From today's featured article
The curlew sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea) is a small wader. It is a long-distance migrant, breeding in the Siberian Arctic from June to August or September before migrating south to winter on the coasts of southern Afro-Eurasia. Adults have two main plumages: the non-breeding plumage shows brown-greyish upperparts and white underparts, while the breeding plumage is much more striking, with the entire front tinted a deep rusty colour, more intensely so in males. Its courtship behaviour is complex and involves several distinct displays. The female almost always lays one clutch of eggs, usually around the end of June; the eggs hatch after 20 days, and the chicks, relatively mature and mobile at birth, fully fledge at 14 to 20 days. The curlew sandpiper's breeding success is linked to lemming populations: in years when lemmings are abundant, predators hunt them instead. It is omnivorous, foraging in wetlands in large flocks for various invertebrates, including crabs and insects. (Full article...)
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Mural in Sant Quirze de Pedret
- ... that the 12th-century murals of Sant Quirze de Pedret (example pictured) were featured on Spanish Tourism Board posters in 1930?
- ... that Tinashe, who appeared in a film in 2000 and had a US top-40 hit with a 2025 song, has a black belt in taekwondo?
- ... that the author and English translator of Dissipatio H. G. both died shortly after completing their work on the novel?
- ... that Aladár Horváth was one of the first three Romani members of the National Assembly of Hungary after his election in 1990?
- ... that robotics engineers advised the developers of the Horizon franchise to design the game's machines with an exoskeleton-like framework instead of skeletons?
- ... that future ASEAN secretary general Umarjadi Njotowijono chose to evacuate to his Japanese wife's home village after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
- ... that the fourth episode of The Celestial Toymaker cost £1,449, making it the cheapest Doctor Who episode ever recorded?
- ... that Saint Anstrudis is identified with the ten-petaled sunflower?
- ... that semioticians interpret the waggle dance of honey bees as a text?
In the news
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Rodri
- In association football, the FIFA World Cup (Golden Ball winner Rodri pictured) concludes with Spain defeating Argentina in the final.
- Barbadian cricketer Garfield Sobers dies at the age of 89.
- A fire at a pub in Bangkok, Thailand, kills at least 34 people.
- In tennis, the Wimbledon Championships conclude with Linda Nosková and Jannik Sinner winning the women's and men's singles, respectively.
On this day
Forensic experts at the site of the Suruç bombing
- 1807 – French brothers Claude and Nicéphore Niépce received a patent for their Pyréolophore, one of the world's first internal combustion engines.
- 1951 – Abdullah I of Jordan was assassinated while visiting the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
- 1976 – The Viking 1 lander became the first spacecraft to successfully land on Mars and perform its mission.
- 1997 – USS Constitution, one of the United States Navy's original six frigates, sailed for the first time in 116 years after a full restoration.
- 2015 – A suicide attack (aftermath pictured) in Suruç, Turkey, for which Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed responsibility, killed 34 people and injured 104 others.
- Alexander the Great (b. 356 BC)
- Amanda Clement (d. 1971)
- Bruce Lee (d. 1973)
- Gisele Bündchen (b. 1980)
From today's featured list
Karin Benzema
The 2022 Ballon d'Or was the 66th annual presentation of the Ballon d'Or, presented by France Football, recognising the best footballers in the world during the 2021–22 season. For the first time in its history, the award was given based on the results of the European season instead of the calendar year. The nominees for the ceremony were announced on 12 August 2022, and the ceremony was held on 17 October. Karim Benzema (pictured) won the Ballon d'Or, for successfully leading Real Madrid to win both the UEFA Champions League and La Liga. Alexia Putellas claimed the Ballon d'Or Féminin, following her successful domestic campaign with Barcelona. In the other award categories, Gavi was given the Kopa Trophy, Thibaut Courtois won the Yashin Trophy, Robert Lewandowski was presented with the newly named Gerd Müller Trophy, and Manchester City claimed the Club of the Year award. (Full list...)
Today's featured picture
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Apollo 11 was an American spaceflight mission, the first to land astronauts on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin set the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle down on July 20, 1969, with Armstrong and Aldrin stepping onto the lunar surface six hours later. They spent about two and a quarter hours together outside the spacecraft, and collected 47.5 pounds (21.5 kg) of lunar material. While they were on the Moon's surface, Michael Collins flew the command module Columbia alone in lunar orbit. Armstrong's first step onto the lunar surface was broadcast on live TV to a worldwide audience. He described the event as "one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind". Armstrong and Aldrin spent 21.5 hours on the lunar surface before rejoining Columbia in lunar orbit and then returning to Earth. This photograph, taken by Collins from Columbia, shows Eagle above the lunar surface, with Earth in the background. Photograph credit: Michael Collins
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