年来，全国政协共举办各类协商议政活动98场次，收到提案5992件，立案5061件，办复率99.9%，为政府决策提供了重要参考。Wang called for suggestions and deliberation during the session to be centered on the implementation of the new five-year plan.王沪宁指出，要围绕“十五五”规划实施议政建言。"We should focus on key issues in fields including economic development, scientific and technological innovation, reform and opening-up, social construction and people's livelihoods, and reflect social conditions and public opinion in a practical manner," he said.要围绕经济发展、科技创新、改革开放、社会建设、民生保障等领域重点问题，实事求是反映社情民意。Wang said the CPPCC National Committee will implement a democratic supervision work plan for the 15th Five-Year Plan period to help promote the implementation of major decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee.全国政协要实施好“十五五”时期全国政协民主监督工作计划，助推中共中央重大决策部署贯彻落实。The CPPCC National Committee will also hold activities to commemorate the 160th anniversary of the birth of Sun Yat-sen, a revered national hero and pioneer of the country's democratic revolution. It will strengthen foreign exchanges and better tell the stories of China's democracy, he added.要办好纪念孙中山先生诞辰160周年活动。要加强政协对外友好交往，讲好中国故事、中国全过程人民民主故事。Jiang Ying, CPPCC National Committee member and chairwoman of Deloitte China, said that as the nation gets ready to start the 15th Five-Year Plan, its push for high-level opening-up and win-win cooperation shows it is committed to high-quality growth through openness.全国政协委员、德勤中国主席蒋颖表示，在"十五五"规划即将开启之际，我国持续推进高水平对外开放和互利共赢合作，彰显了以开放促高质量发展的决心。"This is good news for global businesses — giving them more confidence and new opportunities," Jiang said, adding that China's continuous progress in areas like the digital economy and green transformation is attracting more multinational enterprises to base their research and development in China."这为全球企业带来更多信心与机遇，我国在数字经济、绿色转型等领域的持续突破，正吸引越来越多跨国企业将研发中心落户中国。"She said that managing cross-border data flows has become a key issue in high-level opening-up and her proposal this year highlights the problems enterprises face in cross-border data flows, aiming at making it easier and more convenient for enterprises to comply with regulations.蒋颖指出，跨境数据流动已成为高水平对外开放的关键议题，今年她重点关注企业数据跨境流动痛点，助力提升企业合规便利化水平。Li Shufu, a CPPCC National Committee member and chairman of Geely Holding Group, identified the "new trio" — electric vehicles, lithium batteries and photovoltaics — as pivotal trends for social progress.全国政协委员、吉利控股集团董事长李书福认为，电动汽车、锂电池、光伏产品"新三样"已成为社会发展的重要趋势。While noting that the auto industry is shifting from "involution-style" competition toward sustainable growth through technology and quality, Li said that Geely is working to convert unstable wind and solar energy into stable liquid fuels for storage and transportation.当前汽车行业正从"内卷式"竞争转向依托技术与质量的可持续发展，吉利正探索将不稳定的风光资源转化为稳定的液态燃料，实现能源的跨时空存储与运输。Clarence Ling Chun-kit, a CPPCC National Committee member from Hong Kong, said that given current cross-Strait tensions, frequent communication is more important than ever and he will focus more this year on youth exchanges.来自香港的全国政协委员凌俊杰表示，面对当前两岸关系形势，加强交流沟通至关重要，今年他将重点关注两岸青年交流。Noting that cross-Strait integration in scientific areas like artificial intelligence and computing during the 15th Five-year Plan period is essential, Ling said Hong Kong serves as a "natural bridge" to help Taiwan compatriots understand the "real situation on the Chinese mainland" through shared cultural and trade ties.他强调，在"十五五"规划期间推动人工智能、算力等科技领域的两岸融合发展尤为重要，香港可发挥天然桥梁作用，通过深化文化经贸纽带，帮助台湾同胞更好了解大陆真实发展情况。cross-border data flows /ˌkrɒsˈbɔːdə ˈdeɪtə fləʊz/跨境数据流动 photovoltaics /ˌfəʊtəʊvɒlˈteɪɪks/光伏 involution /ˌɪnvəˈluːʃən/内卷

Back in the early 90s, while attending college in London, Ontario, Canada, my buddy Aaron and I'd made the drive back and forth to Toronto on a regular basis, and it was on these numerous rides that we'd stack the pockets with our cassettes - road trip soundtracks, and one of our favourites was Two Seven's Clash by Culture. Fire up the engine, insert the tape and kick off with See Them A Come, one of my all-time favourite cuts, and we'd be jacked up and ready to roll. During college, Aaron, I, and another buddy, Marcus, journeyed to Toronto to catch Culture at The Great Hall - to say this was a magical musical night would be doing it a disservice. We had balcony seats right above the stage, so we could catch everything up close. Seeing Hill with the backup singers, lock-step groove, sweet harmonies - it was an out-of-body experience, that could have been down to the little spliff that we'd partaken in beforehand, but whatever the reason, this concert, the countless hours of being on the road have left music of Culture indelibly marked in my musical consciousness. So today I shine the musical spotlight back to the early years of Culture in the mix Culture: Roots Reggae's Most Righteous Voice Jamaica in the mid-70s was a pressure cooker. Political violence, poverty, and a deep spiritual hunger for something beyond the immediate reality of Kingston's yards and tenements all found a voice in roots reggae, and few groups channelled that voice more purely than Culture. The group came together in 1976, initially calling themselves the African Disciples: Joseph Hill on lead vocals, his cousin Albert “Ralph” Walker, and Roy “Kenneth” Dayes on harmonies. Hill had already put in his time as a percussionist with the Soul Defenders, the house band at the legendary Studio One, and had been working the sound system circuit for years before stepping out front. He knew the machinery of Jamaican music from the inside. They rebranded as Culture, found their producers in Joe Gibbs and engineer Errol Thompson, and cut a run of singles that crackled with urgency, among them “Two Sevens Clash.” The song predicted apocalyptic consequences for 7 July 1977. When that date arrived, large numbers of Jamaicans reportedly stayed home. Shops closed. People waited. The record had crossed the line from music into prophecy. Those singles became the backbone of their 1977 debut album, also titled Two Sevens Clash — dense with Rastafarian theology, political fury, and some of the tightest three-part harmonies in reggae. Rolling Stone would later name it one of the 50 all-time coolest records ever made, the only reggae album to make that list. Not a bad debut. After the Gibbs sessions, Culture moved to producer Sonia Pottinger's High Note label, one of the very few labels run by women in Jamaican music at the time. She brought in the best session players available: Robbie Shakespeare and Sly Dunbar in the rhythm section, Ansel Collins on keys, Cedric Brooks on horns, and percussionist Sticky. The result was a run of records that still holds up: Harder Than the Rest (1978), Cumbolo (1979), and International Herb (1979). Three albums in roughly two years, each one focused and fully realised. The UK connection proved crucial. Two Sevens Clash had been finding its way into the hands of British punk fans as much as reggae fans, largely through John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show, and it charted at number 60 on the UK Albums Chart in April 1978. Virgin Records signed the group to its Front Line imprint, giving Culture international distribution just as their output was peaking. At the time of the first Rolling Stone Record Guide, Culture was the only act in any genre whose entire catalogue received five-star reviews across the board. The original lineup dissolved in 1981, but reunited in 1986 and returned with two strong albums rather than coasting on reputation. The 1990s brought further records on Shanachie and Ras Records, often with Sly and Robbie back in the rhythm section. Joseph Hill died in August 2006 while on tour in Europe, collapsing mid-performance. What happened next became part of the Culture story in its own right. His son Kenyatta stepped up and completed the remaining nineteen shows of the tour. Critics and fans were stunned. The voices were eerily similar, the conviction just as real. The phrase that circulated afterwards said it plainly: magic, not tragic. Kenyatta has led the group ever since, alongside original founding member Albert Walker. Fifty years on, Two Sevens Clash still sounds like a warning. PLAYLIST Culture - Iron Sharpening Iron - 2000 Digital Remaster Culture - See Them A Come Culture - The International Herb Culture - Behold I Come Culture - Two Sevens Clash Culture - Them A Payaka Culture - Stop The Fussing And Fighting - 2000 Digital Remaster Culture - I'm Not Ashamed Culture - Natty Never Get Weary - Remastered 2000 Culture - Addis Ababa Culture - Baldhead Bridge Culture - Zion Gate Culture - Tell Me Where You Get It - 2000 Digital Remaster Culture - Down In Jamaica - 2000 Digital Remaster Culture - Love Shine Bright - 2000 Digital Remaster Culture - The Shepherd - 2001 Digital Remaster

