SMS Scharnhorst was an armored cruiser of the Imperial German Navy and the lead ship of her class. Named after the Prussian reformer General Gerhard von Scharnhorst, the ship entered service on 24 October 1907. After brief service with the High Seas Fleet in Germany in 1908, she was assigned to the German East Asia Squadron based in Tsingtao, China in 1909, becoming the squadron flagship. Over the next five years, she went on several tours of Asian ports and was present in Japan for the coronation of the Taishō Emperor in 1912. After the outbreak of World War I, Scharnhorst and her sister ship SMS Gneisenau, accompanied by three light cruisers and several colliers, sailed across the Pacific Ocean—in the process evading the various Allied naval forces sent to intercept them—before arriving off the southern coast of South America. On 1 November 1914, Scharnhorst and the rest of the East Asia Squadron encountered and overpowered a British squadron at the Battle of Coronel. The stinging defeat prompted the British Admiralty to dispatch two battlecruisers to hunt down and destroy Scharnhorst 's flotilla, which they accomplished at the Battle of the Falkland Islands on 8 December 1914. (Full article...)
... that in 2013, the Bharat Ratna – India's highest civilian award – was conferred on Sachin Tendulkar, the youngest recipient and first sportsperson to receive the honour?
National Tourist Routes are eighteen highways in Norway designated by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration for their picturesque scenery and tourist-friendly infrastructure, such as rest stops and viewpoints. The routes cover 1,850 kilometers (1,150 mi) and are located along the West Coast, in Northern Norway and in the mountains of Southern Norway. The authorities have coordinated the establishment of accommodation, cultural activities, dining, sale of local arts and crafts, and natural experiences along the tourist roads. The overall goal of the project is to increase tourism in the rural areas through which the roads run. The project started in 1994 and was initially limited to Sognefjellsvegen(pictured), Gamle Strynefjellsveg, Hardanger and the Helgeland Coast Route. These were officially designated National Tourist Routes in 1997, and, the following year, the Storting decided to expand the project. Eighteen routes were selected in 2004, with the goal of completing the necessary upgrades and officially opening them as National Tourist Routes by 2015. All routes were signposted and officially designated by 2012. (Full list...)
Correa alba is a shrub endemic to Australia. Reaching some 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) in height, this shrub is a hardy species in well-drained situations. The ovate leaves measure 1.5 to 3.5 centimetres (0.59 to 1.38 in) long and 1 to 2.7 centimetres (0.39 to 1.06 in) wide. The flowers, as shown here, are generally white, but may also be light pink. They usually appear between mid-autumn and early winter.
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