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From today's featured article

A van similar to the one involved in the incident

The Chandler's Ford shooting was an attempted robbery on 13 September 2007 in which two men were shot dead by officers of London's Metropolitan Police while robbing a cash-in-transit van. The Met had been tracking a gang who had stolen an estimated £500,000 from security vans and learned that the gang intended to rob the HSBC bank in Chandler's Ford. Armed officers hid nearby early in the morning, with snipers in overlooking buildings. Shortly after the G4S van's arrival, a masked Mark Nunes demanded at gunpoint that the guard hand over the cash box. A police sniper shot Nunes in the chest. A second gangster, Andrew Markland, picked up Nunes's gun and was shot twice by another sniper. Officers gave first aid but both men died. An IPCC investigation concluded that the snipers had acted properly, though it found flaws in the planning. An inquest reached a verdict of lawful killing, after which the IPCC recommended that an independent firearms commander be appointed to lead future operations. (Full article...)

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Flag of the International Paralympic Committee

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In the news

Taliban fighters in Kabul

Ismail Sabri Yaakob is appointed as prime minister by the King of Malaysia.
Hakainde Hichilema is elected President of Zambia.
The Afghan government collapses as the capital city of Kabul falls to the Taliban offensive (fighters pictured).
A 7.2-magnitude earthquake in Haiti kills more than 2,200 people.

On this day

August 24: Feast day of Saint Bartholomew the Apostle (Western Christianity); Independence Day in Ukraine (1991)

Pluto

1781 – American Revolutionary War: Near present-day Aurora, Indiana, American Indians led by Joseph Brant killed or captured all members of a Pennsylvania militia.
1821 – The Treaty of Córdoba was signed, ratifying the Plan of Iguala and concluding the Mexican War of Independence with Spain.
1921 – The Royal Navy's R.38, the world's largest airship at the time, was destroyed by a structural failure over Hull, killing 44 of the 49 crew aboard.
1941 – Adolf Hitler ordered the suspension of the T4 euthanasia program of the mentally ill and disabled, although killings continued in secret for the remainder of World War II.
2006 – The International Astronomical Union redefined the term planet, thus reclassifying Pluto (pictured) as a dwarf planet due to not having "cleared the neighbourhood" around its orbit.

Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1313)
Zonia Baber (b. 1862)
Rupert Grint (b. 1988)

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Today's featured picture

Argiope trifasciata, the banded garden or banded orb-weaving spider, is a species of arachnid in the family Araneidae. It is native to North and South America but has spread to other parts of the world. This ventral view of a female A. trifasciata shows her in the centre of her web, which can reach a diameter of 60 cm (24 in). The function of the zig-zag web decorations is unclear, but they may serve to make the spider appear larger or to act as a warning sign.

Photograph credit: Joaquim Alves Gaspar

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