All posts tagged: Kingdom

Just How Christian Was the Kingdom of Kongo?

Just How Christian Was the Kingdom of Kongo?

Published by skeptic

  The Kingdom of Kongo was the first pre-modern African country to convert to Catholic Christianity. Following the arrival of Portuguese and Italian missionaries, Kongo’s elites adopted the new religion and ordered their people to follow suit. The kingdom was even recognized by the Pope in Rome as a bastion of Christian devotion. But given the persistence of local Kongolese customs in historical records, how Catholic was the Kingdom of Kongo? Did the people of Kongo and their European missionary guests have different notions of what it meant to be Christian?   The Kingdom of Kongo and the Meeting with Europe A local ruler in Kongo welcomes a Capuchin priest and his entourage, by Bernardino da Vezza d’Asti, 1740s, Source: Kuntshistorisches Institut in Florenz   By the time Europeans set ashore on the coast of Central Africa, the Kingdom of Kongo had already existed for nearly a hundred years. Its people came from Bantu-speaking ethnic groups which had migrated across the region centuries ago. The kingdom’s government was structured around a ruler known as the …

12 of the best UK breaks to celebrate spring | United Kingdom holidays

12 of the best UK breaks to celebrate spring | United Kingdom holidays

Published by skeptic

Apples and pears, Herefordshire This is cider country, and the Brockhampton Estate, near the Worcestershire border, is the largest orchard under the National Trust’s care, with over 145 acres of damson, pear, quince, cherry and apple trees, which blossom in great frothy clouds from late March through April. They surround a handsome moated manor house, built on fortunes made from fruit (as well as salt and timber) in the middle ages. A cluster of 18th-century former farm buildings have been sensitively converted into holiday lets, including a five-bedroom main farmhouse, a circular flat for two in a hop kiln, and the two-bedroom converted Cart Barn, where the old stable partitions now divide the kitchen and dining space. The 1½-mile Orchard Trail winds through the blossom as sheep graze between the trees, and longer routes snake around 1,500 acres of park and woodland. In the orchard natural play trail, children can find and captain the Hereford Bull, a replica 200-year-old “trow” (cargo boat) hidden among the trees – and there are Easter egg hunts in the …

Saudi sovereign wealth fund pitches kingdom as AI hub

Saudi sovereign wealth fund pitches kingdom as AI hub

Published by skeptic

MIAMI : The head of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) on Thursday pitched the kingdom as a prospective hub for artificial intelligence activity outside the United States, citing its energy resources and funding capacity. “We are fairly well positioned to be an AI hub outside of the U.S.,” said PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan, speaking at a Miami investment event sponsored by the sovereign wealth fund. “AI will consume a lot of energy and we are the global leader when it comes to fossil fuel energy and when it comes to renewable energy,” he said. Rumayyan said Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil producer, also had the “political will” to make AI projects happen and ample funds it could deploy to nurture the technology’s development. His comments signal that data centers may be a core part of Riyadh’s strategy to capitalize on booming demand for generative AI technology, which requires vast amounts of processing power. AI technology uses clusters of thousands of chips in massive data centers to train algorithms to complete tasks. Tech companies’ …

Discovery of a rare orange seal confirms the Biblical record of Assyria’s invasion of the Kingdom of Israel

Discovery of a rare orange seal confirms the Biblical record of Assyria’s invasion of the Kingdom of Israel