Send a textIn this episode, we discuss the latest news on the Harry Potter TV show and what it might mean for the story. Enjoy!Topics/Summary:·      1:18 So what happened? HBO announced that they are already casting for season two, and they also mentioned that they have cast Louis Shelton as future Ron for the first season. He won't play a huge role in the story, but it opens the door.·      9:14 Filmmakers are following the books closely. You could also argue that they are completely branching out, but we have to know more before we can say for sure. With characters like the Flamels, the TV is breaking new ground. But with a future Ron, we technically have seen him before.·      15:16 Flash-futures are dangerous. Imagine we are in the Great Hall or something like that and we flash forward. We watch a scene that is to come, and then are pushed back to the present. In that moment, the present loses some value. It feels like we're losing ground, even though we saw something from the future.·      21:09 It is very possible to avoid that danger. If we keep the flashes brief and avoid full scenes, and integrate them into the story, the flashes will only enhance the present. Dumbledore thinking about the future in his office is a great opportunity to explore this.·      25:46 Despite all the negatives, there is a huge upside. If we avoid the full scenes, the filmmakers can make these visions of the future truly impactful. The truth is we don't know everything. Some actors and creative choices are still unknown to us, so there is still potential to be surprised.Having anything you want to hear or say? Click here for a voice submission or here for text. ThePotterDiscussion@gmail.comthepotterdiscussion.comNox

Book Worm's Story Snacks | The Cave of Shimmering Shadows Can you leave your mark on history thousands of years in the past? Join the Book Worm in this frozen-frontier story snack and gear up with parkas and Crampons to travel back to the tail end of the Ice Age . What starts as a journey to discover ancient "Stone Age Beasts" quickly turns into an artistic emergency when a young painter named Luma runs out of red the vital earth pigment needed to finish the "Great Hall of Bulls" before his flickering lamp runs out of fuel . Navigate slippery riverbanks, use a sturdy branch as a Lever to uncover hidden minerals, and master the ancient art of the Blow-pipe to finish a prehistoric masterpiece . Together, you'll discover the science of Pigments and Binders, the power of Traction, and how art has connected humans across thousands of years—all through teamwork, logic, and a little imagination .

Fotheringhay Castle. Northamptonshire, England.February 8, 1587.The Great Hall has been transformed into a theater of death. A scaffold, two feet high and covered in black cloth, stands in the center. A fire crackles in the hearth, fighting the winter chill, but it does little to warm the blood of the three hundred spectators crowded into the room.They are waiting for a woman who has been a prisoner for nineteen years. A woman who was Queen of France at sixteen, Queen of Scotland at birth, and who—according to the government of Elizabeth I—is now a condemned traitor.When she enters the hall, she doesn't look like a criminal. She walks with a limp, yes, ravaged by rheumatism, but her head is high. She wears black satin over velvet, a long white veil flowing to the ground, and a rosary hangs from her waist. She looks every inch the anointed sovereign.But in less than an hour, the illusion of majesty will be shattered by the clumsy swing of an axe. This isn't just a political execution; it is the first time in history a crowned monarch will be legally tried and put to death by another. And it will go horribly, famously wrong.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.You can pay more if you want to, but rent at the Safe House is still just a buck a week, and you can get access to over 400 ad-free episodes from the dusty vault, Safe House Exclusives, direct access to the Boss, and whatever personal services you require.We invite you to our other PULPULAR MEDIA podcasts:If disaster is more your jam, check out CATASTROPHIC CALAMITIES, telling the stories of famous and forgotten tragedies of the 19th and 20th centuries. What could go wrong? Everything!For brand-new tales in the old clothes from the golden era of popular literature, give your ears a treat with PULP MAGAZINES with two new stories every week.This episode includes AI-generated content.

a.) Smoke at Sinaib.) Smoke in the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippurc.) Smoke in Heaven in Isaiah's Prophetic Vision

Send us a textMalahide Castle is one of Ireland's most iconic and haunted landmarks—and during our visit, it spoke back.In this episode of Shadows of Ireland, we share our experience at Malahide Castle, where an ITC (Instrumental Transcommunication) session was conducted in the Great Hall with Chris Fleming and our tour guide. Using an ITC app, communication was attempted with one of the castle's most famous spirits.This was not a traditional investigation. Instead, it was a guided experience that unexpectedly became deeply personal—filled with subtle moments, emotional reactions, and encounters that reminded us why the paranormal is ultimately about the human experience.We explore:The ITC session and what came throughThe history and hauntings of Malahide CastlePersonal experiences during the tourWhy intention matters more than equipmentSometimes the loudest evidence isn't captured on a recorder—it's felt in the moment.This October (1–9), we're joining Secret Ireland Tours for a haunted journey through Scotland, guided by renowned paranormal investigator Ryan O'Neill—seen on Haunted Scotland and Haunted Ireland, and Executive Director of Scottish Paranormal.From ancient locations to lingering folklore, this journey is about history, humanity, and the unexplained. Support the showFind us at: gxparanormal.com Watch On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@generationxparanormal Listen: • Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/generation-x-paranormal/id1661845577?i=1000666351352 • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6zQmLQ0F78h8KRuVylps2v?si=79af02a218444d1f Follow us on Social Media: • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GenXParanormal • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/generationxparanormal/ • Twitter (X): https://x.com/GXParanormal

The British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer says "good progress" was made in his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping of China. Our China correspondent will give us her assessment. Also on the programme: as President Trump steps up the rhetoric on Iran, what could happen if the US strikes it? And the musical director who stood in for Puccini's challenging Turandot when the star tenor suddenly fell ill. (Photo: UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer shakes hands with President Xi Jinping of China ahead of a bilateral meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing during his visit to China. Credit: PA)

On the 1st of Janurary, 1604, Hampton Court Palace hosted a performance by William Shakespeare's acting troupe, The King's Men. They were booked to perform for the new King of England, James VI of Scotland, and one of the plays that they chose was 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'.  What did it mean to be part of 'The King's Men'? How did Shakespeare's relationship with James VI and I shape his life and his plays? In this episode, Curator Brett Dolman welcomes Dr Will Tosh to the Great Hall at Hampton Court, one of few surviving places where we can tread in Shakespeare's footsteps, to discuss the nature and impact of royal patronage on Jacobean theatre.  Read more about Shakespeare at Hampton Court Palace on our website.  Dive into the history of Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' and 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' with blogs from The Globe.  Buy Will Tosh's book 'Straight Acting: The Many Queer Lives of William Shakespeare' here.     

