Wikipedia:Main Page history/2013 January 22

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From today's featured article

Typhoon Rusa, the 10th typhoon of the 2002 Pacific typhoon season, was the most powerful to strike South Korea in 43 years. It developed on August 22 from the monsoon trough in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, then moved to the northwest, intensifying into a powerful typhoon. On August 26, the storm moved across the Amami Islands of Japan, causing two fatalities. Across Japan, the typhoon dropped torrential rainfall peaking at 902 mm (35.5 in) in Tokushima Prefecture. After weakening slightly, Rusa made landfall on Goheung, South Korea with winds of 140 km/h (85 mph). It weakened while moving through the country, dropping heavy rainfall that peaked at 897.5 mm (35.33 in) in Gangneung. A 24 hour total of 880 mm (35 in) in the city broke the record for the highest daily precipitation in the country. Over 17,000 houses were damaged, and large areas of crop fields were flooded. In South Korea, Rusa killed at least 233 people. The typhoon also dropped heavy rainfall in neighboring North Korea, leaving 26,000 people homeless and killing three. Rusa also destroyed large areas of crops in the country already affected by ongoing famine conditions. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

From Wikipedia's newest content:

... that unlike the living golden-club Orontium aquaticum (pictured), the extinct species Orontium mackii may not have needed wetlands to grow?

... that Miran Pastourma has been serving Pastourma in Athens for over 90 years?

... that the characters of Che'r Cycle, a 2009 Bengali drama, included Che Guevara, Aleida March, Fidel Castro, and Raul Castro?

... that James Hogun, a general in the Continental Army, asked to be held as a POW after the Siege of Charleston in order to prevent the British from recruiting soldiers among the enlisted Patriot POWs?

... that a Roman-era temple in al-Sanamayn, originally dedicated to the pagan god Tyche in the 2nd century CE and later converted into a mosque, is one of the best preserved edifices in Syria?

... that the Star Trek: Enterprise episode "Affliction" explains why Klingons look different in the original series compared to the movies and later series?

... that the Viscount Vane's offer of a reward in the newspapers for information about his eloped wife was compared to a search for "some favourite spaniel bitch"?

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In the news

After hundreds of workers are taken hostage in an attack at a gas facility near In Aménas, Algeria, a raid by Algerian forces results in dozens of fatalities.

Boeing 787 aircraft (pictured) are grounded worldwide over concerns about the safety of their lithium-ion batteries.

Sri Lankan Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake is dismissed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa following her contested impeachment.

In the Central African Republic, the government signs a ceasefire agreement with rebels, ending a month of conflict and establishing a new coalition government.

France commits troops to aid government forces in the current Northern Mali conflict.

Sakine Cansız, one of the co-founders of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, and two other Kurdish activists are shot dead in Paris.

Recent deaths: Taihō Kōki – Stan Musial – Pauline Phillips

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On this day...

January 22: Reunion Day in Ukraine (1919)

1879 – Anglo-Zulu War: Zulu forces of King Cetshwayo (pictured) fought to a decisive victory at the Battle of Isandlwana.

1957 – New York City police arrested George Metesky, better known as the "Mad Bomber", for planting over 30 bombs over 16 years throughout the city.

1971 – The Singapore Declaration, one of the two most important documents to the uncodified constitution of the Commonwealth of Nations, was issued.

1984 – Apple Computer introduced the Macintosh computer during Super Bowl XVIII with its groundbreaking "1984" television commercial.

2006 – Aymaran Evo Morales was inaugurated as President of Bolivia, the country's first democratically elected, fully Amerindian leader.

More anniversaries: January 21 – January 22 – January 23

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It is now January 22, 2013 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

The comma butterfly (Polygonia c-album) is found in temperate areas of Europe and Asia and is named after a white 'C' shape on the underside of the wings resembling a comma. The wings have a distinctive ragged edge, apparently a cryptic form as the butterfly resembles a fallen leaf.

Photo: Quartl

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