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From today's featured article

Opifex fuscus is a species of mosquito that is endemic to New Zealand. They occur along the coast, where their larvae live in rock pools within the spray zone. To survive in this habitat, the larvae are able to tolerate a wide range of water salt concentrations. The larvae feed on algae and decomposing matter. They also have mouthparts that specialise towards either filter feeding or grazing, depending on what food sources are available to them. As adults the females feed on the blood of birds and humans. They have an unusual mating system where the males wait on the surface of the rock pools and mate with female pupae before they have matured into adults. They are widespread throughout the rocky coasts of New Zealand but have been displaced from the Otago region by the introduced species Aedes australis. The larvae are also known to be infected by the fungus Coelomomyces psorophorae, which uses copepods as intermediate hosts. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Tudor Arghezi

... that Tudor Arghezi (pictured), "perhaps the strongest personality in all of 20th-century Romanian literature", claimed that he could identify people with cancer by their smell?
... that footballer Matilda Nildén went viral after being unexpectedly soaked by stadium sprinklers during a live halftime TV interview?
... that the live stream of the cassation hearing for Larisa Dolina's apartment deal was the most-watched in the history of the Supreme Court of Russia?
... that Governor Anawrahta was pardoned by two different Ava kings for his allegiance to Hanthawaddy, only to die shortly after the second pardon?
... that Gdańsk Castle was taken down in one month?
... that Saigon Hotpot was started by Vietnamese college students who funded free tours for foreign tourists?
... that Global Saskatchewan produces three sets of local newscasts, none of which are presented from Saskatchewan?
... that California voters approved a 1908 constitutional amendment by just two votes out of more than 185,000 cast?
... that several Genshin Impact players photoshopped the character Arataki Itto's weapon into ice cream?

In the news

Tô Lâm

Vietnam's communist party congress re-elects Tô Lâm (pictured) as general secretary, the most powerful position in the one-party state.
Iliana Iotova becomes the first female president of Bulgaria following the resignation of Rumen Radev.
Italian fashion designer Valentino, founder of his eponymous fashion house, dies at the age of 93.
Wildfires in Chile leave more than 20 people dead.

On this day

January 29

"The Raven" illustration by John Tenniel

1845 – American poet Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" appeared in The Evening Mirror as the newspaper's first publication attributed to Poe.
1856 – Queen Victoria introduced the Victoria Cross, originally to recognise acts of valour by British military personnel during the Crimean War.
1891 – Liliʻuokalani, the last monarch and only queen regnant of the Hawaiian Kingdom, ascended the throne.
1911 – Mexican Revolution: The Magonista rebellion began when Mexican Liberal Party troops captured the town of Mexicali.
1991 – The first major ground engagement of the Gulf War began with the Iraqi invasion of Khafji, Saudi Arabia, recaptured three days later by Coalition forces.

Albert Gallatin (b. 1761)
Józefa Joteyko (b. 1866)
Elin Rombo (b. 1976)
Jean-Marie Doré (d. 2016)

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Today's featured picture

The Torment of Saint Anthony is the earliest known painting by the Italian artist Michelangelo, painted in around 1487–1488 when he was only 12 or 13 years old. A copy of The Temptation of Saint Anthony, an engraving by Martin Schongauer, it shows Saint Anthony being assailed in the desert by demons, whose temptations he resisted. This was a common medieval subject, included in the Golden Legend and other sources, although this composition shows a later episode where Saint Anthony, normally flown about the desert supported by angels, was ambushed in mid-air by devils. The Torment of Saint Anthony is in the permanent collection of the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, United States.

Painting credit: Michelangelo

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