SHOW SCHEDULE 1-26-261808 GREAT HALL BANK OF ENGLAND Bill Roggio and Husain Haqqani discuss global turmoil and confrontation, examining U.S. policy failures in Afghanistan. The conversation addresses the ongoing consequences of American withdrawal and the resurgence of threats in the region, highlighting how strategic missteps continue to destabilize the area and embolden adversaries. Bill Roggio and Husain Haqqani examine how Africa remains unprotected from jihadists and plunderers. The discussion explores the continent's vulnerability to extremist expansion and resource exploitation, with weak governance and insufficient international attention allowing terrorist networks and predatory actors to operate with increasing impunity across multiple nations. Ernesto Araujo and Alejandro Pena Esclusa analyze Venezuela's posture of public defiance while remaining privately obedient to the Trump administration. The segment explores the contradictions in Caracas's diplomatic stance, suggesting the regime's theatrical resistance masks behind-the-scenes accommodations driven by economic pressure and political survival calculations. Ernesto Araujo and Alejandro Pena Esclusa report on a spontaneous Rio rally supporting the Bolsonaro family. The demonstration reflects continued popular backing for the former Brazilian president despite legal challenges, indicating that conservative movements in Latin America retain significant grassroots energy and organizational capacity. Malcolm Hoenlein and Thaddeus McCotter discuss Iran's ongoing executions and mass murders. The segment details the regime's brutal crackdown on dissent, highlighting the systematic use of capital punishment against protesters and minorities as Tehran intensifies domestic repression amid international isolation and internal unrest. Malcolm Hoenlein and Thaddeus McCotter examine Saudi Arabia's internal disagreements over a potential air campaign against Iran. The conversation explores Riyadh's strategic calculations, balancing regional security concerns against the risks of direct military confrontation with Tehran and the complexities of American alliance dynamics. Mark Simon and Gordon Chang address Hong Kong's persecution of democracy advocates through show trials. The discussion highlights Beijing's systematic dismantling of civil liberties, using the judicial system to silence opposition figures and signal that resistance to Communist Party authority will face severe consequences. Brandon Weichert and Gordon Chang analyze the PRC using ground-based nodes to influence states. The segment examines China's expanding infrastructure of political and economic pressure points, demonstrating how Beijing leverages physical assets to project power and shape foreign government policies. John Hardie reports that Russia continues targeting heat and light infrastructure in Kyiv, while Ukraine retaliates by striking Russian infrastructure. The segment examines the escalating war of attrition against civilian utilities as both sides seek to undermine morale and economic capacity through systematic attacks on essential services. Jack Burnham reveals that Chinese academics have been granted easy access to Energy Departmentsupercomputing resources used in nuclear weapon simulations. The discussion highlights alarming security lapses allowing potential adversaries to benefit from sensitive American technology with direct military applications and strategic implications. Cleo Paskal and Bill Roggio examine the PRC threat to Oceania from Guam's perspective. The segment details China's aggressive influence peddling and buying throughout the Pacific islands, as Beijing systematically works to undermine American strategic positioning and cultivate dependent relationships across the region. Cleo Paskal and Bill Roggio discuss the UK's giveaway of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, highlighting China's influence over the Mauritian government. The transfer raises concerns about Beijing potentially gaining strategic access to a critical Indian Ocean location near vital shipping lanes and military installations. Ahmad Sharawi reports that Al Sharaa continues attacking minorities in Syria, with Kurds being driven back while the U.S. stands aside. The Druze community also faces assault as the new regime consolidates power through ethnic persecution despite initial promises of inclusive governance. Janatyn Sayeh describes Iran's mass murders amid a broken economy with no communications or internet access. The segment portrays a regime in crisis, resorting to extreme violence against its population while infrastructure collapse and international isolation accelerate the government's deteriorating grip on power. David Daoud examines how Hezbollah reigns over villages in Lebanon. The segment details the organization's methods of social control, combining armed intimidation with provision of services to maintain dominance over Shia communities and enforce loyalty to the movement's political and military agenda. David Daoud explores what Hezbollah will manage if Tehran fails. The discussion considers the organization's future autonomy and survival prospects should its Iranian patron collapse, examining whether the group can sustain itself independently or faces inevitable decline without external support.

Send us a textTheon watches as a child's body is laid before Lord Roose instigating in-fighting in the castle. Roose calls for battle preparations against Stannis. Theon is called into duty to smuggle Arya out of Winterfell. All goes well, until it doesn't. Mackelly and Simon hope for a soft landing.Chapter Review:Theon Greyjoy sits at the back of the Great Hall of Winterfell, alongside the bard Abel and some of his women. Ser Hosteen Frey bursts through the doors with Little Walder's dead body in his arms and lays him below the dais. A bloody Big Walder and several knights accompany Hosteen. Big Walder says Little Walder went looking for a man who owed him coin from dicing, and it was the Manderlys who taught him the game. Fighting breaks out between the Freys and Manderlys, leaving Lord Wyman Manderly bleeding and several men dead.Lord Roose announces that they will ride out against Stannis, and the Freys and Manderlys will lead the charge. Abel's women say that now is the time to enact their plan. Theon meets the women in the godswood. They're all dressed as servants. After filling buckets of hot water, they gain entrance to Lady Arya's room. Theon coaxes Jeyne, who almost reveals she's not Arya, into cooperating. She trades clothing with a washerwoman, who remains behind to keep the numbers accurate, and they walk Jeyne out of the keep.Several of the women go off to find Abel and two go with Theon and Jeyne. When the women kill two guards, Jeyne lets out a scream, which brings more guards. One woman stays behind to hold them off, the other takes Theon and Jeyne up the stairs of the outer wall, only to realize she doesn't have the rope to repel down. When she is killed by a crossbow bolt and Theon and Jeyne are surrounded, Theon grabs Jeyne and they jump off the wall.Characters/Places/Names/Events:Reek - Broken shell of Theon Greyjoy.Ramsay Bolton - Newly legitimized son of Roose Bolton. Nasty piece of work.Roose Bolton - Lord of the Dreadfort and Warden of the North.Arya Stark - Youngest daughter of Ned and Catelyn Stark. Princess of Winterfell.Jeyne Poole - Married to Ramsay Bolton masquerading as Arya Stark.Wyman Manderly - Lord of White Harbor.Abel - Bard in Winterfell. Possibly Mance Rayder. Support the showSupport us: Buy us a Cup of Arbor Gold, or become a sustainer and receive cool perks Donate to our cause Use our exclusive URL for a free 30-day trial of Audible Buy or gift Marriott Bonvoy points through our affiliate link Rate and review us at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, podchaser.com, and elsewhere.Find us on social media: Discord Twitter @GhostsHarrenhal Facebook Instagram YouTube All Music credits to Ross Bugden:INSTAGRAM! : https://instagram.com/rossbugden/ (rossbugden) TWITTER! : https://twitter.com/RossBugden (@rossbugden) YOUTUBE! : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kthxycmF25M

