The First Battle of Dernancourt was fought on 28 March 1918 near
Dernancourt in northern France during World War I. Two Australian
divisions had been sent south from Belgium to help stem the tide of the
German Spring Offensive towards Amiens and, with the British
35th Division, they held a line west and north of the Ancre river and
the area between the Ancre and Somme. The German 2nd Army concentrated
its assault between Albert and Dernancourt, attacking off the line of
march after a short artillery preparation. The dawn attack was under the
cover of fog, but other than one small penetration in the early morning
that was quickly repelled, the Germans failed to break through the
Allied defences. An Australian sergeant, Stanley McDougall (pictured),
was awarded the Victoria Cross for his part in defeating the German
penetration. A week later the Germans renewed their attempts to advance
in the sector, culminating in the Second Battle of Dernancourt when the
Germans were again defeated.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Battle_of_Dernancourt>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1862:
American Civil War: An invasion of the New Mexico Territory by
the Confederate States Army was halted by Union forces at the Battle of
Glorieta Pass.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Glorieta_Pass>
1910:
French aviator Henri Fabre's floatplane, the Fabre Hydravion,
became the first aircraft to take off from water under its own power at
the Étang de Berre near Martigues in southern France.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabre_Hydravion>
1930:
The name of Turkey's largest city was changed from
Constantinople to Istanbul, with the government requesting other
countries to use Turkish names for its cities.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_Istanbul>
2015:
A siege of a hotel in Mogadishu by Al-Shabaab militants, which
began the previous day and killed at least 20 people, ended with the
Somali Armed Forces recapturing the premises.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makka_al-Mukarama_hotel_attack>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
atompunk:
(science fiction) A subgenre of speculative fiction, based on the
society and technology of the Atomic Age (c. 1945–1965).
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/atompunk>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Words are not (except in their own little corner) facts or
things: we need therefore to prise them off the world, to hold them
apart from and against it, so that we can realize their inadequacies and
arbitrariness, and can relook at the world without blinkers.
--J. L. Austin
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/J._L._Austin>
A virus is an infectious agent that reproduces inside the cells of
living hosts. Unlike most living things, viruses do not have cells that
divide; instead they force infected host cells to produce thousands of
identical copies of the original virus, at an extraordinary rate. A
virus consists of two or three parts: genes, made from either DNA or
RNA, long molecules that carry the genetic information; a protein coat
that protects the genes; and in some, an envelope of fat that surrounds
and protects them when they are not contained within a host cell (and
makes them vulnerable to soap). Viruses spread in different ways; some
through the air by people when they cough or sneeze, others by the
faecal–oral route, and some by direct contact or during sex. Over
4,800 species have been discovered, many of which cause disease in
plants and animals, including common human diseases such as the common
cold, chickenpox and cold sores, and serious epidemics and pandemics
such as HIV/AIDS, Ebola, influenza, SARS and COVID-19.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Introduction_to_viruses>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1945:
World War II: The United States Army Air Forces began Operation
Starvation, laying naval mines in many of Japan's vital water routes and
ports to disrupt enemy shipping.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Starvation>
1958:
Nikita Khrushchev, First Secretary of the Communist Party of
the Soviet Union, assumed the office of premier.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikita_Khrushchev>
1980:
Brothers Nelson Bunker Hunt and William Herbert Hunt failed in
their attempt to corner the world silver market, causing panic in
commodity and futures exchanges.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Thursday>
2009:
A suicide bomber killed at least 48 people during Friday prayer
at a mosque in Jamrud, Pakistan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Jamrud_mosque_bombing>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
wagon:
1. A four-wheeled cart for hauling loads.
2. A four-wheeled child's riding toy, pulled or steered by a long handle
attached to the front.
3. An enclosed vehicle for carrying goods or people; (by extension) a
lorry, a truck.
4. An enclosed vehicle used as a movable dwelling; a caravan.
5. Short for dinner wagon (“set of light shelves mounted on castors so
that it can be pushed around a dining room and used for serving”).
6. (slang) Short for paddy wagon (“police van for transporting
prisoners”).
7. (rail transport) A freight car on a railway.
8. (chiefly Australia, US, slang) Short for station wagon (“type of car
in which the roof extends rearward to produce an enclosed area in the
position of and serving the function of the boot (trunk)”); (by
extension) a sport utility vehicle (SUV); any car.
