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From today's featured article

Len Deighton (born 1929) is a British author. His publications have included cookery books and works on history, but he is best known for his spy novels. He had several jobs before writing his first novel, The IPCRESS File, in 1962; it was a critical and commercial success. He wrote several spy novels featuring the same central character, an unnamed working-class intelligence officer. Between 1962 and 1966, Deighton was the food correspondent for The Observer and drew cookstrips – black-and-white graphic recipes with a limited number of words. A selection of these was collected and published in 1965 as Len Deighton's Action Cook Book, the first of five cookery books he wrote. Other topics of non-fiction include military history. Many of his books have been best-sellers and he has been favourably compared with John le Carré. Deighton's fictional work is marked by a complex narrative structure, extensive research and an air of verisimilitude. Several of his works have been adapted for film and radio. (Full article...)

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In the news

Bashar al-Assad

Syrian rebel forces capture Damascus following multiple offensives as overthrown president Bashar al-Assad (pictured) flees to Russia.
Notre-Dame de Paris reopens following reconstruction after the 2019 fire.
The first round of the Romanian presidential election is annulled by the Constitutional Court following allegations of Russian electoral interference.
The French government, led by Michel Barnier, collapses following a vote of no confidence by the National Assembly.

Did you know

Scene from Orphan Rescues Grandfather

... that Zhou Jianyun pawned his wife's jewellery to make Orphan Rescues Grandfather (scene pictured), saving his studio?
... that Verificado 2018 was a fact-checking collaboration between at least 90 organizations to counter disinformation during the 2018 Mexican federal election?
... that Tommy Suggs recommended using Also sprach Zarathustra as his college football team's entrance music, because he saw Elvis Presley do it first?
... that "unusual choices" at Liliget Feast House included wind-dried salmon and pan-fried oolichans?
... that Rada Dyson-Hudson was denied academic tenure at Johns Hopkins University and Cornell University despite her academic record and capabilities?
... that the Jiangwan Racecourse hosted horse races, a golf club, and prisoners of war?
... that a manuscript of the New Testament was bound in the wrong order, which a scholar decried: "the bookbinder has messed everything up"?
... that Doctor Who star Peter Capaldi was a fan of the series as a child?
... that the backflip ban in figure skating was lifted in 2024 alongside other "somersault type jumps"?

On this day

December 11

Old Well at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

1789 – The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (structure pictured), one of the oldest public universities in the United States and the only one to award degrees in the 18th century, was chartered.
1886 – The London-based football club Arsenal, then known as Dial Square, played their first match on the Isle of Dogs.
1920 – Irish War of Independence: Following an Irish Republican Army ambush of an Auxiliary patrol, British forces burned and looted numerous buildings in Cork.
2006 – Criticized worldwide as a "meeting of Holocaust deniers", the International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust opened in Tehran.

Averroes (d. 1198)
Kamehameha V (b. 1830; d. 1872)
Carl von In der Maur (d. 1913)
Big Mama Thornton (b. 1926)

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Today's featured picture

The dusky grasswren (Amytornis purnelli) is a species of small passerine bird in the family Maluridae. The species is endemic to Australia, in which it is limited to inland areas of the Northern Territory, Western Australia and South Australia. The dusky grasswren inhabits rocky ranges and outcrops, often preferring tumbled talus or scree, and with areas of thick, long-unburnt spinifex grasses in the genus Triodia. In the wild, it has been observed feeding on a range of small arthropods and other invertebrates as well as seeds. The vocal repertoire of the dusky grasswren is varied and includes trills, high-pitched whistles, rapid twittering, and high-speed warbling. This dusky grasswren was photographed in Ormiston Pound in the Northern Territory.

Photograph credit: John Harrison