For the first regular episode of the year (excepting our New Year's recap) we take a look at the New Year Traditions at Temmu's court.  How did the court celebrate the New Year in the late 7th century? For more, check out our blogpost:  https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-141 Rough Transcript: Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua and this is episode 141: Temmu's New Year's Traditions   The chill winter air meant that most of the assembled crowd had donned multiple layers of robes.  Men and women had assembled together, upon the open, rock-covered courtyard, both to see and be seen.  To the north and east of the courtyard were the walls and gates of the buildings that made up the royal palace, the rooves of the buildings just visible beyond the gates. The onlookers stood arrayed around the open lanes that had been created for the event—at one end of the rocky field were targets, while at the other were archers, also arrayed in their finest outfits.  While technically they wore hunting robes, cut to allow greater movement in the arm, many of these fabrics had no business being anywhere near a moor or the dirt of open fields.  After all, this wasn't just some hunt:  They were demonstrating their skills in the center of the State.  At the officials' command, the archers let loose their arrows.  The crowd murmured at the soft crack of the bowstring, the faint whisper of arrow as the fletchings cut through the air, and the thud as the arrows struck their targets.  Looking downrange, approval bubbled through the crowd: the targets were well-struck.  Behind the archers on the field, another group awaited their turn. The events of the day would be the talk of the court, from the lowest clerk to the highest prince , for days to come.   Not just the well-placed shot, but also the grace and poise of the one who had let loose an arrow of particular note.  And heaven forbid an arrow miss its target.  Even kicking up stones or scraping the earth could have negative social consequences.  A particularly good showing could inspire poetry, and beyond the prizes being offered to the winner, could also bring notice to those from more obscure backgrounds. The new year had just started, and a good performance might be just what was needed to help put the rest of the year on a good footing.     Welcome back!  This is the first episode of the new year, 2026, and we are still going through the reign of Ohoama, aka Temmu Tenno, covering the period from 672 to 686. Before we get started, though, a quick shout out to Suzuki for supporting us on Patreon.  It means a lot and helps us keep this thing going.  If you would like to support us or our efforts to maintain the website, where we also have the Armor manual, clothing, and a miscellany on various topics, we have information at Sengokudaimyo.com and we will have more information at the end of this and every episode.  Support is appreciated as I really do want to try and minimize ads—I don't put any into the podcast myself, though some platforms may place ads around the podcast, which I cannot always control.  Now we've covered a lot this reign, but this episode we are going to cover three things in particular.  First off, and perhaps a bit of a tangent, we'll talk about some of the issues with the Chronicles when it comes to reading it,especially in translation.  It seems quite clear to me that even the sources that the Chroniclers were using weren't always in agreement with each other on how they spelled certain things or even in properly recording when things happened. After that we'll cover the major topics of this episode, focusing primarily on the New Year traditions of the court—we'll look at the major events of the first month for each year in the reign, allowing us to see some of the similarities, and differences. Finally, we'll look at the last year of Ohoama's reign, particularly as he grew ill, because it can be a fascinating question:  What did people do when disease struck before we had modern medicine?  Here the Chronicles reveal a lot about not only the beliefs of the time, but of their syncretism: how people were willing to reach out to whatever power they could in order to cure disease.  Whether it was Yin-yang divination, beseeching the local kami, or attempting to make merit, all of these things were on the table when it came to illness and mortality. And so, let's get into it. One of the first things I want to talk about is the problem that we have in trying to read the Chronicles, both in the way they are written and then the translation issue on top of that.  Even in Japanese the Chronicles have to be translated out of an ancient form of kanbun—basically a Japanese version of Chinese, using Sinitic characters.  Like any document written by non-native speakers, the Chronicles have their idiosyncrasies that make it different from what someone in Chang'an might be writing at the same time.  There are times and places where it is clear that something is meant to be read in the Japanese pronunciation, which itself was different from modern Japanese.  Add to this the fact that there are many times that different Sinitic characters sound alike in Japanese—especially in modern Japanese.  So any English translation of the Chronicles which doesn't give the actual characters in the source text can add to the confusion.  This is why I like to consult either the Japanese Historical Text Initiative or an electronic version of the National History series text—though even those have issues at times when the characters used in the text don't exist in modern character sets, though that seems to be less and less of a problem. One example I want to give of the complexities of reading the Chronicles, and the need to dive deeper into the original language and consult multiple versions, is a set of records for Ki no Omi no Abemaro and others.  He is our first mention of a member of the Ki family: on the 9th day of the 8th month of 673, the first year since Ohoama's ascension and one year after the Jinshin no Ran, we are told that Ki no Omi no Abemaro and others were given favors and rewards for their service during the war in Iga province.  Indeed, Ki no Omi no Abemaro is listed prominently in the records of the Jinshin no Ran and appears to have been one of the generals for Ohoama and the Yoshino faction in general.  Less than a year later, on the 28th day of the 2nd month, Ki no Omi no Abemaro died and was posthumously awarded the rank of Daishi, which was 5th from the top in the old system of 26 ranks.  A rather respectable rank, to be sure. Later that same year we get a note that Ki no Omi no KATAmaro—another member of the family, apparently--was appointed, along with a "Prince Mino" as a commissioner for the erection of the Great Temple of Takechi. Two years later, however, we get a record on the 22nd day of the 4th month of 676 that the sovereign, Ohoama, sent an order to the Governor of Mino telling him to let the children of Ki no Omi no Abemaro, resident in the district of Toki, be removed to the East country and become peasants in that country.  On the face of it, this appears to be an incredible fall from grace.  Ki no Omi no Abemaro is basically one of the top generals and heroes of the Jinshin no Ran, but his children are so unruly that they are banished to the East and stripped of their noble status?  There has to be a story there, right? Then in 679, on the 3rd day of the 2nd month, we are told that Ki no Omi no Katamaro died.  For his service in the Jinshin War he received the posthumous rank of Upper Daikin.  That would have been roughly the 7th rank—two below Ki no Abemaro.  So was the Ki family back in the good graces of the court?  What is going on? First off, when we go to the original text, we see that Aston, whose translation of the Nihon Shoki we've been working on Ihas made an apparent error in translation.  Remember, Aston was translating the Chronicles back in 1896, without the aid of modern computers, along with a lot of other research that has happened since then, and I can hardly fault him for missing things here and there.  This is why, if you cannot check the original, you may want to also look at the new translation from John Bentley.  Here we can see that he translates the name not as "Ki no Omi no Abemaro", but rather that of "Ki no Omi no KASAmaro".  And if we compare Ki no Omi no KaSAmaro with the previous entry on Ki no Omi no KaTAmaro we can see that these are actually the exact same names except for a single character.  Which leads us to the question:  Are these the same person, and the scribes simply miswrote one of the characters in the name?  It may not even be on the Chroniclers so much as whatever texts they were, themselves, working on.  This isn't helped by the fact that we later on see another entry for Ki no KATAmaro, but that one uses character for "KATA", meaning "hard", using the kun'yomi, or Japanese reading, rather than using two phonetic characters in the on'yomi reading.  So is this just another way to write "KATAmaro" or is this a different person altogether? Ultimately, we cannot be entirely sure.  It does seem wild that there would be two "Ki no Omi no Katamaro" at court at the same time and nobody otherwise distinguished the two.  The question about KaSAmaro and KaTAmaro, and whose kids were sent into exile, is a bit harder to untangle. And, truth be told, it is ultimately a minor point.  We have only a couple of lines here, and maybe these passages will help illuminate something later in the histories, but for now, they are just fragments of the story of what was happening.  Parts of the tattered tapestry from which the royal history was ripped out and restitched together, the rest of the story largely discarded, unless it made its way to us through other means. The Chronicles may be flawed, but they are still our main source for the period, and while we might challenge individual items, we still get a glimpse at how things operated back at this time.  