Published by Sam

Erez Avrahamov with his 2,800-year-old Assyrian seal ” data-image-caption=”Erez Avrahamov with his 2,800-year-old Assyrian seal Credit: Israel Antiquities Authority ” data-medium-file=”https://i2.wp.com/openthewordblog.files.wordpress.com/2024/02/erez-avrahamov-with-2800-year-old-assyriian-seal-israel-antiquities-authority.jpg?ssl=1?w=500″ data-large-file=”https://i2.wp.com/openthewordblog.files.wordpress.com/2024/02/erez-avrahamov-with-2800-year-old-assyriian-seal-israel-antiquities-authority.jpg?ssl=1?w=500″ width=”800″ height=”533″ fifu-data-src=”https://i2.wp.com/openthewordblog.files.wordpress.com/2024/02/erez-avrahamov-with-2800-year-old-assyriian-seal-israel-antiquities-authority.jpg?ssl=1″ alt=”” class=”wp-image-91424″ srcset=”https://i2.wp.com/openthewordblog.files.wordpress.com/2024/02/erez-avrahamov-with-2800-year-old-assyriian-seal-israel-antiquities-authority.jpg?ssl=1 800w, https://i2.wp.com/openthewordblog.files.wordpress.com/2024/02/erez-avrahamov-with-2800-year-old-assyriian-seal-israel-antiquities-authority.jpg?ssl=1?w=500&h=333 500w, https://i2.wp.com/openthewordblog.files.wordpress.com/2024/02/erez-avrahamov-with-2800-year-old-assyriian-seal-israel-antiquities-authority.jpg?ssl=1?w=768&h=512 768w” sizes=”(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px”/>Erez Avrahamov with his 2,800-year-old Assyrian sealCredit: Israel Antiquities Authority Erez Avrahamov, an Israel Defense Force’s reserve soldier, was on leave and decided to take a walk in the Tabor Stream Nature Reserve when he spotted a bright orange object in the ground, Christian Headlines reports. When he dug out the small oval-shaped carnelian stone, he discovered it had engravings on top. When he called the Israel Antiquities Authority about his find, Nir Distelfeld asked the reserve soldier if there was any engraving on the stone’s flat bottom. 2,800-year-old Assyrian seal with a winged Griffin carved on the flat side Credit: Israel Antiquities Authority When Avrahamov said that there appeared to be some type of winged creature carved on the bottom, Disteelfeld stated that the reserve soldier had probably found a 2,800-year-old Assyrian seal. This was confirmed when the …

Will the Chiefs or the 49ers win the Super Bowl? The animal kingdom weighs in

Will the Chiefs or the 49ers win the Super Bowl? The animal kingdom weighs in

Published by skeptic

A dog dressed in a Patrick Mahomes jersey and its owner enter the Power and Light Entertainment District as fans prepare to watch the Kansas City Chiefs play the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl on Feb. 12, 2023 in Kansas City, Mo. Kyle Rivas/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Kyle Rivas/Getty Images A dog dressed in a Patrick Mahomes jersey and its owner enter the Power and Light Entertainment District as fans prepare to watch the Kansas City Chiefs play the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl on Feb. 12, 2023 in Kansas City, Mo. Kyle Rivas/Getty Images Some sports commentators may clam up at being asked who will win this year’s Super Bowl, fearing that weighing in on the topic could open a can of worms. Not so for countless animals across the U.S., who’ve been offering up their takes on which squad will emerge victorious in Sunday’s big game. Furry fans at zoos, animal shelters and elsewhere have been making their picks — the San Francisco 49ers or the Kansas City Chiefs …

Man uses 46-year-old ticket that cost to get into Disney’s Magic Kingdom

Man uses 46-year-old ticket that cost $8 to get into Disney’s Magic Kingdom

Published by Sam

Sign up to our free Living Well email for advice on living a happier, healthier and longer life Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter A man used a ticket from 1978 to get into Disney’s Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida. In a now-viral TikTok video, Matthew Ables revealed that the 46-year-old ticket was sold back in the day at the low cost of $8, which compared to the triple-digit cost of Disney tickets in 2024 sounds unbelievable. The ticket was an “old family keepsake” that was “collecting dust” even before he was born. It turns out that it was the “golden ticket” to Magic Kingdom. “I realised it had never been used and there is no expiration date,” Ables said in the video, showing a clip of him walking up to the guest services booth. When he made it to the ticket booth, he wasn’t sure if his ticket would still be valid for the parks, but he was willing to take the chance. “I was getting nervous …

