Wikipedia:Main Page history/2013 January 24

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From today's featured article

Ranavalona III (1861–1917) was the last sovereign of the Kingdom of Madagascar. Her reign from 1883 to 1897 was marked by ultimately futile efforts to resist the colonial designs of the government of France. She entered into a political marriage with Rainilaiarivony who, in his role as Prime Minister of Madagascar, largely oversaw the day-to-day governance of the kingdom and managed its foreign affairs. Throughout her reign, Ranavalona tried to stave off colonization by strengthening trade and diplomatic relations with the United States and Great Britain. However, French attacks ultimately led to the capture of the royal palace in 1895, ending Madagascar's autonomy. The newly installed French colonial government initially permitted Ranavalona and her court to remain as symbolic figureheads until the outbreak of a popular resistance movement led the French to send her into exile. The queen, her family and the servants accompanying her were provided an allowance and enjoyed a comfortable standard of living, but she was never permitted to return to Madagascar despite her requests. She died at her villa in Algiers at the age of 55; her remains were returned to Madagascar in 1938. (Full article...)

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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.

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On this day...

January 24: Mawlid (Sunni Islam, 2013)

41 – Cassius Chaerea and the disgruntled Praetorian Guards murdered Roman emperor Caligula, replacing him with his uncle Claudius.

1848 – James W. Marshall discovered gold at Sutter's Mill (reconstruction pictured) in Coloma, California, leading to the California Gold Rush.

1978 – The Soviet satellite Kosmos 954, which used nuclear power for propulsion, burned up during reentry, scattering radioactive debris across Canada's Northwest Territories.

1993 – Turkish journalist and writer Uğur Mumcu was assassinated by a car bomb outside his home in Ankara.

2011 – A suicide bomber killed at least 37 people at Domodedovo International Airport in Moscow.

More anniversaries: January 23 – January 24 – January 25

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It is now January 24, 2013 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

A sketch of a longnose sawshark (Pristiophorus cirratus), a species of sawshark found in the eastern Indian Ocean around southern Australia on the continental shelf at depths of between 40 and 310 m (130 and 1,020 ft). It is a medium-sized shark with a saw-like flattened snout which measures up to thirty percent of its body size.

Artist: William Buelow Gould

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