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From tomorrow's featured article

Patch observing the landing of troops and supplies

The Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse took place from 15 December 1942 to 23 January 1943 and was primarily an engagement between United States and Imperial Japanese forces in the hills near the Matanikau River on Guadalcanal during the Guadalcanal campaign. The U.S. forces were under the overall command of Major General Alexander Patch (pictured), and the Japanese under the overall command of Lieutenant General Harukichi Hyakutake. U.S. soldiers and Marines, assisted by native Solomon Islanders, attacked Imperial Japanese Army forces defending well-entrenched positions on several hills and ridges. With difficulty the U.S. succeeded in taking Mount Austen, in the process reducing a strongly defended position called the Gifu, as well as the Galloping Horse and the Sea Horse. In the meantime, the Japanese decided to abandon Guadalcanal and withdrew; most of the surviving Japanese troops were successfully evacuated. (This article is part of a featured topic: Guadalcanal Campaign.)

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Did you know ...

Aeropetes tulbaghia, a species in Dirini

... that the relationship between the Dirini (example pictured) and its closest relative has been described by researchers as "odd"?
... that Zhang Zhiyun, crowned "movie queen" in a newspaper poll in 1926, is reported to have died homeless in Hong Kong?
... that summons to the Council of Tripoli were issued in the name of the Church to bypass the issue of whether a king could summon a prince?
... that a Swim School song described by one reviewer as "a heavy dystopian doom rocker" was originally performed by Taylor Swift?
... that the Japanese manga series Mink featured futuristic technology even though its creator was unfamiliar with computers?
... that the Airbnb homestay where a song was recorded by Glaive and Ericdoa was dubbed by fans as the "Hyperpop Hype House"?
... that the fourth president of Austria's post-secondary instructors included all three of his predecessors?
... that the Catch II game had "one of the most amazing finishes in NFL postseason history", according to the NFL?
... that the Bank of Korea asked the makers of a cheese-filled waffle to change its design?

In the news (For today)

Fireball from the Learjet crash

Eleven people are killed in a mass shooting at an adult education centre in Örebro, Sweden.
A Learjet 55 crashes (explosion pictured) into multiple buildings in Philadelphia, United States, killing at least 7 people and injuring 22 others.
A Beechcraft 1900 crashes in Unity State, South Sudan, killing 20 of the 21 people onboard.
Ahmed al-Sharaa is appointed president of the Syrian transitional government.

On the next day

February 7: Independence Day in Grenada (1974)

Painting by Louis-Philippe Crépin

1365 – Albert, King of Sweden, granted a town charter to Ulvila, the third-oldest city in Finland.
1813 – Napoleonic Wars: Two evenly matched frigates, the French Aréthuse and the British Amelia, battled to a stalemate (depicted) at the Îles de Los off the Guinean coast.
1865 – The trustees of Seattle enacted an ordinance that expelled Native Americans from the newly incorporated town.
1900 – Second Boer War: British troops made a third unsuccessful attempt to lift the siege of Ladysmith in the Battle of Vaal Krantz.
2014 – Researchers announced the discovery of the Happisburgh footprints in Norfolk, England, the oldest known hominid footprints outside Africa, at more than 800,000 years old.

Alfonsina Orsini (d. 1520)
Margaret Fownes-Luttrell (b. 1726)
Louisa Jane Hall (b. 1802)
Anne Morrow Lindbergh (d. 2001)

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From tomorrow's featured list

Daniel Risch

General elections in Liechtenstein have been held since the ratification of the 1862 constitution, in which the Landtag of Liechtenstein was established. Political parties did not exist in Liechtenstein until they were formed in 1918. Before the ratification of the 1921 constitution, the head of government was appointed by the prince of Liechtenstein; elections were thus held only to elect members of the Landtag. Under the current constitution, general elections are held to elect members of the Landtag, who then elect the prime minister of Liechtenstein. Forty-eight general elections have been held in Liechtenstein, most recently in 2021, which resulted in Daniel Risch (pictured) becoming prime minister. The 2025 general election is scheduled to take place on 9 February. (Full list...)

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Tomorrow's featured picture

The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. Widely regarded as the most influential band of all time, they were integral to the development of 1960s counterculture and the recognition of popular music as an art form. Rooted in skiffle, beat, and 1950s rock and roll, their sound incorporated elements of classical music and traditional pop in innovative ways. The band also explored music styles ranging from folk and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock. As pioneers in recording, songwriting, and artistic presentation, the Beatles revolutionized many aspects of the music industry and were often publicized as leaders of the era's youth and sociocultural movements. This photograph shows the Beatles – from left to right, Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr – waving to a crowd of fans after arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City on 7 February 1964, at the start of their first visit to the United States. Their visit marked the beginning of the British Invasion, a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s when rock and pop-music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States. The band's widespread popularity and the intense reception that greeted them was termed "Beatlemania".

Photograph credit: United Press International; retouched by Yann Forget

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