For instance, if we look at the events happening around the New Year, we can see some common threads. The New Year is an important tradition in many cultures.  Whether it was a solar or lunar cycle—or some combination—the new year indicated a new cycle, and was often accompanied by associated symbols and rituals.  Today in the US it is often celebrated with fireworks and champagne, followed by making resolutions for the new year.  In Japan, people will often go to their local shrine or temple for an important first visit, and temple bells will ring out 108 times. Another tradition is the osechi-ryori, the  traditional new years foods.  This has grown over time from a tradition of eating a large bowl of rice to various other foods that are seen as auspicious or having special properties, such as the hardening of teeth—a major concern before the era of modern dental hygiene!  Then there are traditions such as the Kagami Biraki, or opening of the mirror, and the creation of special mochi, or rice cakes for the purpose.  Of course all of these traditions started somewhere and have evolved over time, so what do we know about the New Year celebrations during the late 7th century? One caveat: in the Chronicles, we only really see what was happening in the court, and the Yamato court at that.  There may have been local traditions that others were following that, unless we find documentation about them, we likely would never know.  But many of the court traditions were passed down to later generations. These traditions appear to include the giving of gifts; large, celebratory banquets; and the annual archery tournament. Banquets are some of the first and most common things we see.  We see a banquet as Ohoama assumed the throne in 673—which probably was the event that overshadowed anything else they might have done that year.  The following year, 674, there doesn't seem to have been much recorded, and I wonder if they were still pulling everything together after the turmoil of Ohoama's ascension.  And so it is that in the first month of 675 we really get to see the annual new year's events in their full form.  On the second day of that year, from the Royal Princes on down, all of the public functionaries presented their respects to the sovereign.  I suspect that this was a large ceremony, where everyone gathered in the courtyard of the palace together or something similar, not that each person individually went up and presented their respects—I doubt Ohoama would have wanted to sit through all of that.  Also, as we've already seen, there were limits on what parts of the palace different functionaries were allowed to enter.  So some of these well-wishers may have been "outside", others in the courtyard, and others in the palace building itself, depending on their rank and importance in the bureaucratic hierarchy. On the following day, all public functionaries, from the initial rank upwards, presented firewood.  Aston notes that this is the first mention of what would become a yearly practice.  Firewood may not seem like much, but it would have likely been important to keeping things running, especially given how early people were supposed to arrive at the palace and administrative complex each day.  This wasn't firewood for a fireplace—they didn't have those—but probably would have been used either for cooking or, I suspect, for the large braziers that burned with wood and pitch to light the darkness, particularly in the winter months.  Firewood could also be processed into smaller pieces of coal for other uses.  It is interesting that for the first ceremony, the Chronicles describe the court from the Royal Princes on down, while for the giving of firewood the order is from the initial—which is to say the lowest—ranks upwards.  This could indicate the order in which things progressed in these cases. Several days after that, on the 7th day of the first month, a banquet was given at court for the Ministers—so only the higher ranking functionaries.  But ten days later, on the 17th, everyone of rank—the Ministers of State; the Daibu, or high officials; and all of the public functionaries from the initial rank upwards had an archery meeting in the Court of the Western Gate. Archery and archery contests had been important to the Yamato people for ages—and the same on the continent.  Confucius, in his day, suggested that archery was a martial skill that even nobles should cultivate.  I believe we've noted before how archery could be used both for warfare and for just feeding your family.  As such, it was considered a particularly useful skill for just about everyone to have.  It probably also helped that it was a martial skill that noblemen and others could use to show off without actually risking any injury to themselves in the process.  I'm just saying.  And as we described at the top of the episode, this particular archery contest would, for both participants and spectators, likely have been a chance to show off the top of their game, whether in martial prowess, clothing, or behavior. And since we are looking at the new year's celebrations, let's keep this going and look at later years in Ohoama's reign. As I go through these you'll start to see the patterns, where the events I've just described will generally recur year after year, but not identically, sometimes with a shuffle in the schedule. In 676, we see that the Ministers and public functionaries pay their respects on the first day of the new year.  On the 4th day, the sovereign granted gifts to the higher level officials, from Royal Prince Takechi, down to the high officials, or Daibu, of Shoukin rank.  Their not so secret Santa gifts included robes, hakama, lined garments, obi for their waist, leg straps, and staves, or walking sticks.  We are also told that everyone above the rank of Shoukin also got an armrest thrown in, as well.  Further gifts or grants were given out several days later, on the 7th, to everyone from Shoukin on up, based on their individual circumstances.  Then, on the 15th, we again see all of the functionaries present firewood and then they were all entertained at a court banquet. The following day they held the annual new year's archery contest, with prizes, at the court of the western gate.  Those who hit the target received prizes of different values.  In his recent translation of the Nihon Shoki, Bentley references Kuroita on Article 41 of Miscellaneous Statutes, saying that this archery event was apparently a regular new year's occurrence, and even the prizes were noted as varying over time. The same day they held the archery contest, that year, Ohoama held a banquet at the Shima Palace.  Shima was the name given to the Soga Prime Minister, back in the day, so I assume that this was at or near the site of the old Soga residence? In 677, by comparison, we don't see nearly as much referenced.  There is archery at the South Gate, vice the west gate, but that is it.  The festivities in 678 similarly only talk about the archery at the south gate.  There is also mention of a preparation for worshipping the kami of heaven and earth, for which a purification was held throughout the state.  In addition, an abstinence palace, or saiguu, was erected on the bank of the Kurahashi river.  Kurahashi appears to refer to a tributary of the Ohara river, in Sakurai.  This feels less like a New Year's celebration, however, and more like a sign of merit-making.  The Saiguu would have likely been to prepare for a trip to Ise shrine, and three months later Ohoama was preparing to go to the Saiguu, but that is when Princess Towochi suddenly died, and they scuttled the plans. In 679, the court greeted the New Year with a new decree.  Ohoama declared that Princes, Ministers, and public functionaries—anyone in service to the government, basically, were to refrain from paying respects during New Years or other ceremonies to anyone except relatives of the grade of elder brother, elder sister, and above, or to the senior members of the Houses.  Princes weren't even to pay respects to their own mothers unless they were, themselves, princesses.  Ministers were likewise not to pay respects to their mothers if they were of "mean" rank.  In other words, if they were commoners. These kinds of statutes are interesting.  First of all, you ask yourself why?  In all likelihood, there were various local traditions and individuals paid respects to their parents as well as to others to whom they owed respect for one reason or another.  Here the State is ordering society such that there is a clear hierarchy, at least among the members of the court.   Since women often found advancement by marrying up, it was usual for one's mother to have been born a lower rank in society than oneself.  And so we see them enforcing the social order. That new order was based on Confucian concepts of hierarchy, and this seems to go along with those same ideas. What we don't really see is how this was enforced—if at all.  The day after that, the yearly archery competition took place at the West Gate of the palace. The next year, 680, we see a New Year's Banquet at the Court of the Great Hall.  