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From today's featured article

Le Guin, author of Paradises Lost

Paradises Lost is a science fiction novella by American author Ursula K. Le Guin (pictured), first published in 2002 in the collection The Birthday of the World. Set during a multigenerational voyage from Earth to a potentially habitable planet, it follows two members of the fifth generation born aboard the vessel as the ship's society responds to the prospect of landing on a planet after generations spent in space. The novella explores the isolation brought on by space travel, as well as themes of religion and utopia. It has elements of ecocriticism, a critique of the idea that human beings are altogether separate from their natural environment. Scholar Max Haiven described the novella as "a chastening lesson in both the potential and the perils of freedom", while author Margaret Atwood said that it "shows us our own natural world as a freshly discovered Paradise Regained, a realm of wonder". The novella has been anthologized as well as adapted into an opera of the same name. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Elinor Barker

... that Elinor Barker (pictured) won an Olympic medal while pregnant?
... that a tram chase sequence in a 2025 adventure film was shot in two different theme parks, and with two different trams?
... that Miroslava Pešíková was a ballerina at the National Theatre in Prague for 28 years in 47 roles?
... that the first session of the United Nations General Assembly was held in a church in war-damaged London only four months after the end of World War II?
... that the Holocaust survivor Joan Salter returned from America to parents she could not remember?
... that Seven Samurai is considered one of the greatest films ever made?
... that despite its hardline Islamic beliefs, a Boko Haram faction led by Sadiku tolerated allied bandits' use of alcohol, drugs, and prostitution?
... that John D. Hoffman of the Special Engineer Detachment was awarded the Soldier's Medal, the US Army's highest non-combat decoration and the only one given to a member of the Manhattan District?
... that Mark Williams did his press conference naked after winning the 2018 World Snooker Championship?

In the news

Ali Khamenei

Israel and the United States launch strikes on Iran, killing its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei (pictured), along with other senior officials.
A Lockheed C-130 Hercules of the Bolivian Air Force crashes into a road in El Alto, killing more than 20 people.
A military conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan escalates as the countries exchange cross-border strikes.
Floods in the Zona da Mata region of Minas Gerais, Brazil, leave at least 70 people dead and thousands of others displaced.

On this day

March 6

William Speirs Bruce

845 – The Abbasid Caliphate executed 42 Byzantine officials who had been captured in the sack of Amorium of 838 for refusing to convert to Islam.
1447 – Tommaso Parentucelli was elected as Pope Nicholas V in Rome.
1904 – Scottish National Antarctic Expedition: Led by William Speirs Bruce (pictured), the Antarctic region of Coats Land was discovered by the Scotia.
1988 – The Troubles: In Operation Flavius, the Special Air Service killed three volunteers of the Provisional Irish Republican Army conspiring to bomb a parade of British military bands in Gibraltar.
2000 – The Marine Parade Community Building, the mural cladding of which is the largest installation art in Singapore, was opened.

Clark Shaughnessy (b. 1892)
Joseph Berchtold (b. 1897)
Shaukat Aziz (b. 1949)
Zoi Sadowski-Synnott (b. 2001)

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From today's featured list

Caroline Dries

Fifty-one episodes of the American superhero television series Batwoman aired over three seasons from 2019 through 2022. Created by Caroline Dries (pictured), it is set in the Arrowverse, sharing continuity with other related television series. Based on the character of Kate Kane from DC Comics, the first season follows Kate Kane (Ruby Rose), the cousin of vigilante Bruce Wayne / Batman, who becomes Batwoman in his absence. The final two seasons focus on Ryan Wilder (Javicia Leslie) as she protects Gotham City in the role of Batwoman. The first season premiered on October 6, 2019, and concluded on May 17, 2020. Season two aired from January 17 to June 27, 2021, and the third season ran from October 13 to March 2, 2022. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

Humayun's tomb is the tomb of the Mughal emperor Humayun, located in Delhi, India. The tomb was commissioned by Bega Begum, Humayun's first wife and chief consort, in 1558, and was designed by Mirak Mirza Ghiyas and his son Sayyid Muhammad, Persian architects chosen by Bega. Inspired by Persian architecture, it was the first Indian building to use the Persian double dome on a high neck drum, the dome being white in colour. The rest of the building is largely red sandstone, with white and black marble and yellow sandstone detailing. It reaches a height of 47 metres (154 ft) with a plinth 91 metres (299 ft) wide. A cenotaph is situated directly underneath the dome, while Humayun's actual burial place is in an underground chamber below that. The tomb is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and several smaller monuments and other tombs are located nearby. This photograph shows the western facade of Humayun's tomb as seen in 2012.

Photograph credit: Muhammad Mahdi Karim

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