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From today's featured article

Harrison Ford

Raiders of the Lost Ark is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Lawrence Kasdan, based on a story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman. It stars Harrison Ford (pictured), Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey, John Rhys-Davies, and Denholm Elliott. Ford portrays Indiana Jones, a globe-trotting archaeologist vying with Nazi forces in 1936 to recover the lost Ark of the Covenant, a relic said to make an army invincible. With his former lover Marion Ravenwood (Allen), Jones races to stop rival archaeologist René Belloq (Freeman) from guiding the Nazis to the Ark. Principal photography took place during June–September 1980 on sets at Elstree Studios, England, and on location in Tunisia, Hawaii, and La Rochelle. The highest-grossing film of 1981, it won five Oscars, seven Saturn Awards, and one BAFTA. Appearing in many lists of all-time best films, it has had a lasting impact on popular culture. It led to further Indiana Jones films, games and toys. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Alonso in his Formula One car

... that Fernando Alonso (pictured in car) finished third at the 2010 Japanese Grand Prix while his Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa crashed out at the first corner?
... that coins issued by Baalshillem II, the Phoenician king of Sidon, were the first Sidonian coins to bear minting dates corresponding to the king's year of reign?
... that the Dalai Lama's 2008 Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy was a proposal aiming for autonomy rather than full independence for Tibet?
... that Research Policy is regarded as the leading journal in the field of innovation studies?
... that the card game Comet, originally called Manille, was renamed in 1682 after the appearance of Halley's Comet?
... that British brigadier Victor Jaques was almost killed by friendly fire from an American aircraft in Bangkok in 1945?
... that Chuck Mosley described the distinctive singing style used throughout his career as "screaming to the beat, like ranting"?
... that Alia Issa, the first woman competitor to enter during the 2020 Paralympics opening ceremony, is the first female refugee to compete at any Paralympic Games?

In the news

Paralympics opening ceremony

Amid evacuations from Afghanistan, a suicide bombing kills at least 182 people at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.
The Summer Paralympics open (ceremony pictured) in Tokyo, Japan.
Ismail Sabri Yaakob is appointed as prime minister by the King of Malaysia.
Hakainde Hichilema is elected President of Zambia.
A 7.2-magnitude earthquake in Haiti kills more than 2,200 people.

On this day

August 29

Illustration of Shays' Rebellion

1786 – Led by Daniel Shays, farmers in western Massachusetts angered by high tax burdens and disfranchisement began an armed uprising (depicted) against the U.S. federal government.
1885 – Gottlieb Daimler patented the world's first internal-combustion motorcycle, the Reitwagen.
1949 – The Soviet Union conducted its first nuclear weapons test, detonating the 22-kiloton RDS-1.
1991 – Italian businessman Libero Grassi was killed by the Sicilian Mafia in Palermo after taking a public stand against their extortion demands.
1996 – Vnukovo Airlines Flight 2801 crashed on approach to Svalbard Airport, Norway, killing all 141 on board.

Charles of Taranto (d. 1315)
Edmond Hoyle (d. 1769)
Vivien Thomas (b. 1910)

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Today's featured picture

Averbode Abbey is a Premonstratensian abbey in Averbode, in the municipality of Scherpenheuvel-Zichem, Belgium. The abbey was founded about 1134, suppressed in 1797, and re-established in 1834. The church is a synthesis of Baroque and Gothic architecture, with Renaissance ornamental details, and dominates the monastery complex; it was built between 1664 and 1672, to a design by the Antwerp architect Jan Van den Eynde II. This view of the church's interior shows the chancel, with the choir in the foreground and the sanctuary in the background.

Photograph credit: Marc Ryckaert

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