Ohoama himself occupied the Mukai-kodono, which appears to refer to one of the smaller wings.  Based on the palace layout that we see in the posthole remains, this probably means that he was set up in the smaller wing, likely in a more intimate space, while most of the other guests were in the large hall, maintaining that crucial separation of sovereign and subjects. This New Year's archery event included Princes of the Blood all the way down to the rank of Shouken—the very lowest rank in the court—and it was held at the South Gate. You may be noticing a pattern, that the archery competition is listed as being held at either the south or west gates.  The south gate probably refers to the main gate of the later Okamoto—aka the Kiyomihara—palace.  The West gate refers to the west gate of the Ebinoko enclosure.   We talked about these and the general layout of the palace back in Episode 134, and you can check out that podcast blog post for some images of what things looked like, as well.  These gates were on the north and east sides of a large, rectangular courtyard, which was likely the actual event location.  So it isn't as if these were separate areas, just a difference of where things were set up in what was otherwise the same relative space. The following year, 681, we see similar ceremonies.  We see offerings made to the kami of Heaven and Earth, and we once again see a note about various functionaries paying their respects at court.  Even though this wasn't mentioned every year, it could have been an annual thing and just wasn't always recorded so the Chroniclers just wrote down what they had records for.  There are certainly other things we don't necessarily witness in the records, such as the annual promotions and promulgations.  We see irregular promotions, of course, such as on someone's passing, but the regular administration of the government and promotions of people to new positions is not something we really see regularly documented, since it doesn't really shed much light on the sovereign and the royal household.  And so we sometimes see things if they get mentioned, but otherwise we only see glimpses.  That would change as records became more administrative and the histories were more about simply recording what was happening—though still from a particular angle.  At this point, however, we aren't dealing with a single court record, but rather with numerous records, stories, and recollections.  That same year, 681, we also see another banquet, with Ohoama situated in the Mukai no Kodono, while the Princes of the Blood and non-royal Princes were both introduced into the inner reception chamber.  Ministers attended in the outer reception chamber.  They all received sake and musical performances, and rank advancements were given out.  Kusakabe no Kihi no Ohogata was graduated from the rank of Upper Daisen to Lower Daikin, and given the title of Naniwa no Muraji.  A few days later, Sakahibe no Muraji no Iwazumi was granted a fief with 60 horses and received presents of coarse silk, floss silk, cloth, and one hundred mattocks—the last one being a rather interesting gift, I have to admit.  Of course, in true Chronicles fashion, we have no idea why these gifts were made—we don't even have another reference to Iwazumi around there, but he must have done something. We are later told that there was the annual archery shoot, and then a decree, possibly unrelated to New Years, that the various provinces were ordered to repair the shrines to the kami of heaven and earth. The year 682 is an anomaly.  There is no mention of a banquet, nor of an archery tournament.  I wonder if this may have to do with some of the sad events of that first month.  While it started fine—Toneri no Miyatsuko no Nukamushi was raised from Daisen to Lower Shoukin—we are told that on the 18th, Lady Higami, one of Ohoama's consorts, died in the palace.  The next day there was an earthquake, and she was buried on the 27th.  A prominent illness and death may have put a pall on the ceremonies, and could explain why we don't see any mention of them for that year. It is also possible that some of this New Year tradition had become so routine that people were no longer commenting on it, and therefore the Chroniclers weren't including references to it. The following year, in 683, we again see the functionaries paying their respects.  We also see the presentation of a three legged sparrow by the Viceroy of Tsukushi, Tajihi no Mabito no Shima, along with others.  A three legged sparrow would have been something: it is reminiscent of the three legged crow, often depicted in the sun.  It is unclear if it was still alive, but that wasn't the point.  They invited the Princes of the Blood down to the Ministers to great hall, the Daigokuden, for a banquet, where the three legged sparrow was displayed. .  Later that month, Ohoama issued a decree in regards to all of the auspicious omens and made presents to everyone, from Shouken rank upwards.  There was also a general amnesty—all crimes were pardoned, from capital offenses on down, and all forced labor was remitted, so that people didn't have to provide the normal service.  The phrasing for this particular entry is intriguing.  Ohoama is mentioned as Yamato Neko Sumera no Mikoto and is specifically called a "God Incarnate".  This is one of the rare times that we see the Chronicles explicitly call out the sovereign as a living deity.  Of course, they trace the royal lineage back to Amaterasu, but there isn't a lot suggesting that the sovereign is necessarily a deity. And in reality, this was probably something that was more honorific than anything else.  Heck, at times in Japanese history we would see sovereigns selling their calligraphy to help keep the royal palace funded while warriors went around actually being in charge of things.  However, this divine language did show up in the 19th and 20th century, especially as the Tennou, now called Emperor in English terminology, once again was recognized as the Head of State, and people would actually pray to him.  Not necessarily like praying at a shrine, but out of respect.  And remember, a lot of time the Tennou was kept out of sight of regular people and hidden, much like the way that the kami were treated.  The concept of the Emperor's divinity was very much tied up in the elevation of the State and the general sense of Nationalism that had gripped Japan in the early half of the 20th century.  And so the allies quite explicitly had Emperor Showa renounce his divinity after Japan  World War II. Those studying Japanese history have probably heard of this concept, and so it is interesting to see evidence of it here, as well as the nature of the royal house, where the sovereign is kept at a distance from those of lower rank, unless they are directly serving him.  But it was not as though the sovereign was a god in the sense of being all powerful.  Even if he were considered a living, visible kami, the kami were not omnipotent, and there was no getting over the fact that our particular sovereign, Ohoama, was getting older.  Only a year or so earlier, he had suffered a rather bad illness, so he clearly was not invincible.  And it is of course possible that this language was simply royal exaggeration, rather than any attempt to define the sovereign as something more than he was.  Still, that concept would continue to play a part throughout Japanese history. The same day in 683 that Ohoama issued the pardons, we are told that there was a special performance at the Woharida Court of dance and music from Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla—the "Three Countries" of the Korean peninsula, even if only one of them was still going strong.  The Woharida palace is thought to have been north, along the banks of the Asuka River.  It may have been moved over time—there appears to have been a palace in the Furumiya area, near Toyoura, but there is also evidence of a palace by a shared name over by Ikazuchi-no-oka, on the other side of the river.  Excavations at Ikazuchi no oka revealed pottery with the name of the palace, suggesting that this was the site, but even then, that pottery was from the later Tempyo era.  Regardless, it seems that the Asuka valley was just chock full of palaces, new and old, though the older ones were not as regularly used for government functions, one assumes. The following year, 684, we again get told about the annual archery shoot.  It took place in the Eastern court this time, with Ministers in attendance.  Apparently they had men skilled in archery shooting alongside palace attendants and little people—the word used in Japanese is "Shuju" or "Hikihito".  This word is often translated as "dwarf"; it appears to be a derogatory term for anyone considered short of stature, though it is also used to refer more generally to those seen as either lacking wit or to actors and performers. This isn't the first time we see the term.  