9. (Ireland, slang, derogatory, dated) A woman of loose morals, a
promiscuous woman, a slapper; (by extension) a woman regarded as
obnoxious; a bitch, a cow.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wagon>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The king can drink the best of wine; So can I: And has enough
when he would dine — So have I; He cannot order rain or shine;
Nor can I. Then, where's the difference — let me see — Betwixt my
lord the king and me?
--Charles Mackay
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Mackay>
Ubinas is a stratovolcano in the Moquegua Region of southern Peru, 60
kilometres (37 mi) east of the city of Arequipa. Part of the Central
Volcanic Zone of the Andes, it rises 5,672 metres (18,609 ft) above sea
level. Its summit is cut by a caldera 1.4 kilometres (0.87 mi) wide and
150 metres (490 ft) deep, which itself contains a smaller crater. Below
the summit, Ubinas is a steep cone with a prominent notch on the
southern side. The most active volcano in Peru, it has a history of
small- to moderate-sized explosive eruptions and persistent degassing
and ash emissions. An eruption in 1667, its largest since prehistoric
times, produced scoria falls and pyroclastic flows. In 2006 and 2007
eruption columns led to ash fall in the region, resulting in health
issues and evacuations. During the most recent activity, from 2013 to
2019, a lava flow formed inside the crater, and as ash fell, surrounding
towns had to be evacuated.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubinas>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1873:
A Dutch military expedition was launched to bombard Banda Aceh,
the capital of the Aceh Sultanate in present-day Indonesia, beginning
the Aceh War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aceh_War>
1953:
Jonas Salk announced the successful test of his polio vaccine
on a small group of adults and children (vaccination pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polio_vaccine>
1979:
With the signing of a peace treaty in Washington, D.C., Egypt
became the first Arab country officially to recognize Israel.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egypt%E2%80%93Israel_Peace_Treaty>
2010:
An explosion, allegedly caused by a North Korean torpedo, sank
the South Korean warship ROKS Cheonan near Baengnyeongdo in the Yellow
Sea, killing 46 sailors.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ROKS_Cheonan>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
felicitous:
1. Characterized by felicity.
2. Appropriate, apt, fitting.
3. Auspicious, fortunate, lucky.
4. Causing happiness or pleasure.
5. (linguistics) Of a sentence or utterance: semantically and
pragmatically coherent; fitting in the context.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/felicitous>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
We are going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones. Most
people are never going to die because they are never going to be born.
The potential people who could have been here in my place but who will
in fact never see the light of day outnumber the sand grains of Arabia.
Certainly those unborn ghosts include greater poets than Keats,
scientists greater than Newton. We know this because the set of possible
people allowed by our DNA so massively outnumbers the set of actual
people. In the teeth of these stupefying odds it is you and I, in our
ordinariness, that are here. … what I see as I write is that I am
lucky to be alive and so are you.
--Richard Dawkins
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Richard_Dawkins>
Megarachne was a predatory freshwater arthropod of the order of
eurypterids, often called sea scorpions. Two fossil specimens of the
genus have been discovered, in San Luis, Argentina, in deposits of Late
Carboniferous age from the Gzhelian stage. Megarachne ("great spider")
was initially misidentified as a spider. With a body length of 54 cm
(1.77 ft), it was a medium-sized eurypterid, similar to others within
the Mycteropoidea, a rare group known primarily from South Africa and
Scotland. The mycteropoids evolved a specialized method of feeding
referred to as sweep-feeding, raking through the substrate of riverbeds
to capture and eat smaller invertebrates. Due to their fragmentary
fossil record and similarities between the genera, Megarachne and two
other members of its family, Mycterops and Woodwardopterus, have been
hypothesized to represent different developmental stages of a single
genus.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megarachne>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1387:
Hundred Years' War: The English navy captured more than 80
ships and at least 8,000 tuns of wine from an allied French, Castilian
and Flemish fleet at the Battle of Margate in the English Channel.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Margate>
1903:
The Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (ship pictured)
anchored in the South Orkney Islands with the intention of establishing
the first meteorological station in Antarctic territory.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_National_Antarctic_Expedition>
1934:
Enrico Fermi published his discovery of neutron-induced
radioactivity, for which he was later awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics
in 1938.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enrico_Fermi>
1971:
Vietnam War: South Vietnamese forces abandoned a campaign to
cut off the Ho Chi Minh trail, which supplied North Vietnamese troops,
in Laos.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Lam_Son_719>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
adytum:
1. (Ancient Greece, religion) The innermost sanctuary or shrine in an
ancient temple, from where oracles were given.
