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From today's featured article
Did you know ...
- ... that lawyer Gilbert Ray Hawes (pictured) exposed an American diplomat for bribing the president of Venezuela?
- ... that Catherine, Princess of Wales, gave her first public musical performance by playing the piano at the 2021 Together at Christmas service?
- ... that the remains of the first Catholic bishop in Tasmania were not returned to the island until 150 years after his death?
- ... that the men's basketball program at Tulane University was eliminated following a point-shaving scandal in 1985?
- ... that the male editors of the women's magazine Asjraq resigned in its fourth issue, announcing that their duties were complete?
- ... that opera singer Zdenka Ziková was once arrested by the Yugoslavian secret police?
- ... that the Indonesian novel Verses of Love has been read as a challenge to Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses?
- ... that Pieter van der Hoog was paid for delivering a baby with a piece of the black cloth covering the Kaaba?
- ... that a book about fly biology was listed for sale for more than US$23 million—plus shipping?
In the news
- NASA launches the lunar flyby mission Artemis II (pictured), the first crewed mission past low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972.
- In Mongolia, Nyam-Osoryn Uchral is sworn in as prime minister following the resignation of Gombojavyn Zandanshatar.
- The Social Democrats, led by Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, remain the largest party after the Danish general election, with no political bloc winning a majority of seats.
- In Italy, voters reject a reform of the judicial system in a constitutional referendum.
On this day
- 1559 – Henry II of France and Philip II of Spain signed the second treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis, ending the Italian War of 1551–1559.
- 1888 – Emma Elizabeth Smith was killed in the first of eleven unsolved murders of women that took place in or near the impoverished Whitechapel district in the East End of London.
- 1966 – Luna 10 (replica pictured) entered orbit around the Moon, becoming the first space probe to orbit an astronomical body other than Earth.
- 2018 – A woman opened fire at YouTube headquarters in San Bruno, California, injuring three people before killing herself.
- Shivaji (d. 1680)
- Mary Harrison McKee (b. 1858)
- Gus Grissom (b. 1926)
- Yuliya Yefimova (b. 1992)
From today's featured list
Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is best known for her novels, poems and short stories, which are often set in Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria, where she was raised. By the age of 13, Adichie had started analysing stories by her father James Nwoye Adichie, including ones about Biafra. At 20, she made her debut as a published writer with the 1997 poetry collection Decisions, followed by a play, For the Love of Biafra, in 1998. She gained critical recognition with the release of her first novel Purple Hibiscus, published in the United States on 30 October 2003 by Algonquin Books. Adichie is a prolific writer of short stories, many of which were compiled in her collection The Thing Around Your Neck, published in 2009. Among the many accolades that Adichie has earned for her works are the National Book Critics Circle Award, MacArthur Fellowship, and induction into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. (Full list...)
Today's featured picture
The Hualien earthquake occurred on 3 April 2024. It was a Mw 7.4 earthquake in Hualien County, Taiwan. At least 19 people were killed and over 1,100 were injured. It was the strongest earthquake to strike Taiwan since the 1999 Jiji earthquake. This photograph shows the partially-collapsed Uranus Building.
Photograph: Shufu Liu, perspective correction made by Basile Morin