Back in 675, about 9 years prior, Ohoama had sent orders to a number of regions near the capital, from Awaji to Tamba, to Afumi and to Mino and Wohari, among others, to send as tribute common people who could sing, shuju—or dwarfs—and jugglers.  More generally they seem to be referring to entertainers, and it strikes me that could be what is meant here.  Either way, the entertainment industry was hardly a lucrative one, and we can see that performers are almost more of a commodity, to be "paid" as tribute, rather than a professional who is "hired" to work.  I suspect that, as in many other times and places, individuals who were shorter than average often found work as entertainers in this sense—whether they wished it or not. The year 685 we don't see any mention of archery, though it probably still happened.  Instead the Chronicles focus on the various government officials paying their respects to their sovereign.  The rest of the entries for the month are largely concerned with changes to the rank system as of that year. The year 686, we get the last records of various new years festivals—four months later, the sovereign would grow terribly ill, and he would eventually pass away later that year.  However, for those still celebrating the new year in 686, that was all in the future. The last year of Ohoama's reign started out relatively like others. Ohoama went to the Daigokuden, the Great Hall of Audience, and gave a banquet to the Princes and High Officials.  There he decided to have something of a riddle challenge.  He would ask riddles, and then offer prizes for the correct answer. And no, unfortunately we don't have any of the riddles, at least that I have seen.  Aston calls these "conundrums" and notes that they are specifically nonsensical questions, and provides examples such as "Why does a horse, after a rapid run, listen to the earth? Why does a dog, when he goes slowly, raise his leg?"  Ohoama's son, Prince Takechi, answered correctly, and so did Prince Ise.  Their prizes differed in content, but in both cases were pretty extensive.  The winners received ceremonial robes, brocade or purple hakama, numerous bolts of coarse silk, many pounds of thread, hundreds of pounds of flossed Silk, and hundreds of bolts of cloth. I think that makes it quite a bit more lucrative than any of the quiz nights I've ever been to. Later that month, there was another banquet, this time for nine Buddhist monks of Daikan-daiji. Besides its status as a national temple, this may have also been related to the year before, when Ohoama had fallen ill, and prayers had been offered at Daikandaiji for his recovery.  The courthad likewise provided gifts to the temple in the last month of the previous year, and then, at the banquet, gave to the attending monks silk and cloth, based on their rank. But that wasn't the end of the gifts.  The following day the Princes and High Officials all received upper garments and hakama—likely referring to official garments—each getting one suit, each. Then, on the 13th day of the new year, the court invited 20 exceptional individuals to a banquet.  These were talented people, professors, divination specialists, and physicians.  They were also wined and dined and presented various gifts. On the 16th day, the Princes and High Officials were then invited to a banquet in the Daigokuden.  They were given gifts of silk and cloth, based on their rank.  Then they held another riddle competition, with correct answers rewarded with gifts of coarse and flossed silk. This was only a short time after disaster had struck, though a bit removed—two days earlier, in the evening, the royal storehouse at Naniwa had caught fire, eventually burning the entire Toyosaki palace complex to the ground.  Some claimed that it was actually started at a private residence,  that of Ato no Muraji no Kusuri, and then spread to the Palace.  In the end, only the military storehouse was spared. This would have been quite the tragedy for the government, but it did not halt the festivities happening down in Asuka.  The Naniwa Palace appears to have been a major government center for the administration of the state, but it was not the royal court which had been in Asuka for over a decade.  Indeed, I imagine that the news probably reached Asuka around the time of the Banquet itself. And yet, rather than putting a damper on the festivities, they continued another couple of days – presumably everything was already prepared and there was no point in canceling.  On the 17th, the court sponsored a banquet in the rear palace, presumably for the Queen and members of the imperial family.  Then the following day there was a great revel at the palace.  Ohoama took his place in front of the royal muro and made presents to performers, as well as to the singers.  As before everything varied according to rank. Asuka wasn't the only place to get in on the festivities.  The same month, the court also sponsored a banquet for the Silla envoys in Tsukushi, sending Prince Kawachi and others. Regrettably, that would be the last new year that Ohoama would see.  In the fifth month, he grew ill, and what we see in the Chronicles after that is an interesting look into how people of the time dealt with sickness. First, the court had the Sutra of Yakushi expounded at Kawaradera and held a Buddhist retreat in the palace, inviting monks to come and expound Buddhist teachings.  Yakushi, or Yakushi Nyorai—Bhaisajyaguru in Sanskrit—was known as the Medicine Buddha, and his name in Sinitic characters was basically "Master of Medicine".  It is said that he was responsible for the Eastern Pure Land, and that, as a Bodhisattva, he had made 12 great vows to cure the illnesses of all living beings in the world.  For that reason, Yakushi Nyorai was often called upon to cure illness.  In fact, six years earlier, when the Queen, Uno no Sarara Hime, had taken ill, Ohoama erected an entire temple to Yakushi Nyorai, known as Yakushiji.  He then had 100 people take vows as priests, and they attributed her recovery to this effort. In this case, however, it seems that it didn't have quite such an effect, and Ohoama remained under the weather.  We are also told that the court sent Palace Attendants, the Oho-toneri, to clean the pagodas of various temples and that a general amnesty was announced for all under heaven, emptying the prisons.  All of this points to the idea of making merit in the hope of bringing good karma, and thus healing. But the following month, Ohoama was still ill.  Divination was performed by the Onmyoji, the court diviners, and they claimed that there was a curse from Kusanagi, the sword that is considered one of the three main royal symbols.  This is the sword that was said to have been found by Susanowo in the tale of Yamata no Worochi, and which gained its name, Kusanagi, when used by Yamato Takeru, cutting down the grass to save him when his enemies tried to catch him by setting fire to the field where he was hunting.  For more on that, check out Episodes 34 and 35. Given the importance of Kusanagi, I suspect that the idea of destroying it to remove the curse was out of the question, and so it was sent to Atsuta Shrine, where it was enshrined and would largely stay except when needed for enthronement ceremonies.  And yet, even after the sword was taken away, the illness remained.  Six days later, on the 16th day of the 6th month, the court sent Prince Ise and officials to Asukadera and asked the monks there to make and oath with the Buddha to make Ohoama whole through the power of the Three Treasures of Buddhism.   For their work, the three Buddhist Officers, the Master of the Law, and the Upadhyaya and temple directors, as well as those monks with the rank of "master" each received a donation of one robe and one cover, or "Ohi". Three days later, the court ordered the hundred officials to go to Kawaradera and perfom the ceremony of lighting lanterns and giving offerings to Buddha.  Then they held a great feast and offered repentance for their transgressions.  All of this sounds like a continued attempt to make merit for the state, and thus for Ohoama. We then see the court granting the monks Hounin and Gishou 30 stipend-households to provide for them in their old age, which may be more merit-making, or possibly was related to some of the many other activities so far.  There are a few issues with this entry, and Aston and Bentley don't seem to agree on the actual date.  Bentley has it on the 28th, but that seems odd as it comes before the entry for the 22nd of the same month.  Aston has it as the 20th, but then claimes that there is something odd about the date of the 22nd. On the 22nd, we are simply told that the district kitchen of Nabari caught fire.  Aston notes that this would have been the official government arm in the district gathering food to supply the royal household—rather than being a kitchen in terms of a place to prepare food. Merit-making continued into the 7th month.  We see the Soujou and Soudzu, the primary and secondary prelates of the Asukadera, performing ritual repentance.  