2. (by extension) A private chamber; a sanctum.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/adytum>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Dictatorship, the most extreme form of tyranny, can never lead to
social liberation. In Russia, the so-called dictatorship of the
proletariat has not led to Socialism, but to the domination of a new
bureaucracy over the proletariat and the whole people. … What the
Russian autocrats and their supporters fear most is that the success of
libertarian Socialism in Spain might prove to their blind followers that
the much vaunted "necessity of dictatorship" is nothing but one vast
fraud which in Russia has led to the despotism of Stalin and is to serve
today in Spain to help the counter-revolution to a victory over the
revolution of the workers and the peasants.
--Rudolf Rocker
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Rudolf_Rocker>
The Hours of Mary of Burgundy is a book of hours, a form of devotional
book for lay people, completed in Flanders around 1477. It was probably
commissioned for Mary of Burgundy, then the wealthiest woman in Europe;
Mary was the only child of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, and wife
of Maximilian I, ruler of the Holy Roman Empire. The book contains 187
folios (folio 14v pictured), each measuring 22.5 by 15 centimetres
(8.9 in × 5.9 in). It consists of the Roman Liturgy of the Hours, 24
calendar roundels, 20 full-page miniatures and 16 quarter-page format
illustrations. It includes meticulously detailed illustrations and
borders by the influential illuminator known by the notname of the
Master of Mary of Burgundy. Other miniatures, considered of an older
tradition, were contributed by Simon Marmion, Willem Vrelant and Lieven
van Lathem. The two best-known illustrations contain a revolutionary
trompe-l'œil technique of showing a second perspective through an open
window.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hours_of_Mary_of_Burgundy>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1869:
New Zealand Wars: Māori leader Tītokowaru's conflict ended
with the last of his forces surrendering to the New Zealand colonial
government.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C4%ABtokowaru%27s_War>
1946:
Formulated at the initiative of British prime minister Clement
Attlee, the Cabinet Mission arrived in New Delhi to discuss the transfer
of power from the colonial government to Indian leadership.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1946_Cabinet_Mission_to_India>
1980:
One day after making a plea to Salvadoran soldiers to stop
carrying out the government's repression, Archbishop Óscar Romero was
assassinated while celebrating Mass in San Salvador.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%93scar_Romero>
2008:
Led by Jigme Thinley, the Bhutan Peace and Prosperity Party won
45 of 47 National Assembly seats in the country's first general
election.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Bhutanese_National_Assembly_election>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
get cold feet:
(intransitive, originally US, informal) To become nervous or anxious and
reconsider a decision about an upcoming event.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/get_cold_feet>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
First-rate pursuits involving, as they must, trying to understand
what life is about and trying to convey that understanding —
inevitably result in a sense of failure. A Napoleon, a Churchill, a
Roosevelt can feel themselves to be successful, but never a Socrates, a
Pascal, a Blake. Understanding is for ever unattainable. Therein lies
the inevitability of failure in embarking upon its quest, which is none
the less the only one worthy of serious attention.
--Malcolm Muggeridge
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Malcolm_Muggeridge>
Naruto is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi
Kishimoto. It tells the story of a young ninja, Naruto Uzumaki, who
seeks to gain recognition from his peers and dreams of becoming the
leader of his village. The series is based on two one-shot manga by
Kishimoto: Karakuri (1995) and Naruto (1997). It was serialized in
Shueisha's magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1999 to 2014, and released
in book form in 72 volumes. An anime television series of 220 episodes
was produced by Pierrot and Aniplex; it ran in Japan from 2002 to 2007,
and its English adaptation aired on Cartoon Network from 2005 to 2009.
