The current national flag of Belarus was formally adopted on June 7,
1995, following the result of a referendum voted on by the Belarusian
people in the previous month. This new design replaced a historical
flag that Belarus had used before becoming a Soviet Republic, and
again after it regained its independence in 1991. The current flag is
a modification of the 1951 flag used while the country was a republic
of the Soviet Union. The 1995 flag has been the basis of several flags
used by government bodies. A few groups have continued to use the
previous flag, though its use in Belarus has been restricted by the
government of president Alexander Lukashenko. The 1991 flag is still
used in protests against the government. Independent observers have
said that the referendum that selected the current flag did not meet
democratic standards.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Belarus
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Today's selected anniversaries:
3761 BCE:
The epoch of the modern Hebrew calendar.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrew_calendar)
1571:
The Ottoman Empire was decisively defeated by the Christian West for
the first time, as a multinational fleet led by Don John of Austria
crushed the Turkish navy near the Gulf of Corinth in the Battle of
Lepanto.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lepanto_%281571%29)
1949:
The German Democratic Republic was proclaimed in East Berlin.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Germany)
1985:
The Mediterranean ocean liner Achille Lauro was hijacked by
Palestine Liberation Front terrorists while sailing from Alexandria to
Port Said.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achille_Lauro)
2001:
War on Terrorism: The U.S. invasion of Afghanistan began at 16:30
UTC with an aerial bombing campaign targeting Taliban and Al-Qaida
forces.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._invasion_of_Afghanistan)
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Wikiquote of the day:
"The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the
opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth." --
Niels Bohr
(
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Niels_Bohr)