The following day there is another general amnesty, and Aston specifically mentions performing a Oho-harai, or cleansing. The day after taxes were halved from the provinces and corvee labor with local conscripted labor was exempted for the year.  Then we see the court presenting paper offerings to the Kunikasu Kami in Ki provinces, as well as the four shrines in Asuka and the Great Suminoe—aka Sumiyoshi—shrine. On the 8th day of the 7th month, 100 monks were invited to the court to read the Golden Light Sutra—Konkoymyou kyou.  And on the 15th there was another court issued amnesty. Despite all of these attempts to make merit and intercede with the Buddha or with various kami, Ohoama's illness continued.  We see that the court issued a decree that all things that should occur, great or small, should be reported to the queen and the crown prince—presumably because Ohoama was no longer in a state to be able to do so. Continuing with their efforts, the court declared that destitute commoners who had been forced to borrow rice seed or money before the 12th month of the previous year would be exempted from repayment.  And then the court changed the name of the year to Akami-tori, or Shuuchou.  They also renamed the palace in Asuka to "Kiyomihara"—again, go check Episode 134 for more on the palace.  "Shuuchou" is the Red Bird, likely referring to Suzaku, though Aston also points out that "Asuka" here is given as "flying bird", as well, and there had been numerous bird-related omens reported throughout the reign. Although these names would not have been used prior to this point—the 7th month of the final year of the reign—the Chroniclers applied the nengo, Shuuchou, to all of the entries for this year, and the name of the palace is often given as "Kiyomihara" is given to distinguish it from the Later Okamoto Palace, even though it was simply the latter palace with the addition of the Ebinoko enclosure. The changing of the era name was likely another attempt to change the seemingly inauspicious year, along with all of the merit-making that the court had been undergoing. And yet they kept going. The court selected 70 people who were diligent in keeping Buddhist laws and had them take the tonsure, and they sponsored a feast—or festival—in the Royal Muro of the Palace. At the same time the various princes had a statue of the Boddhisatva of Compassion, Kannon, made for the sovereign and had the Lotus sutra—the sutra where Kannon is first mentioned—read out at Daikandaiji. Kannon, or Avalokitesvara, was originally seen as a male Boddhisatva, but is often depicted as a woman.  They are also known as Guanyin, from which we get Kannon in Japanese.  Guanyin is also seen as Goddess of Mercy, and is one of the most popular figures across multiple sects of Buddhism and even outside of the Buddhist faith, where she is still seen as a goddess.  In this case, however, it seems clear that the princes were seeking compassion to relieve the sovereign of his affliction. And yet it persisted. They had 80 more people take the tonsure, and then 100 more men and women, placed 100 statues of the Boddhisatva, Kannon, in the palace, and then read out 200 volumes of the Lotus Sutra. And then they made prayers to the kami of Heaven and Earth.  And they dispatched Hata no Imiki no Iwakatsu to present paper offerings to the Tosa great shrine.  Nothing seemed to be working. In the 9th month, we see the royal princes and others, down to the various ministers, all gathered at Kawaradera making oaths for the health of the sovereigns.  This last ditch effort would go unrewarded.  Five days later, and Ohoama would pass away.  Of course, they couldn't just say that he died:  The Chronicles actually say that he divinely departed.  After all, didn't they call him an incarnate kami? Two days later, the court began the ritual of mourning, raising voices in lamentation, and setting up a temporary palace of interment in the courtyard, south of the palace.  Ohoama's body was placed there some thirteen days later, and people mourned his passing. For the rituals, we see monks and nuns performing ritual lamentation in the courtyard between 3 and 5 am, around the time that court officials would normally be waiting at the gates.  Over the next several days, various ceremonies were held and eulogies given.  We are told that the court presented offerings of food for the dead for the first time, and over the next several days monks and nuns would offer their laments and then various individuals would provide their eulogies.  Finally, on the last day of the ninth month, the eulogies concluded with Nyang-u, a Baekje prince, who pronounced a eulogy on behalf of his father, and then the Miyatsuko of various provinces came and did likewise.  There were also performances of all manner of singing and dancing. With that, the reign of Ohoama would come to an end.  The government would continue under his wife, the Queen, and Crown Prince.  We'll get into the succession in a later episode.  For now I'll just say that he was eventually buried in a large tomb in the modern Noguchi area of Asuka, and you can still go see it. And while that does bring us to the end of the reign, we still have a few more things that I want to discuss.   This episode just seemed a good time to talk about all of the various new years ceremonies, and that seemed to lead naturally into the very last year, but there is still more to discuss.  For one thing, we still haven't quite covered the spread of Buddhism and the changes in the structure.  There are also various laws and punishments that are worth covering.  Finally, there are the Chronicles themselves: we've talked about it all along, but the Nihon Shoki and the Kojiki are attributed to this era, as is the start of what would become the capital of Fujiwara-kyo—many works that Ohoama would not live to see to the end, but is largely held responsible for starting. But until then, if you like what we are doing, please tell your friends and feel free to rate us wherever you listen to podcasts.  If you feel the need to do more, and want to help us keep this going, we have information about how you can donate on Patreon or through our KoFi site, ko-fi.com/sengokudaimyo, or find the links over at our main website,  SengokuDaimyo.com/Podcast, where we will have some more discussion on topics from this episode. Also, feel free to reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page.  You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com.  Thank you, also, to Ellen for their work editing the podcast. And that's all for now.  Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  

Happy 2026! No trio member is safe, as Chapter by Chapter covers Chapter 11 of Half-Blood Prince, “Hermione's Helping Hand.” Does Hermione do the wrong thing for the right reasons? Should Harry do the right thing and expose her actions or, even worse, not choose Ron for the Gryffindor Quidditch team? And, separately, is Hagrid letting his brother join classes? All that and more on this latest episode of MuggleCast. What did the hosts get from Santa this year? And is Andrew about to reveal more than ever before? Chapter by Chapter continues with Half-Blood Prince Chapter 11, “Hermione's Helping Hand.” Nonverbal spells are now standard in several classes, but does the trio ever learn them? Should teachers be required to eat meals in the Great Hall? Some appear to be skipping out. A comment from Hermione makes Harry warm, and may ignite some fires in the shipping community. Do we pity Ron for his need to show off and overcompensate? What Hermione does at Quidditch practice is highly risky. Why does she take the chance when she could be exposed? Should Harry have made another decision once he discovers Hermione's actions? Despite his friendship with Ron? An email asks: should Hermione have kept Care of Magical Creatures given her established future career trajectory? It turns out Hagrid is dealing with more than just the kids not taking his class. Should the kids have to lie about another teacher just to make Hagrid feel better about himself? Our MVP segment has us ranking the beasts that Hagrid introduced the trio to. Our Lynx Line topic this week for Slug Club patrons: “Have you ever stacked the odds in favor of a friend for something that they wanted? And did you cheat to do it?” Participate in our weekly trivia segment by answering this week's Quizzitch question at MuggleCast.com/Quizzitch! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When you step into the Great Hall at Hampton Court Palace, the walls tell a story. In this minicast, we explore Henry VIII's Abraham tapestries: vast, expensive works of art that doubled as political messaging.Woven in the 1540s, these biblical scenes weren't just decoration. They reinforced Henry's claims to religious authority, dynastic legitimacy, and the future of the Tudor line, all at a moment when succession anxiety and church reform loomed large. Five hundred years later, the tapestries are still hanging—and still saying exactly what Henry wanted them to say.Read more here: https://www.amazon.com/Henry-VIII-Art-Majesty-Tapestries/dp/0300122349 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.