Naruto: Shippuden, a sequel to the original series, premiered in Japan
in 2007 and ended in 2017 after 500 episodes. The English adaptation was
broadcast on Disney XD from 2009 to 2011, and on Adult Swim's Toonami
programming block beginning in 2014. Pierrot has also developed eleven
movies and eleven original video animations. Naruto is the fourth best-
selling manga series ever.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naruto>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1889:
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad founded the Ahmadiyya Islamic religious
movement in British India.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmadiyya>
1905:
About 1,500 Cretans, led by Eleftherios Venizelos, met at the
village of Theriso to call for the island's unification with Greece,
beginning the Theriso revolt.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theriso_revolt>
1977:
British journalist David Frost began a series of interviews
with former U.S. president Richard Nixon about the Watergate scandal.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixon_interviews>
1991:
The Sierra Leone Civil War began with the invasion of the
Revolutionary United Front, with support from the special forces of
Charles Taylor's National Patriotic Front of Liberia, in an attempt to
overthrow President Joseph Saidu Momoh.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Leone_Civil_War>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
bulldog clip:
1. A binder clip with rigid handles.
2. (surgery) A surgical instrument with serrated jaws and a spring-
loaded handle used to grip blood vessels or similar organs.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bulldog_clip>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
To die is poignantly bitter, but the idea of having to die
without having lived is unbearable.
--Erich Fromm
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Erich_Fromm>
God of War is an action-adventure game franchise. Sony's Santa Monica
Studio developed all the main entries, released on the PlayStation 2,
3, and 4 video game consoles by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The
story follows Kratos (cosplayer pictured), a Spartan warrior who was
tricked into killing his family by the Greek god of war Ares. God of War
(2005), God of War II (2007), and God of War III (2010) constitute the
original trilogy centered on vengeance; other games include Chains of
Olympus (2008) and Ghost of Sparta (2010) for the PlayStation Portable,
Betrayal (2007) for mobile phones, and Ascension (2013). A main title
based on Norse mythology, also called God of War (2018), centers on
redemption, with future games in this setting planned. The series has
received numerous awards, including Game of the Year recognitions for
the 2005 and 2018 installments. As of May 2019, the franchise has sold
over 32 million games worldwide. (This article is part of a featured
topic: God of War franchise.).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/God_of_War_franchise>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1784:
The Emerald Buddha, considered the sacred palladium of
Thailand, was installed in its current location at Wat Phra Kaew on the
grounds of the Grand Palace in Bangkok.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerald_Buddha>
1871:
Governor of North Carolina William Woods Holden became the
first U.S. state governor to be removed from office through impeachment.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Woods_Holden>
1942:
Second World War: British and Italian naval forces fought the
Second Battle of Sirte in the Gulf of Sidra north of Libya.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Sirte>
1995:
Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov returned from the space
station Mir aboard Soyuz TM-20 after 437 days in space, setting a record
for the longest spaceflight.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valeri_Polyakov>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
dihydrogen monoxide:
(inorganic chemistry, humorous) H₂O, water.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dihydrogen_monoxide>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Nobody sings a love song quite like you do Oh, and nobody else
can make me sing along Nobody else can make me feel things are right
When I know they're wrong, Nobody sings a love song quite like you.
… Sing your song sweet music man, I believe in you.
--Kenny Rogers
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kenny_Rogers>
The island of stability in nuclear physics is a predicted set of
isotopes of superheavy elements whose half-lives may be considerably
longer than those experimentally observed for these elements. Its
theoretical existence is attributed to stabilizing effects of closed
nuclear shells and magic numbers of protons and neutrons. The island of
stability is generally thought to center near copernicium and flerovium
isotopes with around 184 neutrons, separated from known stable and long-
lived nuclides. While stabilizing effects are expected to be greatest
for nuclides with around 114 protons, other islands of stability might
also exist around heavier nuclides with higher magic numbers. Estimates
of the stability of elements on the island are usually around a half-
life of minutes or days, with some estimates of up to millions of years.
The synthesis of nuclides with up to 118 protons and 177 neutrons has
demonstrated a slight stabilizing effect supporting the island's
existence.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_of_stability>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1814:
War of the Sixth Coalition: At the Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube,
Napoleon suddenly realized his army was vastly outnumbered and hurriedly
ordered a retreat.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Arcis-sur-Aube>
1937:
The papal encyclical Mit brennender Sorge, condemning
antisemitism and criticizing Nazism, was read from the pulpits of all
German Catholic churches.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mit_brennender_Sorge>
1960:
Police in Sharpeville, South Africa, opened fire on a group of
unarmed black demonstrators (depicted) who were protesting pass laws,
killing almost 70 people and wounding about 180 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharpeville_massacre>
1980:
Dallas aired its "A House Divided" episode, which led to eight
months of international speculation regarding "Who shot J.R.?"