10 of the best UK country pubs for a winter weekend | United Kingdom holidays

10 of the best UK country pubs for a winter weekend | United Kingdom holidays

Published by skeptic

Tarr Farm Inn, Exmoor In the summer months, Tarr Steps heaves with families and visitors who come to cross the medieval clapper bridge that spans the River Barle. But in winter the woodland is tranquil, with lovely walks to the picturesque village of Dulverton. The Tarr Farm Inn – set right by the Steps – dates back to the 1600s, with nine comfortable rooms that come with fluffy bathrobes and Egyptian cotton, and homemade biscuits and fresh milk on the tea tray. Settle in for hearty dinners of chermoula-spiced scallops and a rack of Somerset lamb, with cream teas available until 5pm each day as a reward for a hearty walk. Doubles from £90 B&B; tarrfarm.co.uk The Bath Arms, Wiltshire Photograph: Jake Eastham In the tiny village of Horningsham, facing the green, stands the Bath Arms. Built in 1736 on the Longleat Estate, it remains a wonderfully peaceful spot in which to unwind. The cosy bar offers a range of local ales, while the candlelit restaurant serves seasonal Wiltshire produce, including meat and game sourced …

Saudi Arabia opens its first liquor store in over 70 years as kingdom further liberalizes

Saudi Arabia opens its first liquor store in over 70 years as kingdom further liberalizes

Published by Sam

JERUSALEM (AP) — A liquor store has opened in Saudi Arabia for the first time in over 70 years, a diplomat reported Wednesday, a further socially liberalizing step in the once-ultraconservative kingdom that is home to the holiest sites in Islam. While restricted to non-Muslim diplomats, the store in Riyadh comes as Saudi Arabia’s assertive Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman aims to make the kingdom a tourism and business destination as part of ambitious plans to slowly wean its economy away from crude oil. However, challenges remain both from the prince’s international reputation after the 2018 killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi as well as internally with the conservative Islamic mores that have governed its sandy expanses for decades. The store sits next to a supermarket in Riyadh’s Diplomatic Quarter, said the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a socially sensitive topic in Saudi Arabia. The diplomat walked through the store Wednesday, describing it as similar to an upscale duty free shop at a major international airport. The store stocks liquor, …

Anatomy of a Fall, The Animal Kingdom Lead Cesar Award Nominations

Anatomy of a Fall, The Animal Kingdom Lead Cesar Award Nominations

Published by Sam

Justine Triet’s Oscar-nominated Anatomy of a Fall and Thomas Cailley’s fantasy drama The Animal Kingdom are the front runners for this year’s Cesar Awards, France’s equivalent to the Academy Awards. In nominations announced Wednesday, Anatomy picked up 11 Cesar noms and The Animal Kingdom 12. Both were nominated in the best film and best director categories. Also nominated for best film are Jean-Baptiste Durand’s Junkyard Dog, All Your Faces from director Jeanne Herry and Cédric Kahn’s The Goldman Case. France’s official Academy Award contender, Anh Hung Tran’s foodie period drama The Taste of Things, which missed out on an Oscar nom on Tuesday, picked up three Ceasar nominations, but none in the main categories. German actress Sandra Hüller, a best actress nominee at this year’s Oscars for her starring turn in Anatomy of a Fall, is also up for the Cesar for best actress, going up against Oscar winner Marion Cotillard, nominated for Little Girl Blue, Lea Drucker, up for Last Summer, Hafsia Herzi, nominated for The Rapture, and Belgian actress Virginie Efira, nominated for …

Where to Stream ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ Online

Where to Stream ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ Online

Published by Sam

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, The Hollywood Reporter may receive an affiliate commission. Before the whole DC universe is rebooted with James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy in July 2025, the final film in the DCEU is Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Fans can watch Jason Momoa reprise his role (potentially for the last time) as the King of Atlantis in Aquaman 2 at home with the film’s streaming video-on-demand release on Prime Video and other platforms. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is now available to stream on digital online as a rental for $20 or to buy for $25. Below, keep reading for more on where to watch the last DCEU movie online. Where to Stream Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom Online Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is expected to hit a streaming service after its current theater run is over, though Warner Bros. Discovery has yet to announce a release date. Most Warner Bros. films — especially DC Entertainment movies — have been available to stream on Max …