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Construction of Grant's Canal, as depicted in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper
Construction of Grant's Canal, as depicted in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper

Grant's Canal was a military project to construct a canal through a bend in the Mississippi River opposite Vicksburg, Mississippi, during the American Civil War. Control of Vicksburg and the Mississippi was considered crucial by both the Union and the Confederacy. In June 1862, Union officer Thomas Williams was sent to De Soto Point with his men to dig a canal to bypass the strong Confederate defenses around Vicksburg. Disease and falling river levels prevented completion, and the project was abandoned until January 1863, when Ulysses S. Grant took an interest. The upstream entrance of the canal was moved, but heavy rains and flooding interfered with the project. Work was abandoned in March, and Grant eventually used other methods to capture Vicksburg. In 1876, the Mississippi changed course, cutting across De Soto Point near the route of the old canal and isolating Vicksburg from the river. The city's river access has since been restored. Only a small section of the canal survives. (Full article...)

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Muqarnas vault at the Mosque of Ulmas al-Hajib
Muqarnas vault at the Mosque of Ulmas al-Hajib

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Luís Montenegro in October 2022
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The Philippine television newscast 24 Oras has won thirty-two awards from ninety-three nominations. It premiered on GMA Network on March 15, 2004, and focuses on reportage of present-day events, incorporating disparate segments that appear recurringly. The newscast initially featured Mel Tiangco and Mike Enriquez; the newscast's anchors have changed significantly during its run. It has won five Box Office Entertainment Awards for Most Popular TV Program News & Public Affairs. The newscast has received eight Asian Academy Creative Award nominations (winning one) and fifty-two PMPC Star Awards for Television nominations (winning nine). At the 2009 New York Festivals TV & Film Awards, 24 Oras garnered a Gold World Medal and a Silver World Medal. It was nominated for International Emmy Award for Best News in 2013 and received a Peabody Award in 2014. (Full list...)

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Torii path with a lantern at Fushimi Inari-taisha

Fushimi Inari-taisha is the main Shinto shrine of the Japanese deity Inari Ōkami, located in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto. It sits at the base of a mountain, also named Inari, located 233 metres (764 ft) above sea level. The site's earliest structures were built in 711 on the Inariyama hill in southwestern Kyoto, but the shrine was re-located in 816 on the request of the monk Kūkai. It gained imperial patronage during the early Heian period and the main shrine structure was built in 1499. This photograph shows a torii path at Fushimi Inari-taisha with a hanging lantern. Each of the shrine's roughly 10,000 torii (gates) was donated by a Japanese business, and approximately 800 of these are set up in rows, as depicted here, that give the impression of entering a tunnel.

Photograph credit: Basile Morin

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