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_House_Divided_%28Dallas%29>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
carceral:
(formal or literary) Of or pertaining to imprisonment or a prison.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/carceral>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Nobody grows old merely by a number of years. We grow old by
deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up
enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.
--Samuel Ullman
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Samuel_Ullman>
Aries is the ninth studio album by Mexican recording artist Luis Miguel
(pictured). Released by WEA Latina in 1993, it features pop ballads and
dance numbers with R&B; influences. "Ayer" and "Hasta Que Me Olvides",
two of the album's three singles released for sale, topped the US
Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart. "Hasta el Fin" and "Tú y Yo" were
released as promotional singles, both peaking at number four on that
chart. Aries stayed at number one on the US Billboard Latin Pop Albums
for 19 weeks. It sold over one million copies in Mexico, and over two
million copies worldwide through 2000. Upon its release, the album
received mixed reviews from music critics; they were divided on the
dance tunes and ballads, although Miguel's vocals and the album's
arrangements garnered positive reactions. The Aries Tour promoted the
record in Latin America and the United States. Miguel received several
accolades for the album, including the Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop
Album.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aries_%28album%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1852:
Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, which had a
profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the
United States, was published.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Tom%27s_Cabin>
1942:
World War II: After being forced to flee the Philippines for
Australia, U.S. Army general Douglas MacArthur announced, "I came
through and I shall return."
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_MacArthur>
1987:
The antiretroviral drug zidovudine (AZT) became the first
treatment approved by the Food and Drug Administration for HIV/AIDS.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zidovudine>
1993:
The Troubles: Two children were killed by the second of two
bomb attacks by the Provisional Irish Republican Army in Warrington,
England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warrington_bombings>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
teething troubles:
(idiomatic) Also teething trouble: small problems such as are to be
expected with any new and untried product, system, or venture.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/teething_troubles>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The real question is not whether machines think but whether men
do. The mystery which surrounds a thinking machine already surrounds a
thinking man.
--B. F. Skinner
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/B._F._Skinner>
The Sonestown Covered Bridge is a Burr arch truss covered bridge over
Muncy Creek in Davidson Township, Sullivan County, in the U.S. state of
Pennsylvania. Built c. 1850, the bridge is 110 feet (34 m) long, and
was placed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1980.
The bridge is named for the nearby unincorporated village of Sonestown;
it was built to provide access to a gristmill, which operated until the
early 20th century. The bridge construction is cruder than the other
two surviving covered bridges in Sullivan County, with each Burr arch
formed from six straight beams set at angles instead of a smooth curve.
Despite being repaired or restored several times from 1969, as of 2016
the bridge was deemed "basically intolerable requiring high priority of
corrective action" on the National Bridge Inventory. It is the shortest
covered bridge in the county and as of 2015 had average daily traffic of
50 vehicles.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonestown_Covered_Bridge>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1911:
Established by Clara Zetkin, Käte Duncker, and others, the
first International Women's Day was observed.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clara_Zetkin>
1962:
Influential American musician Bob Dylan released his eponymous
debut album, mainly comprising traditional folk songs.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Dylan>
1987:
American televangelist Jim Bakker resigned as the host of The
PTL Club in the midst of a sex scandal.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Bakker>
2016:
Flydubai Flight 981 crashed during an aborted landing at
Rostov-on-Don Airport, Russia, resulting in the deaths of all 62
passengers and crew on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flydubai_Flight_981>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
skulduggery:
1. (countable) A devious device or trick.
2. (uncountable) Dishonest, underhanded, or unscrupulous activities or
behaviour.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/skulduggery>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
No one I know of has foreseen an America like the one we live in
today. No one (except perhaps the acidic H. L. Mencken, who famously
described American democracy as "the worship of jackals by jackasses")
could have imagined that the 21st-century catastrophe to befall the
U.S.A., the most debasing of disasters, would appear not, say, in the
terrifying guise of an Orwellian Big Brother but in the ominously
ridiculous commedia dell’arte figure of the boastful buffoon.
--Philip Roth
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Philip_Roth>