Sailor Moon

Sailor Moon (美少女戦士セーラームーン, Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn, originally translated as Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon and later as Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon) is a Japanese shōjo manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. It was originally serialized in Nakayoshi from 1991 to 1997; the 52 individual chapters were published in 18 tankōbon volumes. The series follows the adventures of a young schoolgirl named Usagi Tsukino as she transforms into the titular character to search for a princess and an artifact called the "Legendary Silver Crystal" (「幻の銀水晶」, Maboroshi no Ginzuishō, lit. "Phantom Silver Crystal"). During her journey, she leads a diverse group of comrades, the Sailor Soldiers (セーラー戦士, Sērā Senshi) — Sailor Guardians in later editions — as they battle against villains to prevent the theft of the Silver Crystal and the destruction of the Solar System.

The 18 manga volumes have been adapted into an anime series titled Sailor Moon which was produced by Toei Animation. The series was broadcast from 1992 to 1997 in Japan over the course of five seasons along with three feature films, a television special, and three short films produced during the same period. A live-action television adaptation titled Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon aired from 2003 to 2004 and a reboot of the anime series titled Sailor Moon Crystal began simulcasting in 2014. Several companies have developed merchandising based on the series, including light novels, collectible trading card games, action figures, musical theater productions, several collections of soundtracks and a large number of video games. The manga series was licensed for an English language release by Kodansha Comics USA in North America, and in Australia and New Zealand by Random House Australia. The entire anime series has been licensed by Viz Media for an English language release in North America and by Madman Entertainment in Australia and New Zealand.

Alexander Rybak

Alexander Igoryevich Rybak (Russian: Алекса́ндр И́горевич Рыба́к, tr. Aleksandr Igorevich Rybak) or in Belarusian Alyaxandr Igaravich Rybak (Belarusian: Алякса́ндр І́гаравіч Рыба́к, tr. Alyaksandr Iharavich Rybak; born 13 May 1986 in Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union) is a Belarusian-Norwegian singer-composer, violinist, pianist, writer, actor and presenter/host. Representing Norway in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow, Russia, Rybak won the contest with 387 points—the highest tally any country has achieved in the history of Eurovision—with "Fairytale", a song he wrote and composed. His debut album, Fairytales, charted in the top 20 in nine European countries, including a No. 1 position in Norway and Russia.

Education

Rybak has been a student at the Barratt Due Institute of Music in Oslo since the age of 10. Due to his success in the Eurovision Song Contest, he took a break from his bachelor's degree studies at the institute, but in 2011, he returned to his studies and in June 2012, he graduated from Barratt Due Institute of Music with a Bachelor of Music in violin performance.

Casus belli

Casus belli is a Latin expression meaning "an act or event that provokes or is used to justify war" (literally, "a case for war"). A casus belli involves direct offenses or threats against the nation declaring the war, whereas a casus foederis involves offenses or threats against its ally—usually one bound by a mutual defense pact. Either may be considered an act of war.

The term came into wide use in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries through the writings of Hugo Grotius (1653), Cornelius van Bynkershoek (1707), and Jean-Jacques Burlamaqui (1732), among others, and due to the rise of the political doctrine of jus ad bellum or "just war theory". The term is also used informally to refer to any "just cause" a nation may claim for entering into a conflict. It is used retrospectively to describe situations that arose before the term came into wide use, as well as being used to describe present-day situations—even those in which war has not been formally declared.

In formally articulating a casus belli, a government typically lays out its reasons for going to war, its intended means of prosecuting the war, and the steps that others might take to dissuade it from going to war. It attempts to demonstrate that it is going to war only as a last resort (ultima ratio) and that it has "just cause" for doing so. Modern international law recognizes only three lawful justifications for waging war: self-defense, defense of an ally required by the terms of a treaty, and approval by the United Nations.

Eurovision Song Contest

The Eurovision Song Contest (French: Concours Eurovision de la chanson), often shortened to ESC or Eurovision, is the longest-running annual TV song competition, held, primarily, among the member countries of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) since 1956. The competition was based upon the existing Sanremo Music Festival held in Italy.

Each participating country submits an original song to be performed on live television and radio and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition. The contest has been broadcast every year for sixty years, since its inauguration in 1956, and is one of the longest-running television programmes in the world. It is also one of the most watched non-sporting events in the world, with audience figures having been quoted in recent years as anything between 100 million and 600 million internationally. Eurovision has also been broadcast outside Europe to several countries that do not compete, such as the USA and China. An exception was made in 2015, when Australia was allowed to compete as a guest entrant as part of the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the event. In November 2015, the EBU announced that Australia would return in 2016. Since 2000, the contest has also been broadcast over the Internet, via the Eurovision website.

Song Contest

Song Contest may refer to: